Everything you need to know...
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What is the fee?
Home: £10,940 for the course
International/EU: £11,150 for the course -
How long will I study?
3 Years
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Where will I study?
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When do I start?
September 2026
Course summary
- Develop advanced expertise in supportive oncology and cancer care across the cancer continuum.
- Advance complex symptom management using evidence-based supportive oncology approaches.
- Integrate personalised supportive care to enhance patient quality of life.
- Apply palliative and end-of-life care principles in compassionate, person-centred practice.
- Build research, leadership and clinical innovation skills for future cancer care practice.
You’ll develop advanced knowledge of supportive oncology and cancer care, exploring physical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions across the cancer pathway. Grounded in evidence-based practice, the course covers prehabilitation, rehabilitation, survivorship and ethical decision-making. You’ll strengthen clinical reasoning, leadership and service development skills, enabling you to improve patient outcomes and influence future supportive cancer care practice.
Graduate view
'The course increased my understanding of key topics surrounding supportive and palliative care. I learned how to apply this knowledge in order to improve my clinical practice. I now feel more confident in my role as a health care professional.'
Alexia Azzopardi, MSc Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care, 2018 graduate
How you learn
All our courses are designed around key principles that connect your learning to the real world, encourage collaboration and challenge you to think differently in a supportive environment.
On this course, you’ll develop advanced expertise in supportive oncology and cancer care, including complex symptom management, prehabilitation and rehabilitation, personalised care, and palliative approaches. Your learning is research-informed and closely aligned with clinical practice, enabling you to translate evidence into meaningful improvements in care.
As a distance learner, you’ll benefit from a flexible blend of live and recorded online learning, designed to fit around professional commitments. You’ll learn from experts actively involved in oncology research and clinical practice, ensuring your knowledge reflects current developments.
You’ll learn through:
- live and recorded online lectures and webinars
- case studies and clinical scenarios
- engagement with experts and individuals with lived experience
- small-group and peer-led discussions
- independent study and reflective learning activities
- formative tasks exploring personalised care and service development
- research supervision and completion of a dissertation or project
Assessment methods include coursework, reflective tasks, applied assignments and a final research or evaluation project.
Key Themes
- Year 1: You’ll focus on foundational knowledge in supportive oncology, including prehabilitation, rehabilitation and complex symptom management.
- Year 2: You’ll explore palliative and end-of-life care, alongside elective modules tailored to your professional context.
- Year 3: You’ll complete a supervised research or evaluation project, contributing to practice development in supportive oncology.
Course-Level Support
You will be supported in your learning journey towards highly skilled employment through a number of key areas. These include:
- guidance from your course leader and academic adviser
- peer learning groups and discussion forums
- specialist library and digital learning resources
- library skills support for critical writing and research
- 24/7 IT and technical assistance
online student support services
Applied learning
Live Projects
Throughout the course, you’ll engage with real-world case studies reflecting contemporary supportive oncology practice. These explore the complex needs of people affected by cancer, helping you apply theory to clinical care and service development.
Networking Opportunities
You’ll engage with specialists in supportive oncology and palliative care through guest lectures, webinars and interactive sessions. These provide insight into emerging developments, innovations and service models.
Course leaders and tutors
Heather Drury-Smith
Senior LecturerI am a Senior Lecturer in the Radiotherapy and Oncology department
Modules
Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.
Year 1
Compulsory modules
The aim of this module is to develop specialist knowledge and skills that support the implementation and enhancement of prehabilitation and rehabilitation interventions and programmes, across the cancer pathway – enabling healthier lives through practice and innovation that helps people to manage the consequences of cancer and its treatment, and improved quality of life.
You will study topics such as:
Key principles and role of rehabilitation across the cancer pathway. The cancer rehabilitation workforce and the role of multi-disciplinary collaboration.
Prehabiltiation and rehabilitation interventions and programmes. Core elements of rehabilitation (physical activity promotion & exercise prescription, nutritional support, psychological support) and targeted rehabilitation (e.g., speech & language, cognitive, sexual, continence, vocational).
Methods/tools for holistic assessment and evaluation.
Creating personalised, feasible and evidence informed interventions, tailored to individual needs and priorities.
Supporting self-management and behaviour change (inc. a focus on health coaching and motivational interviewing).
Planning, implementing and maintaining prehabilitation and rehabilitation services.
