Postgraduate Course: Conceptual and Theoretical Psychology (CLPS11053)
Course Outline
| School | School of Health in Social Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course will consider key approaches and concepts in psychology and focus on the relevance of psychology for everyday issues and mental health. |
| Course description |
The course will be taught in person with five lectures. The course will run in the first teaching block of Semester 1.
Each lecture will cover a core topic in Psychology. This course is an opportunity for students to reflect upon: key concepts in psychology, the history of psychology, and applications of psychology to understanding mental health. This course covers some of the major approaches which have shaped the development of psychology as a science, including the psychoanalytic approach, the cognitive approach, the behaviourist approach and the biological approach.
The course is a core component of the MSc Psychology of Mental Health (Conversion) and is not open to students from other programmes.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
| Course Start Date |
15/09/2025 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
88 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
100 %,
Coursework
0 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
2-hour exam |
| Feedback |
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| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Conceptual and Theoretical Psychology (CLPS11053) | 120 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate in-depth knowledge and critical understanding of psychology as a science.
- Critically evaluate the history and development of psychology as a discipline.
- Demonstrate critical reflection on how psychological perspectives can aid our understanding of mental health and illness.
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Reading List
Students are not expected to purchase any reading material - all the reading for this course will be accessible online through the University of Edinburgh.
This course will draw on a range of journal articles which will be available in the Resource List within Learn.
The following textbook will also be used throughout the course: Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner & Hood (2020), Psychology, Worth Publishers. This text is available online to University of Edinburgh students. There are also a limited number of physical copies in the University library. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Develop your research knowledge that will enable you to discuss, share, present and analyse data and information in various formats and from a range of sources.
Develop your critical reflection and writing skills |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Elizabeth Kirkham
Tel:
Email: elizabeth.kirkham@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Yuke Duan
Tel:
Email: yduan@ed.ac.uk |
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