Children’s Psychological Disorders (MSc)

How will I be taught?

The School's educational philosophy rests upon the precept that good research benefits good teaching. All teaching and learning is research-led. A diverse range of teaching and learning styles are used throughout the MSc. You will attend lectures, participate in seminars, journal clubs and tutorials, and gain experience in child assessment methods. You will play a leading role in your own training. The School facilitates learning by identifying appropriate reading and organising practical classes.

Workshops and Lab-based practical classes

You will have the opportunity for a significant amount of practical experience (data acquisition and analysis) in various workshops/demonstrations in Semesters 1 and 2, including clinical interviewing, eye-tracking, observational coding, executive functioning and verbal ability testing. The practical skills gained will cement your understanding of the theory presented in the lectures and offer a basis for the research work in Semester 3.

Lectures

Lectures highlight not only what is known, but also what is not known. You are encouraged to think of what needs to be done to advance knowledge. To this end the lectures are of 2 hours’ length to allow more complex arguments to be examined, and to encourage more time for discussion and questioning between students and lecturers.

Dissertation

Students undertake a major research project during Semester 3. You are encouraged to identify yourself a supervisor with whom you would like to work on your project and to approach that supervisor to develop and plan a project that is of mutual interest. Tutors can help you identify an appropriate supervisor if necessary.

CPD Seminars

Nationally renowned researchers, clinicians and educational psychologists will give seminars on a monthly basis. This exposes you to cutting edge research and/or relevant practical issues, and helps to prepare you for your future research and work. You are encouraged to attend other seminars around the University that are relevant to your course and general learning. Many of these are advertised through the University’s Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute. (www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/neuroscience-mental-health)

School Seminars

As well as the monthly CPD Seminars, the School holds regular research seminars throughout the year. These seminars are presented by visiting speakers and members of staff and allow you to keep up to date with the latest research ideas. You are strongly encouraged to attend these seminars.

How will I be assessed?

You will be assessed in a variety of ways both to inform learning (formative) and to assess learning (summative). Six modules to the value of 20 credits each are studied in Semester 1 and 2. Five of these modules include written examinations (essay format); all modules are also assessed via essays and/or practical assignments. In Semester 3 the Research Project (60 credits) is assessed via a journal article style dissertation (100%).

For the programme as a whole, the assessments include examinations, written assignments, oral presentations, and the dissertation. In addition, during the year you build up a reflective portfolio in which you show evidence of your knowledge of and training experience in a range of approaches and assessments. This assessment strategy aims to ensure that you demonstrate a ‘reciprocal critical-exploratory’ approach in which you demonstrate your ability to 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 tutor can help in assigning potential supervisors for the Semester 3 research project.  The project supervisor will schedule regular meetings to discuss progress and provide advice and guidance

Feedback

Feedback will be provided via tutorials, practical’s and coursework comment/mark sheets. There will also be regular meetings with personal tutors.

What skills will I practise and develop?

You will acquire and develop a range of valuable skills, both those that are discipline specific and more generic 'employability skills'. Through the programme you will develop research- and clinically-based assessment skills, and will be presented with a number of opportunities to extend your communication and presentation skills, both oral and written. Other specific skills that will be acquired, are the ability to design an empirical study in children, to collect, analyse and interpret a range of complex data. A number of valuable research or practical skills will also be developed through completion of the Research Project.

What are the learning outcomes of this course/programme?

Knowledge & Understanding:

On successful completion of the Programme you will have gained:

• A systematic understanding of knowledge and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of psychology, research on developmental psychopathology, and/or area of professional practice (clinical and educational psychology);
• A comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to own research or advanced scholarship.

Intellectual Skills:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

• Originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the discipline;
• Conceptual understanding (1) to evaluate critically current research and advanced scholarship in the discipline, and (2) to evaluate methodologies and develop critiques of them and, where appropriate, to propose new hypotheses.

Professional Practical Skills:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

•     Effective communication and listening;
•     Team working via participation in day-to-day activities of the course and your research group;
•     Readiness to improve own performance based on reflective learning occurring across the year and in relation to practical activities.

Transferable/Key Skills:

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

•     Exercise initiative and personal responsibility;
•     Make decisions in complex and unpredictable situations;
•     Learn independently to support your continued professional development.