Key Definitions

Following on from some of the terminology we introduced in the last section, here we have added a brief description of some of the terms we frequently use at the University.

Many of you will be familiar with most, if not all, of these but we thought it might be helpful to summarise these words and processes in one place.

Programme

This simply means the course you are studying, it will often have a title which describes both the level of study and the name of the qualification.

For example: MSc Advanced Practice (Clinical Practitioner)
The MSc indicates that this is a Masters level qualification in Advanced Practice

PGDip Medical Imaging
The PGDip indicates that this is a Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Imaging.

We explain a little more about these different levels of study below. Each programme has a named Programme Leader who has overall responsibility for the course and for all students enrolled on that course

Module Most programmes are made up of a collection of individual modules which tend to focus on a particular area of knowledge or skill.

Students may also have chosen to complete individual modules of study rather than being enrolled on a full programme.

Universities assign a specific number of credits to each module to indicate the amount of learning undertaken

Each module has a named Module Leader who has overall responsibility for the module, and all taught and assessed material within it.

Credits

Credit is a means of quantifying learning. Credit is awarded once you have successfully completed a module in recognition of the amount and depth of learning which you have achieved.

Credits are then accumulated towards the total credit required for a programme of study and a qualification

Level of Study The Level used to describe a module or a programme indicates the difficulty level of that study. The higher the level, the more difficult the qualification is. In England you could summarise this as:
  • Level 1 and 2 – GCSE
  • Level 3 - A Levels, Access to Higher Education Diploma, Level 3 BTEC or NVQ
  • Level 4 – Year 1 of undegraduate degree
  • Level 5 - Year 2 of undergraduate degree
  • Level 6 - Year 3 of undergraduate degree
  • Level 7 - Postgraduate level study including PG Certificate, PG Diploma and Masters
  • Level 8 – Doctorate Level
Some students can choose whether to study particular modules at Level 6 or Level 7. Your Programme Leader can help you to decide this.
MSc Masters of Science. To be awarded a MSc students must have successfully completed 180 credits of study, including a dissertation based module
PGDip Postgraduate Diploma. To be awarded a PGDip students must have successfully completed 120 credits of study
PGCert Postgraduate Certificate. To be awarded a PGCert students must have successfully completed 60 credits of study
Programme Management Team (PMT) and Staff Student Liaison Committee (SSLC)

There are two key committees which meet regularly throughout a course of study, and are important in continually enhancing our programmes and modules. You have an opportunity to influence what is discussed at these.

The module leaders and programme leaders invite stakeholders to join them at their Programme Management Team meetings.

In addition, the team will host Staff Student Liaison Committee (SSLC) meetings where student representatives take student views to discuss with staff. All students have the opportunity to put themselves forward to be a Student Representative or be represented by a fellow student.

We recognise that for many of our postgraduate or CPD students, taking time out of work to attend such meetings can sometimes be challenging. You will often find that the programme or module leaders email students for views ahead of these meetings. Make sure your voice is heard.

Study Planning Many of our students will talk to their programme leaders about a concept known as study planning. This is the process by which students select which modules they wish to complete, and in what order, to accumulate the credits towards a full award (PGCert/PGDip/MSc).
Funding

Many of our postgraduate students are funding their own study and information on tuition fees and how to pay can be found here https://www.bradford.ac.uk/money/fees/

Some programmes are eligible for funding by the NHS via Health Education England (HEE). On an annual basis, HEE decide which programmes and modules they are willing to fund based on workforce or clinical need and they communicate this to both the Universities and the employers (NHS Trusts) at the same time. The process by which this is decided is sometimes complex and often very late in the cycle, causing a degree of uncertainty for both applicants and staff here at the University.

We advise applicants wishing to study with us to assume that there is no funding available to you initially, and your letters from our admissions teams will also assume this. As soon as we receive notification from HEE for that year’s allocation of funding we always aim to confirm with students who have received funding as soon as possible.