Psychology courses

About Forensic Psychology (practitioner Programme) - Pgd in Cardiff Metropolitan University

Course Overview

This course is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and, upon completion, provides students with eligibility to apply to the register to practice as Forensic Psychologists in the UK. 

The course is designed to be placement based, with various workshops for students as well as clinical and academic supervision. Workshops are usually delivered in block teaching sessions and students are expected to be in Cardiff for around 15 days over the course of their study.  We have students from all over the UK so we aim to make access to workshops as straightforward as possible for those students who have to travel long distances to attend. 

Each student will be allocated both a clinical supervisor and an academic supervisor – at least one of these supervisors will be an appropriately qualified and experienced Forensic Psychologist.  Students should consider the availability of a forensic psychologist who is willing and able to offer supervision in their workplace or placement site for the duration of their studies.

​Course Content​​

There are 6 modules to the programme:

Professional Practice Portfolio in Forensic Psychology 1 (100 credits, Level 8)
Professional Practice Portfolio in Forensic Psychology 2 (40 credits, Level 8)
This is the largest assessed piece of work and it provides credits towards a Professional Doctorate qualification that students may wish to undertake following this programme or at a later stage in their career. The portfolio is a collection of exemplars of work students have undertaken to demonstrate competence in the application of forensic psychology to assessment and intervention work with service users. It will include exemplars of clinical practice (assessments, interventions, evaluation and recommendations) reflective evaluations, practice logs (detailing a minimum of 360 days of professional practice), supervision logs and a variety of placement checklists.

Consultancy (20 credits, level 8)
This module explores the experience students have in demonstrating the application of psychology in the context of consultancy, developing policy and evaluating service provision.

Teaching and Training (20 credits, level 8)
This module explores the experience students have in demonstrating the application of psychology in the context of teaching and training.

Ethical and Professional Practice  (20 credits, level 8)
This module explores the experience students have in demonstrating the application of psychology within the appropriate ethical and professional boundaries that are required by the Regulatory Body (Health and Care Professions Council, HCPC), by appropriate professional bodies (British Psychological Society, BPS) and by the relevant placement organisations.

Advanced Applied Research (40 credits, level 8)
This module explores the experience students have developed and can use advanced research methods and apply this to their practice.  We want students to demonstrate that they are excellent consumers of research and can engage in research activities that affect practice and policy in the context of forensic psychology., particularly functional assessment and case formulation.

Employability & Careers​

The purpose of the PG Dip in Practitioner Forensic Psychology is to allow students to progress on from Masters level study towards Practitioner status, thereby boosting their employability.  At the end of the programme successful students can apply to the HCPC to be registered as Forensic Psychologists. This course is essentially for students who wish to progress on to clinical work within forensic settings or more widely with forensic clients. The programme is placement based and provides supervised support towards developing the competencies required to be an autonomous practitioner.  

100% of the graduates from this programme are employed as Forensic Psychologists and so working in professional roles within a variety of organisations in the UK.  Some of our graduates may consider returning to complete the Doctorate in Forensic Psychology (Top-Up) once they have decided which area they would like to specialise in.  

Academic qualification equivalents

• Postsecondary diploma or a degree or 2–3 year diploma (media-related is desired)

English language requirements (one of the below):

• IELTS      :      6.0 overall* with no sub score lower than 5.5
• PTE         :      Overall - 52, Reading - 51, Speaking - 51,Listening - 51,Writing - 51

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