MSc Foundations of Clinical Psychology

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Delivery:
Full time according to Funding Council definitions

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This Master’s course within the Department of Psychology adopts a patient-centred approach to teaching the origins and range of clinical psychology. It is recognised and respected by practitioners for producing sound, highly employable graduates within many branches of psychology.

The course is ideal for anyone wishing to gain an in-depth knowledge of clinical psychology, and is particularly relevant if you intend to apply to a training programme to qualify as a clinical psychologist. Whilst a place on such a training programme is not guaranteed, our graduates have a thorough grounding in all relevant aspects. Alternatively, you may choose to pursue a career in psychological research.

You will look at patient-centred case histories, and benefit from the teaching contributions of trained and practising clinical psychologists while considering a range of therapies and disorders.

Delivery of the programme is typically two days per week on campus between October and May each year, with supervision arrangements for the dissertation in June and July. This delivery pattern allows you to plan and build a clinical portfolio more effectively, if appropriate to your future career.

See Course details for more information, including how this course will be delivered safely in autumn 2020 in response to Covid-19.

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Image description — Psychology hero hand holding brain connections

Key information

Next start date:

September 2020, September 2021

Location:

Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus

Duration:

1 year full-time, 2 years part-time

Required subjects:

Psychology

Entry requirements:

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:1 or equivalent in a required subject.

International entry requirements:

If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in writing and 5.5 in speaking, listening and reading or equivalent. For more information check out our full entry requirements.

Course details

September 2020 – course information

During your first semester (September to January), you’ll be taught on campus for approximately six sessions as part of the Roots & Ranges of Psychological Disorders unit. We will also aim to offer a face-to-face session to meet your classmates during induction week.

The rest of your course will be delivered online, using interactive platforms that will replicate the experience of being in a lecture theatre or seminar room. You’ll have opportunities to interact with your lecturer and fellow students just as you would have done in any other year.

We hope to have a full programme of face-to-face sessions on campus for all courses from January if government guidelines permit.

You will be able to use the Library, the Student Centre, Open Access Centre and social learning spaces, subject to physical distancing measures to undertake group and other work.

There will be no other changes to the content of your course as a result of Covid-19; we will deliver all of the units we have previously promised we would, and we are not making any changes to the individual learning outcomes on your course.

It’s important that you know these changes are temporary and that we will be back to our usual on-campus experience as soon as national guidance makes it possible.

See our Coronavirus FAQs for the latest information from BU.

This is the latest information, updated on 20 July. We will update this page when more information is available, and we can confirm any additional on-campus activity.

Core units

Roots & Range of Psychological Disorders: An introduction to the origins of mainstream psychological disorders. This provides context for the teaching of the subject for the rest of the course, and allows you to gain an in-depth understanding of the range of clinical psychological disorders.
Psychological Therapy: The main psychological therapeutic approaches used in the clinical treatment of disorders.
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.
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.
Dissertation: You can choose a specialism of interest and complete a dissertation. This will involve an in-depth critical literature review, supported by workshops.

Research apprenticeship scheme

In your second term, you may be offered the chance to work alongside staff to help them with their research. You get the chance to work together with researchers, gathering and analysing data, and working out what experimental findings might mean. You have the opportunity to work with specialist equipment that you might not have been able to otherwise and gain in-depth knowledge of what research really involves.

The scheme also provides you with invaluable experience for your own research project.

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 308kb)

Your application

What we’re looking for

For MSc Foundations of Clinical Psychology we are looking for applicants who:

Enjoy working with people to help them understand their problems
Are personable
Have excellent communication skills
Have a professional manner
Are able to use their own initiative appropriately.

Applicants should ultimately have an interest in other people and wish to support them in helping them to understand their problems.

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 course are:

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:1 or equivalent in a required subject
If you lack the formal academic qualifications needed to enter a postgraduate or post-experience degree, there are several alternative routes to follow. Some of these are based on experience. Contact the Future Students Enquiry Team for more information.

International entry requirements

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

China: 学士学位 (Bachelor degree) with a minimum of 65% overall
Nigeria: Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution in Nigeria
Thailand: Thai Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution.
Vietnam: Bachelor's degree/Bang tot nghiep dai hoc with an average score of at least 7.0, or a Master’s degree/Thac si.
Turkey: Bachelor’s Degree (Lisans Diplomasi -four years) to be considered for a postgraduate course at BU.

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language 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) 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in writing and 5.5 in speaking, listening and reading or equivalent.
You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

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.

Careers

After completing this course, you will possess the practical skills and theoretical knowledge necessary to continue into an academic career or secure employment in a range of organisations. The course will equip you with an in-depth knowledge of clinical psychology which will enhance your application to training programmes if you seek a career as a qualified clinical psychologist.

Potential job roles

Industries worked in

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:

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
Any expenses relating to placements e.g. travel, specialist clothing etc.

Repeat units

Financial help available from BU

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.

Our staff

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. Please note that teaching staff can change.

Dr Helen Bolderston - Senior Lecturer

Dr Helen Bolderston, the course leader, has research interests in acceptance-based psychotherapies, particularly Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; mindfulness.Other interests include processes implicated in the development and maintenance of mental health problems alongside psychological wellbeing and burnout in health and social care students and professionals.

View Dr Helen Bolderston’s staff profile

Dr Maddy Greville-Harris - Lecturer

Dr Bernhard Angele – Senior Lecturer (Academic) in Psychology

Dr Julie Kirkby – Senior Lecturer in Psychology

Dr Shanti Shanker - Lecturer in Psychology

Dr Shanti Shanker's research focuses on the brain mechanisms of cognitive control (or inhibition), memory and executive functions. One of her longstanding interest is to understand a) how the striatum and hippocampus based learning systems interact b) the white matter connections between the frontal lobe and the hippocampus, especially, in patients with neurological disorders.

View Dr Shanti Shanker’s staff profile

Dr John McAlaney - Associate Professor in Psychology

Dr John McAlaney is a Chartered Psychologist, Chartered Scientist and Associate Professor of Psychology. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Stirling, MSc at the University of Strathclyde and then his PhD at the University of West of Scotland in 2007. Dr John McAlaney's PhD was on the topic of social psychology and substance use, looking particularly at misperceptions of peer norms. Following this he worked on an AERC funded post-doc position at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine before moving onto a lecturing post at the University of Bradford in 2008. He joined the Department of Psychology at Bournemouth in 2014. Dr John McAlaney is currently undertaking the role of Head of Education, alongside my colleague Dr Jane Elsley.

Dr Ala Yankouskaya - Lecturer in Psychology

Having a medical background, Dr Ala Yankouskaya completed her second PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience at Birmingham University (School of Psychology) in 2012. Prior to coming to Bournemouth, she held post doc and senior post doc positions at The Centre of Cognitive Neuropsychology at Oxford University and lectureship position at Liverpool Hope University.

View Dr Ala Yankouskaya’s staff profile

Course changes

Date	Changes to this course
01/04/2020	Where the change was made: Key information Change: Part-time study option added. 2 years part-time

What our students say

Alexandra Brown

We get to write and run our own experiments; the facilities are state of the art.

Hear from our staff

Associate Professor Simon Thompson

A really important part of learning at BU is the opportunity for Master’s students to get involved in clinical research and many have co-authored research papers.

Hear from our alumni

Ben Hunt

Being a research assistant is a great privilege as experience is key. Acting as an honorary research assistant so early in your career really makes you stand out.