Our postgraduate degree programmes include a range of short courses that you can study as standalone courses. We call this Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD). PPD is designed for working professionals who want to develop their knowledge through postgraduate-level study without the time or financial commitment of completing a full degree.Qualification and creditsYou can take up to 50 credits of PPD courses over two years.You can also choose to continue your studies and use your credits towards a:Postgraduate certificatePostgraduate diplomaMasters degreeIf you progress to a higher award, any time you have already spent studying PPD will count towards the time available to complete your new qualification.DeliveryCourses are delivered fully online using a range of learning methods and the University's interactive online learning environments.Although these are distance-learning courses, you will have opportunities to work closely with other students and tutors. You will be supported in a collaborative and engaging online learning environment.You can study wherever and whenever suits you, as long as you have access to the internet.Time expectation20 credit courses are delivered in two blocks of five weeks with one week of independent study and reflection time in between.10 credit courses are delivered over one block of five weeks.Each 10 credits of study represents 100 hours of study and a time commitment of 20 hours per week.ApplicationsApplications are made through the University's online postgraduate prospectus. To apply:Search the prospectus for the parent programme that includes the course you want to studyFollow the link to apply for “PG Professional Development in [programme name] (Online Learning) (ICL) – 1–2 years (part-time intermittent study)”When you start your application, you will be asked to specify the name of the course you want to study.If you have any questions or concerns during the application process, contact the support team for the parent programme directly.You can find their contact details on the relevant parent programme page. These pages are linked from the expandable sections on this website. Advanced Clinical Practice For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Advanced Clinical PracticeGeneral MedicineCreditsStartDuration (weeks)Evidence based veterinary medicine in clinical practice10January5Gastroenterology10January5Hepatology10May5Non-surgical musculoskeletal disease10February5Practical pathology and microbiology10January5Professional and clinical skills for advanced veterinary practice 10November5Recent advances in internal medicine10September5Renal and urinary10May5Thoracic imaging10February5Companion AnimalsCreditsStartDuration (weeks)Antimicrobial stewardship in companion animal practice10November5Approaches to gastrointestinal surgery in dogs and cats10April5Canine endocrine disorders10November5Companion animal respiratory medicine 110April5Companion animal respiratory medicine 210November5Feline medicine 110September5Feline medicine 210January5Feline medicine 310April5Neurological emergencies in dogs and cats10November5Standard diagnostic testing in companion animals10February5Veterinary cardiology 2: cardiac diseases of the cat and dog10November5Wound management and reconstructive surgery in dogs and cats10April5Equine PracticeCreditsStartDuration (weeks)Approaches to wound management in horses 10April5Poor athletic performance in horses10May5Recent advances in equine Practice10September5Standard diagnostic tests in equine practice10February5Exotic Pet AnimalsCreditsStartDurationPrinciples of exotic pet medicine10September5Rabbit medicine10April5Standard diagnostic testing in exotic pet animals 10February5Production Animal PracticeCreditsStartDuration (weeks)Bovine reproduction: beef and dairy 10November5Controlling infectious diseases in beef and dairy cattle 10September5Ewe survival10February5Feeding for production10April5Foot health10September5Heifer rearing10January5Lamb growth10November5Lambing percentage10May5Management of the beef herd10April5Recent advances in production animal practice10September5Standard diagnostic tests in production animal practice 10February5Udder health10May5 Anaesthesia and Analgesia For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Veterinary Anaesthesia and AnalgesiaCourseCreditsStartDuration (weeks)Anaesthesia in equidae10May5Anaesthesia in ruminants, camelids and pigs10April5Anaesthesia in small mammals10May5Avian anaesthesia10February5Basic sciences20September11*Chronic pain & advanced analgesic techniques10February5Clinical anaesthesia: equipment & the patient20January11*Dogs and cats10April5Ventilators and ventilation in veterinary anaesthesia10October5*two blocks of five weeks with one week of reflection in between. Applied Conservation Genetics with Wildlife Forensics For information about any of these courses, please email conservation.genetics@ed.ac.ukCourseCreditsStart dateDuration (weeks)Applied conservation genetics and wildlife forensics20September11*Conservation genetics for reintroductions, translocations and population monitoring10February5Essential population genetic theory & techniques20September11*Genetic data analysis for conservation management and wildlife forensics10May5Introduction to applied conservation genetics - part 110January5Introduction to applied conservation genetics - part 210February5Introduction to wildlife forensics10May5Population genetics for conservation breeding10January5Quality management in wildlife forensic science10January5Reporting forensic science10February5The role of wildlife genetics in global conservation challenges20May11**two blocks of five weeks with one week of reflection in between. Clinical Animal Behaviour For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Clinical Animal BehaviourCourseCreditsStart dateDuration (weeks)Anthrozoology20April11*Clinical animal behaviour20January11*Evidence-based veterinary medicine in clinical practice B10April5Principles of applied animal behaviour20September11**two blocks of five weeks with one week of reflection in between. Conservation Medicine For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Conservation MedicineCourseCreditsStart dateDuration (weeks)An introduction to conservation medicine20September11*Applied epidemiology and surveillance for conservation medicine20May11* Eco-system health and species conservation20January11* Interventions in wild animal health20January11*Managing and leading conservation projects10August5Wildlife disease management10October5Veterinary techniques and interventions for conservation medicine10September5 *two blocks of five weeks with one week of reflection in between. Data Driven Breeding and Genetics For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Data Driven Breeding and GeneticsCourseStartCreditsDuration (weeks)Advanced modelling in genetic evaluationSeptember105Applications of data-driven breeding and genetics to real-life challengesJanuary105Future breeding and geneticsOctober105 Data Driven Sustainability For more information on the parent qualification, please see here: Data Driven SustainabilityCourseCreditsStartDuration (weeks)Foundation in nutritional epidemiology10April5Making science relevant to policy and decision making20January11*Understanding planetary health and data10February5*two blocks of five weeks with one week of reflection in between. Equine Science For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Equine ScienceCourseCreditsStartDuration (weeks)Equine behavioural medicine20January11*Equine behaviour, welfare and ethics20January11*Equine digestion and nutrition20September11*Equine excercise physiology20April11*Equine orthopeadics20September11*Equine reproduction20January11*Equitation science20April11**two blocks of five weeks with one week of reflection in between. Global Food Security and Nutrition For more information on the parent programme, please see here: Global Food Security and NutritionCourseCreditsStart dateDuration (weeks)Food policy10August5Frameworks to assess food security20August11*Interrelationships in food systems20September11*Nutrition for food security20September11*Sustainable food production20January11*Understanding planetary health & data: an introduction to the concepts and themes10February5*two blocks of five weeks with one week of reflection in between. International Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law For more information on the parent programme, please see here: International Animal Welfare, Ethics and LawCourseCreditsStartDuration (weeks)Animal ethics, policy and law20January11*Captive and free range wild animal welfare20April11*International animal welfare science20September11*International cat and dog welfare20September11*Production animal welfare20April11*Welfare of animals used for scientific purposes20September11**two blocks of five weeks with one week of reflection in between. One Health For more information on the parent programme, please see here: One HealthCourseCreditsStart dateDuration (weeks) An introduction to One Health20September11*Antimicrobial resistance: a One Health perspective10January5Ecosystem health10January5Innovative approaches to health challenges across disciplines10April5One Health policy10January5One Health: risk communication and preparedness10May5Zoonotic diseases: a One Health perspective10September5*two blocks of five weeks with one week of reflection in between. This article was published on Wednesday 2 September 2026
