Do you want to build on your experience as a health and social care practitioner? 

Are you keen to develop an understanding of the knowledge and evidence that positively contributes to the health and wellbeing of persons, groups and populations? Our innovative Person-Centred Practice (PCP) Framework offers a flexible suite of courses that will give you a valuable, career-expanding qualification in person-centred practice.

Delivered by our Division of Nursing, Occupational Therapy and Art Therapies, the postgraduate portfolio that includes the MSc Person-Centred Practice Framework reflects the burgeoning focus on person-centredness set within the contemporary context of health systems integration and the health and wellbeing agenda. This reflects professional and service needs, as identified by the relevant professional bodies, other stakeholders and policy drivers.

The Person-Centred Framework offers practitioners from different contexts the opportunity to develop their studies and to enhance their knowledge and expertise of person-centred practice through a flexible structure, designed to meet their needs and those of the wider community.

We live and work in a multi-professional and multi-faceted health systems environment. The need to be cognisant and masterful when dealing with the concepts of research, enquiry, abstraction and unpredictability has seldom been so important. The challenge of promoting person-centredness in such an environment requires skilled and talented practitioners who can operate in advanced clinical, educational, managerial and research-based roles.

Why QMU?

An internationally recognised teaching team

The team at QMU is working at national and international level to develop the role and reputation of nursing and healthcare throughout the world. With collaborations in many countries across the globe, QMU has developed a reputation as a major contributor to practice development on an international basis. Students on our master’s courses also reap the benefits of learning with students from other cultures. As a postgraduate student, the opportunities to gain invaluable experience through applying your learning directly to your workplace allow you to contribute to the modernisation of healthcare globally.

QMU is a leading provider of master’s level studies in Scotland.

A wide range of study options

We offer a MSc Person-Centred Practice Framework that incorporates a range of pathways.

MSc courses:

Also see 'Occupational and Arts Therapies' courses further down the page.

PgDip/Cert courses:

Other level courses: 

Occupational and Arts Therapies courses with a Person-Centred focus: 

These courses focus on the application of knowledge to practice by offering sound work-based elements that are clinically focused and practice orientated to ensure participants can maximise and focus their learning in their own specialist areas.

We also offer a separate MSc Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Flexible study options

We offer full-time and part-time options.

Many of our modules can be taken as stand-alone CPD modules, where you register as an associate student to study single modules as CPD that can be packaged to offer you either a degree top-up or graduate certificate award. Find out more about our CPD courses. Individual modules are not available from the MSc Art Psychotherapy, MSc Drama Therapy, MSc Music Therapy or MSc Play Therapy courses. 

Teaching that focuses on your future working needs

We have close links with the healthcare sector in Scotland, across the UK and internationally. Our internal experts have many years of experience in education, practice research and policy. They ensure that there is a real focus on the individual student’s future working needs embedded into the postgraduate study.

Excellent health sector links

By maintaining very close links with the healthcare sector, we ensure that our courses are current and relevant. The linking of your experiences as a practitioner with academic study allows for the development of an understanding of the key issues affecting healthcare in today’s fast-changing and complex healthcare world. Study is based on real situations drawing on your own invaluable experience of healthcare working in Scotland, the UK and international healthcare sectors.

Person-centred learning and teaching

The learning and teaching approaches for our courses are underpinned and informed by three core values central to person-centred learning:

  • Each individual’s learning and practice experience and the context in which that learning occurs are significant. They enables the student to make explicit their values, question and defend assumptions and learn from experience and feedback. We value and capitalise on the individual diversity of our students and the richness that their knowledge brings to learning.
  • We recognise that learning is a lifelong process for both students and educators.
    Focusing on the processes of learning is fundamental to our learning and teaching approaches. You will be expected to draw on your previous knowledge and skills to inform your postgraduate study and will benefit from a variety of interesting ways to participate and share experiences and opinions with your peers. This is achieved through the provision of a facilitative environment, which encourages reflection and sharing of knowledge and experiences as a basis for personal and professional growth, along with use of humanistic and adult learning theories that promote valuing and respect for others, relevance of learning and recognition of emotional aspects of learning.
  • Our commitment to scholarship and effective feedback will aid you in the development of new ideas and theories and lead to a questioning and analytical approach. We aim to develop your ability to challenge conventional assumptions and we actively encourage students to develop collaborative partnerships both internally and externally that will feed the healthcare sector of the future. The learning methodologies we use focus on discussion, debate and collaborative and individual approaches to problem solving and management. Our aim is to produce enlightened and focused healthcare professionals equipped to deal with the challenges of working in a complex and ever-changing healthcare sector.

Internationally recognised research

Our internationally recognised person-centred practice research at QMU concentrates on the advancing of knowledge, leadership, skills and expertise in developing person-centred practice and improving health outcomes for patients and families. Our research focuses on four pillars of activity:

  • Experience of person-centredness
  • Person-centred interventions
  • Person-centred cultures
  • Person-centred curriculum

Overall, our research is practice-focused and driven by our commitment to the development of person-centred services.

Find out more information on how to apply for a course at QMU.

Person-Centred Practice and Post-Registration Practice at QMU