Course description
The School of Psychology at the University of Wales, Bangor is one of the top seven 5*A departments in UK Psychology and offers modern degree programmes, which are fully BPS accredited. The School has achieved the highest possible ratings in terms of both research and teaching performance and has invested extensively in a modern teaching, learning and research environment, including brain imaging (MRI) technology. Students have access to state-of-the-art research and computing facilities and the opportunity to study under world-renowned academic staff. The School also boasts a number of prestigious research centres including the Wolfson Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, The Centre for Experimental Consumer Psychology and the Bangor Centre for Developmental Disabilities which, as well as being in the vanguard of academic research in these fields, offer students unique opportunities for project work covering important theoretical and practical elements.
Course Description
The MSc in Foundations of Clinical Psychology has been developed to provide both theoretical and practical foundations for advanced work in the field of clinical psychology. Students who take this course will get both comprehensive research experience and a strong grounding in clinical theory. The theoretical aspect of the programme will provide a firm basis for future work in psychology such as psychology assistant or doctoral training in clinical research or clinical psychology. The research skills learned will be broadly applicable and are valuable in research assistantships, eventual doctoral work, or a range of workplace settings.
In general, we aim to provide a high quality teaching and learning environment through the use of the latest teaching tools, team-taught courses, and closely mentored research with experts in clinical psychology.
*Please note that the course does not constitute a professional training in clinical psychology.
Content and Structure
This course consists of taught and research components that run concurrently. The taught component comprises the following modules which are split between clinical topics and clinical research skills:
Semester I
* Biological Basis of Psychological Disorders
* Clinical Neuropsychology
* Issues in Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
* Advanced Research Methods and Proposal I
Semester II
* Theoretical Models in Clinical Psychology
* Communicating Research in Psychology
* Advanced Statistics
* Advanced Research Methods and Proposal II
Semester III
* Research Thesis
The research thesis is an intensive clinically-relevant research experience designed to engage MSc students in the entire research process from design proposal to data analyses and manuscript preparation. Staff-to-student research ratios are small, and therefore promise close collaboration and seminar-style work alongside staff. The proposal and introduction to the project are written during Semester I, data collection occurs during Semesters I and II, and analyses and manuscript preparation occur during Semester III.
Teaching, Learning and Assessment
The curriculum is designed to extend your current knowledge of psychology and develop skills that are valuable in psychological research. Teaching occurs via lectures, colloquium presentations, and seminar-style work with your thesis supervisor.
All courses are 'team-taught' to ensure that you are instructed on each topic by experts in the field. Theses are guided by academic staff in their areas of expertise. Assessment methods include written exams, essays, oral presentations and a research thesis.
