Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology

Course details

Our Psychology Conversion Postgraduate Diploma was the first online conversion course to be accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and is a popular choice for those wishing to obtain Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) to move on to further study in a specialist area of psychology.

It will provide you with a comprehensive coverage of the core areas of psychology required by the BPS. This enables you to meet one of the entry requirements and allows you to continue with more specialised postgraduate training in areas such as Health, Sports, Clinical, Educational or Forensic psychology, bringing you one step closer towards becoming a chartered psychologist.

Entry Requirements

• 60 credits in Psychology at Level 4 or above*

In addition, you will usually need one of the following:

• An undergraduate degree with Honours (in any subject) from a UK university or equivalent overseas qualification – at least a 2:2.
• A Masters degree from a UK university or equivalent overseas qualification
• A psychology degree which hasn’t given you Graduate Basis for Chartership – at least a 2:2.
• An undergraduate degree from an overseas institution that is equivalent to the above UK qualifications. It is also important that you have a good standard of written and spoken English.

*To gain 60 credits in Psychology, you can study our online University Certificate in Psychology, which can be completed in 12 months.

English Language Qualifications

You’ll also normally require one of the following English language qualifications:

• GCE O level English Language C
• GCSE English C

If English is not your first language you will need an English language qualification. For this course you will need at least one of the following:

• IELTS 7.0
• TOEFL: 600 (paper based), 250 (computer based) or 100
• (internet based)
• Pearson Test of Academic English: 64
• Cambridge Advanced Certificate: Pass
• London Tests of English: we accept level 5 for postgraduate courses
• International GCE O Level English Language: Grade C
• International GCSE English/English as a Second Language: Grade C

We will consider your reference and personal statement carefully, and we'll normally invite you to attend a telephone or online interview.

Course Outline

To obtain Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) you must complete all of the core modules listed below.

If you decide you wish to go on and complete the full MSc you will need to complete all of the core modules except the Research Project and instead select one specialised optional module drawn from one of the following broad topic areas such as Cognition, Ergonomics, Health Psychology and Social Psychology. You will then need to complete the Masters Project (triple module, worth 60 credits).

Masters

• Biological Bases of Behavior
• Cognition Behavior and Performance
• Individual Differences
• Investigation and Analysis
• Research Project (core for Diploma exit)
• Social and Developmental Psychology