Children’s Psychological Conditions (MSc)

How will I be taught?

A diverse range of teaching and learning styles are used throughout our programme. You will attend lectures, participate in seminars, journal clubs and tutorials. You will obtain a significant amount of practical experience (data acquisition and analysis) in various workshops/demonstrations. This might include clinical interviewing, eye-tracking, observational coding, executive functioning and verbal ability testing. In the final semester you will undertake a major research project, the dissertation, together with an expert in the field of education or developmental psychology.

As well as the MSc classes you will be expected to attend research seminars at Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science (CUCHD), where the programme is based, and the School of Psychology research seminars. These seminars expose you to cutting edge research and relevant practical issues.

How will I be assessed?

Assessments include examinations, written assignments and the dissertation. This assessment strategy ensures you can use the skills and knowledge acquired to inform your practical work and also use your experience in practice to critically evaluate your knowledge.  

How will I be supported?

You will be allocated a personal tutor, who will be one of the module leaders on the course. This tutor will be available to provide pastoral care and general advice and will also be responsible for monitoring your academic progress. 

The University offers a range of services including the Careers Service, the Counselling Service, the Disability and Dyslexia Service, the Student Support Service, and excellent libraries and resource centres.

We will also provide you with appropriate academic support through feedback. The main purpose of feedback is to provide evaluative information to help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your work and how you can improve further – not to provide a definitive model answer. Feedback is therefore important in the context of improving and enhancing your cognitive skills. It is also intended to support your development as independent learners. You will gain receive feedback on your academic progress in many ways throughout your studies: for example, during your project supervision or practical classes, tutorials and seminars, and Q & A sessions with lecturers. You will also receive written comments on the coursework you submit and have ample opportunities to discuss issues with teaching staff. We encourage you to use every opportunity to interact with staff in this way. You will receive detailed generic feedback on examinations via written question-by-question analyses of students’ answers, together with a breakdown of your marks.

What skills will I practise and develop?

The Learning Outcomes for this Programme describe what you will achieve by the end of your programme at Cardiff University and identify the knowledge and skills that you will develop. They will also help you to understand what is expected of you.

On successful completion of your Programme you will be able to:

Knowledge & Understanding:

• Display a systematic knowledge and critical understanding of theories at the forefront of developmental psychology and psychopathology.
• Relate a comprehensive knowledge and critical understanding of the relevance and limitations of professional practice at the forefront of developmental psychology and psychopathology.
• Demonstrate a specialist knowledge of key research, including quantitative and qualitative approaches, ethical issues, digital tools, appropriate statistical techniques, to inquiries in developmental psychology and psychopathology.

Intellectual Skills:

• Apply and evaluate a range of research and professional techniques in developing an independent research project.
• Develop and express a practical understanding and critical awareness of how established techniques of research are used to create and interpret knowledge in practical settings.
• Design studies, analyse data, interpret findings, and generate original suggestions for improved theory and professional practice.

Professional Practical Skills:

• Systematically convey application of specialist ethical principles and practice to developmental psychology and psychopathology research.
• Effectively collect, store, and use data in psychological research and practice, and show critical appreciation of different techniques for doing so.
• Communicate complex psychological and psychopathological ideas and their evaluation clearly, using written and digital formats, while considering diversity and ethical implications.

Transferable/Key Skills:

• Independently gather information and generate ideas, including use a range of digital tools, including reference databases, spreadsheets, and word processing, to communicate information clearly and appropriately, with an awareness of audience.
• Contribute to teamwork in a range of situations with the necessary skills for collaboration, showing sensitivity to interpersonal and contextual factors.
• Reflect on personal strengths and weaknesses for ongoing development.