Overview

Would you like to fast-track your route to Chartered Psychologist status? This psychology conversion course is designed to make you eligible for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society (BPS) on graduation. Gaining GBC will be your first step to chartered status.

Your course will focus on enhancing your critical thinking and research skills, preparing you for your dissertation and future career. 

You will learn from active research staff with specialisms in areas that include applied gender psychology, the effects of ageing on decision-making and personality.

Our psychology research facilities include state-of-the-art brain imaging electroencephalogram (EEG), eye tracking equipment and a range of experiment and research software. We provide access and a high standard of support for use of these facilities. 

Select your desired study option, then pick a start date to see relevant course information:Study options:?Full-timeDuration: 1 yearPart-timeDuration: 2 years

Start date:September 2022

If your desired start date is not available, try selecting a different study option.

Why study Psychology Conversion with us?

What our students say…

I would thoroughly recommend this course, owing to the transparency and engagement from the staff, the breadth of content covered, and the pragmatically oriented approach to teaching to fit around the students’ lives. The library services were very good, and offered an abundance of comfortable and silent work space, with plenty of IT equipment.James ParkerNext

Course detail & modules

This course is accredited by the BPS and will cover the core content you need to apply for GBC membership as a successful graduate.

As this is a Masters-level psychology conversion course, you will also develop your critical thinking and the skills and knowledge to plan, implement and report psychological research, using a range of statistical as well as qualitative research techniques.

Small tutor-led sessions will support your academic skills development, including the ability to use referencing and writing styles correctly. We will also support your personal development in the key areas of time management and project planning. During the course your skills and knowledge will be assessed through:

• research reports
• oral and poster presentations
• written examinations
• essays

You will be aided by experienced teaching staff who are active in research. Their expertise will open up opportunities for you to choose an area of specialism and complete your dissertation on a topic of interest. You will also develop your understanding of relevant research methodologies. 

The MSc Psychology Conversion degree will also help you to gain a wide range of transferable skills in:

• analysis
• communication
• statistics
• IT
• independence and team working

These skills will make you an attractive graduate to employers in a range of industries. 

Compulsory modules

• Psychology Research Methods
• Development Across the Lifespan
• Social and Cross-cultural Psychology
• Cognition and Neuropsychology
• Personality and Intelligence in Psychology
• Applied Biological Psychology
• Dissertation

Entry requirements

• Requirements:UK
• Requirements:International

You should have:

• an honours degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university or equivalent
• Maths and English GCSE or Level 2 equivalent

We may also offer you a place based on relevant experience or training, normally from within the work environment. All applications are considered individually. 

Find out more about our processes for recognising previous experience

We look for students who show enthusiasm and a passion for the subject through previous study or professional experience.

If you have any questions about the relevance of your qualifications or experience please contact the course leader shown in the teaching staff.

Fees & funding

• Funding:UK
• Funding:International

£8,950per year

The fee above is the cost per year of your course.

If your course runs for two years or more, you will need to pay the fee for each academic year at the start of that year. If your course runs for less than two years, the cost above is for your full course and you will need to pay the full fee upfront. Government regulation does affect your fees, so what you pay may go up in future. For example, government regulation around future inflation may increase your course fees.

If no fee is shown above then the fees for this course are not available yet. Please check again later for updates.

Study & career progression

Graduates from this course usually move into one of the following:

• employment as a research or psychology assistant
• PhD study
• DClin Psychology or DEd Psychology training
• human resource management
• social sciences
• counselling (with further training)
• education (with further training)

If you would like to take your studies further at UWL, you can find out more about MPhil and PhD courses with the specialised Graduate School. 

How to apply

• How to apply:UK/EU
• How to apply:International

You can apply online at any time by following the link below.

Our application form will ask you for some information about:

• what you want to study
• your previous qualifications or experience
• your references 
• how we can contact you.

Want to ask us a question first? We would love to hear from you. Contact us free on:

• 0800 036 8888
• courses@uwl.ac.uk  

• Home
• Postgraduate
• Msc Psychology

MSc PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology

QUICK INFO & APPLY NOW

LOCATION

Stratford Campus

LocationMSc

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Find out about entry requirementsFlexible entry requirements

START DATE(S)

January 2022 September 2022

ATTENDANCE

• Full time, 1 year
• Part time, 2 years

LEARNING

• On campus, Dual Delivery

What is dual delivery?Make an enquiryApply Now

Fees and Funding

Here’s the fees and funding information for each year of this courseJanuary 2022

Attendance

Fee

Note

HomeFull time, 1 year£9,120Per yearPart time, 2 years£1,520Per 30 credit moduleInternationalFull time, 1 year£14,340Per yearLearn about additional costsLearn about feesLearn about fundingSeptember 2022

OVERVIEW

This is a conversion course for students with a first degree in another subject area. It means you could go on and train to be a professional psychologist – for example, by studying for a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.

You may, however, simply want to study this course because you are interested in the subject, in which case you will return to your career enriched with knowledge of human behaviour.

A concentrated lecture schedule – Wednesday afternoon and evening for those studying full-time, and if you study part-time you have the option of either Wednesday afternoons or evenings, which means you can combine the study with your current commitments.

Some of our students have obtained a psychology degree overseas but have now moved to the UK and need to add the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) qualification to further their careers. This course ticks that box.

You will benefit from excellent and highly experienced teaching in an internationally recognised school close to the London 2012 Olympic Park in Stratford, in a vibrant area with shopping centres and transport hubs.

What makes this course different

Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS)

This accreditation is a mark of quality that students and employers understand and value. Studying a BPS accredited course will give you the opportunity to gain graduate or chartered membership for the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC). GBC is an important requirement for becoming a professional psychologist in areas such as clinical and educational psychology.

