Admission Criteria

Candidates must be able to satisfy the general admission requirements of the University of the West of Scotland as specified in Chapter 2 of the University Regulatory Framework together with the following programme requirements:

Appropriate Undergraduate Qualification

Other Required Qualifications/Experience

This programme will be open to people with an undergraduate degree who are involved in managing, planning, commissioning, or providing care and support across health, social care, housing, independent and third sectors, and for those who have a role in education, regulation, inspection or assuring the quality of integrated services and practice, or staff within this field who have considerable experience but do not have an undergraduate degree in line with UWS Regulatory Framework.

Applicants must provide an extended written application letter demonstrating that they have sufficient professional or practice-based experience to undertake their chosen study. Applicants must be able to draw from relevant current management or practice experience to meet the programme’s assessment requirements.

For International students who do not have English as their first language, an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 6 or above (5.5 in each component) or TOEFL (America Test of English as Foreign Language) of iBT 80 are acceptable as evidence of proficiency in English. The English language test should be current, that is, passed no more than 2 years prior to the date of admission onto the programme. A more extensive list of UWS accepted language qualifications is available at: http://www.uws.ac.uk/english-language/

Further desirable skills pre-application

A level of skills and experience in Information Communication Technology sufficient to engage positively with online material, both in teaching and assessment. For example, students will be expected to complete the online module 'Head Start', an introductory module to Master's level study.

General Overview

The MSc Leading People-Centred Integrated Care programme is designed to provide a progressive pathway of Master's level study for staff working in the cross-sectoral field of health and social care, managing, planning, commissioning, or providing care and support across health, social care, housing, independent and  third sectors, and for those who have a role in education, regulation, inspection or assuring the quality of integrated services and practice. The programme will empower and enable them to contextualise, develop and lead integrated services to promote and enhance quality of care and improve outcomes for people, professional and organisations.

The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act (2014) and the World Health Organisations (2012) Strengthening a Component Workforce, position the integration of health and social services as the principal means of transforming the delivery of health services. This is in response to the global challenge associated with the changing demographics and the burden of chronic disease. From a national and international perspective there is a recognised shift towards preventative, person-centred care and support, valuing the role that all members of staff, people using the service, carers, families, and communities play in the implementation and delivery of integrated services. These principles will be at the centre of MSc Leading People-Centred Integrated Care and will be addressed through the following programme aims:

1. Critically explore the concept of outcomes based, people-centred, integrated care from an individual, communities, service, organisational, and international perspective

2. Develop a critical awareness of the important role of contextual, cultural and socio-economic factors in improving population health and wellbeing outcomes.

3. Apply systematic and strategic thinking skills in planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating people centred integrated care.

4. Demonstrate a critical understanding of compassionate, creative, and courageous leadership behaviours required to support transformational change and improve outcomes with people.

The programme aims are embedded within the modular themes and align themselves closely to the five strategies identified within the Framework on Integrated People-centred Health Services (WHO 2016) and the 9 Pillars of Integrated Care (International Foundation for Integrated Care 2020).

A key feature is the focus on building on students’ existing knowledge and skills in order that they continue to develop both academically, personally, and professionally utilising active learning strategies. This supports the concept of lifelong and career-long learning. The programme team recognise the shared and asset based learning that will take place between the international diversity and the cross sectoral and inter-professional roles represented by the students that this programme will attract has been recognised. This will be in additional to the impact on the cultural appreciation and shifts that are required to ensure the delivery of integrated, person-centred services. This will be supported with the use of Appreciative Inquiry to support transformational change.

The programme will consist of core and option modules set within a framework of interrelated themes which will include relevant policies, communication, leadership and change management. These all play a key role in the development of people centred-integrated services and rather than being individual modules these will be common cross cutting themes throughout the core programme modules.

The programme will be delivered through a range of modules and supports achievement of UWS Curriculum Framework (2021) by offering a flexible, student centred learning environment and technologies to facilitate the development of cognitive skills that will enhance professional practice and development.

Further, all modules and assessments within the programme reflect and take cognisance of all the concepts of Mastersness (Scottish Higher Education Enhancement Committee (SHECC) (2013). These facets of Mastersness are equally relevant to academic and professional development and will be related to both theory and practice throughout the programme and complimenting the 'I Am UWS' Graduate Skills.

The integration of health and social care is an evolving model of service delivery, both from a national and international perspective. With this in mind, the delivery and ongoing development of the MSc Leading People-centred Integrated Care is supported by colleagues within the university and by relevant external organisations. It is developed and supported in alignment with the established BA (Hons) Integrated Health and Social Care programme.

Graduate Attributes, Employability & Personal Development Planning

Graduate Attributes

UWS Graduate Attributes aim to prepare graduates who will be Universal, Work ready and Successful. Therefore, through studying the MSc Leading People-centred Integrated Care programme at UWS, students will develop attributes across three dimensions which encapsulate the breadth of the learning experience at University level, i.e., Academic; Personal; and Professional.

The graduate attributes are at the heart of the MSc Leading People-centred Integrated Care programme being promoted within all modules and to encourage positive outcomes and destinations for our students on completion of this Maters programme. The promotion of the  'I Am UWS' graduate attributes strengthens this focus with the aim that graduates from this programme are 'work ready' and able to contribute both locally and internationally'.

UWS Graduate Attributes clearly align with the three corporate drivers of Student Success, Research and Enterprise, and Global Engagement from the refreshed strategy, which are translated in the graduate attributes model as Universal, Work-ready and Successful (UWS). These overarching statements are then aligned with the three dimensions of Academic, Personal and Professional with recognition that each of these are supported and contextualised by programme-specific key skills and competencies.

