Advanced Facilitation Skills for Health and Well Being

• The programme is delivered through a blend of methods consisting of groupwork, workshops, lectures, projects, e-learning etc. Experiential learning is the methodology used throughout the course.

• For the award of Masters in Advanced Facilitation Skills for Health and Well Being a student must accumulate 90 credits.

Year 1

Year 2

Applicants should hold a qualification at NFQ Level 8 Honours (2.2) degree or equivalent. Applicants who do not hold the standard qualifying NFQ Level 8 Qualification criteria, but have relevant work experience and study may be considered for admission to the programme under the Institute’s Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process and subject to an interview.

All applicants must demonstrate that they have a level of maturity and life experience adequate to cope with the modalities of the programme. The programme board will require an interview with applicants to ascertain this. A minimum of 70% must be achieved at interview in order to be considered for a place on the programme.

Those applicants whose first language is not English are required to meet SETU Waterford’s English Language Requirements before being offered a place on the programme.

Fees

Programme fee details are available on the Postgraduate Fee Schedule displayed on our website at www.setu.ie/pgfees

How to Apply

Applications for this programme are made online by going to www.pac.ie

Very Important Checklist for all Applicants (PAC)

All applications must be accompanied by the following documentation:

1. An up-to-date CV.

2. Scanned copies of all of your official educational qualification parchments.

3. Scanned copies of all of your official educational transcripts clearing showing the results you achieved in each subject/module.

4. Scanned copies of any professional qualifications/awards you wish to be considered.

5. A scanned copy of your English language qualification. Applicants whose first language is not English must submit evidence of competency in English, please see SETU Waterford’s English Language Requirements for details.

6. A scanned copy of your Certificate of Qualification from the NQAI if your prior education is from outside the EU. For further information, please visit http://www.qualificationsrecognition.ie/. Please note that applications will not be considered without this Certificate of Qualification, irrespective of any prior participation on other educational programmes in the EU.

Given the expected demand for this programme, the documentation filenames you submit should be descriptive (i.e. the filenames should clearly describe the document along with your name (e.g.) JohnDoe-EnglishLanguageQual; JohnDoe-DegreeParchment; etc., etc.).

If this documentation is not received in full, and/or if all sections of the application form are not completed in full, then we will be unable to process your application.

We welcome your application and we wish you every success in the process.

The MA in Advanced Facilitation Skills for Promoting Health and Well Being is for all people whose core work involves communication with others; this programme is relevant to:

• Those for whom communication with others is core to the success of their work.

• Managers.

• People who work as part of a team.

• People who seek to establish and maintain effective partnerships.

• People who work with vulnerable and/or marginalised individuals or groups, and front line service providers e.g. teachers, health professionals, community workers, youth workers, gardai, social workers etc.

• People who  wish to progress to higher levels within their organisations.

Please Note: This Masters was formerly known as the MA in Social Personal and Health Education and has been reconfigured

"I signed up for SPHE because I wanted to work in the area of group facilitation - I did not expect it to fundamentally change my life!  The experiential learning method used provided invaluable lessons for me, much more real and tangible than being taught from a book.  I learned about group facilitation by being part of a group, by  experiencing first-hand the stages of group formation, I gained insights into how I operate within a group through having an opportunity to be both the facilitator and the participant.  I learned how to manage conflict safely with the expert support of our two wonderful facilitators.  The biggest lessons for me were about myself, identifying my behaviours good and not so good; acknowledging and owning the choices I’ve made in my life and seeing how my relationship with myself affects everything and everyone around me. The course supported me to identify those behaviours I didn’t like and to begin to change them.  I did all this with the support and friendship of those I met on the course; I can honestly say that I have made some lifelong friends through SPHE.  Since the course I’ve gone on to start my own consultancy business and I credit SPHE with giving me the confidence I needed to get me started.” 

These testimonials are from former graduates of the MA and Minor Awards in SPHE.  As the MA in Advanced Facilitation Skills for Promoting Health and Well Being has been reconfigured  based upon the MA in SPHE, these testimonials are pertinent to the current degree.

“As a primary school principal, my first real and tangible experience of SPHE was when I attended here for the Certificate Course in SPHE. This was the beginning of a journey of discovery, a marvellous opportunity to boldly go where few men have gone before. One of the longest journeys in life is from the head to the heart. This is at the core of SPHE, to become better balanced and to listen to the natural rhythms of being a human.

This experience opened up a whole new world for me, so much so that I returned to complete an MA in SPHE. With an emphasis on experiential learning,  personal development and relevant research it has been a revelation to witness the impact of the university's approach to SPHE on me and on those around me. Enjoyable and challenging.”

“When I was asked to write a testimonial for the Minor Award in SPHE, I thought a lot about what I wasgoing to say about it. However, the truth is, I have no words that can adequately describe what the MinorAward has meant to me... All I can say, is that, having completed the H Dip in SPHE, it was truly “the cherry on the cake”! It “bedded in” the H Dip and used it as a foundation to built upon. It has expanded and enhanced

me both personally and professionally. I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to work at this level in such a safe and supportive environment, and to have this work academically accredited at level 9.

“SPHE for me has been my Crown and Glory!!! I can now say that the programme gave me the opportunityto discover me from the inside out. Creating the safety for the individual. Bound by a collective group sharing, to be with all that is presenting from past experiences and that is impacting on the present felt experience. It was both challenging and triumphant in its unfolding process. I got to know me and in turn to know you (all of the external world) in a different way. I have stopped wanting the world to be other than it is. Owning my end of it and just be with what is present. The only word that can describe the SPHE process is TRANSFORMATION!!!!! I encourage you to begin, to discover your true self in the collective group process that is SPHE!!!”

Students of the Masters in Advanced Facilitation Skills for Promoting Health and Well Being are expected to complete the full 90 credits over 3 semesters.

The delivery reflects the flexibility required for adult learners and workers. Modules are taught through a blend of traditional face to face teaching with the benefits of learning online. This online learning occurs prior to and between the face to face contact time. The face to face contact is as follows:

Note: The residential weekends (Friday 6pm – Sunday 4pm) take place in Tullow Co Carlow. Please note there is a nominal fee of approximately €115 for residential weekends paid directly to the venue for food and board.