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Psychology—Conversion (HDipA)

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Course Overview

The HDipPsychology (Conversion) is a one-year, full-time programme designed for students who have completed the BA in Psychological Studies at NUI Galway, or its equivalent. By combining the HDipPsych (Conversion) with the BA with Psychological Studies, students will have covered the course content equivalent to that of NUI Galway’s BA in Psychology programme, thus qualifying graduates for entry to postgraduate professional programmes in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Applications and Selections

Applications are made online via the NUI Galway Postgraduate Applications System. 

Who Teaches this Course

  • Dr AnnMarie Groarke, BA, MA, HDipEd, PhD, AFPsSI 
  • Dr Olive Healy BA, PhD, BCBA-D 
  • Dr Brian Hughes BA (Psych), PhD, AFPsSI, Reg Psychol (PsSI) 
  • Dr Ian Stewart BA, HDipPsych, PhD 
  • Dr Padraig McNeela BA, PhD 
  • Dr Caroline Heary BA, MPsychSc, PhD 
  • Dr Denis O'Hora BA, PhD, BCBA, CSci, CPsychol (BPS)

Requirements and Assessment

Assessment on the HDipPsych (Conversion) programme includes a variety of forms of continuous assessment, examination and minor dissertation across two semesters.

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Places will be allocated on the order of results awarded at the first sitting of the final year of Psychological Studies at NUI
Galway or an equivalent course. Students must achieve honours in both their degree subjects, except in the case of pass-level mathematical subjects where a ‘commendation’ level is required.

Additional Requirements

Duration

1 year, full-time

Next start date

September 2019

A Level Grades ()

Average intake

8

Closing Date

8 June 2019

NFQ level

Mode of study

Taught

ECTS weighting

60

Award

CAO

Course code

1HY1

Course Outline

Students on the HDipPsych (Conversion) programme undertake selected modules from the BA Psychology second and third year programme.

The menu includes modules on the psychology of learning; perception, attention and performance; applied organisational psychology; psychological measurement (theory and practice); advanced research methods (both quantitative and qualitative) and computer skills training (SPSS). Students take part in a series of experimental workshops throughout the academic year and, in addition, are required to complete an independent research project under supervision. Finally, a recent innovation allows students to choose their final module from a selection of available ones.

This programme is accredited by the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) and thus satisfies the requirements specified by PSI for graduate status in psychology.

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits
You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module
An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Optional
A module you may choose to study.
Required
A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Semester
Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year.

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Required PS405: Advanced Research Methods in Psychology


Semester 1 | Credits: 5

This course focuses on methodological issues that arise in psychological research, such as demand characteristics, ethical considerations and experimental control. The application of a number of advanced statistical methods to research designs is also covered (e.g. factorial analysis of variance and multiple regression). The course will also provide an advanced course in SPSS, examined by continuous assessment and worth 25% of the overall mark.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. At the end of this module students should be able to: Identify the pertinent questions to consider when developing the methodology for your research proposal. Describe the components that should be dealt with in the methodology section of your research proposal Identify the appropriate statistical test to analyse a given set of data/research design Compute a series of statistical tests on SPSS when given a set of data Interpret SPSS printouts Prepare and present a set of results APA style
Assessments
  • Written Assessment (50%)
  • Continuous Assessment (25%)
  • Computer-based Assessment (25%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS405: "Advanced Research Methods in Psychology" and is valid from 2018 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required PS420: Psychological Measurement: Theory & Practice


Semester 1 | Credits: 5

Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS420: "Psychological Measurement: Theory & Practice" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required PS412: Experimental Psychology Workshop I


Semester 1 | Credits: 5

Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS412: "Experimental Psychology Workshop I" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required PS413: Qualitative Research Methods


Semester 1 | Credits: 5

Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS413: "Qualitative Research Methods" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required PS220: Psychology of Learning


Semester 1 | Credits: 5

Assessments
  • Written Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS220: "Psychology of Learning" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required PS325: Research Project 1


Semester 1 | Credits: 5

Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS325: "Research Project 1" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required PS415: Perception, Attention & Performance