Complex symptom management in oncology demands a nuanced, person-centred approach that prioritises the lived experience of illness and overall quality of life. This module focuses on developing advanced knowledge in managing symptoms associated with cancer and its treatments, integrating comprehensive, compassionate care strategies. Emphasising the patient’s narrative, it promotes collaborative, multidisciplinary approaches and evidence-informed interventions.
You will study topics such as:
Patient-Centred Care: Understanding and integrating the patient's perspective in symptom management.
Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Roles and responsibilities within the healthcare team.
Complex Symptom Assessment: Techniques and tools for evaluating multifaceted symptoms.
Evidence-Based Interventions: Pharmacological and non-pharmacological, integrative oncology approaches to the management of symptoms such as pain, lymphoedema, nausea, cognitive decline, frailty and cachexia.
Communication Skills: Strategies for effective discussions with patients and families about complex symptoms.
This module aims to facilitate an in-depth understanding of the consequences of cancer and its treatment and the role of supportive oncology across the cancer care spectrum. It aims to enhance your understanding of the holistic assessment and management of symptoms and how a personalised approach to care is facilitated.
You will explore the underpinning evidence base and be encouraged to reflect on your role, and that of health & wellbeing services, in the delivery of supportive care.
You will study topics such as:
Consequences of cancer and its treatment:
Acute and late physical effects, psychological, sexual, social, vocational and financial issues. Social determinants and specialist needs.
Ethos and core components
Of supportive oncology, enhanced supportive care, and personalised care.
Principles of holistic symptom management
Effective communication and advanced communication. Symptom assessment strategies/tools and approaches to management e.g., pharmacological, clinical, lifestyle modification; and collaborative working.
Supporting self-management
Information provision, shared decision making, behaviour change theory and practice. Use of digital tools.
Year 2
Compulsory modules
This module is designed to help you develop expertise in delivering holistic, evidence-informed palliative and end-of-life care to oncology patients and their caregivers. You will gain advanced insight into the complex clinical, psychosocial, ethical, spiritual, cultural, and relational dimensions that shape the palliative trajectory in advanced cancer. The module explores effective models of communication, shared decision-making, and care planning, with emphasis on patient-centred, family-centred, and multiprofessional approaches. You will critically evaluate current research and policy frameworks to advocate for and implement high-quality care, integrating ethical judgement, cultural responsiveness, and reflective practice to optimise outcomes in palliative oncology.
You will study topics such as:
Definitions and distinctions between palliative and end-of-life care in oncology
Advanced disease trajectories and treatment burden in cancer care
Oncological emergencies and complications
Psychological, social, and spiritual distress; coping strategies and existential concerns for patients and caregivers
Communication skills, including breaking bad news, advanced care planning, discussing prognosis and death, and practicing cultural sensitivity
Ethical and legal considerations in palliative oncology and treatment decision-making
Models of palliative care and multiprofessional collaboration in oncology.
All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.
This module prepares and enables you to embed research and innovation as a core component of your practice and engage in projects that address priorities and seek to transform lives.
It explores the role of research and innovation in healthcare practice and will provide you with an in-depth insight into a range of designs and methods that are used when undertaking such projects.
The practicalities of proposing, implementing and undertaking successful projects is explored and you will be supported to create your own research and innovation plan for practice.
Indicative content:
Health innovation and research - principles and priorities
The research cycle:
Research paradigms and methodology
Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research
Service evaluation: applying research design and methods
Literature based reviews
Formulating research/evaluation questions
Ethics and governance
Public and service user and carer (social care) involvement and co-production
Funding and support
Project management
Research impact:
Dissemination and knowledge exchange (for example writing for publication)
Enhancement of career opportunities in research
Elective modules
This module will develop your evidence‑based understanding of breast cancer, encompassing tumour biology, genetics, and the tumour microenvironment, the malignant disease process. You will explore epidemiological trends, diagnostic and prognostic tools alongside ethical considerations such as genetic testing and consent and evaluate key treatment modalities. The module aims to provide insight into the impact of breast cancer and its treatment on physical, psychological, emotional and social wellbeing. Survivorship care is addressed in detail, focusing on long‑term follow‑up, management of side‑effects, lifestyle interventions, and you will appraise support strategies for people across the spectrum of care. The module encourages synthesis of current evidence and exploration of future directions, equipping you to integrate diagnostic, treatment, and survivorship elements into holistic breast cancer care.
