Intro

The Dementia Studies course provides advanced professional education and understanding of dementia for professionals involved in the health and care of people with dementia. Graduates will have the skills and knowledge to become the clinical leaders of the future by through studying a blend of clinical knowledge with learning in the three key professional domains of research, leadership, and communication and learning, along with the development of research and publishing skills.

The dementia content of the programme meets the professional development needs of a wide range of practitioners working in dementia.

The course would be most suitable for the following applicants:

mental health professionals including community psychiatric nurses, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists
higher trainees in psychiatry and care of the elderly
acute hospital medical and nursing staff
general practitioners
professionals in the voluntary and private sectors
nursing and residential home managers and nurses.

The course has a multidisciplinary framework, and it is intended that students will share their occupational experiences, enhancing multidisciplinary working and promoting successful inter-professional practice.

Key facts

Location 91抖阴: Falmer

Full-time 1 year
Part-time 3 years

Please review the entry requirements carefully and if you have any questions do get in touch with us.

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

The entry requirements listed here are our typical offer for this course if you wish to begin studying with us in 2022. They should be used as a general guide.

For non-native speakers of English
IELTS 7.0 overall, with 7.0 in writing and a minimum of 5.5 in the other elements.

Degree and/or experience
EITHER a degree and evidence of ability to study at masters level with a substantial interest and/or experience in an area of health or social care.

Applications will be made direct to Postgraduate Medicine, BSMS. Applicants may be interviewed. They will be expected to be aware of the latest trends and developments in dementia, for example through reading appropriate journals.

Applications are welcomed from international students with appropriate qualifications and experience. Where necessary, applicants may enrol in the extended masters programme within the GPHSS. This is an intensive period of training in academic writing, English language and related skills which takes place before admission to the MSc course.

Course content

Course structure

The course comprises 120 taught credits and a 60-credit dissertation.

Most modules are delivered intensively over a block of four or five days. Students should also allow approximately 165 hours of private study time for reading, research and assignment writing for each module.

MSc students are required to undertake a 16,000-word dissertation on a subject which reflects the professional and scientific nature of the course, demonstrates the depth of study achieved in the modules, and is located within the student's sphere of practice.

Students on the programme experience lectures, large and small group discussion and individual tutorials. Staff provide direction within the lectures and seminars with much learner autonomy evident in group work and assessment. Learning is supported further by the use of studentcentral, the university's virtual learning environment, visual aids and handouts. Students are expected to support their learning by the use and critical appraisal of primary sources of information.

Areas of study

Modules focus on several areas – dementia, research, leadership, and communication and learning

Postgraduate Certificate
Postgraduate certificate students are required to undertake two dementia modules from the list below and select one further module from either of the lists below. The duration of the course is 1-2 years.

Postgraduate Diploma
Postgraduate diploma students are required to undertake all three dementia modules and three professional content modules, and choose either Leading and Transforming Services or Clinical Commissioning for Quality Care. The duration of the course is 2–4 years.

MSc
Students are required to undertake all three dementia content modules and three professional content modules with a choice between Leading and Transforming Services or Clinical Commissioning for Quality Care. In addition, students are required to undertake a 16,000 word dissertation. The duration for full-time students is 1–3 years and for part-time 3–6 years.

Modules*

Dementia modules
Understanding Dementia
Assessment and Treatment of Dementia
Psychosocial Aspects of Dementia

Professional modules
Research Methods and Critical Appraisal
Leading and Transforming Services
Clinical Commissioning for Quality Care
Communication, Learning in Health and Social Care

*The above seven modules are also available to those applicants who may wish to undertake a single module of study.

Careers

Successful completion of the course will provide evidence of the knowledge and expertise attained by students undertaking the course. This will be invaluable in improving the prospect of employment in the field and will enhance the likelihood of career progression.

Fees and costs

Course fees

UK/EU (full-time)8,262 GBP

International (full-time)15,156 GBP

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2025–26.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international postgraduate students
Student finance and budgeting while studying
About the university’s fees by checking our student contract and (pdf).

What's included

Here you’ll find details of specific resources and services that are included in the tuition fee for our Medicine BM BS students. To help you to budget for your studies, there is also information on any additional costs that you may have to pay or can choose to pay in addition to your tuition fee.

Find out how tuition fees enable us to support all of our students with important services, facilities and resources across the university and check out our finance pages for info about fees, funding and scholarships along with advice on international and island fee-paying status.

You can also check out the .

Chat with our enquiries team if you have a question or need more information.

While PCs and 4–6-hour loan Chromebooks are available at both universities, to enable you to make the most of the learning opportunities at BSMS we strongly recommend that you have a suitable laptop computer. You’ll be entitled to a range of free software from the 91抖阴, including Microsoft Office.