Flexible afternoon and evening lectures

The one-year course is ideally suited to busy professionals, with lectures scheduled on Wednesday afternoon and evening each week. It is intensive and you will need to study outside scheduled teaching days – but you can combine it with work. You can also study part-time over a longer period.

1st – impact of research in the UK

Psychology is joint first in the UK for impact of research, beating Cambridge and Oxford, showing our incredible academic expertise and real-world relevance. (latest REF, 2014)

One of the valuable things you will find about this course is your fellow students. Recently we have had solicitors, health professionals, marketing directors and people who run their own companies, as well as people with PhDs in areas such as history, anthropology and even astronomy.

Dr Mary-Jane Budd MSc Psychology (conversion) Course Lead

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Psychology is an empirical science that aims to understand how and why humans and animals act in the ways they do and to apply that knowledge in a wide variety of settings.

The discipline is very wide-ranging, spanning from the observations of basic neural mechanisms to analyses of complex human and social relationships.

This course is designed to develop your knowledge, understanding, research and practical skills in psychology. 

That is achieved through the following topics: Biological Psychology; Cognitive Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Origins and Concepts of Psychology; Individual Differences; and Social Psychology, along with two Research Methods modules. You will also undertake an independent research project under the supervision of one of our members of staff.

If you are unable to complete the full MSc course, there are intermediate awards involving escalating amounts of study.

We consistently review our courses to ensure we are up to date with industry changes and requirements from our graduates. As a result, our modules are subject to change. 

DOWNLOAD COURSE SPECIFICATIONS

COURSE SPECIFICATION – MSc Psychology

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MSc Psychology Pre prep reading_for Term1_2020 21 (1)

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MODULES

• Year 1CORE MODULESExperimental Research Methods and StatisticsExperimental Research Methods and StatisticsThe main aim of this module is to introduce students to experimental research within psychology. Students will be taught about the role of the experimental method within the wider context of Psychology’s status as a scientific discipline. They will learn about fundamental topics such as; being an ethical experimental researcher; defining a research question; formulating a hypothesis; measuring and testing participants; selecting and executing appropriate statistical analysis; reporting and analysing data; and critically evaluating the outcome of empirical work and its relationship to the existing literature. Applied Research Methods (Mental Wealth)Applied Research Methods (Mental Wealth)The main aim of this module is to introduce students to applied research within psychology. Students will be taught about the role of non-experimental and qualitative methodology within the wider context of psychology’s status as scientific discipline. They will learn about fundamental topics such as: epistemology; qualitative methods (such as Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis); psychometric testing; the design and administration of questionnaires; non-experimental methodology (such as observational studies); and how to critically reflect on their applied work and its relationship to the existing literature. Perspectives in Psychology: Biological, Cognitive, and DevelopmentalPerspectives in Psychology: Biological, Cognitive, and DevelopmentalThis module has three principle aims. Firstly, to develop a comprehensive and systematic knowledge of concepts, theories and research at the forefront of fields of psychology, cognitive psychology and developmental psychology. Secondly, to develop an awareness of the pertinent scientific and philosophical issues together with the wider context of psychology that informs these areas of the field. Thirdly, to foster an awareness of the implications of the research presented for current debates/issues/themes outside of academia. Foundations of Psychology: Origins and Concepts, Individual Differences, and Social PsychologyFoundations of Psychology: Origins and Concepts, Individual Differences, and Social PsychologyThis module has three principle aims. Firstly, to develop a critical awareness of issues pertaining to ontology, epistemology, philosophy of science and the history of psychology as a discipline. Secondly, to present the major theoretical perspectives in individual differences. Thirdly, to introduce issues and debates in social, emotional and cognitive aspects of psychological development. An ongoing theme of the module will be to consider the implications of the knowledge imparted for real-life events and the development of professional practice. Dissertation (Independent Research Thesis)Dissertation (Independent Research Thesis)The main aim of this module is to consolidate students’ awareness of the issues involved in formulation, execution, and reporting of psychological research and theory via the production of a dissertation featuring an independently produced piece of psychological research. 

HOW YOU’LL LEARN

We are now recognised as one of the UK’s leading modern universities for psychology research. Our teaching is regularly audited and our School of Psychology offers more sub-disciplines than many other universities.

You will have the opportunity to participate in innovative research with specialists in their fields as part of your research dissertation.

And the wide spectrum of research being conducted means you will have a broad range of choice for your project’s subject area.

Lectures and seminars are accompanied by comprehensive lecture notes and an extensive range of online materials. Students are also allocated dedicated MSc personal tutors who will give you support and answer academic queries.

The course uses a variety of teaching and learning methods that will help you reflect on practice and attain the learning outcomes for each module.

Teaching methods include lectures, seminars, tutorials, group exercises, peer study groups and individual supervision.

There are also interactive online materials that you can access, and there’ll be individual reading, exercises and assignments to complete.

Learning resources include IT and general psychology laboratories (which include specialist research hardware and software), access to electronic journals and databases, and specialist library facilities.

Our London location, the intensive nature of our study and having two points of entry – September or January – mean this course meets the needs of a diverse range of students.

We are also one of few institutions that our MSc Psychology students are taught entirely as an MSc cohort with no overlap in teaching with our undergraduate students. So your class will be made up of entirely MSc students, and be designed for MSc students only. 

HOW YOU’LL BE ASSESSED

We use a wide range of assessment procedures. Exams and coursework are moderated, while dissertations are double marked. Assessments will include coursework, written unseen exams and a written research dissertation.