You will study topics such as
Epidemiology of breast cancer: incidence, risk factors, screening, health inequalities
Molecular biology: oncogenes, tumour suppressors (e.g. BRCA1/2), tumour microenvironment, metastasis
Diagnostics: imaging, prognostic tools, histopathology, classification, staging, molecular subtyping
Treatment: surgery, radiotherapy, systemic therapies (chemotherapy & hormone), targeted therapies, immunotherapy, novel agents
Survivorship: follow-up, side effects, lifestyle interventions, psychosocial support
Evidence based practice: contemporary evidence and future directions.
This module aims to provide fundamental knowledge and skills for registered professionals in Oncology. You will explore the philosophy, principles and practices in oncology and radiotherapy to enable you to develop your clinical expertise and provide person-centred evidence-based assessment and optimal care for people affected by cancer, and/or be able to signpost and refer patients to more specialist/advanced practitioners and/or specialist services.
The module is aligned with the Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development (ACCEND) framework and will assist you in the development of academic, professional and transferable skills that support future learning, can be applied in practice to positively to enhance your service, enable you to evidence requirements of your regulatory body, and support career and role development within specialist cancer services.
You will study topics such as:
Philosophy, principles, policies, and service models influencing the delivery and quality of cancer care.
Cancer biology, cancer as a genetic disease, process of carcinogenesis, angiogenesis and metastases, cell growth, cell death and DNA repair, aetiology, epidemiology.
Genomics and its applications in cancer diagnosis, prognosis and treatment including staging and grading.
Contemporary, oncology practice in technical & patient care including novel and
experimental practice innovations and their impact on service delivery
- Cancer pathways & transitions in cancer care (primary prevention, screening, diagnosis, rehabilitation, treatment, rehabilitation, supportive, palliative and end of life care).
- Identify and manage oncological emergencies using evidence-based escalation protocols.
- Approaches to symptom control, psychosocial support and working within a multi-professional team.
- Person centred care, shared decision-making, informed consent, and personalised care planning.
- Utilise research and demonstrate synthesis and judgement and reflective practice to enhance care quality and evidence CPD.
This module will develop your understanding of oncology and multimodality management options for cancers arising in the gynaecological region, you will explore patient pathways and transitions across the spectrum of care, taking into consideration decision-making, and evaluating personalised care.
You will enhance your understanding of the impact of gynaecological cancers, and treatment on physical, sexual and reproductive health; psychological, emotional, and social wellbeing and appraise support strategies.
Policy, guidelines and contemporary evidence that underpin practice will be explored and you will be encouraged to critically reflect on your own and others practice within the multi-disciplinary team and consider addressing health inequalities and improving outcomes.
You will study topics such as:
Relevant anatomy, risk factors, aetiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, staging & anatomy.
Approaches in Surgery, Radiotherapy, Brachytherapy, Chemotherapy, Targeted & Immunotherapies.
Acute & Late effects, psychological, sexual and social impact of the disease and its treatment including fertility preservation and menopause.
Patient-centred communication and shared decision-making.
Symptom management; Prehabilitation & Rehabilitation and Personalised care.
This module will develop your understanding of oncology and multimodality management options in common Head and Neck cancers (excluding Thyroid).
Provide insight into the impact of its treatment on physical, psychological, emotional and social wellbeing and appraise support strategies for people across the spectrum of care.
You will be encouraged to critically reflect on your own and others practice within the multi-disciplinary team and consider the impact of care on the patient/carer experience and how this might be improved.
You will study topics such as:
Risk factors, aetiology, epidemiology, staging & anatomy.
Approaches in Surgery, Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy, Targeted & Immunotherapies
Acute & Late effects, Psycho-social impact of the disease and its treatment.
Symptom management; Prehabilitation & Rehabilitation and Personalised care.
This module offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary exploration of theories, research, and practices surrounding loss, grief, and bereavement in health and social care settings. You will critically apply both traditional and contemporary grief models, alongside cultural and societal influences on meaning-making. Clinical and organisational strategies for supporting individuals and teams through grief are explored, with emphasis on reflective practice, ethical awareness, and practitioner self-care. Through experiential learning and critical engagement with literature, you will deepen your understanding of how to facilitate grief across diverse populations with compassion, cultural sensitivity, and evidence-informed approaches.
