Students gain a thorough ground in research methods and professional skills in the two core modules, that taken together, include the dissertation: The introduction of the dissertation is contained in the first of the two core modules and the data collection and analyse in the second. In this way we ensure that students make good progress in their dissertations facilitating timely completion of the course.

All other modules are options and students must make a series of choices in which they are actively supported to create a timely and integrated programme of study. This will normally be undertaken at the start of the course. Timing and timetabling may constrain choice and though generally speaking all options run every year, the fact that an option is published does not guarantee it will be available.

The rationale behind the programme is to allow students to create a programme of study that will meet their particular needs and gain access to knowledge and expertise that is congruent with these needs and the needs of their communities and employers. In this way student employability and effectiveness will be maximised. Sub-disciplines of applied psychology that are available to students include Occupational Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Health Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Positive Psychology and Guidance.

• High level vocationally based training
• Develops professionalism
• Integrates applied psychology with real world settings in a meaningful way
• Provides a whole range of technical and transferable skills, depending on the options chosen
• Allows students to customise their programme to meet both personal and career needs and the needs of current or future employers.
• Opportunities to network and develop links with fellow students from many different professional and academic backgrounds.
• Specialised tutoring in your chosen dissertation area

Successful applicants will:

(a) Have at least a lower second class honour degree or a prior qualification that is equivalent at least to either to a UK lower second class honours degree in Psychology or in a discipline containing a substantial amount of psychology or in a discipline that contains other content that demonstrably prepares the student for the MSc Applied Psychology. Their previous studies will have included some form of research training within the curriculum.

(b) Demonstrate by their application that they have given careful thought to their plan to study applied psychology and how it will help them develop as an individual, in organisations and in society.

(c) In the case of applicants whose first language is not English, then IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) is required. International qualifications will be checked for appropriate matriculation to UK Higher Education postgraduate programmes.

(d) Students that apply to enter stages of the programme may be admitted through normal Accreditation of Experiential Learning (AEL) or Accreditation of Certificated Learning (ACL) processes, or through an approved articulation agreement. Therefore such applicants must be able to demonstrate and evidence that they have the required learning outcomes as listed in the modules for which they are seeking exemption.

(e) The University of East London actively promotes and celebrates equality and diversity and positively welcomes applicants regardless of race, gender, disability, sexuality, age, religion or social class

Lectures, seminars, practical based workshops and external visits. Web-based learning via WEB CT provides an integrated virtual learning environment that allows students to access teaching and learning materials, interact with staff and with their peers and to plan their learning.

Assessment varies between modules. Overall it integrates examinations which test the knowledge base and thinking skills with course work that goes beyond essay writing, addressing conceptual technical and practical issues in an applied sense. Coursework may be undertaken in groups or individually depending on the particular requirements of the module in question and upon the practical learning objectives specified in the module specifications.

The entire programme is rooted in professional practice and addresses: the relevance of theory to practice; how practice can give rise to theories; how issues can be investigated in individuals, groups, organisations, social structures and society as a whole.

The dissertation spans the two core modules mentioned above and constitutes, with the professional skills and research methods, one third of the programme. It allows students to take the knowledge and skills that they have developed in the option modules and put it to use addressing meaningful issues in applied psychology. Examples of dissertation topics include:

• Looking at organisational change in public, private and NGO sectors
• Developing aspects of health care provision.
• Investigating maintenance safety in a railway network.
• Developing good working practice in the social care system.
• Management development in health and care settings.
• Leadership in non hierarchical organisations.
• Assessing the effectiveness of educational strategies.
• The re-conceptualisation of mental well being to take account of local social context and values, Offender profiling. Developing vocational training.
• Examination the organisational effectiveness of the international aid process.

This programme will extend your existing knowledge, skills and competence in research methods and professionalism in applied psychology. Furthermore it will provide you with specific knowledge and skills relating to the options that you choose. This choice will allow you to customise your studies to meet you own personal needs, the needs of potential employers and wider social needs of the global community. Developing successful strategies for career development and change are implicitly embedded in all the modules. Most people who teache on the programme are practitioners in some shape or form and a constant question is ‘how can the things that are studied on the programme be used to make a positive difference to people’s lives?’

You will have regular contact with all members of staff. You will be allocated a personal tutor who will oversee you progress and help you deal with any problems and maximise any learning opportunities that may present themselves while you study with at UEL. You will have full access to the library and multiple sets of reading materials will be available for short term loan in the library. Many teaching and learning materials will be able to be downloaded from dedicated web based facilities.

You will become part of a network of applied psychologists applying psychological methods and knowledge to solve individual, group and social problems not only in the UK but in a truly global sense. Our postgraduate alumni and network of past students include applied psychologists in virtually all countries of the EU, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia, Colombia, Canada, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.