MSc/PGDip/PGCert Psychology (conversion)

Develop a sound understanding in psychological theory and research, to convert your existing bachelor’s degree into a Masters in Psychology, and take your first step towards a career as a psychologist. 

On this MSc, you’ll learn the scientific underpinnings of the discipline of psychology across a range of key areas, including social, developmental, cognitive and biological psychology. You’ll learn to critically evaluate psychological theory and research, as well as gain hands-on training in quantitative and qualitative research methods.

The programme is structured to offer both full-time (studying for 1 calendar year) and part-time (across 2 or 3 years) options. Both are delivered through blended learning, utilizing face-to-face campus classes primarily in the evening (currently two evenings, 6pm – 9pm per week, during Autumn and Spring semesters), and structured online learning (which includes recorded classes, participating in forum discussions and practice tests). Part-time students have a break from campus attendance approximately every third week. A year-long research project is taken with the guidance of a specialist supervisor leading to the submission of the MSc Dissertation.

The expected time commitment per week for students studying full-time is: 6 hours of campus-based classes, 6 hours of structured online learning, and approximately 23 hours dedicated to independent study and assessment preparation. The third semester will be dedicated to finalising the dissertation with a time commitment of around 35 hours of independent study. Thus, the full-time programme requires an average commitment of 35 hours over 52 weeks. Part-time study options are also available – please contact us for more information.

For students who cannot attend campus regularly, this masters is recommended to be studied via distance learning.

The learning, teaching and assessment structure of the programme is designed to give you multiple opportunities to practice and demonstrate skills through authentic assessment tasks, e.g. practical reports which simulate the skills required of professional psychologists and researchers.

Teaching of research methods is embedded in most taught modules, to give you strong contextual understanding and the ability to apply methods into different contexts. You’ll learn a range of research skills and methods, to allow you to investigate behaviour and conduct psychological research as an integral part of applied psychology.

You will benefit from our world-class library, specialist research equipment (including EEG and an fMRI scanner) and state of the art teaching facilities. You can find out more about our  specialist facilities here. 

As this programme is accredited by The British Psychological Society (BPS), when you graduate you will be able to gain Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) which will allow you to pursue other professional psychology postgraduate programmes, and take the next step towards a career as a chartered psychologist. 

This masters can also be studied online by distance learning.