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

This mixed-learning model module aims to provide an introduction to sensory and perceptual processes, blending classical and contemporary approaches to basic information processing. The course uses a flipped-classroom approach with the explicit aim of combining Information Transfer Teacher Focused (ITTF) and Conceptual Change Student Focused (CCSF) approaches. In the first case, and mainly via readings1 as well as pre-recorded lectures, students will learn 'facts' related to perception; in the latter case, via both class Buzz-Group2 activity as well as a theoretically-oriented Capstone Project (described in detail under the 'Capstone Project' tabs in the menu bar to the left), students will learn that perception is a complex multidimensional topic that is not completely understood . In buzz groups, students will present and discuss some of the key theoretical issues and methodological contributions in perception science. The module will also touch areas in which the application of knowledge of sensory and perceptual processes is applied to other areas of cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Module Content Week 1 Introduction and Module Information Week 2 What is Perception? Week 3 Object Perception Week 4 Attention Week 5 Colour Vision Week 6 Spatial Perception: Depth and Dimension Week 7 The Perception of Motion Week 8 Auditory Perception and Cognition Week 9 Neurophysiology of Visual Perception Week 10 Capstone Project/Poster Workshop Week 11 Special Topic: Visual Composition in Art Week 12 Capstone Project Presentations
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Be conversant with Physiological and psychological models of sensory and perceptual function
  2. Be conversant with Theories of Perception
  3. Be conversant with Theories of Attention
  4. Be conversant with The Anatomy and Physiology of Sensory Systems in Vision and Audition
  5. Be able to draft and present scientific materials using a conference poster
Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
Reading List
  1. "Sensation and Perception" by E Bruce Goldstein
    ISBN: 978-053455810.
    Publisher: Wadsworth
    Chapters: 16
The above information outlines module PS415: "Perception, Attention & Performance" and is valid from 2018 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required PS3104: Professional Skills in Psychology


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

This module supports students to engage with the task of transitioning into a professional mindset and outlook appropriate to the discipline of psychology. Further to this, the module enables students to rehearse the key skills needed to project a professional identity in the world of work and further training. In particular, the module emphasizes non-technical Graduate Attributes involving team work and communication.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Describe the competencies and skills that underpin teamwork and communication Graduate Attributes.
  2. Reflect critically on personal and professional development as applied to their experience of being a psychologist in training.
  3. Demonstrate effective oral/written communication skills
  4. Demonstrate key employability skills such as CV development and preparing for interviews
  5. Differentiate between applied professional domains in Psychology (e.g., educational, clinical, behavioural).
Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
Reading List
  1. "The learning portfolio: Reflective practice for improving student learning." by Zubizaretta, J.
    ISBN: 978-04703884.
    Publisher: Jossey-Bass
  2. "Presentation skills for students" by Van Emden, J., & Becker, L.
    ISBN: 978-02302430.
    Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan.
  3. "Oral communication: Skills, choices, and consequences." by Young, K. S., & Travis, H. P.
    ISBN: 978-157766745.
    Publisher: Waveland Press.
  4. "Communicating Nonverbally" by Kathryn Sue Young, Howard Paul Travis
    ISBN: 9781577665380.
    Publisher: Waveland Pr Inc
The above information outlines module PS3104: "Professional Skills in Psychology" and is valid from 2016 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required PS414: Experimental Psychology Workshop 2


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS414: "Experimental Psychology Workshop 2" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required PS327: Research Project 2


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS327: "Research Project 2" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional PS343: Pediatric Clinical Behavioural Interventions


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

This module will allow students to develop skills in behavioural intervention as applied to children presenting with developmental disorders and developing competency in the specialist techniques used in the treatment of many behavioural problems observed in young children. Specific behavioural models of empirical evidence, assessment and specialist behavioural treatment strategies will be covered along with ethical concerns in intervention
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Describe the aetiology of pediatric behavioural problems that present in typical development and in developmental disorders
  2. Identify published and norm-based instruments in the topographical assessment of pediatric behavioural problems.
  3. Identify and complete functional behavioural assessment methodologies for pediatric behavioural problems that occur in typical and atypical development
  4. Describe and evaluate empirically supported behavioural interventions from published literature for pediatric behavioural problems associated with developmental disorders, brain injury and typical development
  5. Construct measurement systems for evaluating intervention in pediatric behavioural problems
  6. Identify ethical concerns and implications in clinical behavioural intervention.
  7. Describe the contribution of applied behaviour analysis to the treatment of prevalent behavioural problems in a variety of developmental disorders and in typical developing children and adolescents.
Assessments
  • Written Assessment (60%)
  • Continuous Assessment (40%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS343: "Pediatric Clinical Behavioural Interventions" and is valid from 2015 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional PS419: Relational Frame Theory, Language & Cognition


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

Assessments
  • Written Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS419: "Relational Frame Theory, Language & Cognition" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional PS345: Applied Developmental Psychology


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS345: "Applied Developmental Psychology" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional PS3103: Health and Well-Being: Theory & Practice


