The Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) is a private higher education institution established in October 1997, originally founded by the South African Medical Association. Its head office and campus, known as FPD Knowledge Park, is located at 173 Mary Road, The Willows, Pretoria. FPD specialises in professional and continuing education for the health sector and related fields, offering graduate qualifications, short courses, and CPD-accredited training delivered through a Business School, School of Health Sciences, School of Education, School of Nursing, an Occupational Health, Safety and Wellness School, and a School of Information Technology, alongside research, health systems strengthening, and conference/webinar activities (e.g. the African Nursing Conference, SA Mental Health Conference, SA AIDS Conference). FPD states it is registered as a private higher education institution with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), and the Council on Higher Education (CHE) since 2002, with qualifications accredited by the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of the CHE. It reports having trained over 607,000 alumni across 110+ countries.
Qualifications & Programmes
- Faculty/School structure (per FPD's short-programme site): Business School; School of Health Sciences; School of Education; School of Nursing; Occupational Health, Safety and Wellness School; School of Information Technology — each offering short courses in Clinical, Non-Clinical, Mental Health, Public Health, Management, and Education categories, delivered via distance learning, contact tuition, or e-learning.
- Higher Certificate in Management
- Higher Certificate in Practice Management (18 months; requires Grade 12/NSC or equivalent NQF Level 4 qualification)
- Higher Certificate in Early Childhood Care and Education
- Advanced Certificate in Management
- Advanced Certificate in Monitoring and Evaluation
- Advanced Certificate in Health Management
- Postgraduate Diploma in Distance Higher Education
- Postgraduate Diploma in General Practice
- Postgraduate Diploma in Health Professions Education and Leadership
- Postgraduate Diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation
- Medical Impairment Rating (short course)
- Rapid CPD Compliance courses (HPCSA-compliant continuing professional development for health practitioners)
- Note: FPD's public site references a broader 'Graduate Programmes' and 'Short Courses' catalogue (via www.foundation.co.za/graduate-programme and /short-programme) but does not render a full itemised course list to automated retrieval; the qualifications above were confirmed via FPD's online learning portal (online.foundation.co.za) and search-indexed course pages. A complete, current catalogue should be confirmed directly on the site or by request to FPD (info@foundation.co.za / Graduate Programme Unit: gradprog@foundation.co.za), as more programmes likely exist beyond what could be enumerated here.