MSc Clinical & Developmental Neuropsychology

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This course within the Department of Psychology focuses on the normal and abnormal changes that occur in the human brain from childhood through to adulthood through to old age.

Key topics include rare cognitive neuropsychological disorders and relatively common clinical and neurodegenerative disorders. The course is taught by staff members who conduct cutting-edge research in these fields and by professionals in educational psychology, clinical psychology and neuropsychology.

You’ll have the opportunity to apply for a placement working with older adults suffering the effects of traumatic brain damage or neurological disease, or with children or young people with neurodevelopmental conditions. These placements, which take place in either specialist education or neurological care and rehabilitation facilites, give you the opportunity to gain valuable clinical experience and learn from professionals working in these fields.

If you’re more interested in research, internal placements working with a member of staff in the Psychology Research Group will be offered as part of the course.

Through the study of normal and abnormal patterns of development across the lifespan, this course provides a fascinating programme of study if you’re wishing to become a researcher in this area and/or are seeking further professional development by gaining a unique and relevant qualification in an increasingly difficult job market.

“You study the theory as well as the practical elements and you have the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned.”
Marte Jensen, graduate

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Key information

Next start date:

September 2019, September 2020

Location:

Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus

Duration:

1 year, delivered 2 days per week

Required subjects:

Psychology, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics or Statistics

Entry requirements:

For 2019 entry: A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:1 or equivalent in a required subject.Applicants with a 2.2 will be considered if they have achieved a 2.1 in their dissertation.

International entry requirements:

If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS 6.0 (Academic) with a minimum of 5.5 in each component of writing, speaking, listening and reading. For more information see our full entry requirements.

Course details

On this course you will be taught by a range of staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This will include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners, demonstrators, technicians and research students. You will also benefit from regular guest lectures from industry.

Core units

Ageing & Neurodegenerative Disorders: Cognitive abilities rise steeply from infancy to young adulthood and then are either maintained or decline in old age, depending on ability. This unit will focus on the mechanisms that underpin these changes, and will explore illnesses that usually develop in later life (e.g. dementia, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease).
Advanced Research Methods: The unit covers a range of research methods and a tool used for conducting advanced level research, and describes the intricacies of experimental design in such contexts. The unit aims to prepare students for undertaking independent research using advanced research techniques.
Clinical & Cognitive Neuropsychology: This unit explores the diagnostic assessment and treatment of patients with brain injury or neurocognitive deficits. You will gain an in-depth understanding of neurological injury, the use of neuropsychological tests to accurately assess cognitive deficits and the management, treatment and rehabilitation of brain injured and cognitively impaired patients. At the end of the unit, you'll have an advanced knowledge of how our understanding of cognition can be informed by patient studies.
Neurodevelopmental Disorders: This unit explores typical neural and cognitive development in childhood, and takes an in-depth look at several cases of atypical development (e.g. dyslexia, ADHD and autism). You will also have the opportunity to learn more about careers in educational psychology from a professional working in this field.
Advanced Statistics: You will learn and apply a range of statistical techniques intended for analysing data from psychological research. These are advanced techniques which are not covered at undergraduate level.
Key Transferable Skills – Presentation & Scientific Writing: In this unit, you'll gain key skills for interpreting, presenting and writing research. Topics will include writing research and grant proposals, presentation skills and the development of advanced writing skills.
Research Project: You'll get to choose from a set of research projects provided by our teaching staff. You will then be responsible for providing an in-depth literature review and designing an experiment to address the research question. You will be expected to collect and analyse data and will be asked to provide a submission-ready write up of the project. Supervision for the research project will be provided in weekly meetings.

Taught units are currently timetabled for Wednesdays and Thursdays to enable effective, practical learning. Please take this into account when you pre-plan and schedule other activities (eg varsity sports) and commitments such as work placements.

Programme specification

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Download the programme specification (pdf 323kb)

Placements

Through our connections with health care and educational organisations in Poole and Bournemouth, you will have the opportunity to apply for an otpional placement, working with older adults with brain injury or neurological disease, or with children, adolescents or adults with neurodevelopmental conditions.

It should be remembered at all times that students on placements will be fully committed members of a real clinical or educational team. The highest standards of professional conduct must be upheld at all times, and students are expected to be dedicated, conscientious and considerate of their role in the lives of vulnerable people.

We’re always on the lookout for new and exciting placement opportunities for students, so the full range we can offer will be revealed to you when you arrive. Below, however, you can see further information about some of our current placement providers.

Find out more about placements for postgraduate students

Opportunities while on placement

During the placements, you will be given an honourary contract and will have the opportunity to gain experience in a clinical setting, regularly meeting with clinical neuropsychologists and taking part in professional life in this field. You will be involved in data collection and handling such as PAL interviews, behavioural monitoring, UK Rehabilitation Outcomes Collaborative (UKROC), and use of assistive technology.

