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Senior Leader (Health) Apprenticeship PG Dip

Distance learning programme

This is the programme information for 2025 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Senior Leader (Health) Apprenticeship PG Dip (2024), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

Part-time

UK tuition fees (2025/26)

See Fees Note

Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)

See Fees Note

Duration

2 academic years

Programme starts

September 2025

Applications accepted

All applicants: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A strong academic degree and/or professional qualification, or demonstrate exceptional career progression or evidence of leadership potential. A minimum of five years' post-qualification work experience.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

The Senior Leader (Health) PGDip offers you the opportunity to complete the Senior Leader Apprenticeship standards with a focus on Health. The programme is designed for professionals who need a different mode of delivery but want to be assured they get the academic rigour and business practical skills necessary to advance in their organisation as a senior lead. The aim of this Senior Leader (Health) is to educate you as senior managers, clinicians and business specialists engaged in the health and healthcare sector. The programme is intended to strengthen the quality of health and healthcare management of public, private and not-for-profit organisations.

Who this course is for

Our Senior Leader (Health) PGDip programme is for ambitious individuals who are determined to become exceptional leaders in healthcare. You may be a manager, clinician, business specialist or medical consultant looking to elevate your career in the public or private health sector. You could have some experience in healthcare management or leadership, with ambitions to lead at a higher level. You may also be a professional with work experience in any sector, intent on pivoting your career direction via this programme. When reviewing applications, we will assess your eligibility for the programme based on a combination of your academic credentials, work experience, personal statement, admissions interview and references.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

This programme will build on your previous management experience as well as education through the development of an integrated approach to management and business in the health sector. This programme is designed to give you the next level of health and healthcare knowledge and experience across the entire programme so that you can develop competencies and attributes in line with the senior leader apprenticeship standards. Moreover, the relevance to the health sector is particularly needed given the rapid changes and transformation management that will need to take place in the health sector to ensure better health services across health systems in the future. We also believe that the peer-to-peer learning with other professionals with management experience will create an invaluable dynamic that will challenge your thinking and generate innovation that you can take to your workplace as you progress in the programme.

You will undertake personality tests to understand your current attributes and attitudes as well as explore how you might want to shape your apprenticeship experience to transform your leadership style and career. We will have a professional assessment and development consultant who specialises in building organisational capability work with you as part of your induction.

The Global Health Research Project will allow you to focus on a health project to develop ideas, innovations and possible solutions to a health question in collaborations with other students on the programme. This project will ensure you gain experience of putting theory into practice, and requires students to synthesise their learning in the programme while gaining invaluable team skills to come up with a well-researched, empirically valid research paper.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

After completing the programme students may seek leadership and management positions in public, private, not-for-profit healthcare organisations and NGOs across the world. Graduates may be able to gain internal promotions, start their own business, be involved in mergers and acquisitions, or work for government, consultancies, or the industry.

Employability

On completion of this programme you will have:

an enhanced understanding of the intersection between health and business,
substantial research and analytical skills and methodologies which support health and business leadership,
in-depth understanding of health organisations, their management and their changing external context,
highly developed professional skills and attitude towards system leadership, change and innovation which is critical for the labour market,
effective written and verbal communication skills, which support information and data management,
knowledge of the ethical, legal and regulatory issues associated with bringing health innovations to market,
the capacity to identify potential business opportunities arising from research in health and healthcare related areas,
enhanced desire for lifelong learning to ensure continuous self-direction and reflection in your professional life,
appreciation of teamwork and collaboration for driving forward solutions to problem-solving and how to ensure that teams are effective and delivering equality, diversity and inclusion.

Networking

You will have the opportunity to network with your peers, guest speakers at all levels from leading organisations, entrepreneurs, policy-makers, and executives, as well as academics. The in-person study weeks each year provide an opportunity for further networking.

Teaching and learning

Given the breadth and depth of this programme, it demands a number of learning and teaching strategies. You will have a series of online activities and readings. These activities are to ensure you are prepared for the online synchronised experiences. Consequently, your modules are spread over eight weeks. You will cover three themes – one each two weeks and then have your wrap-up weeks with health professionals. You will have approximately 10 hours of structured learning per week. There is considerable independent reading and recorded lectures study expected through the module delivery period and in the identified revision weeks.

You will also be expected to present online some of your work both as an individual and group member to other class members and visiting experts in weekly synchronised sessions.

An ongoing seminar session focused on informal case-based presentations and discussions related to module content will allow you to develop your analytical understanding (and presentation skills even in an online space).

You will have the opportunity in year one to engage with your peers in a face to face as part of the study week that are an integral part of your Senior Leader (Health) programme. In your first year, you will have your UK health system study week. This study trip will allow you to see first-hand much of what you have learned in your core modules through site visits and guest lectures from across the health sector in the UK. This is a compulsory component of your programme so key dates will be supplied in advance, students will need to cover the costs of travel and accommodation.

