PTPSYGDL - Psychology for Graduates (by Distance Learning)

This Distance Learning course delivers introductory material in Psychology, equivalent to Level 4 of the single honours BSc Psychology. The audience for the course are graduates from non-psychology disciplines. The course is intended as a pre-entry qualification for the Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Psychology and MSc in Applied Psychology.

The course takes advantage of the University’s virtual learning environment (WebLearn), and staff experience in using this, in order to deliver online material to students. In addition to lecture material, students are able to utilise self-test material to gauge the extent of their learning and to enhance their learning. In the modifications now being proposed for the course, all assessment will be online and mid-semester assessment will be introduced in order to provide additional feedback and enhance engagement.

The University Certificate in Psychology for Graduates provides a qualification for entry to the Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Psychology, or MSc Applied Psychology, for graduate students who have not previously studied psychology at degree level. The Postgraduate Diploma provides a qualification which meets the requirements of the British Psychological Society for the Graduate Basis for Chartership (a prerequisite for subsequent progression to Chartered Psychologist status via accredited training in a professional area of psychology).

Specifically the University Certificate in Psychology for Graduates course aims to:
1. provide graduate students who have not studied psychology at degree level with a programme that ensures they are introduced to, and develop a knowledge of, a broad range of areas and approaches in psychology;
2. fully utilise the students’ capacity for independent learning acquired from their first degree course.

Upon successful completion of the course students should be able to:

1. describe theories and models from the topics of biological psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, individual differences, and social psychology;
2. describe the historical development of theories and perspectives in these areas;
3. explain the relationship of empirical evidence to theories in these areas;
4. explain the rationale behind experimental research methods;
5. conduct some basic statistical analyses;
6. produce the report of an investigation in the format used by psychology journals.

http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Documents/Psychology2010.pdf

Assessments will be conducted online, as appropriate for a distance learning course. The assessments aim to determine whether students have acquired a sufficient understanding of introductory psychology material, such that they are appropriately qualified to join the Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Psychology or the MSc Applied Psychology.

For Research Methods students will be required to demonstrate their understanding of empirical investigation, and especially data analysis, in two practical reports that follow the format of psychology journal articles.

For the other modules, students will be required to take a mid-semester test involving short-answer questions and an end-of-semester test based on multiple-choice questions.

All modules are core-compulsory for the University Certificate in Psychology.

Graduates of the course can progress to the Applied Psychology PG Dip or Applied Psychology MSc. This will allow you to progress to a postgraduate professional training programme in an area of psychology including forensic, clinical, health, educational, occupational and counselling psychology.

You will be required to have:

• a degree with at least lower second class honours (or equivalent)
• English language and Mathematics GCSEs at grade C (grade 4 from 2017) or above (or equivalent)

All applicants must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. Applicants who require a Tier 4 student visa may need to provide a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.