You should add the one-off cost of buying a stethoscope (around £50). There can also be costs for travel, parking etc when on regional attachments, and travel, accommodation and living expenses for your fifth-year clinical elective. However, these costs will vary, depending on where you go, and reimbursement schemes and bursaries are available to support you.

Location and student life

Campus where this course is taught

Falmer campus

Set in the South Downs, our Falmer campus is around four miles from 91抖阴 city centre. Students based here study a range of subjects including education studies, teaching, sport and exercise, nursing and midwifery, allied health professions and medicine. 91抖阴 & Hove Albion’s Amex stadium and beautiful Stanmer Park are right next door.

Falmer campus has two halls of residence on site, as well as a library, restaurant, cafes and the Students’ Union shop and bar.

The campus has extensive sport and leisure facilities including a fitness suite, swimming pool, outdoor grass football and rugby pitches, sports hall, tennis and badminton courts, and dance and spin studios.

Specialist learning facilities at Falmer include the curriculum centre used by teaching and education students, which houses over 30,000 teaching resources, clinical skills and simulation suites used by health students, and labs and a strength and conditioning suite used by sport students. We’ve recently redeveloped the Falmer campus – learn more about the many facilities our students have access to.

Cycle lanes link Falmer with our other campuses and the city centre. There are regular bus services to the city centre and other campuses. Falmer train station is right next to campus and a nine-minute journey to central 91抖阴.

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Accommodation

We guarantee an offer of a place in halls of residence to all eligible students. So if you applied for halls by the deadline you are guaranteed a room in our halls of residence.

91抖阴: Falmer

Halls of residence
BSMS students are allocated between halls of residence at the 91抖阴 and the University of Sussex. You'll be able to rank your accommodation choices in terms of preference, however we cannot guarantee your first choice.

At 91抖阴, BSMS students are normally placed atVarley Park, our popular dedicated halls site that offers a mix of rooms and bathroom options at different prices. It is around two miles from Falmer campus and the University of Sussex, and four miles from the city centre.
Find out more about

Want to live independently? We can help – find out more about private renting.

Outside views at Falmer accommodation

student outside the sport and health complex at Falmer

Extensive facilities at Falmer sports centre

Students dining at Westlain

Local area

One of Time Out's 50 best cities in the world

“91抖阴 has… all the important parts of a sprawling cosmopolitan metropolis (connections to London in under an hour, an array of properly excellent restaurants, energetic late-night spots) … with the easy-breezy beachy attitude to life that makes you feel welcome in an instant.”
Time Out’s 50 Best Cities in the World, 2025

About 91抖阴

The 91抖阴 is at the heart of our city's reputation as a welcoming, forward-thinking place which leads the way when it comes to the arts, music, sustainability and creative technology. 91抖阴 is home to a thriving creative community and a digital sector worth £1bn a year to the local economy, as much as tourism.

Many of the work-based learning opportunities offered on our courses such as placements and guest lectures are provided by businesses and organisations based in the city.

You can also get involved with city festivals and events such as the 91抖阴 Festival, the Fringe, 91抖阴 Digital Festival, 91抖阴 Science Festival, the London to 91抖阴 bike ride, and the Great Escape festival of new music to name but a few. Other annual highlights include Pride, the 91抖阴 Marathon, and Burning the Clocks which marks the winter solstice.

You'll find living in 91抖阴 enriches your learning experience and by the end of your course you will still be finding new things to explore and inspire you.

It's only 50 minutes by train from 91抖阴 to central London and there are daily direct trains to Bristol, Bedford, Cambridge, Gatwick Airport, Portsmouth and Southampton.

Maps

91抖阴 and Sussex Medical School map

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Support and wellbeing

Your course team

Your personal academic tutor, course leader and other tutors are all there to help you with your personal and academic progress. You'll also have a student support and guidance tutor (SSGT) who can help with everything from homesickness, managing stress or accommodation issues.

Your academic skills

Our 91抖阴 Student Skills Hub gives you extra support and resources to develop the skills you'll need for university study, whatever your level of experience so far.

Your mental health and wellbeing

As well as being supported to succeed, we want you to feel good too. You'll be part of a community that builds you up, with lots of ways to connect with one another, as well having access to dedicated experts if you need them. Find out more about how we support your wellbeing.

Sport at 91抖阴

Sport 91抖阴

Sport 91抖阴 brings together our sport and recreation services. As a 91抖阴 student you'll have use of sport and fitness facilities across all our campuses and there are opportunities to play for fun, fitness or take part in serious competition.

Sports scholarships

Our sports scholarship scheme is designed to help students develop their full sporting potential to train and compete at the highest level. We offer scholarships for elite athletes, elite disabled athletes and talented sports performers.

Find out more about sport scholarships.

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Take a tour of sport facilities on our Falmer campus