UWS graduates are:

Universal - globally relevant with comprehensively applicable abilities, skills and behaviours.

Work ready - dynamic and prepared for employment in complex, ever-changing environments which require lifelong learning and resilience.

Successful - as a UWS graduate with a solid foundation on which to continue succeeding and realising my potential, across various contexts.

This programme recognises the importance of the UWS graduate attributes and is designed to develop graduates with in depth knowledge of contemporary integrated health and social care within a national and international context (WORK READY and UNIVERSAL). The programme will enhance the students’ future careers by creating opportunities and challenges for students to understand and evaluate professional issues to support transformational person-centred and compassionate integrated health and social care services (WORK READY and SUCCESSFUL). The programme will develop students’ analytical knowledge and critical thinking skills to lead and develop the delivery of person-centred services within a variety of health and social care environments (SUCCESSFUL and UNIVERSAL).

Student success is at the heart of the programme. The programme team will support students to achieve success and encourage them to develop proactive attitude towards their professional development, allowing them to build a successful career (UNIVERSAL, WORK READY and SUCCESSFUL).

Employability

One of the goals of the UWS Corporate Strategy is ensuring that all graduates from UWS will be work-ready and able to contribute at both a local and global level. This will be a key ethos of the MSc Leading People-Centred Integrated Care programme, which will value the opportunity to reflect and learn from the ‘real world’ of the workplace as an essential component of the programme. Personal and professional experiences will enhance and enrich the programme and will provide the opportunity to continue to develop academically, personally and professionally utilising active learning strategies. This supports the concept of lifelong and career-long learning recognising that gaining a postgraduate qualification can lead to a variety of career opportunities and destinations within the evolving and diverse sector of integration.

Through utilisation of Appreciative Inquiry and a shared community of learning within the MSc Leading People-Centred Integrated Care programme, students will develop an appreciation, understanding and respect for the different professional, sectoral, organisational and international cultures and enhanced leadership and influencing skills. This will enable the students to be adaptable, responsive and change agents within their area of practice or sphere of influence.

Personal Development Planning

Students enrolled at the University of the West of Scotland shall, through engagement with the Personal Development Planning (PDP) process, become aware of their knowledge, skills and abilities and how they might develop them through personal development planning and as lifelong/career long learners. The University of the West of Scotland policy for the integration of PDP is implemented throughout this programme of study albeit that this may already be an established process within some of the students’ current professional requirements.

Following completion of the MSc Leading People-Centred Integrated Care, students can progress to further study through completion of PhD or Professional Doctorate studies.

Work Based Learning/Placement Details

It is anticipated that the teaching, learning and assessment strategy will allow students to contextualise learning to current and / or future professional employment within the field of health and social care.

Engagement

In line with the Academic Engagement Procedure, Students are defined as academically engaged if they are regularly engaged with timetabled teaching sessions, course-related learning resources including those in the Library and on the relevant learning platform, and complete assessments and submit these on time.

Where a programme has Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Body requirements these will be listed here:

Students are defined as academically engaged if they are regularly engaged with timetabled on-line teaching sessions including virtual meetings, course-related learning resources on the virtual learning platform, contact with module coordinators and programme lead and complete assessments and submit these on time.

Equality and Diversity

The University's Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Procedure can be accessed at the following link: UWS Equality and Diversity Policy

Equality and diversity is at the heart of the MSc leading People-centred integrated Care programme – recognising that this is key to the student experience.

Through the hybrid approach taken within the programme it is inclusive and supports the belief of fairness and equal opportunities across the teaching and learning, assessment, and evaluation process within the programme. This is further supported by any anticipatory adjustments and additional flexibility that is required to ensure accessibility to the programme.

All students are encouraged to ensure disclosure disability and any specific individual needs is taken cognisance by the programme and individual module teams.

To ensure the programme is responsive to the demand for equality and diversity
UWS Equality and Diversity Policy is a key driver in the ethos of teaching and learning processes within the programme.

Knowledge and Understanding

Practice - Applied Knowledge and Understanding

Communication, ICT and Numeracy Skills

Generic Cognitive Skills - Problem Solving, Analysis, Evaluation

Autonomy, Accountability and Working With Others

Knowledge and Understanding

Practice - Applied Knowledge and Understanding

Communication, ICT and Numeracy Skills

Generic Cognitive Skills - Problem Solving, Analysis, Evaluation

Autonomy, Accountability and Working With Others

Knowledge and Understanding

Practice - Applied Knowledge and Understanding

Communication, ICT and Numeracy Skills

Generic Cognitive Skills - Problem Solving, Analysis, Evaluation

Autonomy, Accountability and Working With Others

Regulations of Assessment

Candidates will be bound by the general assessment regulations of the University as specified in the University Regulatory Framework.

An overview of the assessment details is provided in the Student Handbook and the assessment criteria for each module is provided in the module descriptor which forms part of the module pack issued to students. For further details on assessment please refer to Chapter 3 of the Regulatory Framework.

To qualify for an award of the University, students must complete all the programme requirements and must meet the credit minima detailed in Chapter 1 of the Regulatory Framework.

Combined Studies

There may be instances where a student has been unsuccessful in meeting the award criteria for the named award and for other more generic named awards existing within the School. Provided that they have met the credit requirements in line with the SCQF credit minima (please see Regulation 1.21), they will be eligible for an exit award of PgCert/ PgDip in Combined Studies.