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As an overseas sonographer, after you get your MSc ultrasound in an accredited UK university, you then transition from only possessing a CASE equivalent qualification to also possessing a CASE accredited qualification. You'll essentially possess both.
This post is the third of a three-part series. In the first part, I explained in detail what CASE accreditation and CASE equivalence is, using a Nigerian context to further aid with simplifying and understanding the topics better. This information is important to understanding the second and third part of this series, so if you haven’t seen this, check it out here.
In the second part of this series, I outlined the MSc ultrasound structure in the UK, the different UK schools that offer MSc admission with your CASE-equivalent qualification, and how it benefits you if you already have an ultrasound PGD from Nigeria and want to undertake an ultrasound MSc in UK. If you haven’t seen this, check it out here.
In this third part, I will be detailing a step by step guide on how you can apply for an MSc ultrasound spot in your desired UK University, the specific requirements and different documents you need to secure a Master's placement in the University, how to compute your total credit units to match against UK credit units, and some pro tips on how to navigate a difficult application process.
How to apply for an MSc ultrasound spot in your desired University
1. Go to the university website, locate your intended course, and fill the application form
2. Usually, the application form will include a clinical placement section for you to complete as well. This section is basically to show and confirm that you've got a clinical placement site and a clinical mentor.
But as discussed in the second part of this series (see here), this does not apply to you because you have a PGD in ultrasound already. Plus, you are also a currently practicing ultrasound professional and therefore do not require clinical placements anymore. So what do you do? read on.
3. You will write back to the University and do your best to make it clear that because of the above reasons in no. 2 above, the clinical placement section of the application form does not apply to you. You will let them know that you are unable to proceed with the application because of this section and they should guide you on how to work around this.
Pro Tips:
Be mentally prepared to send several emails back and forth with the school until your challenges are sorted out.
Sometimes you may be in communication with a university admin staff who does not really understand the peculiarity of your challenge and may offer wrong advice, or tell you there’s no way to fill the application form without completing this clinical placement section. It’s not true, so do not be discouraged by this.
Rather, request for an alternative staff member to communicate with, someone who likely understands the situation better. It is vital that you insist on getting your concerns sorted at this stage so you can proceed and submit your application in good time.
4. At some point in the early stage of your application, the university will likely give you their recognition of prior learning (RPL) form to complete. This is where you will fill the PGD courses you undertook in your country and the corresponding credit units you attained, to prove why you are seeking exemption from the courses in your UK MSC programme.
Image 1 below is an example of how to present the courses your seeking exemption from, and it also shows how to present your PGD credit units on your RPL form to demonstrate they are equivalent to 120 credit units in UK (this is the total of PGD units in the UK).
Image 1.
UK courses are often 20 credit units per course, hence the 20 credit units in brackets above. If specific courses in your university are 15 credit units, then it'll be 15 credit units in bracket.
Also, even though you undertook research methods and dissertation (project) in your PGD from Nigeria, you will not be applying for an exemption from this courses because that's what you will be undertaking to complete your Masters in the UK. Either this or Audit methods & clinical audits. I explained more on this in the part 2 of this series.
Calculating your total credit units
If you look at your Nigerian PGD Ultrasound transcript, you will see the following headings;
Image 2
Take note of the "credit unit" and "point weight" headings.
When calculating your total credit units from your Nigerian PGD to match against UK credits, you don’t use the “credit unit” column to compute it, as our academic system of grading is slightly different. Rather, the proper thing to use is the “point weight” column to compute your total credit units obtained in your post graduate diploma.
So, add up your point weights in modules 1, 2 and 3, to arrive at your total credit units. In the above example (image 1), there is a total of 198 academic credit units to be transferred onto the UK MSc in Ultrasound programme, which is equivalent to 120 academic credit units in UK. If a total of your point weight is 157 for instance, then that's what is equivalent to 120 UK credit units.
Pro tip: Be careful and don't be confused when completing the RPL form. There may be a section to fill “Recognition of prior experiential learning (RPEL)”. This section will not apply to you, as what you are specifically seeking for is recognition of prior certificated learning (RPCL). Read the universities’ RPL form (usually available online) to understand this better.
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Required documents necessary to secure a Masters in Ultrasound
If you’ve got a PGD ultrasound from Nigeria, or any country besides the UK, you will need the following documents to secure a Master's placement in the University. So the sooner you have them handy, the better for you.
The list may include (but not limited) to the following;
1. Your Logbook from your PGD in ultrasound. If from Nigeria, you can get this from RRBN. Write to them to give you a copy (usually soft copy) of your log book. Where possible, it is recommended to stamp and date some or all pages of the log book to prove authenticity.
2. A portfolio of work undertaken in training. This could be your case studies which you completed as part of your training requirements during your PGD training.
3. Proof of current sonography employment. This could be a letter from your manager, HR or payroll, confirming that you are indeed in current employment with the hospital as a sonographer.
4. You may be asked for a UK ENIC document to help the school establish the equivalency of your qualification. This was formerly referred to as UK NARIC. You will need to apply to UK ENIC to compare your PGD ultrasound qualification from your country with a UK PGD qualification.
5. Your PGD ultrasound certificate and transcript obtained from your country.
7. Your ultrasound programme handbook including the intended learning outcomes of every unit. If from Nigeria, this would be the Ultrasound programme specification document; It has the learning outcomes, teaching and assessment methods included in it. You can write to RRBN to provide you with this.
After you get accepted
After you get accepted into your MSc Ultrasound programme, you will have to pay the school fees.
Remember from my previous post that if you haven't lived in the UK for up to 5 years continuously, then when you decide to undertake a Masters in the UK, you're very likely going to get categorised as an international student. I explained this in my previous post about "How to become a UK sonographer from Nigeria". If you haven't seen this post, you can follow the link here.
Some schools allow you to pay in instalments. Always check with the school for deadlines and current patterns of payments.
After which you need to search for a good research topic. You will need to write a proposal for your intended research topic, if approved, you will be assigned a project supervisor and everything else will proceed from there.
If you need more hand-holding to help with navigating your MSc application, or you need help coming up with or fine-tuning your research topics, then you can get in touch directly at info@naijauksonographer.com for further discussion and a price list.
Conclusion
If you have gone through all three parts of this series - "Getting your Masters in ultrasound in UK with your foreign qualification"- then it means you now have a deeper understanding of;
-CASE accreditation,
-CASE equivalence,
-How you fit into the MSc structure in UK,
-How having your PGD from Nigeria gives you an advantage when deciding on getting your Masters in the UK,
-How to apply for your MSc ultrasound in UK,
-The specific documents you need,
-How to compute your total credit units to match against UK credit units, and
-Tips on navigating a difficult application.
So don’t sleep on this! If you already have your PGD and it’s been your intention to get your ultrasound Masters in the UK, start getting your documents ready and apply as soon as school placements open up.
Hopefully, this entire article has been helpful to you. Even better is that it can be helpful to others as well, so please share to as many as need it. Spread the word and help a colleague out there, information is power!
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Best wishes with your MSc journey in the UK.
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Bonus video:
Thank you so much. This was so helpful.