Infection Prevention & Control

Our online Certificate in Infection Prevention & Control provides students with core infection prevention and control knowledge and skills to support good clinical practice implementation in the healthcare setting. This course supplies the knowledge and skills necessary for infection prevention and control management and implementation. We emphasize the use of evidence-based practice that will enable participants to work in infection prevention and control, putting patient safety principles into effect in both the research and professional context.

Why Choose This Course
The Postgraduate Certificate in Infection Prevention and Control (PG Cert IPC) is a multi-disciplinary programme specifically designed to give healthcare professionals infection prevention and control knowledge and skills for application in the healthcare setting to improve patient safety.

Our modules are developed and taught by a dedicated team of staff, who are experts in infection prevention and control, public health, microbiology, and management. Students will experience a wide range of teaching styles using the most up-to-date technology-enhanced learning methods.

Our online PG Cert IPC builds on the success of our online PG Certificate in Health Protection and our online Master of Public Health.

Modules
The programme consists of a total of 30-credit modules; two 10-credit modules and two 5-credit modules as follows:

EH6146 The Principles and Clinical Practices of Infection Prevention and Control (10 credits)
MB6009 Principles of Microbiology (5 credits)
EH6147 Infection Prevention and Control Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (5 credits)
BU6010 Leadership and Management of Infection Prevention and Control (10 credits)

See the College Calendar (PG Cert Infection Prevention & Control) for additional information on course content.

Applicants must have a minimum of a Second Class Honours Grade 2 in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) in one of the following subject areas: biological sciences, nursing, medical and health sciences, public health and social sciences. Qualified nurses and midwives without a primary degree and who are registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland are also eligible to apply.

Applicants who do not meet the above entry requirements may be recommended for entry to the programme following a review of their individual qualifications and experience under the University Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL) policy.

Technical Requirements

This programme will be delivered wholly online. As such, there are specific technical requirements that you need to meet.

You will need access to a laptop or desktop (either Mac OS or Windows) running a relatively recent operating system (Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 or Mac OSX 10.8, 10.9, 10.10 or later). Access to the Canvas Virtual Learning Environment is supported by UCC through IOS and Android apps, which are available from the respective App stores.
You will need access to a reliable broadband connection with at least 2MB download speeds. You can test your broadband or 4G speeds by visiting http://www.speedtest.net.
You must have a modern web browser installed. The most reliable options for use with UCC online learning are Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Download and installation instructions will be provided. Safari is not suitable.
You must have Java and Flash Runtimes installed. Download and installation instructions will be provided.
You will require an Office suite of software (Microsoft Office 2003 or later or equivalent) and a PDF reader (preferably Adobe Acrobat Reader XI or later). Please note that registered UCC students have access to discounted software from Microsoft and Adobe.
To engage productively and successfully with the content, basic technical computer skills such as familiarity with word processing, web browsing and email is recommended.

English Language Requirements
Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university approved English language requirements available here.

For applicants with qualifications completed outside of Ireland

Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements, please find our grades comparison by country here.

International/non-EU applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure please visit our how to apply pages for international students. In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

Not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above.

For more information please contact the International Office.

Closing Date of Application 1 July 2022.

How to apply
1. Choose Course
Firstly choose your course. Applicants can apply for up to two courses under one application. Details of taught courses are available on our online prospectus.

2. Apply Online
Once you have chosen your course you can apply online at the online application portal. Applicants will need to apply before the course closing date. There is a non-refundable €50 application fee for all courses apart from the Education - Professional Master of Education - (Secondary School/Post-Primary Teacher Training) which has a €100 application fee.

Applicants for the Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health Nursing must apply on the PAC website when the programme opens for applications.

3. Gather Supporting Documents
Scanned copies of the following documents will need to be uploaded to the online application portal in support of your application. Applicants may need to produce the original documents if you are accepted onto a course and register at UCC.

Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC
Any supplementary items requested for your course.
Please log into the online application portal for more details.

4. Application processing timeline
Our online application portal opens for applications for most courses in early November of each year. Check specific course details.

5. Rounds
For courses that are in the rounds system (Irish and EU applicants), please check the rounds closing dates below.

The UCC application portal will open on November 1st for admission in September 2022.

Irish, EU, UK, EEA and Swiss Applicants: UCC operates a rounds closing date system for the majority of postgraduate taught courses, which means offers are made at a minimum of four times a year on a rolling basis.

The UCC rounds closing dates for postgraduate taught courses are below. Applicants are advised to apply as soon as possible.

Deadline for receipt of full applications/ Offers will be made:
For all completed applications received by January 17th, 2022 -
Offers will be made by January 31st, 2022
For all completed applications received by March 7th, 2022 -
Offers will be made by March 21st, 2022
For all completed applications received by May 3rd, 2022 -
Offers will be made by May 17th, 2022
For all completed applications received by July 1st, 2022 -
Offer will be made by July 15th, 2022

After July late applications may be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis for any courses that have remaining capacity.

Applicants from outside of EU, UK, EEA, Switzerland: Information may be found on the International Office Website.

NON-EU CLOSING DATE: 15 June

Additional Requirements
Please note you will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process for this programme. This will include the following questions:

You may enter the details of professional or voluntary positions held. We strongly encourage you to complete this section with all relevant work experiences that will support your application.

In addition to your previously declared qualifications, please outline any additional academic courses, self-learning and professional training relevant to this programme.

Please describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.

8 months Online

Additional Teaching Mode Information
This is a part-time course. This programme will be taught online over 7 months (September-March).

Course Practicalities
The course runs September to March each year. The Certificate (30 credits) must be completed within 36 months (i.e. 3 years) of programme commencement. Progression to Diploma and Master of Public Health is possible once all assessment is successfully completed. However, acceptance onto the Diploma or MPH will only be considered within five years from date of above Certification.

Each 10-credit module will be delivered over 8 weeks and each 5-credit module is delivered over 4 weeks. Students take one module at a time according to the pre-determined programme calendar. Each 10-credit module consists of an estimated student workload of 200 hours and a 5-credit module 100 hours. This consists of online, self-directed learning, required readings and subject investigation, E-tivities and assignments for preparation, participation and submission.

Skills and Careers Information
This course will equip healthcare workers with the knowledge and skills to implement infection prevention and control measures in the healthcare setting.