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MSc Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education

  • Study Mode: Part Time
  • Location: Distance Learning
  • Duration: Three Years
  • Start Date: September 2022

You can also study this course:

Do you work in or aspire to pursue a career in education? Are you passionate about mental health and well-being? Our course will teach you important interventions, skills and research-based strategies to make you a positive influence and practitioner of psychological concepts for the benefit of those in education across the lifespan.
Whether you want to build your skills in a current teaching role, or start a career in education, this course gives you the tools to apply advanced teaching techniques in a professional setting, benefitting students mental health and wellbeing as you do so.
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Application guide

For information on how you can boost your career-prospects and apply for our postgraduate courses, follow our application guide.

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Postgraduate Open Days

Join us for a Postgraduate Open Day where you can discuss your options and chosen course with our course leaders.

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Fees and Funding

There’s a range of ways you can secure funding for your course, including sponsorship, scholarships and loans. And if you recently graduated from BNU, you may be eligible for a fee discount.

Why study this subject?

This course is suitable for a range of professionals engaged in mental and well-being in education, such as head teachers, teachers, social workers, school nurses, educational psychologists, police and youth justice workers.

The course is designed for professionals and graduates wishing to understand and optimise the role of mental health and well-being in the education system.

This is essentially a training in awareness and practices that can be adopted in a student’s existing or future profession within a sector like education rather than training as a psychology professional.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

 

What makes studying this course at BNU so attractive is the flexibility we offer our postgraduate students. You can study online, part-time which makes it perfect for anyone with a busy job or personal life.

You can choose from a number of different study routes, opting to study this fascinating subject at PGCert, PGDip or as a full MSc. It really is entirely up to you and our hands-on teaching staff can help you decide what's best for you, both professionally and personally speaking.

We offer a highly interactive distance learning format which challenges and engages our students with our professionally active teaching team. What’s more, we foster a culture of care within our Psychology department here at BNU meaning you’ll always be encouraged to strive towards fulfilling personal goals.

What facilities can I use?

Learning materials are uploaded onto our virtual learning environment for you to pursue at your own pace. No matter where you are, you can access useful resources like podcasts, readings, presentations and online lectures.

What will I study?

This course offers a detailed exploration of mental health and well-being across the lifespan within this setting, and unprecedented understanding of factors by which it may be influenced in learners of any age.

You’ll explore the psychology of development across the lifespan. In parallel, the course will also examine how often individual action in the educational environment can be an act of influence and leadership towards change.

In addition, you’ll explore research-based interventions in education, be introduced to the basics of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and positive psychology.

There will be a focus on research-based interventions in the educational environment, along with how individual influence and behaviour can support change.

You’ll learn research methods and skills focused towards your choice of professional context meaning you will always be able to apply your learning from day one. This approach will also help you decide on a specific subject area for a passion project – your final dissertation.

How will I be taught and assessed?

You have the option to study this course over three years and dedicate the third year purely to completing your dissertation – this flexibility means you can balance your studies confidently with other personal and professional obligations you might have.

You’ll be taught via highly interactive distance learning that will challenge and engage you as well as put you in touch with other students in similar professions meaning you can learn and support each other whilst building a network of like-minded people.

Over the course of the programme, you’ll be assessed in a number of different ways, such as literature reviews, reflexive logs, analytical reports, the design, planning and implementation of interventions, as well as a final dissertation project.

Useful Documents

MSc Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education Programme Specification

What are the course entry requirements?

Applicants will usually be already working in, or in support of, the education system, including early years environments, schools, further education or higher education.

Applicants would normally be expected to have achieved a 2.1 in a social sciences undergraduate degree (or equivalent) and may have professional qualifications related to their existing work experience and role.

We are open to discussion with applicants with non-standard qualifications and / or work experience.

We may also consider whether an applicant's existing qualifications may be recognised as 'advanced standing' in this course content.

For further details of our international English entry requirements, please visit our international pages.

Modules

This provides a guide of the modules that make up your course. You can find more information about how your course is structured on our Academic Advice section.

Year 1 Modules

Mental Health Across the Lifespan: Current Context and Characteristics

Promoting Wellbeing Through Positive Education and Evidence Based Interventions

Year 2 Modules

Leadership and Engagement: Skills for Professionals in a Learning Context

Introduction to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Mental Health and Well-Being in Education

Research and Impact in Learning and Teaching

Year 3 Modules

Postgraduate Dissertation

What are the tuition fees

Home

Home, Academic Year 2022 - 2023

£2,800 per year

International

Overseas/International, Academic Year 2022 - 2023

£2,800 per year

The University is unable to accept any new applications from students who require sponsorship for a student visa to start in September 2022. This is due to the overwhelming popularity of our courses and visa processing timeframes.  Applications are still being taken from students who are already in the UK and hold the right to study.

From September 2022, those students living in the UK or Republic of Ireland, and EU nationals with settled status in the UK, will be considered Home students.

Most courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees.

You could benefit from financial support through a bursary or scholarship during your time as a student. For more details visit our financial support, bursaries and scholarships section.

Questions about fees?

Contact our Enquiries Team:

0330 123 2023

advice@bucks.ac.uk

What are my career prospects?

This programme will give you a critical understanding of the key moments and contexts in which mental health in learners of any age can be influenced and changed.

You’ll be able to identify, define and utilise specific intervention pathways through which mental health can be influenced in education through classroom skills, the use of basic CBT skills and positive psychology as well as the management of stress.

This course will give you a personal and occupational insight into how the views, beliefs and behaviours of professional influence mental health.

Course leader

Head and shoulders shot of Ciaran O'Keeffe wearing a grey suit with a white shirt and black tie stood in front of a white wall
Dr Ciaran O'Keeffe
  • Head of the School of Human and Social Sciences
  • Associate Professor of Education & Research
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Ian Rowe
  • Senior Lecturer
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Dr Urszula Wolski
  • Associate Lecturer
  • Senior Research Assistant
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Head shot of a smiling Matthew Smith wearing a shirt looking directly into the camera
Dr Matthew Smith
  • Associate Professor
  • Course Leader for MSc Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education
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Lee Newitt
  • Graduate Teaching Associate
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Ava Shabnum Hasan
  • Associate Lecturer
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