Psychology (MSc)

at Cardiff University

This is a one year full-time course that starts in the Autumn. You will take taught courses in the first two semesters. In the final semester (Summer) you will take a placement and complete a dissertation.
 

The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2022/23 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2022.

In the first semester, you will discover the core academic components of Psychology, such as clinical psychology, developmental psychology, and social psychology, and in the second semester, you will complete your basic training and conduct your own novel research project. In the summer months, you will undertake a 12-week professional placement in which you experience life as a professional psychologist and learn the associated skills.

This is a conversion course. Conversion courses allow you to study a subject unrelated to your undergraduate degree or current career, and support you with a change of career path. No prior knowledge or degree in the subject is required.
 

Academic requirements:

Typically, you will need to have:

• a 2:1 Honours degree or Merit at Masters level, or international equivalent, and
• Maths at a level equivalent to at least a grade C/4 at GCSE, demonstrable with formal qualifications or professional/degree experience.
   

Other essential requirements:

You will also need to provide a personal statement that is relevant to your application. Please supply your statement as a PDF (500 words) and include the following questions as headings:
 

1. How has psychology played a role in your work or studies? (200 words)
2. How do you know that psychology is the right degree for you? (150 words)
3. What do you wish to achieve with your MSc in Psychology? (150 words)
    

Within your answers to the questions please give details of or explain:

• Any courses/modules on psychological issues you have completed or any books that you have read on psychology that you have found particularly interesting;
• Whether you have been involved in a psychologically informed or psychologically related role either in a paid or voluntary way (e.g. teaching, counselling, support work);
• How you have observed the impact of or potential of psychology within that role;
• And how you intend to use the knowledge of psychology in your future career.
   

English Language Requirements:

IELTS with an overall score of 7.0 with 6.5 in all subskills, or equivalent.
 

Application deadline:

This programme has a limited number of places. If you submit a completed application by 31 January and meet the entry requirements you will be guaranteed consideration for the programme.
 

Selection process:

Places on the course are competitive and preference will be given to candidates deemed most likely to succeed on the course and benefit from it. Evidence for the potential to do well on the course will be taken from previous qualifications and the personal statement which should indicate the candidate’s previous experience of psychology or evidence of an interest in Psychology.
 

Only complete applications that are received before 31 January will be given guarenteed consideration. Applications will be scored based on the criteria listed above and offers will be made to the highest scoring applicants after the initial application deadline.
 

If you submit an application after the 31 January deadline, or if your application is deemed incomplete, you application may be considered at a later date should there be places available on the programme.

Fees for home status

Tution Fees - £10,950
Deposit - £1000

Fees for overseas status

Tution Fees - £23,450
Deposit-£1,000
 

A psychology degree can provide you with a variety of career options and psychologists are employed on an increasingly wide scale in a variety of sectors including mental health, human factors, business, and education.
 

Psychology graduates are favoured by employers because of their broad skillset. A psychology degree reflects a university education which not only develops analytical skills, critical thinking and literacy but also numeracy and quantitative skills.
 

Placements
 

You will complete a 12-week placement in Semester 3 (Summer) where you will have the opportunity to work with professional psychologists in a clinic, research lab or organisation. This will enable you to put the skills and knowledge you’ve developed in the first two semesters into practice in a professional setting.
 

The placements on this MSc will be similar to those experienced on the undergraduate programme. Some examples of placements that our undergraduate students have been on are:
 

• Research Assistant at Broadmoor Hospital;

• Independent Domestic Violence advisor (IDVA) at Cardiff Women’s Aid;

• Research Trainee at Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons;

• Research Intern within the media, communications and advertising department of Ipsos MORI, London (market research agency);

• Sales Associate at Lenovo;

• Research Assistant at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development) at Birkbeck College (University of London).