You will study topics such as:
Definitions and distinctions: loss, grief, mourning, bereavement
Types of loss beyond death (e.gs. ambiguous loss, chronic illness, role loss, loss of identity)
Theories and models of grief (e.gs. stage vs process, dual process, continuing bonds, meaning reconstruction)
Grief throughout the lifespan: child, adolescent, adult, older adult, anticipatory grief
Cultural, spiritual, social and historical perspectives on death and mourning
Risk factors for complicated grief and differentiating normal vs pathological responses
Assessment tools and screening for bereavement risk
Evidence-based interventions, organisational and system-level bereavement care provision (policy, governance, integration in health services)
Professional Grief
This module will develop your understanding of oncology and multimodality management options of all stages of Prostate cancer. Provide insight into the impact of its treatment on physical, psychological, sexual, emotional and social wellbeing and appraise support strategies for people across the spectrum of care. You will be encouraged to critically reflect on your own and others practice within the multi-disciplinary team and consider the impact of care on the patient/carer experience and how this might be improved.
You will study topics such as:
Relevant anatomy, risk factors, aetiology, epidemiology, staging & grading.
Approaches in treatment including novel modalities.
Acute & Late effects, Psycho-social impact of the disease and its treatment; Symptom management; Prehabilitation & Rehabilitation and Personalised care.
This module aims to provide high level knowledge on the impact of cancer and its treatment on sexual function and sexual wellbeing.
You will explore theory, evidence, and practice to understand these effects and the complex interconnected factors such as body image, intimacy, relationships and personal identity.
Through evidence-based learning and reflective practice, you’ll develop skills and build confidence to support sexual wellbeing of people living with and beyond cancer and their caregivers, partners and families with compassion and sensitivity.
The module also explores professional contributions and effective collaboration in multi-professional teams across the spectrum of care. With development of resilience and self-care strategies, helping you sustain your professional effectiveness and personal wellbeing in emotionally demanding roles.
You will study topics such as:
Cancer & treatment impact on sexual function, psychological and sexual wellbeing e.g. body image, intimacy, relationships and personal identity
Management of sexual dysfunction and psychosexual consequences, exploring a range of approaches to informational, emotional, esteem, social, medical or clinical interventions.
Assessment and referral pathways
Supporting families and partners
Clinical, cultural, legal and ethical perspectives that arise in providing sexual symptom information, management and personalised care for people affected by cancer.
Practitioner resilience and reflective practice
Final year
Compulsory modules
This module focuses upon independent research for students working towards a full Award at Master’s Level, in their chosen programme.
Students are allocated a designated supervisor to support them in undertaking an independent exploration of an appropriate project relevant to their professional practice. Students may conduct either primary or secondary research to explore complex and impactful themes, contributing to professional practice through dissemination and informed recommendations.
Module Content:
Relevant content will vary according to the student’s chosen research methodology; however common elements include exploration of:
Background and context of chosen theme, contextualising the Research Question
Individual Research Question design using recognised tools
Select and justify chosen methodology
Gain approval for Ethical and Research Governance for professional practice, from the University and any organisation in relation to data.
Data analysis, management, and security
Collate, synthesise and evaluate evidence
Explore the impact and create recommendations for practice and research dissemination
Elective modules
This module will develop your evidence‑based understanding of breast cancer, encompassing tumour biology, genetics, and the tumour microenvironment, the malignant disease process. You will explore epidemiological trends, diagnostic and prognostic tools alongside ethical considerations such as genetic testing and consent and evaluate key treatment modalities. The module aims to provide insight into the impact of breast cancer and its treatment on physical, psychological, emotional and social wellbeing. Survivorship care is addressed in detail, focusing on long‑term follow‑up, management of side‑effects, lifestyle interventions, and you will appraise support strategies for people across the spectrum of care. The module encourages synthesis of current evidence and exploration of future directions, equipping you to integrate diagnostic, treatment, and survivorship elements into holistic breast cancer care.
You will study topics such as
Epidemiology of breast cancer: incidence, risk factors, screening, health inequalities
Molecular biology: oncogenes, tumour suppressors (e.g. BRCA1/2), tumour microenvironment, metastasis
Diagnostics: imaging, prognostic tools, histopathology, classification, staging, molecular subtyping
Treatment: surgery, radiotherapy, systemic therapies (chemotherapy & hormone), targeted therapies, immunotherapy, novel agents
Survivorship: follow-up, side effects, lifestyle interventions, psychosocial support
Evidence based practice: contemporary evidence and future directions.
This module aims to provide fundamental knowledge and skills for registered professionals in Oncology. You will explore the philosophy, principles and practices in oncology and radiotherapy to enable you to develop your clinical expertise and provide person-centred evidence-based assessment and optimal care for people affected by cancer, and/or be able to signpost and refer patients to more specialist/advanced practitioners and/or specialist services.
