Psychology

University College Dublin

Qualification Letters

HDipPsych

Enrolment and Start Dates Comment

Start Date: September 2013

Application Date

The closing date for applications for the H Dip Psych is March 15, 2013.

Applicants in the first instance may contact Mary Boyle mary.boyle@ucd.ie to indicate their interest in applying for the H Dip Psych. Applicants may apply for the H Dip Psych through the UCD On Line Applications homepage.

Application Weblink

http://www.ucd.ie/apply/

Duration

2 years full-time.

Link to Course Fee

http://www.ucd.ie/registry/adminservices/fees/2013/

Financial Support

Local Authority Funding:
Grant holders who complete a primary degree course may have the grant renewed in order to undertake a full-time taught or research graduate course. To apply for renewal, final year students should inform the UCD Grants Office in June, and write to their Local Authority when they have completed their primary degree. The grant, which covers fees, may be renewed in subsequent years but is limited to one graduate degree or diploma course for each student. For further information on budget 2012 please visit Student Finance.ie Funding Initiatives

Student Grants - New Grant Applications for 2012-13 APPLY AS EARLY AS YOU CAN, from the end of May - don't leave it till July

A new ONLINE ONLY grant applications system is being introduced for 2012 in Ireland. All new applications will be made online to a single awarding authority, Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) through www.studentfinance.ie.

Entry Requirements

Applicants for the H Dip Psych programme must be graduates with an honours degree, or final year students on an honours degree programme in any area. Offers to applicants who are not graduates will be contingent on degree results. The programme welcomes applications from mature students.

Selection Process
The selection process for the H Dip Psych will take account of:

(1) undergraduate record and, where relevant, postgraduate record;

(2) certified modules or courses in psychology;

(3) experience of psychology through work or voluntary activities;

(4) employment record;

(5) references;

(6) applicants' personal statement on the application form.

Course Content

Higher Diploma In Psychology (HDipPsych):
If you have an honours degree in a subject other than psychology, and would like to take the first step towards a professional career in psychology, then the UCD Higher Diploma in Psychology (H Dip Psych) may be of interest to you.
The H Dip Psych may be taken as a two-year full time or four year part-time programme. It is open to graduates with an honours degree from any discipline. It is accredited by the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) as a first degree (equivalent of an Honours BA in Psychology), and confers eligibility for Graduate Membership of PSI. The H Dip Psych is an internationally recognised degree that allows graduate membership of relevant psychological societies including the British Psychological Society (BPS). With the H Dip Psych you will be eligible to apply for postgraduate professional training in clinical, counselling, health and other types of psychology. The PSI website provides further information about accreditation and professional training in psychology.

Curriculum
The curriculum for the H Dip Psych is taught in conjunction with the Honours BA in Psychology. It covers the areas of psychology required for PSI accreditation including biological bases of behaviour, developmental and lifespan psychology, social psychology, personality and individual differences, cognitive psychology, research design, and quantitative and qualitative research methods. Additionally you may select elective modules covering a wide range of topics that reflect the diversity of staff interests and expertise within the school. These include modules on neuroscience, intelligence, language, crime, disability, counselling, the history of psychology, clinical psychology, health psychology, work and organisational psychology, sport psychology, and liberation psychology. In addition on the H Dip Psych you will complete a series of practical laboratory experiments in psychology in your first year and a research project in second year. Some modules may not be offered in a particular year, and the programme structure may change from year to year.

Subjects Taught

The following is a list of core and option modules for the H Dip Psych.

Core Modules – Stage 1
PSY 10080 Intro to Social Psychology
PSY 10100 Research Methods and Statistics 1
PSY 20010 Biological Psychology
PSY 20050 Psychology Labs 1
PSY 20150 Intro to History of Psychology
PSY 20020 Child & Adolescent Development
PSY 20060 Psychology of Language
PSY 20080 Visual Cognition
PSY 20160 Research Methods and Statistics II
PSY 30110 Psychology Labs II

Core Modules - Stage 2
PSY 30050 Behavioural Neuroscience
PSY 30340 Personality & Human Intelligence
PSY 30350 Research Methods & Statistics III
PSY 30040 Lifespan Developmental Psychology
PSY 30140 Advanced Social Psychology
PSY 30360 Psychology Research Project

Option Modules – Stages 1/2
PSY 20100 Disability Studies
PSY 20130 Psychology of Work
PSY 30180 Recent Papers in Neuroscience
PSY 30190 Psychological Trauma
PSY 30210 Clinical Psychology
PSY 30300 International Psychology
PHIL 30030 Philosophy of Mind
PSY 20110 Introduction to Health Psychology
PSY 30080 Psychology and Crime
PSY 30160 Advanced Language Development
PSY 30220 Liberation Psychology
PSY 30260 Practising Organisational Psychology
PSY 30280 Counselling Psychology
PSY 30310 Sport and Exercise Psychology
PSY 30330 Theoretical Psychology
PSY 30320 Career Development in Psychology

For full-time H Dip Psych students Year 1 (Stage 1) consists of 10 core modules and 2 option modules; Year 2 (Stage 2) consists of 8 core modules and 4 option modules.

For part-time students, Stage 1 core modules and 2 option modules are taken over the first 2 years; Stage 2 core modules and 4 option modules are taken over the second 2 years.

Contact Mary Boyle or +353-1-716-8369 for the part-time programme structure/timetable.

Further Enquiries

Mary Boyle
Tel: +353 (0)1716 8369
mary.boyle@ucd.ie

Course Web Page

http://www.ucd.ie/psychology/postgraduateprogrammes/higherdiploma/