You will also be offered research opportunities that may or may not form part of your Research Project. These could involve case studies, literature reviews to support clinical intervention, or the use of assistive technology. This includes dissertation possibilities. In addition, you will have the opportunity to attend multi-disciplinary team meetings (MDTs)/goal setting meetings during which the patient's history, progress and treatment will be discussed.

Applying for a placement

Placements are an optional (zero credit) component of the course. Applications for placements involve submitting a CV and undertaking an interview. Placement positions are highly competitive so we cannot guarantee each student a placement or the placement of their choice, but we do our utmost to help everyone who wants one to gain a placement. We additionally encourage students to find their own placements in order to enhance their chances of obtaining a position.

How long is my placement?

Research placements

For those more interested in research, internal placements working with a member of staff in the Psychology Research Group will be offered. External research placements are also a possibility if you are able to secure an agreement with a chosen researcher at another institution.

Research placements offer invaluable experience for those wanting to go on to do PhD-level research. You will be expected to spend the equivalent of 8 hours per week for a minimum of 12 weeks, keep a placement log, undergo a half-way and end of placement review. Regular meetings with the academic supervisor will be held.

Placement providers

Here are some examples of placements you might undertake. We're forming new collaborations with local institutions every year to bring you as many opportunities as we can. You will learn about the full range of placements currently on offer when you sign up to the course.

Dorset Healthcare Adult Neuropsychology Service

The Neuropsychology Service is part of the Dorset Healthcare University Foundation Trust. Within this organization, students will work in one of several positions under the overall supervision of Dr Birgit Gurr, consultant clinical neuropsychologist.

Students may be placed at Poole Hospital’s Stroke Unit, where they will learn about neuropsychological aspects of stroke mainly focusing on cognitive, emotional and behavioural changes in the acute period after stroke. Following introduction to the Stroke Unit, the patients and the procedures, student will observe Dr Gurr initially to learn about the administration of baseline assessments, how to establish rapport with stroke patients and how to engage them in basic psychological support. The placement is an excellent opportunity to learn and practice clinical skills whilst under the guidance of a highly experienced clinician. Students will learn to independently administer baseline neuropsychological assessments; undertake clinical psychology interviews and mood assessments. They will be extensively involved in cognitive stimulation work, reminiscence intervention, supportive counselling, administering basic relaxation and coping strategies.

As part of a multidisciplinary team at the Stroke Unit, students will participate in the morning handover meetings, case meeting with doctors and most of all will collaborate with other therapists to coordinate their assessments and interventions with the holistic neuro-rehabilitation programmes. During weekly lunchtime seminars, students will be introduced to knowledge about neurological aspects of stroke, brain injury, but also neuropsychological theory, test theory and psychotherapy theory and strategies. Students are given the opportunity to orally present and discuss a mini-case study during the month of January, a skill which is directly applicable to assignments in the course.

As an alternative to the Stroke Unit, students may be placed in the Community Brain Injury (CBI) Team. Students working in this role would initially shadow Dr Gurr as described above, in order to learn basic skills related to working with patients with brain damage. They would then be recommended to work with the CBI team. In this role, students can work with other psychologists on the team, facilitating assessments, group activities or the peer support group.

There may be further opportunities to work with in-patients at the Neurological Assessment and Rehabilitation unit at Poole Hospital. All of the placements with the Neuropsychology Service follow a gradual programme of teaching and applied practice. Commonly, students have acquired substantial skills and knowledge by January-February during the placement year. This can enable them to work fairly autonomously on the level of assistant neuropsychologists. This experience is often very valuable for those candidates who intend to apply for assistant jobs in view of clinical psychology training. Additionally, students will be confronted with the pressures and professional requirements of working in the NHS, which will add substantially to their work experience.

Students who have gained the confidence, skill and knowledge to work professionally with patients often welcome the opportunity to enroll in other activities offered within the Neuropsychology Service, such as such as cognitive-behavioural, relaxation, health management and life skills groups within Poole Hospital. Also, participation in free courses by Dorset Healthcare is possible.

A previous student commented: “This has been a positively stretching experience for me. I have learnt so much. Birgit has really invested her time and energy in the students. She has been flexible and receptive to our learning goals.” Another said: “I think it’s important to have self-confidence, to be independent and to be comfortable initiating.” Indeed, as all opportunities with the Neuropsychology Service are year-long placements, it is absolutely critical that students are committed and highly enthusiastic to learn and participate in a real world clinical and working environment.

