- Course Description
- Duration
- Entry Requirements
- Locations and Dates
- Fees
- Course Structure
- Professional Award
- Academic Award
- Student Support
- How To Apply
The final section of the MA in Practice Based Play Therapy course, following the Postgraduate Diploma in Play Therapy (Stage II) award.
The course is delivered online by an experienced APAC Course Director, making it accessible to APAC Diploma Graduates worldwide. This course is accredited by the University of Chichester in the UK.
The Course Director actively incorporates innovative online learning tools to support students in achieving the learning objectives and to encourage critical thinking. Cohort numbers continue to grow, reflecting the course’s popularity and value. Teaching is provided through monthly 1.5-hour online tutorial workshops over a six-month period, with expert guidance from an Academic Supervisor.
All students benefit from access to APAC’s private online forum where they can seek support, exchange tips, form study groups with peers, and contribute to a global research community.
This is a unique course that enables you to design and carry out an original piece of research, advancing knowledge in the field and sharing your findings with the wider profession.
Completing the course positions you as an authority in your chosen area of specialism, enhancing your professional practice and opening doors to new employment, remuneration, and commissioning opportunities. It also provides greater professional credibility through potential publication in PTUK’s international academic research journal, “Play for Life”, as well as in other academic or non-academic outlets. Many of our graduates have gone on to publish their research or to develop specialist training for other play and creative therapists.
Duration
The MA course is 18 months long; giving 9 months for the production of a Research Proposal and a further 9 months for data collections and the write up of the dissertation.
The first 6 months have one online workshop each (one per month) for 1.5hours. These workshops are compulsory to attend as part of the course. The exact timing of the workshop depends on the mixture of time-zones each cohort of students are spread across. Most usually they run between 10.30 and 12 noon UK time (however, this is not confirmed until 2 weeks before the course starts).
By the start of the 3rd workshop, all students will have been allocated their own specialist Academic Supervisor. The dissertation must also be completed within 10 years of starting your PG Certificate course.
Entry Requirements
To be eligible for progression onto this course, applicants must meet the following criteria:
-
Academic Prerequisites
-
Successful completion of both the Postgraduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills and the Postgraduate Diploma in Play Therapy courses.
-
Achievement of a Merit or Distinction (marks above 60) in both qualifications.
-
-
Professional Membership
-
Current membership with Play Therapy UK (PTUK) or Play Therapy International (PTI) as a Certified Play Therapist is required at the point of enrolment.
-
Applicants who are not currently practising may apply for the unique membership grade “MA – Non-Practising Practitioner.”
-
-
Professional Clearances
-
An Enhanced DBS / Access NI / Garda Vetting / Scottish PVG Check is required under the role of Play Therapist.
-
For details of the associated fees, please email: contact@ptukorg.com
-
-
Financial Standing
-
All fees relating to both the Postgraduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills and the Postgraduate Diploma in Play Therapy courses must be paid in full prior to enrolment.
-
Upcoming Courses
We offer multiple intakes each year, giving you the flexibility to start when it suits you best.
Submit your application here.
MA in Practice Based Play Therapy
Start Date: May 8, 2026
Location: UK, Online
Training Blocks:
|
|---|
The course fees are £4,390.00 including the University registration fee.
The fees are currently inclusive of 18 hours of Academic Supervision; should you require more when writing your dissertation, you may make private arrangements with your Academic Supervisor at an average additional cost of approximately £55.00 per hour.
If you require additional years to complete the course, this would be charged at £1,400.00 per year.
Enhanced DBS/ Access NI/ Garda Vetting/ Scottish PVG Check under the role of Play Therapist – please email contact@ptukorg.com for information on the associated fees.
The Jeff Thomas MA Research Bursary
The Jeff Thomas MA Research Bursary has been established to support and encourage high-quality research in Play Therapy. One student per cohort will be awarded £1,000 towards their course fees.
This bursary reflects APAC’s commitment to championing research and evidence-based practice, furthering the development of Play Therapy as both a recognised intervention and a rewarding professional career.
