Postgraduate Diploma in Health Professions Education (PGDHPE)
College of Medicine
The Postgraduate Diploma in Health Professions Education (PGDHPE), accredited by the CAA at Gulf Medical University, is a one-year postgraduate program designed for health professionals who wish to strengthen their educational practice while continuing in their professional roles. The program is offered through the College of Medicine and focuses on developing essential competencies in teaching, learning, assessment, curriculum development, educational scholarship, and quality enhancement in health professions education.
The program is particularly suitable for clinicians, academic faculty, tutors, trainers, and healthcare professionals who are engaged in teaching, supervision, assessment, or educational leadership. Its flexible structure enables working professionals to participate in learning through a combination of online engagement and scheduled face-to-face academic activities at GMU.
Learning is supported through synchronous live webinars, asynchronous learning activities, and scheduled face-to-face components. A dedicated virtual learning platform enables students to access course materials, recorded sessions, learning resources, discussion activities, and online academic support. The face-to-face components provide opportunities for interactive learning, peer engagement, faculty interaction, and participation in the broader health professions education community.
The PGDHPE aims to prepare reflective and evidence-informed educators who can contribute to improving educational practice within their own institutions and professional settings. Through exposure to contemporary concepts and practices in health professions education, students are encouraged to critically examine their own teaching contexts and apply educational principles to real-world challenges.
Governance
The PGDHPE is owned and delivered by Gulf Medical University, with academic input from experienced full-time and adjunct faculty. The program benefits from GMU’s established expertise in health professions education, faculty development, educational innovation, and medical education scholarship within the UAE and the wider region.
- Design, deliver and monitor interventions that facilitate learning
- Design and critically evaluate curricula that are sensitive to the context in which they operate.
- Design, deliver, and evaluate systems and individual elements that assess learning, and apply appropriate theories, and practices of the assessment strategies.
- Apply knowledge, skills, and use evidence-based practice to manage change in the health profession education context
- Demonstrate a leadership role as an effective educator and advocate for improved health profession education delivery.
- Practice within an ever-changing landscape of educational technologies and innovations.
- Interpret and use educational research in their own context.
The Postgraduate Diploma in Health Professions Education (PGDHPE) is delivered over one year and comprises 24 credit hours. The program includes courses in academic writing, learning theories, curriculum and course design, teaching and learning, assessment, program evaluation and quality assurance, leadership and change management, and an applied project. The study plan is designed to support progressive development of knowledge, skills, and applied educational practice in health professions education.
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours | Contact Hours | Prerequisite |
| ORN901 | Orientation and academic writing | 1 | 15 | Nil |
| LTA902 | Learning theories and application in HPE* | 2 | 30 | ORN901 |
| CDR903 | Curriculum and course design | 3 | 45 | ORN901, LTA902 |
| LAT904 | Learning and teaching in HPE | 4 | 60 | ORN901, LTA902, CDR903 |
| AST905 | Assessment of learning | 4 | 60 | ORN901, LTA902, CDR903, LAT904 |
| PEQ906 | Program Evaluation and quality assurance in HPE | 4 | 60 | ORN901, LTA902, CDR903, LAT904, AST905 |
| LCG907 | Leadership, change management & Governance | 3 | 45 | Nil |
| APR908 | Applied project | 3 | 45 | All of the above courses |
| Total | 24 | 360 | ||
- The applicant shall be a graduate of an accredited school in the UAE or a graduate of a WDMS-listed medical school outside the UAE, or a graduate of an Allied Health Sciences Program as applicable.
- Applicants for the Diploma shall have a recognized Baccalaureate degree or relevant health professional degree with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA)of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or its established equivalent.
- A CGPA less than 3.0 may be admitted conditionally provided that the student registers 6-9 credit hours in the first semester of his/her studies and obtains a “B” average or above.
- Applicant must have proficiency in spoken and written English. The applicant must have passed the English language proficiency test such as TOEFL, IELTS Academic with a minimum score as stated under the general admissions requirements [link]. Applicants with Doctoral degree are exempted from English Proficiency providing evidence of the doctoral degree.
Required Documents
- Attested copy of the baccalaureate degree and official transcripts of credit/s earned from an accredited institution of higher education previously attended
- Equivalency Certificate of the baccalaureate degree from the Ministry of Education, UAE
- Copy valid English Proficiency Score sheet (EmSAT/IELTS/TOEFL)
- Passport copy and ID Card
- Passport-size Photographs x 5
- Updated CV
- Statement of Purpose
- Experience letter (involved in education) preferable
Apply Now: [link]
- Completion of 24 credits
- Minimum CGPA of 3 out of 4
- Securing a minimum attendance of 80%
Evaluation fee: AED 700
Tuition fee per year: AED 73,500
Scholarships: 20 – 40%