The MA in Applied Psychology (Mental Health) is a full-time programme running for 12 months.

A candidate for this MA programme must:

1. Hold an honours undergraduate degree in Psychology.
2. Satisfy the eligibility requirements for graduate membership of the Psychological Society of Ireland or the British Psychological Society.  This can be demonstrated by:

• Evidence that your undergraduate degree is accredited by the PSI or BPS (see www.bps.org.uk) or
• Evidence from the BPS that they consider your undergraduate degree to be equivalent to a PSI/BPS accredited degree, in terms of granting you eligibility for graduate membership of the society.

3. A second-class honours grade one degree is required.  Consideration will be given to second class honours grade two candidates where, for example, an applicant has significant and directly relevant work experience or has performed impressively in another Master's degree acceptable to the School selection committee. In such cases, the applicant should set out the grounds upon which they wish to be considered in the supplementary statement.
4. All applicants must arrange for one Referee's Report form to be posted directly to the School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork. The reference must be a professional reference from someone who has experience of the applicant in a professional capacity, whether paid or voluntary work.
5. Supply a personal statement conveying:

(i) A proposed topic for research dissertation;
(ii) Reasons for applying to the programme;
(iii) How your experience to date has prepared you for a mental health related placement;
(iv) How you will prepare for placement;
(v) How the MAAP-MH programme fits with your career plan.

6. Satisfy the interview board.

Applicants will be shortlisted for interview for this programme based on their academic performance, referee report, evidence of research capacity, commitment to the area of applied psychology and awareness of professional issues in placement settings.

Applicants cannot be short-listed for interview if a completed referee report form has not been submitted to the School or if ALL the supporting documentation for application to MAAP-MH has not been submitted by time of shortlisting.

Garda Vetting
Students, or applicants in receipt of an offer, on this programme will be subject to Garda Vetting as relevant. Students will be prohibited from engaging in a relevant work placement unless the vetting process has been cleared. Click here to view UCC's Student Garda Vetting Policy.

Students take 90 credits as follows:

Part I (60 credits)
AP3119 Psychological Therapies (5 credits)
AP6016 Research Methods and Data Analysis (10 credits)
AP6023 Psychological Assessment (5 credits)
AP6128 Introduction to Psychotherapeutic Skills (5 credits)
AP6174 Clinical presentations (Child, Adolescent, Adult, and ID (10 credits)
*AP6180 Mental Health and Disability Placement (20 credits)
LW6616 Critical Perspectives on Mental Health Law (5 credits)

*Placements
While sufficient placements will be secured for all students on the programme, if a student chooses not to accept the placement offered by the School of Applied Psychology, it will then become their responsibility to secure an alternative placement for themselves which meets with the School of Applied Psychology placement criteria for MA in Applied Psychology (Mental Health). Placements may be located throughout the Republic of Ireland. 

Students failing the Placement may, with the approval of the programme team, be permitted to either extend or repeat the Placement. Students may repeat the placement only once in a repeat year. 

Students failing or not completing the placement because of a serious ethical breach as per placement contract will not be permitted to repeat the placement.

If a student is deemed unsuitable to continue a placement for any reason other than an ethical breach, they may be permitted to complete 20 credits of taught Postgraduate Applied Psychology modules instead plus the 30 credit dissertation and exit with an MA in Psychology.

All placements will be supervised in a work setting relevant to the programme of study. Placements will run two days a week (usually Thursdays and Fridays) for at least six months (340 hours minimum). 

Part II
AP6137 Dissertation in Applied Psychology (30 credits)
On the recommendation of the School, an Examination Board may decide that a dissertation is a borderline pass/fail and may agree to permit the student to make minor corrections to achieve the pass standard (40 or 50 per cent, as detailed in the module description) for the Dissertation within six weeks of the publication of examination results.  This option should apply only where examiners are satisfied that the research described in the Dissertation is fundamentally sound and that the fail judgement relates solely to the presentation of the Dissertation.

Exemptions
Students who have already passed a module(s) as part of another programme, may seek exemption from this module(s) and will be required to take another taught Postgraduate Applied Psychology module to the same credit value.

Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Psychology (Mental Health)
Students who have completed and passed modules to the value of at least 60 credits in Part I and who fail or do not wish to proceed to Part II may opt to exit the programme and be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Psychology (Mental Health).

Alternative pathway -  MA Psychology
Students who pass 40 credits in Part I but fail the placement (and repeat placement if taken) or are deemed unsuitable to undertake a placement may be permitted to complete 20 credits of taught Postgraduate Applied Psychology modules and a 30 credit dissertation and exit the programme with an MA Psychology

Module Semester Information may be found here. Module descriptions may be found here.

Examinations
Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards 2020/2021 Book and for each module in the Book of Modules, 2020/2021.

Programme Learning Outcomes for MA in Applied Psychology (Mental Health) (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Understand the discipline of psychology and its value in mental health contexts;
• Critically appraise psychological research and practice;
• Utilise the principles of applied psychological practice, gained through coursework, in mental health placement settings;
• Know the professional and ethical issues that may arise in the application of psychology in mental health placements;
• Develop an adequate level of knowledge and competence with working practices in the area of mental health;
• Display skills commensurate with planning and implementing an effective research dissertation.

Programme Learning Outcomes for Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Psychology (Mental Health) (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Understand the discipline of psychology and its value in mental health contexts;
• Critically appraise psychological research and practice;
• Know the professional and ethical issues that may arise in the application of psychology in mental health contexts;
• Utilise the principles of applied psychological practice, gained through  coursework, in mental health placements;
• Develop an adequate level of knowledge and competence with working practices in the area of mental health.