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Brighton & Sussex Medical School

Medical Education

BSMS > Postgraduate > Medical Education

Medical Education

Key facts

PGCert

Part-time: 1 year

Eligible applicants: UK, EU applicants who are appointed to a post within HEESE

Location: University of Brighton, Falmer campus

General enquiries: brighton.ac.uk/enquiries or email: Clinicaleducation@bsms.ac.uk

This course is jointly validated by the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex. Applications for 2026/27 entry are now open.

Apply for the medical education course Here >

Download the PG Cert course application handbook here >

Download the intercalated course application handbook here >

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Course overview

This course aims to enthuse and inspire educators across all health professions. Through guided critical reflection on practice, the course will enable students to teach and supervise learners in the health professions in line with their moral and professional values.

The course aims to enable students to design, change, assess and evaluate curricula and courses of study. The course aims that students will be confident applying education theory and qualitative research to improve education in healthcare settings.

The course has been designed using participatory curriculum design methods, with constructive alignment between content, teaching and assessment at its core. We strongly believe in faculty development as a way to foster authentic, expert pedagogy. We have focused on student experience and connections with faculty and peers, meaning our students feel that they belong at BSMS.

The course allows professional accreditation with Advance HE (at associate fellowship level in the first instance).

Key areas of study

If you are part of a multi-disciplinary team of educators involved in the education of any healthcare professionals, then this is the course for you. As well as catering for all healthcare professions, our course is unique in its emphasis on:

  • Digital learning
  • Decolonising and inclusivity
  • Creative methods of teaching and research
  • Career progression and opportunities in Health Professions Education
  • Peer support

Course structure

Students can choose whether to study entirely online or in person, on campus in Brighton.

The PG certificate is 3 taught modules (over 1 year if part time). PG certificate students will have the opportunity to progress to do the Diploma or Masters in Health Professions Education (commencing 2027/28 subject to validation). The PG diploma year consists of 3 taught modules (taken over 1 year part time). The Masters dissertation year is undertaken with 2 supervisors and usually involves primary qualitative research in healthcare education. The course structure means that by the time students are at dissertation stage, they have experience of many research methods within education and have done a pilot for their dissertation project.

Each module runs over 1 semester and consists of 5 days of teaching, as well as intersessional tasks and learning resources. Assessment is via assignments at the end of each module which provide an opportunity for students to showcase and consolidate their learning.

See also this comics map of the course, which sets out the structure of the whole Masters over a map of Brighton.

An illustration with several components mapping out visually the structure of the BSMS Medical Education PG course

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Modules

PG certificate:

MDM 140 Reflective Practice in Health Professional Education (20 credits)

This module aims to:

  1. Enable students to critically reflect on their practice as educators in healthcare
  2. Apply a systematic understanding of modes and the theoretical underpinnings of reflective practice
  3. Discover how professional expertise develops

MDM 29 Learning Throuh Talk (20 credits)

This module aims to:

  1. Enable students to analyse and evaluate how learning happens through talk in healthcare professions education
  2. Explore and judge theoretical concepts around educational talk for supervision, small  group and large group teaching in healthcare settings

MDM 28 Curriculum Design and Assessment (20 credits)

This module aims to:

  1. Enable students to design a curriculum for a course or teaching programme, including assessment
  2. Demonstrate the evaluation and development of curricula using participatory methods
Students in a seminar setting

Career opportunities

Graduates of our Masters courses have gone on to flourish at the top of their profession. Some have secured NHS jobs (such as consultant jobs) with significant educational responsibilities (such as training programme directors or Directors of Education). Other graduates have gone on to become clinical academics, pursuing PhDs in health professions education and Associate Professor jobs at Universities.

The PG certificate shows potential NHS and University employers that you are a committed educator, who is able to apply education theory to practical aspects of teaching, supervision, curriculum design, assessment and evaluation.

“The PGCert Med Ed was a good opportunity to ground my teaching in education theory and to reflect on my current practice. The modules were varied in their teaching and the portfolio exercise provided a great opportunity to look forwards as a medical educator.”

Sam Wickham, PGCert Medical Education graduate

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Entry requirements

The PGCert course is open to all healthcare professionals and those working in non-clinical roles who contribute (or wish to increase their contribution) to the education of healthcare students and postgraduate learners. A first degree is not essential but evidence of ability to study at Masters level and a current teaching commitment are desirable.

OR

For intercalating MSc medical students, successful completion of at least three years’ basic medical science at a UK medical school (having gained at least 360 credits) with a guaranteed place to continue medical studies on completion of the MSc.

The course forms one of two validated routes for entry to the PGDip or MSc in Clinical Education (will become MA Health Professions Education from 2027/28, subject to validation), the other being via the PGCert in Simulation in Clinical Practice.

This course is open to UK applicants only (and EU applicants who are appointed to a post within HEESE).

The deadline for applications is the end of July preceding the September commencement of the course.

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Fees and funding

The fees listed are the overall costs for full-time courses taken in the academic year. Where courses are taken part-time over more than one academic year, fees are usually charged pro-rata for the modules taken during each academic year. If you do not have settled status in the UK and require a work visa, then you will be fee assessed as Overseas and will therefore be subject to the International fee rate.

Find out more about fees and funding >

Scholarships

Read more about scholarships >

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Intercalated MSc Medical Education

It is possible to take the MSc Medical Education as an intercalated degree. 

read more about MSC Medical Education >

Download the intercalated course application handbook here >