Whether you’re developing your teaching practice, progressing into leadership or supporting your school or organisation, we’ll help you take the next step with confidence.
Why choose Worcester for your professional development?
We focus on giving you the knowledge, skills and support you need to grow in your role and make a lasting difference. This is what sets our teaching and education CPD apart:
- Courses shaped around real classroom practice and current educational priorities
- Flexible study options designed to fit alongside teaching and school commitments
- Experienced tutors with backgrounds in education and leadership
- Many short courses offer credits that count towards postgraduate qualifications
Explore our Teaching and Education courses
Leadership
Short courses
Postgraduate courses
Coaching
Network
Professional Skills
Short courses
Postgraduate courses
Networks
Workshop
Research and Evaluation
Short courses
Pathways and progression
Your professional development doesn’t have to stop with a single course. Many of our short courses are credit bearing and give you the option to work towards a full postgraduate qualification, as part of our Professional Development MA/MSc/PGDip/PGCert.
- Start with an individual short course
- Combine credit bearing short courses to achieve a Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma
- Progress to a Masters in your chosen field
- Develop leadership and management skills as your career evolves
Discover the Postgraduate Professional Development MA/MSc
The Postgraduate Awards in Professional Development (MA / MSc, PGDip, PGCert) is a part-time postgraduate course for professionals in almost any field of work.
The course allows professionals to create a bespoke Master’s degree, Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma that meets their needs and fits around their working lives. This is done by selecting modules from across a wide range of postgraduate courses, as well as undertaking negotiated projects that relate to their professional needs.
The Postgraduate Awards in Professional Development is a student-centred programme that combines the flexibility of online study, with access to taught elements of existing courses. It is designed around the needs of mid-career professionals, particularly those with specialist roles or interests, who have a clear idea of their developmental needs and have progressed beyond off-the-shelf programmes. Credit can be given for existing studies, and the course can be completed in anything between 2 and 8 years.
Employers can also design a programme of study for their employees, selecting elements of existing courses, or plan workplace projects that can support the achievement of a postgraduate award.
Professionals can achieve a Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Development (60 credits), a Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Development (120 credits) or complete a full 180-credit Master’s degree (MA or MSc depending on the balance of subjects studied).
How it works
The Postgraduate Awards in Professional Development can equip you with practical, academic and research skills through a flexible, modular structure centred on your needs. These enable you and, if appropriate, your employer /manager to tailor a programme of study that aligns with your specific skill development needs. The programme facilitates the recognition of acquired skills for academic credit and promotes broader access to and participation in higher education.
Your course consists of 15, 30, 45 and 60 credit modules. With the support of your course leader, you will select the modules, and therefore, the number of credits you want to study in each semester and academic year. To put this another way- the duration of your course is dependent on credit value of modules you choose to study each year! The means there are many options for you to manage how and what your study, an illustration for the Master’s degree (180 credits) is provided below:
Part-time over 3 years*
- Year 1 – 60 credits
- Year 2 – 60 credits
- Year 3 - 60 credits
* part-time normally requires registration for modules to a value of not more than 45 credits in a semester
Part-time over 4 years
- Year 1 - 45 credits
- Year 2 - 45 credits
- Year 3 - 45 credits
- Year 4 - 45 credits
Part-time over 5 years
- Year 1 – 30 credits
- Year 2 - 30 credits
- Year 3 – 30 credits
- Year 4 - 45 credits
- Year 5 – 45 credits
Part-time over 6 years
- Year 1 – 30 credits
- Year 2 - 15 credits
- Year 3 – 30 credits
- Year 4 - 30 credits
- Year 5 – 30 credits
- Year 6 – 45 credits
Part-time over 7 years
- Year 1 – 30 credits
- Year 2 - 15 credits
- Year 3 – 30 credits
- Year 4 - 15 credits
- Year 5 – 30 credits
- Year 6 – 15 credits
- Year 6 – 45 credits
Maximum periods of registration
The maximum periods of registration (periods in which you must complete your award) allow you flexibility to choose how many credits you want to study each semester or year:
- PG Cert (60 credits): part time over a maximum of 3 years
- PG Dip (120 credits): part time over a maximum of 6 years
- MA / MSc (180 credits): part time over a maximum of 8 years
Funding options
There are several ways to fund your professional development, whether you’re studying independently or supported by your organisation.
- Many schools, trusts and education providers fund CPD for their staff
- Self-funding options, including payment plans, are available for most courses
- If you progress to a full Master’s degree, you may be able to apply for a UK Government Postgraduate Master’s Loan. This can be used towards tuition fees and living costs
Are you an employer or training lead?
We work with schools, multi-academy trusts and education providers to design training that supports their staff and priorities. Whether you’re developing early career teachers, strengthening leadership or responding to sector changes, we can create bespoke CPD packages that align with your organisation’s goals.
When it comes to professional development, there are plenty of routes to choose from. Our team is here to help you explore your options and find the one that’s right for you.
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