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

This module provides an opportunity for Psychology students to take part in a specialised, research-driven learning experiences organised around 'Health & Well-Being', one of two thematic research areas in Psychology at NUIG. Students will gain valuable exposure to research groups in relation to methods of knowledge acquisition, knowledge generation, critical understanding, and applications.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Demonstrate knowledge of how research data is collected, analysed and presented in relevant subject areas such as health behaviour change.
  2. Describe theoretical knowledge in an area relevant to 'Health & Well-Being', for instance in relation to a health behaviour or intervention approach.
  3. Critically analyse knowledge claims that arise from a biopsychosocial epistemology and evaluate key debates in the area.
  4. Describe applications and applied techniques based on exposure to practical and lab sessions.
  5. Reflect on the contribution of 'Health & Well-Being' to their emerging understanding of the discipline.
Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS3103: "Health and Well-Being: Theory & Practice" and is valid from 2015 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional PS3102: Brain and Behaviour: Theory & Practice


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

This module provides an opportunity for Psychology students to take part in a specialised, research-driven learning experiences organised around 'Brain & Behaviour', one of two thematic research areas in Psychology at NUIG. Students will gain valuable exposure to research groups in relation to methods of knowledge acquisition, knowledge generation, critical understanding, and applications
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Demonstrate knowledge of how research data is collected, analysed and presented in relevant subject areas such as neuroscience.
  2. Describe theoretical knowledge in an area relevant to 'Brain & Behaviour', for instance in relation to a neurobiological or degenerative disorder.
  3. Critically analyse knowledge claims that arise from a biomedical or behaviour epistemology and evaluate key debates in the area.
  4. Describe applications and applied techniques based on exposure to practical and lab sessions.
  5. Reflect on the contribution of 'Brain & Behaviour' to their emerging understanding of the discipline.
Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS3102: "Brain and Behaviour: Theory & Practice" and is valid from 2015 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional PS339: Behavioural Medicine


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

Assessments
  • Written Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS339: "Behavioural Medicine" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional PS329: Service Learning in Psychology


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS329: "Service Learning in Psychology" and is valid from 2017 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional PS341: Introduction to Collaborative Enquiry & Applied Systems Science


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS341: "Introduction to Collaborative Enquiry & Applied Systems Science" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional PS3101: Modelling Learning and Decision Making


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

Assessments
  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS3101: "Modelling Learning and Decision Making" and is valid from 2014 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Optional PS3106: Language & Cognition: A Contextual Behavioural Approach


Semester 2 | Credits: 5

The aim of this course is to introduce students to Relational Frame Theory (RFT; Hayes, Barnes- Holmes & Roche, 2001) as an approach to understanding human psychology. RFT is based on a comprehensive basic experimental research program into human language and cognition. With by now over 100 empirical studies focused on its tenets, it is arguably the most well established comprehensive theory of human psychology ever produced. This course will first familiarize students with the philosophical and theoretical underpinning of RFT and ex plain the core behavioural processes implicated by this approach. It will then examine up to date RFT-based research into diverse area s of human language and cognition including cognitive development, motivation, problem-solving, analogical reasoning, rule governed behaviour, these lf, psychopathology, psychotherapy, mindfulness and spirituality. The course will combine lecture- based didactic teaching with active student participation in seminar discussion.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Describe the development of relational framing as the core process involved in language.
  2. Define key technical terms in RFT including mutual entailment, combinatorial entailment, transformation of function, contextual control, arbitrarily applicable relational responding.
  3. Discuss important psychological phenomena including cognitive development, motivation problem-solving, analogy, metaphor, rule governed behaviour, the self, psychopathology and psychotherapy, mindfulness and spirituality from an RFT perspective.
  4. Analyze an everyday language episode in terms of relational framing.
  5. Evaluate the theoretical and philosophical basis of Relational Frame Theory as an account of language and cognition.
Assessments
  • Written Assessment (100%)
Teachers
The above information outlines module PS3106: "Language & Cognition: A Contextual Behavioural Approach" and is valid from 2018 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

This programme provides an excellent foundation for further postgraduate courses of study and careers in a variety of domains. Completing this degree will enable a graduate to gain access to further training to become a professional psychologist (e.g., a clinical, counselling or occupational psychologist) or to undertake a research degree in psychology (e.g., a PhD in Psychology).

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

 

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€5,965 p.a. 2018/19

Fees: Tuition

€5,741 p.a. 2018/19

Fees: Student levy

€224 p.a. 2018/19

Fees: Non EU

€13,250 p.a. 2018/19

Postgraduate students in receipt of a SUSI grant—please note an F4 grant is where SUSI will pay €2,000 towards your full-time tuition.  You will be liable for the remainder of the total fee.  An F5 grant is where SUSI will pay full-time TUITION up to a maximum of €6,270.  SUSI will not cover the student levy of €224. 

Postgraduate fee breakdown = tuition (EU or NON EU) + student levy as outlined above.

Find out More

Ms Anne Marie Keane
School of Psychology
NUI Galway
T +353 91 493 097
E annemarie.keane@nuigalway.ie 
www.nuigalway.ie/courses/taught-postgraduate-courses/psychology-conversion.html

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