Program Overview

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Trauma and Frontline Workers - Continuing Professional Development

Certificate - Cert

Course Fact File

Code	CCPDTF
Duration	12 weeks
Teaching Mode	Part-Time. See Additional Teaching Mode Information for more info.
Qualifications	Cert
NFQ Level	Level 9
NFQ Award Title	Special Purpose Award
Fees	€1000 See Fees and Costs for full details.
Closing Date	29 August 2025
Next Intake	September 2025
Course Delivery Method	Online
Venue	Online
Start Date	September 2025

Course Outline

Frontline workers provide essential services in a multitude of industries such as health and social care, education, government and public safety. Literally on the front lines, often in high stress environments, frontline professionals deliver services directly where they are most needed, especially in times of crisis.

The COVID 19 crisis highlighted the necessity and crucial role of frontline workers, with many countries during the pandemic, celebrating healthcare workers by applauding them at their doors during the lockdown.

Despite often working in positions in which they are regularly exposed to traumatic situations and the trauma of others, many organisations fail to provide fundamental trauma informed training to support professionals who encounter trauma in their working lives.

Our Certificate in Continuing Professional Development in Trauma and Frontline Workers is delivered by the Department of Criminology at UCC in conjunction with WAVE Trauma Centre in Belfast, and Adult Continuing Education (ACE), UCC.

By bringing the expertise of the WAVE team together with the programme staff in UCC, we aim to deliver a course that will allow students to develop their knowledge and understanding of trauma, both in a theoretical but also in an applied manner.

This Certificate exists to explore the academic foundations of research based, trauma informed approaches to examining, preventing and mitigating professional exposure to trauma.

The aim of this Certificate course is to examine and critique the traumatological theories and issues as the apply to frontline staff. This will be done via an interdisciplinary lens, drawing on contemporary academic literature from:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Victimology
• Trauma studies
• Psychiatry

Module:

• CR6808: Trauma and Frontline Workers

Course Practicalities

The course will begin with an orientation week. This involves engaging with tutors online, completing a library tutorial online, and familiarising yourself with the online learning platform. Throughout the duration of the course, students will have access to both academic and pastoral support via both ACE and the course tutor.

As a guide, 10-credit CPD courses will involve students engaging with:

• Self-directed study (self-directed learning with online programme materials)
• Online moderated activities - personal online tutoring and online group discussion
• Written assignments
• Reading and reflective practice

We recommend that students set aside approximately 15 hours a week over the course of a 12-week semester.

This course is not a practise based course, but does address issues that some participants may find upsetting and triggering. Given this, it must be noted that the course is not delivered in a therapeutic environment and students should be mindful of the impact engaging in some topics may have on their own well-being.

Requirements

• Candidates must hold an honours (NFQ level 8) primary degree with a minimum 2H2 in a relevant discipline. Relevant disciplines include, but are not restricted to: psychology, sociology, criminology, social work, counselling, conflict studies, women's studies, epidemiology, medicine and nursing
• Candidates without an NFQ level 8 award are eligible to apply, subject to the approval of the programme Academic Director if they can demonstrate at least three years professional experience in a related field – examples include (but are not restricted to) therapeutic practice, community work/engagement experience, government/policy experience and medical/para-medical experience
• English Language Requirement: All applicants whose first language is not English are required to sit either an IELTS test or a recognised equivalent test. The minimum requirement is an IELTS score of 6.5, or the equivalent TOEFL score with no individual section lower than 6.0. In addition to IELTS and TOEFL a number of English language tests & examinations are applicable to the majority of our programmes. Further information on English language requirements can be found at PG English Language Entry Requirements | UCC | University College Cork | Ireland
• Technical Requirements: To access and interact with the course content, assignments and assessments etc. students will require access to at least a PC/ Laptop running Windows 7 or later and Mac OSX 10.7.4. Common plug-ins such as Microsoft Silverlight, Java, and Flash will also be required. Students must have access to MS Office or an equivalent suite of applications such as Libre Office. They must also have access to a modern standards-compliant web browser. UCC recommends either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox
• To engage productively and successfully with the content, basic technical computer skills such as familiarity with word processing, web browsing, and email are recommended.

Fees and Costs

€1000

On application, students pay 50% of the fees. The remainder is due by week 6 of the course.

For further information on fees and financial supports please click here.

How To Apply

To Apply for this course please follow the steps below:

When you log into the Application Portal:

Click Apply Online

Select Start a new Adult & Continuing Education Application

On the 2nd tab Academic Level

Select the following options:

Academic Level: Adult Continuing Education (ACE at UCC) Course Type: ACE Part-time Courses Academic Programme: The course title you are applying for.

During your online application you will be required to upload the following documents:

• Application Statement
• Birth Cert or Passport
• Curriculum Vitae
• English Language Requirement
• Transcripts [if applicable]