The module is aligned with the Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development (ACCEND) framework and will assist you in the development of academic, professional and transferable skills that support future learning, can be applied in practice to positively to enhance your service, enable you to evidence requirements of your regulatory body, and support career and role development within specialist cancer services.
You will study topics such as:
Philosophy, principles, policies, and service models influencing the delivery and quality of cancer care.
Cancer biology, cancer as a genetic disease, process of carcinogenesis, angiogenesis and metastases, cell growth, cell death and DNA repair, aetiology, epidemiology.
Genomics and its applications in cancer diagnosis, prognosis and treatment including staging and grading.
Contemporary, oncology practice in technical & patient care including novel and
experimental practice innovations and their impact on service delivery
- Cancer pathways & transitions in cancer care (primary prevention, screening, diagnosis, rehabilitation, treatment, rehabilitation, supportive, palliative and end of life care).
- Identify and manage oncological emergencies using evidence-based escalation protocols.
- Approaches to symptom control, psychosocial support and working within a multi-professional team.
- Person centred care, shared decision-making, informed consent, and personalised care planning.
- Utilise research and demonstrate synthesis and judgement and reflective practice to enhance care quality and evidence CPD.
This module will develop your understanding of oncology and multimodality management options for cancers arising in the gynaecological region, you will explore patient pathways and transitions across the spectrum of care, taking into consideration decision-making, and evaluating personalised care.
You will enhance your understanding of the impact of gynaecological cancers, and treatment on physical, sexual and reproductive health; psychological, emotional, and social wellbeing and appraise support strategies.
Policy, guidelines and contemporary evidence that underpin practice will be explored and you will be encouraged to critically reflect on your own and others practice within the multi-disciplinary team and consider addressing health inequalities and improving outcomes.
You will study topics such as:
Relevant anatomy, risk factors, aetiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, staging & anatomy.
Approaches in Surgery, Radiotherapy, Brachytherapy, Chemotherapy, Targeted & Immunotherapies.
Acute & Late effects, psychological, sexual and social impact of the disease and its treatment including fertility preservation and menopause.
Patient-centred communication and shared decision-making.
Symptom management; Prehabilitation & Rehabilitation and Personalised care.
This module will develop your understanding of oncology and multimodality management options in common Head and Neck cancers (excluding Thyroid).
Provide insight into the impact of its treatment on physical, psychological, emotional and social wellbeing and appraise support strategies for people across the spectrum of care.
You will be encouraged to critically reflect on your own and others practice within the multi-disciplinary team and consider the impact of care on the patient/carer experience and how this might be improved.
You will study topics such as:
Risk factors, aetiology, epidemiology, staging & anatomy.
Approaches in Surgery, Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy, Targeted & Immunotherapies
Acute & Late effects, Psycho-social impact of the disease and its treatment.
Symptom management; Prehabilitation & Rehabilitation and Personalised care.
This module offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary exploration of theories, research, and practices surrounding loss, grief, and bereavement in health and social care settings. You will critically apply both traditional and contemporary grief models, alongside cultural and societal influences on meaning-making. Clinical and organisational strategies for supporting individuals and teams through grief are explored, with emphasis on reflective practice, ethical awareness, and practitioner self-care. Through experiential learning and critical engagement with literature, you will deepen your understanding of how to facilitate grief across diverse populations with compassion, cultural sensitivity, and evidence-informed approaches.
You will study topics such as:
Definitions and distinctions: loss, grief, mourning, bereavement
Types of loss beyond death (e.gs. ambiguous loss, chronic illness, role loss, loss of identity)
Theories and models of grief (e.gs. stage vs process, dual process, continuing bonds, meaning reconstruction)
Grief throughout the lifespan: child, adolescent, adult, older adult, anticipatory grief
Cultural, spiritual, social and historical perspectives on death and mourning
Risk factors for complicated grief and differentiating normal vs pathological responses
Assessment tools and screening for bereavement risk
Evidence-based interventions, organisational and system-level bereavement care provision (policy, governance, integration in health services)
Professional Grief
This module will develop your understanding of oncology and multimodality management options of all stages of Prostate cancer. Provide insight into the impact of its treatment on physical, psychological, sexual, emotional and social wellbeing and appraise support strategies for people across the spectrum of care. You will be encouraged to critically reflect on your own and others practice within the multi-disciplinary team and consider the impact of care on the patient/carer experience and how this might be improved.
