Course description
Qualifying Certificate
The Qualifying Certificate in Psychology is designed to enable students with no previous experience of psychology in higher education to acquire sufficient knowledge and skills to study at level 2/3 (second or third year of full-time study) in a UK university. Specifically, the certificate is offered as an entry qualification for the Oxford Brookes University Graduate Diploma in Psychology, but it also meets the entry requirements for other universities' psychology conversion courses (60 credit and accumulation transfer scheme (CATS) credits of undergraduate psychology modules).
Students who successfully complete the qualifying certificate, achieving average marks of 60% or above, are guaranteed an offer of a place on the Graduate Diploma in Psychology and are entitled to a 10% discount on the fees for the diploma if taken in the next academic year (e.g. the Qualifying Certificate in Psychology started in January 2008 and the graduate diploma started in September 2008).
The course is taught in the Psychology Department, at the Headington Campus of Oxford Brookes University. The Psychology Department has 15 full-time academics and is supported by a computer officer, a full-time technician, three technicians/demonstrators and an administrator.
Course content
To pass with a Qualifying Certificate in Psychology you must pass four modules in psychology, of which a minimum of three must be at level 1 (basic level):
* Introduction to Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology introduces basic psychological investigative procedures and interpretation.
* Foundations of Experimental Psychology introduces experimental psychology, its current theories, methods and findings. This module is available on campus in Semester 1 or as a distance learning course in Semester 2.
And either
* Foundations of Social Psychology introduces the study of social and personal influences on individual and small group behaviour.
or
* Foundations of Developmental Psychology introduces the study of social development, from infancy to the end of childhood.
You may take all four of the above, or can take only three plus a more advanced module. If you intend to apply to do the Graduate Diploma in Psychology to meet the requirements for Graduate Basis for Registration of the British Psychological Society, it is recommended that the advanced module should be:
* Biological Foundations of Behaviour investigates the relationships between the structure and function of the brain and behaviour.
Course structure
Full-time (one semester)
Semester 2:
* Foundations of Experimental Psychology, as a distance learning course; and
* Foundations of Developmental Psychology, Thursdays 9-12; and
* Introduction to Research Methods and Statistics for Psychology, Mondays 9-12 and 1-4; and
* Biological Foundations of Behaviour, Thursdays 1-4 and 5-8.
Part-time (usually two semesters) - preferred option
Semester 1:
* Foundations of Experimental Psychology, Thursdays 9-12; and
* Foundations of Social Psychology, Wednesdays 1-4.
Semester 2:
* Introduction to Research Methods and Statistics for Psychology, Mondays 9-12 and 1-4; and
* Biological Foundations of Behaviour, Thursdays 1-4 and 5-8; or
* Foundations of Developmental Psychology, Thursdays 9-12.
Part-time - alternative option
Semester 1:
* The Individual and Society, Wednesdays 1-4.
Semester 2:
* Foundations of Experimental Psychology, as a distance learning course; and
* Psychological Investigation , Mondays 9-12 and 1-4; and
* Biological Foundations of Behaviour, Thursdays 1-4 and 5-8; or
* Social and Emotional Development, Thursdays 9-12.
Teaching, learning and assessment
Learning methods include lectures, directed reading, seminars and practical work.
Teaching is organised on a module-credit basis, each involving approximately 150 hours of student effort and approximately 36 hours of staff contact, normally delivered through a three-hour teaching block over a 12-week period.
Each course module is assessed individually, generally on the quality of written work. Assessment methods may include essays, formal written examinations or in-class tests.
