Our MSc Psychology (Conversion) is a great way to develop and enhance your critical understanding of psychological theories, methods and debates. What’s more, you can achieve eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Key information

Award:

MSc

Mode of Study:

Part-time

Duration:

24 months

Location:

University of Bolton

Start date:

25/09/2023

Course Details

If you’re looking to pursue a psychology-related career or further professional training in psychology, this highly regarded conversion course is ideal. Maybe you’re considering a future in educational, occupational or clinical psychology, but don’t have enough credits in psychology at undergraduate level. Or perhaps your psychology degree didn’t come with eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership of the British Psychological Society. Either way, this course is a great solution.

The programme modules cover specific areas of psychology equivalent to those in the British Psychological Society‘s qualification exam, and will give you an opportunity to achieve a firm grounding in psychological theories, approaches and research methods.

While most of your modules will be at Master’s level, you can expect to study in classes alongside our undergraduate students. Learning alongside our undergraduates offers you the opportunity to share in a wider variety of opinions and experiences, helping to broaden your view of psychology. We then offer separate Master’s-level tutorials, designed specifically for our MSc Psychology (Conversion) students, to support your achievement of postgraduate academic and critique skills.

Psychology courses at Bolton benefit from excellent facilities and committed, enthusiastic staff – many of whom are involved in leading research that will support your studies.

Highlights

You can enjoy support from approachable staff with a diverse range of research interests.
Our well-equipped department is home to innovative methods of teaching and assessment.
You’ll have the chance to learn how to apply advanced critical analysis and evidence-based reasoning to current research and methodology.
We’ll support you to develop much sought-after transferable skills as you prepare for postgraduate employment or training.

Key Features

The Department of Psychology at Bolton is well established – our undergraduate degree is one of the oldest in the country and we have offered conversion provision since 2001.
This MSc Psychology (Conversion) course is accredited by the British Psychological Society, and offers you the chance to achieve the Graduate Basis for Chartership.
Our excellent facilities include a fully equipped observation and psychophysiology laboratory.

Professional recognition

This programme is accredited as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society (BPS), provided you successfully complete the course by passing all the prescribed modules with an overall average mark of at least 50%.

We encourage all our students to apply for student membership of the BPS.

Normally, you should have at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree (2.1) in a relevant subject; for instance, social science or science.
You must also have Mathematics GCSE at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent).
If you don’t meet the entry requirements listed above, but can offer alternative evidence of your capacity to succeed on this course, we’ll be happy to consider your application.
We'll consider applications where appropriate work experience can be demonstrated in lieu of, or in addition to, the published academic qualifications in line with the University’s Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) procedures.
You’ll be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

The MSc Psychology (Conversion) is a conversion course for graduates who wish to pursue a professional career in psychology; for instance, in educational, occupational or clinical psychology.

On successful completion of the course, you’ll possess enhanced intellectual and thinking skills, problem solving, interpersonal awareness, communication skills and the ability to develop arguments supported by relevant evidence, team work and IT and data handling skills.

What can I do with this qualification?

There are numerous career paths available to psychology graduates with British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation. The more traditional careers include counselling and clinical psychology, occupational or educational psychology, mental health, forensic psychology, cognitive behavioural therapy, and sport and exercise psychology. In addition, there are broader career options, including personnel management, research, teaching, social work and health. The BPS website at https://careers.bps.org.uk/ provides a good source of careers advice.

Postgraduate options include further studies at Master’s or PhD level. Graduates can also progress to graduate schemes, which are long term employment contracts usually with a large corporate company offering advanced training packages.

Alternative career options

Although some psychology graduates become professional psychologists, many others go on work in related fields. Graduates can use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of careers, bearing in mind that some of these roles will require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Some of these careers include:

Teaching and education
Careers guidance
Human resources
Probation services
Prison services
Social work
Counselling
Family mediation and support
Nursing
Police
Media and advertising
Communications
Sport and recreation
Advertising
Child protection
Youth work

Course fees

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2022-2023 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

Bursaries

Click here for more information on our Master's Bursaries.

For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:

You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen start date from the list below:

You should have to hand:

Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role
Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference

Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.

Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already input.

If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions@bolton.ac.uk

Apply online: University of Bolton MSc Psychology (Conversion) - 23 January 2023
Apply online: University of Bolton MSc Psychology (Conversion) - 25 September 2023

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

Teaching and learning on a University of Bolton psychology course focuses on you. Our 'student-centred' approach adopts a welcome variety of teaching and learning techniques to support you as you acquire and develop key concepts, knowledge and skills – and work towards your study goals. Our emphasis on ‘active learning’ means you’ll have the chance to enjoy hands-on practical classes, fieldwork, lab-based workshops, seminars and tutorials, as well as self-directed study.

Assessment methods are also varied, allowing you to demonstrate your learning in a range of ways. For example, module assessments will include coursework such as essays, research reports, critical reviews, practical reports and statistical assignments – plus presentations, a course project report and traditional exams. Assessment methods will vary according to each module’s content and desired outcome.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

Advanced Social and Critical Psychology
Advanced Biopsychology
Advanced Cognitive Psychology
Advanced Personality and Developmental Psychology
Psychological and Social Research: Review, Evaluation and Design
MSc Conversion Research Methods
MSc Psychology (Conversion) Dissertation

Assessment methods

Level	Assesment method
Level one	Coursework 97%, Practical exams 3%

Learning activities

Level	Learning activity
Level one	Guided independent study 82%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 18%

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.