You will study topics such as:
Relevant anatomy, risk factors, aetiology, epidemiology, staging & grading.
Approaches in treatment including novel modalities.
Acute & Late effects, Psycho-social impact of the disease and its treatment; Symptom management; Prehabilitation & Rehabilitation and Personalised care.
This module aims to provide high level knowledge on the impact of cancer and its treatment on sexual function and sexual wellbeing.
You will explore theory, evidence, and practice to understand these effects and the complex interconnected factors such as body image, intimacy, relationships and personal identity.
Through evidence-based learning and reflective practice, you’ll develop skills and build confidence to support sexual wellbeing of people living with and beyond cancer and their caregivers, partners and families with compassion and sensitivity.
The module also explores professional contributions and effective collaboration in multi-professional teams across the spectrum of care. With development of resilience and self-care strategies, helping you sustain your professional effectiveness and personal wellbeing in emotionally demanding roles.
You will study topics such as:
Cancer & treatment impact on sexual function, psychological and sexual wellbeing e.g. body image, intimacy, relationships and personal identity
Management of sexual dysfunction and psychosexual consequences, exploring a range of approaches to informational, emotional, esteem, social, medical or clinical interventions.
Assessment and referral pathways
Supporting families and partners
Clinical, cultural, legal and ethical perspectives that arise in providing sexual symptom information, management and personalised care for people affected by cancer.
Practitioner resilience and reflective practice
Future careers
This course prepares you for a career in:
- supportive oncology services
- palliative care
- complex symptom management
- enhanced supportive care leadership
- clinical practice development
- cancer care research
Previous graduates have progressed into roles such as:
- clinical specialists in symptom management
- supportive oncology specialists
- enhanced supportive care leads
- consultant practitioners
- lead nurses in palliative services
- research fellows in cancer care
Equipment and facilities
You’ll study fully online using Sheffield Hallam University’s Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment, allowing flexible access to learning materials and activities alongside your professional role.
You’ll have access to:
- the Blackboard virtual learning environment for teaching materials, webinars and assessments
- specialist online journals, research databases and e-books
- library support via live chat and email
- library skills centre webinars and one-to-one academic support
- dedicated IT support via live chat, phone and self-service portal
- extended borrowing options and postal book loans
Where will I study?
You study this course online from any location
Entry requirements
All students
Academic Qualifications
Normally, applicants will hold a first degree or professional qualification which is recognised in the UK in a related health care subject. Examples of a first degree in a relevant subject include Nursing, Therapeutic Radiography or Physiotherapy etc.
Other formally certified qualifications
Equivalent, international academic and/or professional qualifications will be accepted. Applicants will be considered on other relevant evidence which may include for example documented evidence of recent CPD activity, innovative practice, practice leadership, service development, research projects and/or publications. Such evidence must be clearly described in any application. Applicants are usually required to provide at least one reference evidencing their capability for postgraduate study.
Level of English language capability
If English is not your first language you must have an IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 6 in each skill area.
Relevant work or work-related experience
Applicants must usually have 12 months full time (or equivalent part time) experience and normally be working in a professional role in a related field of health and wellbeing and must have contact with palliative care patients.
Applicants will need access to a reliable internet connection to support engagement and have sound IT skills.
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fee for UK students starting part-time study in 2026/27 is £10,940 for the course. The tuition fee displayed above is for the full course. If the full course is more than one year in duration, the fee will be divided into annual payments which will then be rounded. This may mean the total fee you pay is slightly higher than the fee stated above. If you take a break in study or have to re-take part of the course, you may also be charged an additional fee and will be notified of this at the time. Our tuition fee for UK students starting part-time study in 2026/27 is £3,650 per year.
If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting part-time study in 2026/27 is £11,150 for the course. The tuition fee displayed above is for the full course. If the full course is more than one year in duration, the fee will be divided into annual payments which will then be rounded. This may mean the total fee you pay is slightly higher than the fee stated above. If you take a break in study or have to re-take part of the course, you may also be charged an additional fee and will be notified of this at the time.
Scholarships and financial support
Find information on scholarships, bursaries and postgraduate student loans.
International scholarships up to £3000 ›
Alumni scholarships up to £2000 ›
Postgraduate loans for UK students ›
Additional course costs
The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
General course additional costs
Additional costs for Health and Social Care (PDF, 277.7KB)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.