In Third Term of each year, you will work on a project that will stretch your healthcare management and innovation skills as you work on a health research project. These opportunities will provide you with hands-on experience of researching on a specific health/business challenge. It will enable you to put everything you have learned across the programme to work.

Formative assessments will include discussion forums, MCQs and reflective essays.

Summative assessments will include:

Written exams – testing knowledge, and applying knowledge and understanding to case study/scenario analysis.

Coursework essays – organisation of knowledge and understanding in order to develop cohesive argument.

Presentations – selection, synthesis and communication of information for varied audience/ purpose, media, precis/concision, including both group and individual projects.

Global Health research project – research analysis, literature review, critical appraisal, data collection and analysis, structured writing and presentation of findings.

Enhanced research skills – modelling health-based hypotheses, literature reviews, practical analysis of results. Academic orientation combined with the below.

Health and Business case written analysis – identification of need, challenges of buy-in, legal ramifications of development, obstacles and ethics. Business and academic orientation.

Business presentation - communication, information, targeted, persuasive, professional interrogation of knowledge and understanding as demonstrated, capacity to take knowledge to new scenarios.

You will have approximately 10 hours of structured learning per week. There is considerable independent reading and recorded lecture study expected through the module delivery period and in the identified revision weeks.

Modules are delivered online and require self-directed study, in addition, there is an in-person annual health system residential week per year in UCL East - Marshgate.

Modules

: The Senior Leader (Health) Apprenticeship core content is delivered in three blocks, each worth 30 credits. You will complete two blocks in your first year and one blocks in the second year as a part-time student. You will also complete a project in the Third Term of your first year. You will be encouraged to complete asynchronous online primer courses prior to commencing your first block of teaching: (1) Fundamentals of accounting, finance and economics; (2) Global Health and Sustainability; (3) Study-skills; and (4) Time-management for students. Each primer represents six hours of learning.

There will be a one-week online induction prior to the start of your first block of teaching which will focus on personal development, organisational behaviour and team building as well as onboard you to how the programme will unfold. This induction will be critical to establishing your personal development journey and accessing your learning up to the point of undertaking the apprenticeship.

Each block is compatible with business disciplines and requires you to develop specific knowledge and skills that align to the apprenticeship competencies. Each block is brought together in a wrap-up week where the topics come together with real-world scenarios and case studies presented and discussed with health experts in appropriate fields and roles. These blocks are team taught by experts in each theme who work together to make sure that the module comes together for you.

You will attend a one-week in-person study week between First and Second Term each year. This one-week in-person programme in London will be delivered on our UCL East campus. This study week is an opportunity for you to meet with your peers as well as the academics on the MBA team. The week will be focused around the two core modules you will have completed that year and give you an opportunity to take a deep dive into the UK National Health Service along with the private and charitable health space that exists in London. The week will include site visits, lectures, case studies and opportunities to engage your peers and lecturers on key topics from the programme.

In your second year, you will complete your final block and then you will embark on preparation for your end-point assessments.

Compulsory modules

Strategy, People and Marketing - Online

Finance, Economics and Data - online

Executive Leadership - Online

UK Health System Study Week

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Visit us

All open days and events

20 November 2024

Balcony and Winter Garden UCL, Great Ormond Street, Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford St, WC1N 1EH, London, UK - Open day

Life and Medical Sciences Postgraduate Open Evening

16:00 — 19:00

Discover UCL’s Master's degrees in health, medicine, brain sciences and life sciences at our upcoming Open Evening! Join us to learn more about our Master’s degrees, meet our academic teaching staff, and see where postgraduate study may take you.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26)	See Fees Note
Tuition fees (2025/26)	See Fees Note

The fees for UK apprenticeship courses can only be covered by an employer's Apprenticeship Levy. Fees for this programme are available on request from the department for eligible applicants who can confirm they have agreement with their employer to cover the fees through their Apprenticeship Levy after an initial assessment has been conducted. Applicants who are planning to be self-funded, or are eligible for funding from NHS England or other non-apprenticeship sources are advised to view our other courses.

Additional costs

In both years of study, you will have a one-week in-person programme in London which will be delivered at our UCL East campus. Students will need to pay for all associated costs: travel, accommodation and living expenses while in London. This is a compulsory component of the programme. The cost of this week will differ from student to student, depending on where you are travelling from, where you would like to stay in London and whether you will need a visa. To avoid any unexpected costs, we advise students please research the cost of this trip in advance.

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When reviewing applications, we will assess your eligibility for the programme based on a combination of your academic credentials, any relevant work experience, personal statement, and references.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

Why you want to study Senior Leader (Health) at graduate level.
Why you want to study the Senior Leader (Health) PG Dip at UCL.
What particularly attracts you to the chosen programme (content and opportunities).
How your academic, professional and personal background has prepared and qualified you for the demands of this challenging programme.
Where you would like to go professionally through and after this programme.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This programme requires two references. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.