Shelley Park Neuro Care Centre

Shelley Park Neuro Care Centre is one destination for people who have passed through Poole Hospital's Stroke Service, and provides specialist support for its residents through a holistic, person-centred approach to care and rehabilitation planning. While striving to always maintain a growing reputation as a centre of excellence, the policy of the centre is that residents are cared for in a warm and homely environment while having access to the best medical, nursing and rehabilitation professionals available. As Shelley Park works jointly with Southampton University and Bournemouth University to offer specialist placements and research opportunities, the centre is at the forefront of evidence-based practice. Located within a thriving community which allows the promotion of independence and return to community where possible, Shelley Park aims to offer daily community access to all our residents. Their successful milieu approach results in shorter admission periods for residents on the transitional pathway.

The interdisciplinary team that students will work with includes specialists in neuro-nursing, neuro-physiotherapy, clinical neuropsychology, speech and language therapy, music therapy, neuro-occupational therapy, and therapeutic art and neuro-rehabilitation assistants.

The Shelley Park model consists of a Complex pathway, an Enduring care pathway and a Transitional pathway, and students may work within any one of these. There are also step down units based in the community at various locations within Dorset which are subject to a resident’s needs. Finally, there is an independent living flat based on the main campus which allows a thorough assessment to tailor a person-centred discharge plan, to ensure long-term success. To read more about Shelley Park and the activities that placement students can expect to be involved in, please visit the Shelley Park website.

Amberwood Lodge and Nightingale House

Amberwood Lodge (Poole) and Nightingale Care Home (Bournemouth) are specialist residential facilities for young people and adults with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and other neurodevelopmental conditions. They cater for individuals with a wide range of abilities: autistic people with learning disabilities who may be non-verbal are catered for at Amberwood Lodge, whilst more able individuals with autism, Down syndrome and Q37 chromosome deletion syndrome attend Nightingale House. Many of these individuals have complex mental health needs and comorbidities alongside their neurodevelopmental condition. Amberwood Lodge and Nightingale Care Home aim to provide a stable, safe and supportive environment whilst helping people develop life and vocational skills.

Students who undertake this placement will have the opportunity to experience both settings as they shadow clinical psychologist Dr Katika Varadi. Under Dr Varadi’s supervision, students will assist in the everyday activities supporting the residents at both units, which could include: conducting assessments (observations, interviews and psychometric tests), taking part in individual or group cognitive-behavioural therapy interventions, positive behavior support training, behavior modification programmes, and conducting risk assessments and Functional Analyses of behavior. They will be part of a multidisciplinary team including a Speech and Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Psychiatrist and Clinical Nurse alongside Dr Varadi, and will have the opportunity to attend group meetings. Ideally, two students will work together in this placement: one day will be spent shadowing Dr Varadi and another, subject to negotiation, will involve assisting Dr Varadi in formatting and writing up notes on clients, answering referrals, reviewing data from therapies to see if clients are progressing, and helping with the tasks that keep these services running successfully.

This placement will afford students the opportunity to learn how services for individuals with developmental conditions work ‘from the inside’, and will allow them to learn essential clinical skills that will be invaluable for future work with autistic individuals or other populations with learning disabilities. The placement, and the experience of shadowing a clinical psychologist, is also highly relevant for students with a general interest in a clinical career not necessarily focused on this population.

Your application

Selection methods

We’ll be selecting the candidates for this course by looking at their applications – there are no interviews or additional selection activities. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU.

For more information, see full our entry requirements and take a look at our post graduate ‘how to apply’ pages.

How and when to apply

There is no application deadline for this course. However, if you will need a visa to come to the UK to study, think carefully about the length of time it will take for your visa application to be processed and make sure your visa will be ready in time for the beginning of your course.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

The normal requirements for embarking upon this degree are:

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:1, or equivalent in a required subject. Required subjects include: Psychology, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics/Statistics.
Applicants with a 2.2 will be considered if they have achieved a 2.1 in their dissertation.

If you lack the formal academic qualifications needed to enter a postgraduate or post-experience degree, there are several alternative routes to follow - some based on experience. Contact the Future Students Enquiry team for more information.

International entry requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you can understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (Academic) 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component of writing, speaking, listening and reading, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level.

You can also find further details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our postgraduate entry requirements page.

Careers

This course emphasises core practical skills, which will give you extra marketability in a competitive professional arena, and provide you with a route into a successful and rewarding career.

Potential careers

As an MSc Clinical & Developmental Neuropsychology graduate, you will be prepared to undertake further training for a variety of roles, working in contexts such as the NHS (hospital and community), the private/independent health care sector (nursing homes and private hospitals), education, and academic research.

Potential careers include:

Mental Health Assessor
Clinical Psychologist
Therapist providing psychological therapies (IAPT)
Educational Psychologist
Lecturer
Academic Researcher

Further study

Costs and fees

You can find full information about the deposits required and how to pay your fees in our postgraduate fees and funding section, including details of the Postgraduate Loan (subject to fee status).

All fees are quoted in pounds sterling and are per annum. Fees quoted are for tuition only unless stated otherwise. Your tuition fees will be the same for each year of your course.

