PgCert Counselling Skills

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

The Postgraduate Certificate in Counselling Skills focuses on the core counselling skills, counselling theories, and applications in practice. It looks at the impact of counselling and psychotherapy on a person’s wellbeing and what creates therapeutic change.

The course is designed to develop your employability skills, including intellectual and thinking skills, problem-solving, interpersonal awareness, communication skills, the ability to develop arguments supported by relevant evidence, teamwork, IT, and data handling skills.

What can I do with this qualification?

Alternative career options

You can use the qualification as a stepping stone into various other careers. Some of these roles may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Some possibilities include:

• Teaching and education
• Prison service counsellor
• Probation services
• Family mediation and support
• Child protection
• Social work
• Police
• Youth work
• Communications
• Sport and recreation
• Careers guidance
• Human resources

Home/EU Fees

No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Greater Manchester’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@greatermanchester.ac.uk for more information.

International Fees

No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Greater Manchester’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@greatermanchester.ac.uk for more information.

Important note regarding tuition fees: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

Home Undergraduate Tuition Fee Adjustment

The tuition fee applicable to the first year of your programme of study is confirmed in your offer letter. The tuition fee set is based on the regulations and guidance in force at the time of offer but remains subject to adjustment in accordance with any government-approved inflationary increase. The University reserves the right to amend tuition fees for all years of study, including the first year, by no more than the maximum increase permitted under legislation and regulatory guidance issued by the UK Government and the Office for Students.

Where such increases are approved, they will not exceed the rate of inflation, as measured by an appropriate index such as the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), or any successor measure specified by government. The University will apply any adjustment consistently across affected student cohorts and will give reasonable notice to students of any confirmed change to the published fee before the start of the relevant academic year.

This approach ensures that tuition fees remain compliant with applicable legislation, proportionate to inflationary changes, and consistent with government policy linking permitted fee uplifts to the maintenance of high-quality education and outcomes. For more information, please refer to the government guidance at: gov.uk – Universities to deliver better outcomes in return for full fees.

Postgraduate and International Tuition Fee Adjustment

The tuition fee applicable to the first year of your programme of study is confirmed in your offer letter. The University reserves the right to amend tuition fees for subsequent years of study in accordance with its Course Fees Policy. Where such increases are approved, they will not exceed the rate of inflation, as measured by an appropriate index such as the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), or any successor measure specified by government. The University will apply any adjustment consistently across affected student cohorts and will give reasonable notice to students of any confirmed change to the published fee before the start of the relevant academic year.

We use a diverse range of teaching methods designed to complement each other and help you achieve the course's intended learning outcomes. Our expert team offers lectures, seminars, workshops, group supervision and one-to-one sessions. You'll also need to undertake significant independent reading and investigation, complete seminar-related work, and prepare for workshops, presentations and group discussions. Some modules require you to follow up on taught sessions by using online resources and completing complementary tasks.

Assessment methods are also varied, allowing you to demonstrate your learning in a range of ways. For example, module assessments may require you to complete reports, essays, and presentations, deliver counselling sessions, portfolios, literature reviews, or review journal articles, write up case interventions and treatment evaluations, complete short questions and present reflective journals.

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.