PGCert Approved Mental Health Professional Practice

Fees for entry in 2027 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2026 were as follows:

• (part-time)
  UK students (per annum): £4,500
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £5,100

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

• The role and functions of the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP)
• Mental Health Legislation and associated Code of Practice
• National and Local Guidance on Practice
• Values underpinning effective Approved Mental Health Practice
• The contribution of research to AMHP Policy and practice development

1. To produce students who have the knowledge and skill to undertake the statutory duties of an "Approved Mental Health Professional" as detailed in the Mental Health Act 1983.
    
2. To produce students with the capacity to develop and apply the knowledge, skills and values that are necessary for carrying out safe and effective assessment, understanding the implementation of the duties of the Approved Mental Health Professional, including the appropriate use of independence, authority and autonomy of the AMHP Role.

Knowledge and understanding
The student should be able to demonstrate:

• Robust and critical understanding of the legislative framework underpinning the role of the Approved Mental Health Professional - and other statutory roles involved in assessments undertaken with the Mental Health Act 1983 – including statutory guidance, applicable legal precedent, professional Codes of Conduct.
• The integration of critical perspectives from people with lived experience of statutory mental health intervention, law and policy makers, academic researchers, and any other parties concerned with the operation and consequences of Approved Mental Health Professional functions.

Intellectual skills
The student should be able to:

• Collect, assess, formulate and interpret evidence from a variety of sources contributing to the effective functioning of the Approved Mental Health Professional.
• Critically evaluate the knowledge, evidence and values required to be an effective Mental Health Professional.

Practical skills
The student should be able to:

• Apply statutory grounds, statutory guidance and legal precedent to AMHP decision-making, through robust and defensible use of primary legal sources and credible evidence-based legal commentary.

Transferable skills and personal qualities

• Demonstrate advanced communication skills appropriate to academic and professional audiences, including the ability to present complex material clearly and persuasively in verbal form.

Direct Teaching

Lectures on key topics.

Group Seminars

These provide opportunities for students to explore case material illustrating the application of mental health legislation to real-life circumstances led by lecturers with AMHP experience.

Detailed feedback given on oral presentation and 1 to 1 tutorials are offered.