How to Apply
On your course application form, you will be asked whether you wish to apply for the Research Bursary:
• Please tick Yes or No.
• If you tick Yes, you will be required to submit a written statement of up to 500 words.
Your statement should:
• Outline the research you intend to carry out during your MA.
• Explain its relevance to the Play Therapy profession and to child mental health.
• Comment on its contemporary significance.
• Reference any previous academic research undertaken in the relevant field.
Deadlines
Applications for the bursary must be submitted no later than two months before the course start date. If your course application is made after this point, you will not be eligible to apply for the bursary.
The course fee may be paid as follows
| University of Chichester courses: MA in Practice Based Play Therapy | MA in Practice Based Play Therapy Fees | ||
| Invoice due date | Paying in full £ | Paying 50/50 | Invoice contents |
| One week post-application | £300.00 | £300.00 | Deposit (counts towards course fees) |
| 10 weeks before Block 1 | £4,090.00 | £2,045.00 | Course fees plus, university registration fee (£370) |
| 2 weeks before Block 3 | n/a | £2,045.00 | Course fees |
| Total | £4,390.00 | £4,390.00 |
What is Research?
Research is developing innovative practice-based evidence, to advance the play therapy profession. Research explores new ideas and approaches, applications and combinations. Research is a collaborative process, each piece building on what has gone before, and setting the scene for the next idea.
Research is not that far removed from the clinical practice that you already do, where we foster a spirit of openness to enquiry. Our sessions with clients involve: the piecing together of information and understanding, the testing of hypotheses as they emerge from what has been going on, the use of reflection and dialogue. We hold in mind ‘official’ theories, and add our own individual experience from practice, supervision, reading and reflection. As well as being accustomed to enquiry and theory-making from the therapy room, the academic syllabus for the Certificate and the Diploma have prepared you for this next stage, as the three tiers make up the MA Course Practice Based Play Therapy and have been designed to lead on to each other.
The MA Course Practice Based Play Therapy is an exciting opportunity to design and deliver an original piece of work that will contribute to what we know about children’s mental health from a play therapy perspective. Research is a collaborative effort, with each finding coming from those before it and leading to the next discovery.
1.) Developing a 4,000-word Research Proposal. Working within the limits of what is viable within a nine month or year long, dissertation-based research project; the proposal will address a subject of the student’s own choosing, highlighting the philosophical, conceptual and strategic processes necessary to design and implement a robust and ethical research study.
By the end of the module students will be able to:
- Identify an area of play and creative arts therapies research (education, health and social care practice) that needs systematic investigation and present a clear rationale for the proposed research
- Critically analyse the ethical dimensions of research, highlighting methods of engaging participants in ways that respect their rights and needs
- Defend the aim of the proposed study and the research question(s) and selection of a research paradigm and research approach
- Anticipate the type(s) of data that are likely to result from the proposed study and critically evaluate their relevance to the aim of the study and the research question/s
2.) Producing a 13,000-word dissertation, organised into discrete chapters to meet the learning outcomes.
By the end of the module students will be able to:
- Organise documentation to convey clearly and accurately the processes undertaken and what has been achieved
- Critically evaluate relevant literature utilising an appropriate theoretical framework and prior empirical studies
- Select and justify an appropriate research design, sample population and data collection instruments and adopt a critical, ethically sensitive stance towards the conduct of the research study
- Summarise, analyse and interpret data using suitable statistical or other tools where appropriate
- Synthesise findings in relation to theoretical perspectives, prior empirical studies and professional practice issues
- A wide range of topics is encouraged that will take the play therapy profession forward. In the case of clinical topics, students are required to develop a clinical philosophy based upon an integrative holistic approach. This is to be related to an understanding and implementation of evidenced therapeutic models. Students are required to apply this clinical philosophy to a specific aspect of working therapeutically with children. Other topics that are a part of the play therapy systemic environment should be considered including clinical supervision, therapist attributes, cultural considerations, training methods, social and economic factors affecting demand and joined up working.