Find out more about living expenses for postgraduate students

No hidden extras

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

One set of study-related consumables such as a memory stick/ DVD
Materials for laboratory and field-based teaching activity
Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement
A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
Disability and additional learning support
The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Costs of living and other expenses you need to consider

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website.
Optional fieldwork travel, outdoor wear and footwear (where applicable)
Text books, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of text books and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses.

Repeat units

Deposits

International (non-EU) students need to pay a non-refundable £2,000 deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment. There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit:

You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

Financial help available from BU

Our staff

You'll be learning from world-leading researchers in fields such as face blindness, neuropsychology and clinical psychology and you will have the opportunity to get involved in various research projects. Many of our staff and students are involved in community or charitable trusts in addition to their academic practice or study, and we have close ties with the British Psychological Society.

On this course you will be taught by staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This could include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners and research students, many of whom are actively engaged in research and/or professional practice which is integrated into the teaching of this course. You can visit our Department of Psychology pages to read more about our staff. Please note that teaching staff can change.

Dr Rachel Moseley – Programme Leader

Dr Rachel Moseley is the Programme Leader for this course. She also organises placements and leads the Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Clinical and Cognitive Neuropsychology units. Her research interests centre on autism spectrum conditions (ASC). Within this broad domain, she has used neurometabolic (MRI, DTI) and electrophysiological (EEG, MEG) methods to investigate cognitive processes in people with and without ASC.

Rachel is most interested in language and semantic processing, emotion processing, and social neuroscience. Her interests also focus on mental health in autism and the female profile of autism spectrum conditions. Girls and women with ASC are an understudied group and are commonly mis- or undiagnosed as they do not fit the traditional, male conceptualisation of autism.

View Dr Rachel Moseley’s staff profile

Dr Julie Kirkby – Senior Lecturer in Psychology

Dr Julie Kirkby is the Framework Leader who oversees all MSc programmes at Bournemouth University.

Her research interests fall within developmental and cognitive psychology, focusing on the development of reading and language processing in typical populations and those with specific difficulties like developmental dyslexia. She lends her expertise in mobile and static eye-tracking to the course.

View Dr Julie Kirkby’s staff profile

Dr Peter Hills – Head of Department for Psychology

Dr Peter Hills is currently Head of Department and leads the MSc Research Project unit. His research interests lie in face recognition and perception, where he has studied a broad range of effects using eye-tracking, EEG, tDCS and rTMS.

He also studies visual attention as it is relevant to hazard perception whilst driving; attentional control and inhibition in schizophrenia and ADHD; dyslexia and processing speed; and research in Forensic Psychology on acquaintance rape and offender rehabilitation programmes.

View Dr Peter Hills’ staff profile

Professor Jan Wiener – Professor

Professor Jan Wiener, based in the Department of Psychology, is a co-leader of the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre at Bournemouth University and leads the Key Transferable Skills unit. His research interests focus on navigation and wayfinding in typical and elderly populations and those with degenerative disorders, using behavioural experiments, virtual reality techniques and eye-tracking.

View Professor Jan Wiener’s staff profile

Dr Ellen Seiss – Senior Lecturer in Psychology

Dr Bernhard Angele – Senior Lecturer (Academic) in Psychology

What our students say

Michelle May

My favourite thing about BU is working with brilliant minds. I not only respect but admire the staff for the research they have conducted and their professionalism.

Hear from our staff

Professor Remco Polman

I’m very proud of the staff we have here. The skills and expertise they pass on to students give them the perfect background to move on into careers or further study.

What our students say

Charlotte Barnes

So far the topics have been the best things about the course, all the lecturers are enthusiastic and interested in our feedback and how to improve the course.

MSc Clinical & Developmental Neuropsychology

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Key information

Next start date:

Location:

Duration:

Required subjects:

Entry requirements:

International entry requirements:

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Planning your future

Course details

Core units

Programme specification

Placements

Opportunities while on placement

Applying for a placement

How long is my placement?

Research placements

Placement providers

Dorset Healthcare Adult Neuropsychology Service

Shelley Park Neuro Care Centre

Amberwood Lodge and Nightingale House

Your application

Selection methods

How and when to apply

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

International entry requirements

Careers

Potential careers

Further study

Costs and fees

No hidden extras

Costs of living and other expenses you need to consider

Repeat units

Deposits

Financial help available from BU

Our staff

Dr Rachel Moseley – Programme Leader

Dr Julie Kirkby – Senior Lecturer in Psychology

Dr Peter Hills – Head of Department for Psychology

Professor Jan Wiener – Professor

Dr Ellen Seiss – Senior Lecturer in Psychology

Dr Bernhard Angele – Senior Lecturer (Academic) in Psychology

What our students say

Michelle May

Hear from our staff

Professor Remco Polman

What our students say

Charlotte Barnes