University of Leicester Online Masters in Psychology
The Distance Learning Masters in Psychology is an intensive BPS accredited degree that covers theoretical and practical elements, studying the primary research methods used in psychology. The programme teaches students to examine the social, cultural, and cognitive aspects of human behaviour, providing them with a fundamental understanding of the principles of Psychology.
The Masters in Psychology is open to graduates with any undergraduate degree. All applicants are considered on an individual basis, even those with non-standard qualifications.
The postgraduate degree offers a broad range of modules that cover the key areas of psychology, including:
- Cognitive psychology,
- Abnormal Psychology and Individual Differences
- Biological Psychology
- Social and Developmental Psychology
- Research methods, and
- Applied Psychology
The Distance Learning Masters in Psychology course has a focus on applied psychology with a dedicated module designed to support a student’s career in the field. A range of assessments are used across the course including case studies, online presentations, research reports, followed by a final dissertation.
The University of Leicester distance learning psychology programme is designed to let you to study at a time which suits you, allowing students to combine achieving a qualification with work or family commitments.
The programme is taught by academics who are at the forefront of research in psychology and who feed the latest developments into their teaching.
The postgraduate psychology programme is designed to develop your knowledge, understanding, research and practical skills in psychology.
The university’s virtual learning environment, Blackboard, provides students with access to learning material and offers an online platform to network with fellow students from across the globe.
Students will also have access to the university online support services and be assigned a personal tutor.
Career Path
Successful graduates can choose to pursue an academic or research career in various areas of psychology. Alternatively, you may choose to exploit the transferable skills you have learned on the course to pursue a career outside of psychology, since you will have some basic mastery of research and data analysis, and because employers assume you know quite a lot about people.
Progression
- Graduates from the MSc in Psychology have the opportunity to further their studies by pursuing a DBA – Doctorate in Business Administration / doctorate in psychology or a PhD.
Entry Requirements
Second class honours degree (or equivalent) in any discipline.
If English is not your first language, you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability at a proficiency level equivalent to IELTS 6.5
Psychological Research Methods
Learning
- 3 hours of lectures
- 10 hours of tutorials
- 10 hours of demonstrations
- 127 hours of guided independent study
Assessment
- Practical report, 1,500 words (50%)
- Short answer questions (50%)
Cognitive Psychology
This module will cover the fundamentals of how we perceive, process, think and feel about information that comes into our senses to produce an appropriate action onto the world. We will investigate how the mind makes decisions based on information coming into us and the mechanisms which it uses to complete a variety of different tasks, highlighting cases in which people may have deficits or brain lesions which alter cognitive processing.
Abnormal Psychology and Individual Differences
We are constantly trying to decipher why people behave or feel differently to us. This is a challenging task as often we find it difficult to understand ourselves. We find it hard to describe our own personality, are we outgoing or conscientious? Are we empathetic or self-serving? Gaining insight into what we consider normal or expected behaviour is as frustrating as gaining insight into behaviours that we consider beyond the normal range. In this module we will examine different types of personality and various categories of psychopathology as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). We will also look at how practitioners measure personality and intelligence and the controversies and debates around these methods.
We will study individual differences in human behaviour, personality and beliefs and address cognitive disorders such as irrational beliefs and anxiety disorders. We will cover trauma and forgiveness and also consider depression, addictions and dependencies. You will gain the necessary skills to assess the strengths and weakness of the theoretical and methodological approaches in abnormal psychology and individual differences. You will also be able to critically evaluate empirical evidence in this area and their contribution to scientific understandings and therapeutic interventions.
Biological Psychology
In this module you will study the fundamentals of brain and behaviour in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of important concepts in biological psychology. We will look at how brain structure and brain function interact as revealed by examination of brain activity and psychological behaviour. We will explore methodologies used to investigate brain structure and function, and practical issues in applied contexts. We will also seek to understand the effects of drugs on brain and behaviour through consideration of associated physical changes in normal and pathological states. Finally we will investigate the brain through examination of neurological injury and illness. We will be using a variety of sources including:
- Peer-reviewed articles from the University Library databases
- Peer-reviewed internet literature resources such as Scholarpedia
- Online academic scientific community audiovisual material such as the resources of the Cold Spring Harbor Lab or the Dana Foundation
You will gain the skills to critically analyse contemporary concepts, formulating balanced, focused and advanced arguments. You will also learn to critically evaluate research findings in terms of their contribution of theoretical development, current knowledge, and practical issues in applied contexts.
Social and Developmental Psychology
This module combines two core areas of psychology, social psychology which explores the interactions between individual, groups and society, while developmental psychology studies how humans evolve through the course of their life.
In this module, you will study the evolution of the individual from the infancy until adulthood, and the relationship of the individual with groups and society. Typical areas of interest for social psychologists tend to be issues related to group identity and dynamics, prejudice and discrimination, interpersonal relationships, impression formation, prosocial behaviour and conformity.
Developmental psychology topics are related to the cognitive, emotional and social changes that occur from infancy, childhood, adolescence until late adulthood. This area combines the study of the typical patterns of development, which is called normative development, with particular variations in patterns of change, which is called idiographic development. Usual topics are infant perception, language acquisition or the importance of friendship during adolescence.
Applied Psychology
Assessment
- Presentation, 10 minutes (20%)
- Portfolio (80%)
