Entry requirements: Normally a first or second-class Honours degree of any discipline. Applicants are also expected to have 60 credits in Psychology from previous degree
study (including research methods and statistics with SPSS)
Full-time: 1 year
Part-time: 2 years
Those with fewer than 60 credits can be admitted conditionally – they will take a one-year part-time Graduate Certificate in Psychology course, which will equip candidates with the
required 60 credits. On successful completion of this course they will be guaranteed a place on the Graduate Conversion Diploma.
Students on both the Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma will require a minimum grade C in maths from GCSE
Programme Leader: Dr Magdalena Zawisza
Telephone +44 (0) 1962 827455
Email Magdalena.Zawisza@winchester.ac.uk
If English is not your first language: IELTS 6.5 (including 6.5 in writing) or a TOEFL score of 575 (paper-based) or 232 (computerbased) or equivalent
Start dates: September
Application process: Direct Entry Application Form
The Graduate Conversion focuses on the core knowledge domains, such as personality, social, developmental, cognitive and biological psychology. Students gain hands-on, practical experience of conducting psychological research, culminating in an extended research project.
Graduate Certificate in Psychology
Students with no previous experience of studying psychology must first successfully complete a part-time first year. In this, students are introduced to different approaches within psychology – personality, social, developmental, cognitive and biological – illustrating how they lead to distinct perspectives on key research questions. Students are also introduced to the methods psychologists use to answer these questions, gaining hands-on experience of practical work.
Modules include:
• Exploring Psychology
• Introduction to Research Methods and Practice
Graduates who have previously taken the equivalent of 60 credits in Psychology may proceed immediately to the 12-month full-time/24-month part-time Graduate
Conversion Diploma. Graduates with no previous experience of psychology proceed to the Conversion Diploma after obtaining 60 credits of Psychology in a part-time Graduate Certificate in Psychology.
Modules include:
• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Personality and Individual Differences
• Psychobiology
• Qualitative Methods of Analysis
• Social psychology and Statistics
A diverse range of teaching methods is employed, including laboratory classes, workshops, lectures, seminars, tutorials, guided reading, independent study, student groups and individual project supervision.
Students undertake examinations, assessed essays, practical reports, multiple-choice tests and critical evaluations. Students also complete a research project, normally an
independent, empirical project reporting on a substantial piece of research.
This Conversion Diploma programme is accredited as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Registration (GBR) of the British Psychological Society (BPS), provided the minimum standard of qualification of second-class Honours is achieved. This is the first step to becoming a Chartered Psychologist. Graduates wishing to pursue careers in clinical, educational, forensic, health, counselling or occupational psychology therefore gain the professional recognition necessary to allow them to continue the required further study and training.