Credit-bearing standalone short courses (PPD) | The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies | The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies

Our postgraduate degree programmes are made up of short courses that can be taken as standalone study, we also refer to this as Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD).

The Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD) scheme is aimed at working professionals who want to advance their knowledge through postgraduate-level learning, without the time, or financial commitment, of a full award.

Qualification

You may take a maximum of 50 credits worth of courses over two years and gain a University of Edinburgh postgraduate award of academic credit.

You can also choose to continue your studies after one year and put credits towards a postgraduate Certificate, Diploma or full Masters degree. Any time spent taking courses through the PPD scheme will be deducted from the amount of time you have left to complete the higher award.

Delivery

Courses are delivered fully online using a blend of learning methods supported by the University’s interactive online learning environments.

They are distance learning courses, but you won’t feel isolated - you will have the opportunity to work closely with your fellow students and tutors in a properly supported, collaborative and vibrant online learning environment. With access to the internet, you will be able to study at the times and in the places which suit you best.

Applications

Applications must be made through the University's online postgraduate prospectus. Search for the parent programme and follow the link to apply to "PG Professional Development in [programme name] (Online Learning) (ICL) - 1-2 years (part-time intermittent study)". Once you have started your application to the degree within which the course sits, you will be asked to specify the name of the course you are applying to.

If you have questions or concerns throughout the application process, please contact the parent programme support teams directly. Contact details can be found on the parent programme pages linked to in the concertina.

For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Advanced Clinical Practice

General Medicine	Credits	Start	Duration (hours)
Evidence based veterinary medicine in clinical practice	10	January	100
Gastroenterology	10	January	100
Hepatology	10	May	100
Non-surgical musculoskeletal disease	10	February	100
Practical pathology and microbiology	10	January	100
Professional and clinical skills for advanced veterinary practice	10	November	100
Recent advances in internal medicine	10	September	100
Renal and urinary	10	May	100
Thoracic imaging	10	February	100

Companion Animals	Credits	Start	Duration (hours)
Antimicrobial stewardship in companion animal practice	10	November	100
Approaches to gastrointestinal surgery in dogs and cats	10	April	100
Canine endocrine disorders	10	November	100
Companion animal respiratory medicine 1	10	April	100
Companion animal respiratory medicine 2	10	November	100
Feline medicine 1	10	September	100
Feline medicine 2	10	January	100
Feline medicine 3	10	April	100
Neurological emergencies in dogs and cats	10	November	100
Standard diagnostic testing in companion animals	10	February	100
Veterinary cardiology 2: cardiac diseases of the cat and dog	10	November	100
Wound management and reconstructive surgery in dogs and cats	10	April	100

Equine Practice	Credits	Start	Duration (hours)
Approaches to wound management in horses	10	April	100
Poor athletic performance in horses	10	May	100
Recent advances in equine Practice	10	September	100
Standard diagnostic tests in equine practice	10	February	100

Exotic Pet Animals	Credits	Start	Duration
Principles of exotic pet medicine	10	September	100
Rabbit medicine	10	April	100
Standard diagnostic testing in exotic pet animals	10	February	100

Production Animal Practice	Credits	Start	Duration (hours)
Bovine reproduction: beef and dairy	10	November	100
Controlling infectious diseases in beef and dairy cattle	10	September	100
Ewe survival	10	February	100
Feeding for production	10	April	100
Foot health	10	September	100
Heifer rearing	10	January	100
Lamb growth	10	November	100
Lambing percentage	10	May	100
Management of the beef herd	10	April	100
Recent advances in production animal practice	10	September	100
Standard diagnostic tests in production animal practice	10	February	100
Udder health	10	May	100

For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia

Course	Credits	Start	Duration (hours)
Anaesthesia in equidae	10	May	100
Anaesthesia in ruminants, camelids and pigs	10	April	100
Anaesthesia in small mammals	10	May	100
Avian anaesthesia	10	February	100
Basic sciences	20	September	200
Chronic pain & advanced analgesic techniques	10	February	100
Clinical anaesthesia: equipment & the patient	20	January	200
Dogs and cats	10	April	100
Ventilators and ventilation in veterinary anaesthesia	10	October	100

For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Applied Conservation Genetics with Wildlife Forensics

Course	Credits	Start date	Duration (hours)
Applied conservation genetics and wildlife forensics	20	September	100
Conservation genetics for reintroductions, translocations and population monitoring	10	February	100
Essential population genetic theory & techniques	20	September	200
Genetic data analysis for conservation management and wildlife forensics	10	May	100
Introduction to applied conservation genetics - part 1	10	January	100
Introduction to applied conservation genetics - part 2	10	February	100
Introduction to wildlife forensics	10	May	100
Population genetics for conservation breeding	10	January	100
Quality management in wildlife forensic science	10	January	100
Reporting forensic science	10	February	100
The role of wildlife genetics in global conservation challenges	20	May	200

For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Clinical Animal Behaviour

Course	Credits	Start date	Duration (hours)
Anthrozoology	20	April	200
Clinical animal behaviour	20	January	200
Evidence-based veterinary medicine in clinical practice B	10	April	100
Principles of applied animal behaviour	20	September	200

For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Conservation Medicine

Course	Credits	Start date	Duration (hours)
An introduction to conservation medicine	20	September	200
Applied epidemiology and surveillance for conservation medicine	20	May	200
Eco-system health and species conservation	20	January	200
Interventions in wild animal health	20	January	200
Managing and leading conservation projects	10	August	100
Wildlife disease management	10	October	100
Veterinary techniques and interventions for conservation medicine	10	September	100

For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Data Driven Breeding and Genetics

Course	Start	Credits	Duration (hours)
Advanced modelling in genetic evaluation	September	10	100
Applications of data-driven breeding and genetics to real-life challenges	January	10	100
Future breeding and genetics	October	10	100

For more information on the parent qualification, please see here: Data Driven Sustainability

Course	Credits	Start	Duration (hours)
Foundation in nutritional epidemiology	10	April	100
Making science relevant to policy and decision making	20	January	200
Understanding planetary health and data	10	February	100

For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Equine Science

Course	Credits	Start	Duration (hours)
Equine behavioural medicine	20	January	200
Equine behaviour, welfare and ethics	20	January	200
Equine digestion and nutrition	20	September	200
Equine excercise physiology	20	April	200
Equine orthopeadics	20	September	200
Equine reproduction	20	January	200
Equitation science	20	April	200

For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Global Food Security and Nutrition

Course	Credits	Start date	Duration (hours)
Food policy	10	August	100
Frameworks to assess food security	20	August	200
Interrelationships in food systems	20	September	200
Nutrition for food security	20	September	200
Sustainable food production	20	January	200
Understanding planetary health & data: an introduction to the concepts and themes	10	February	100

For more information on the parent programme, please see here: International Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law

Course	Credits	Start	Duration (hours)
Animal ethics, policy and law	20	January	200
Captive and free range wild animal welfare	20	April	200
International animal welfare science	20	September	200
International cat and dog welfare	20	September	200
Production animal welfare	20	April	200
Welfare of animals used for scientific purposes	20	September	200

For more information on the parent programme, please see here: One Health

Course	Credits	Start date	Duration (hours)
An introduction to One Health	20	September	200
Antimicrobial resistance: a One Health perspective	10	January	100
Ecosystem health	10	January	100
Innovative approaches to health challenges across disciplines	10	April	100
One Health policy	10	January	100
One Health: risk communication and preparedness	10	May	100
Zoonotic diseases: a One Health perspective	10	September	100

This article was published on 2025-07-29