MSc/PgDip Developmental Psychology
Attendance
Full-time, Part-time
Starts September
Full-time one year
Part-time two or three years
MSc
Full-time two days a week for one year
Part-time two days a week for two years or one day a week for two or three years
PgDip
Full-time two days a week for one year
Part-time one day a week for two years
At a glance
About this course
On this course you study
development through the lifespan from infancy, childhood and adolescence into adulthood and old age
stability and change in our physical, cognitive, social and emotional development
similarities and differences in the development of individuals and how factors such as biology and environment shape our development
This course is accredited as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership, provided you achieve an overall mark of at least 50 per cent. This is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.
The course is ideal if you are a
psychology graduate seeking to advance your knowledge of developmental psychology
graduate from a non-psychology background wanting to apply developmental psychology in the workplace
graduate considering professional training in a developmental field, such as educational psychology or in areas of psychology requiring Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (previously GBR)
graduate considering a research career
During your studies you
gain insight into how and why developmental changes take place, for example, in memory, problem-solving ability and emotional understanding
explore why children differ in their development, for example, in attributes such as self-esteem and motivation
gain a thorough grounding in traditional and contemporary developmental theories
gain comprehensive knowledge and experience of developmental psychology research methods, enabling you to carry out good quality research
apply your knowledge of lifespan development in various practical settings including education and healthcare
You improve key skills such as critical thinking group working report writing data analysis IT ability.
We also offer you the opportunity to gain experience of teaching developmental psychology on our undergraduate programmes.
Associated careers
Careers include
progression on to further professional training routes including clinical psychology, educational psychology and counselling
research in developmental psychology, such as research worker posts or doctoral research
practical work with developmental groups, for example, in schools or in health and social care
lecturing or teaching in psychology
Professional recognition
This course is accredited as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership, provided you achieve an overall mark of at least 50 per cent. This is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.
Course content
Modules
Theoretical and applied perspectives in developmental psychology
key lifespan developmental theories attachment theory emotional development and emotional regulation development of self concept development of skills, such as drawing and arithmetic application of developmental theory and research to practical contextS
Cognitive development
Piagetian research information processing approach infant speech perception memory and conceptual development language processing cognition in old age problem solving and reasoning
Developmental social psychology
the social context of development including family and peers social cognition - attribution, attitudes intergroup processes such as the development of ethnic and national prejudice identity formation close relationships
Psychobiology and development
physical and perceptual development behavioural genetics hormonal influences on development evolutionary developmental psychology developmental cognitive neuropsychology
Psychology of differential development
psychometric testing/ developmental test batteries perspectives on differential development such as psychoanalytic, behavioural and biological development of intelligence temperament and personality motivation and self-determination adult attachment genetic and environmental influences on differential development
Developmental practicals
overview of developmental research designs ethical issues in developmental research infant research techniques experimental cognitive research with developmental groups qualitative techniques such as life histories observational methods questionnaires and interviews psychophysical measures including electroencephalography (EEG)
Research methods and statistics
You complete one of the following modules depending on your previous study of psychology at undergraduate level fundamentals in design and statistics advanced statistics and design
Developmental psychology research project with conceptual and historical issues in psychology (PgDip)
You develop a research question, design a study, collect and analyse data, evaluate your findings and submit a written report based on your study.
Developmental psychology dissertation with conceptual and historical issues in psychology (MSc)
You develop a research question, design a study, collect and analyse data, evaluate your findings and submit a written report based on your study.
MSc
For the MSc, you also complete the following module
Lifespan and cross cultural perspectives on health and illness
psychological aspects of health and illness physical and learning disability psychopathology death, dying and bereavement interventions and practice evaluations
Assessment
coursework essays research protocols research reports journal article reviews sample lectures individual research project
Entry requirements
You need
a second class honours degree or above in psychology
or
a second class honours degree or above in another discipline together with at least 60 credits of psychology (required for PgDip only) or child development studied at degree level
For the MSc route, we may consider graduates with relevant work experience.
If you do not have these qualifications, or you are unsure whether you have the equivalent, please contact us.International students
Typically you need qualifications equivalent to the above, plus an IELTS 6.5 score with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills or equivalent if English is not your first language.
If your English language skill is currently below IELTS 6.5 we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English score.
If you do not have these qualifications, or you are unsure whether you have the equivalent, please contact us.
Fees
Home and EU students
2013/14 academic year
Full-time typically £5,355
Part-time typically £3,570 for PgDip stage, plus £1,785 for MSc stage
International students
2013/14 academic year
Typically £12,060 for the course
2014/15 academic year
Typically £12,150 for the course
How to apply
Complete the application form available at www.shu.ac.uk/study/form