Advanced Diploma in Psychology

Course details

This is a 12-month part-time programme covering a range of theoretical, analytical, conceptual and functional skills in psychology. The study of psychology will enrich students with an understanding of the behavior, relationships and the workings of the human mind, which are relevant to many careers and professions. The students will learn social and cognitive development, human development and abnormal psychology.

Objectives

• Have a basic knowledge of psychology as a discipline;
• Understand different research methods used by psychologists;
• Learn major fields of psychology (abnormal, behavioural, biological, cognitive, developmental, educational, health, and sociocultural);
• Recognize and respect human diversity and understand that psychological explanations may vary across populations, age groups and contexts;
• Use the concepts, language and major theories of the discipline to account for psychological phenomena.

Programme Structure

• The ADIP programme begins by introducing students to the nature of psychology as a discipline and explaining the different research methods used by psychologists. The students will understand the different fields of psychology and apply psychological principles to individual, social and organizational issues. 

Modules

• Introduction to Psychology
• Research Methods
• Biological Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Abnormal Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Organisational Psychology
• Health Psychology

Entry Requirements

• For admission to the ADIC programme:
• Candidates should possess a Diploma in Learning disorders Management & Child Psychology offered by Linguistic Council or,
• Candidates should possess at least passes in 2 'A' Level and 2 'AO' Level subjects including a pass in General Paper obtained at the GCE 'A' Level (English) Singapore-Cambridge Examination;
• Degree in any discipline.

Lesson Schedule

• The curriculum is taught over 5 terms of 10 weeks.
• Each term will comprise of 2 modules.
• Each module has contact hours of 30 hours and classes are held 2 times a week.

Assessment Method

• Each module will be formally assessed by written assignments (50%) and an examination (50%). Students must attend 75% of the classes to qualify for the examination.

Synopsis of Modules:

Introduction to Psychology

• This module introduces the history and systems of Psychology. Students will have a broad overview of the diverse fields of the psychological discipline. Students will also be exposed to the important theories and concepts concerning developmental psychology, social psychology, cognitive psychology and abnormal psychology.

Research Methods

• This module is designed to help students develop critical and analytical skills crucial for research in the field of psychology. Students will be introduced to the different research methods and learn the different ways to collect data and analyse information from the research project The module will also cover the research design.

Biological Psychology

• This module also known as biopsychology or psychobiology, explores the relationship between the principles of biology and the study of mental processes and behaviour. Students will learn to take a physiological or genetic variable and attempt to relate it quantitatively or qualitatively to a psychological or behavioural variable

Cognitive psychology

• Students will learn about mental processes; how people think, perceive, remember and learn. Students will learn to design research programmes and understand the various applications, such as ways to improve memory, or how to increase decision making-accuracy

Developmental Psychology

• This module focuses on the major issues in lifespan developmental and maturational processes. Students will learn the stages of development from infancy to adulthood with relations to cognitive development, language development, personality and social development.

Social psychology

• This module focuses on the study of human social behaviour and how we react to different interpersonal issues. Students will also learn how to conduct social psychological research and apply qualitative and quantitative analyses on the acquired data.

Abnormal psychology

• This module will focus on issues including personality and behavioural disorders, pervasive developmental disorder, learning disabilities and mental health problems. The theories, causes and treatment will also be covered in this module.

Educational psychology

• This module focuses on the ways human learn in educational settings. Students will be exposed to the different intervention strategies and methods of learning in the education systems.

Organizational psychology

• This module train students to apply the theories of psychology to industrial and organizational settings. Topics will also include structures of organization and group processes. Students will be able to apply psychological concepts to understand issues such as occupational stress, motivation, morale and productivity.

Health psychology

• The focus of this module explores the psychological effects on human with relations to physical health. Topics in this module include how health issues such as stress, death, chronic illnesses and terminal diseases affects the human systems psychologically.