- Original research may be either qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods in nature. Students have 18 months to complete their dissertation.
- In addition students will be expected to present and submit dissertations in accordance with accepted conventions of academic writing and in accordance with the requirements set out in the University’s published Dissertation Guidelines.
- The Dissertation must be of publishable quality in terms of written accuracy.
Each taught online Tutorial Workshop introduces concepts, and signpost students to further reading and resources that is relevant to their own work. Additional reading materials and filmed sessions are available on APAC ALMS pages, with the UoC library offering further study skills and academic development opportunities and support.
This course is facilitated by Sophia O’Neill, APAC MA Course Director, PTUK Research Writer, Play Therapist MA.
| Workshop Tutorial | Workshop Tutorial Contents Outline |
| Pre-Course | Preparing for your MA, guidance and suggestions sent out at enrolment. |
| 1 | An IntroductionOverview of the programme – the whole team around the students.
Course requirements, timings and modules. Choosing a research topic, formulating a Research Question. |
| 2
Both in Tutorial 2 and as a stand-alone filmed resource.
|
Literature Reviews & EthicsThe purpose of a Literature Review.
Effective and efficient searching, reading and note-taking. Managing references and citations. A strategy for writing a literature review.
Ethical application process and skills. |
| 3 | Research Methods Pt. 1Ethics round-up.
Research Philosophy and debate. Methods to fit research questions. |
| 4 | Research Methods Pt. 2Questionnaires.
Systematically presenting Quantitative Data. Interviews, Focus Groups. Making logical sense of Qualitative Data. Observation. Case Study. Narrative Inquiry. Triangulation, using methods together.
Tailored detail on relevant research methods according to needs of students. |
| 5 | Analysis TechniquesWhat is a number?
Analysing Quantitative Data. Descriptive statistics, statistical analysis, presenting results. Analysing Qualitative Data. Thematic analysis, grounded theory, presenting results.
Tailored detail on relevant analysis techniques according to needs of students. |
| 6 | Writing UpWriting for an academic audience.
Presentation requirements & submission. Working with large documents. Writing an abstract. Supporting yourself during the writing up process. |
| 7 | Publication & DisseminationExploring avenues for the sharing and publishing student’s unique research.
Why publish? Where to publish? Writing for different audiences. Finding openings to share your work. |
| On-going support | Throughout the 18-month course, ongoing support from APAC and UoC staff is provided. |
Upon successful completion of the course, you will retain the professional grade with which you entered, Certified Play Therapist. The MA is a research-only course, and members who are not currently practising play therapy must declare this either at the point of application or at membership renewal. In such cases, they will be registered under the grade MA – Non-Practising Practitioner.
For more detailed explanation on professional grades, please click here.
Please note that it is mandatory to maintain an active PTUK membership during your course.
PTUK Membership and PTUK accredited courses
- As per one of the PTUK’s mandate roles, PTUK accredits several Universities and Colleges overseas and other specialised training institutions based in the UK, such as Academy of Play and Child Psychotherapy (APAC) that offer a variety of courses in play therapy.
Academic Award from the University of Chichester
MA in Practice Based Play Therapy (Stage III) attracts 60 University credits.
Each of the stages is 60 credits, with 180 maximum upon completion of all three stages.
Please note that the graduation ceremony for the students on this course is organised by APAC, not the University of Chichester.
APAC has an excellent reputation for student satisfaction and retention. We are small enough to care but big enough to deliver.
We work with the accrediting Universities to provide a range of student services, amongst which is disability support (click here).
Complete The Application Form
In order to apply for this course, please click here.
Next Steps
- Once we have received your application and confirmed your grades for the Postgraduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills and the Postgraduate Diploma in Play Therapy we will acknowledge the receipt of your application form.
- We will inform you whether your application has been successful or not and provide reasons why not
- We will request you to pay your deposit
- Your application will be sent to the Bursary committee if applicable
- We will be in touch with either a formal offer of the place for you to accept or decline or an explanation why you have not been successful
Once you accept the formal offer, your fees will become non-refundable.
