MSc Psychology (Conversion)

If you’re not dreaming of a career in psychology, then don’t worry; this course also offers important transferable skills that will set you up confidently to dive into any number of exciting employment opportunities, enabling you to become a brilliantly versatile employee, leader or business owner.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

Our Psychology department nurtures external relationships for you to leverage as a student meaning you can learn from experts in the field like HM Prison and Probation staff, counselling psychologists, senior police officers, neuropsychologists and occupational psychologists to name just a few.

There are also regular visits to museums, prisons, courts and sports venues so you can see psychology in an applied context and enrich your own learning.

We offer our MSc Psychology Conversion both full-time (one year) and part-time (two years) so you can choose the best avenue to study whilst balancing other life and work commitments.

What facilities can I use?

In workshops and lectures, we’ll take you through the various techniques you need to analyse data. You’ll focus on the practical use of the statistics software package, SPSS, used by social scientists to analyse and present quantitative data.

You’ll also have the opportunity to use the observation lab and specialist equipment such as Biopac©, allowing measurement of the activity of the cardiovascular system, brain and autonomic nervous system.

Students can use Tobii eye tracking equipment and HTC Vive virtual reality software for their assignments and research projects too.

Our library is packed with all the information you need for your assignments – you’ll have access to hundreds of specialist books, journal articles, industry publications and specialist online resources. Not to mention there’s plenty of room to knuckle down for some quiet study time.

What will I study?

You’ll cover core areas of psychology like personality, social, cognitive, developmental and biopsychology whilst also exploring how to apply different research methods to empirical projects.

In the second semester you’ll choose a specialist subject to focus on in more detail from a choice of sub-disciplines of psychology such as Investigative and Forensic Psychology, Counselling Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology, or Business and Organisational Psychology. Studying one of these subjects in detail will also give you inspiration to choose an area for your final dissertation project.

How will I be taught and assessed?

A variety of assessment formats are used in this course, including essays, exams, reflective reports, group and individual presentations, risk assessment and portfolio work.

Teaching is delivered via lectures, seminars and workshops and you’ll also be encouraged to develop independent learning, as well as working in groups to deliver presentations and hold debates.

You’ll engage in activities like literature analysis, reviews of journal articles, participate in group discussions and practical work.