Course overview

We use the term 'intellectual disabilities' to describe those who have significant problems with learning and who need support with many aspects of life. Other terms that have been used and some still in common use in the UK are learning disability or learning difficulty and, in North America, developmental disability, mental retardation and mental handicap.

This part-time distance learning course, delivered via the internet, provides an opportunity for those supporting children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families to enhance their knowledge and skills, and gain an academic qualification. Applicants must be employed or involved with voluntary work with children or adults with intellectual disabilities, in a setting that enables you to apply course materials and complete practice-based assignments.

Why study at the University of Portsmouth?

We have been providing postgraduate education to supporters of people with intellectual disabilities for over 20 years. This course has been taught as a distance learning course for almost ten years, making this successful course accessible to students throughout the world. We have graduates and current students from across the UK and many other countries including Eire, Greece, Cyprus, US, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

 

Course content

You will normally study three units (90 credits) each year, and will begin to explore potential research ideas and research methodologies in year one.  In your second year you will carry out an independent research project relevant to people with intellectual disabilities.

Year one units

Empowerment and the Social Construction of Learning Disabilities: This course examines knowledge, theory and practice about learning disability and empowering people with such a label through a social constructionist lens.

Participatory and Enabling Practices: This unit covers working with people with intellectual disabilities using effective and enabling practices.

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods: This unit provides an introduction to experimental and survey-based research methods, and quantitative data analysis techniques. It covers qualitative methods for data collection and analysis, as well as to how to write research reports in both traditions.

Year two units

Intellectual Disabilities, Families and Systemic Practice: This unit aims to provide you with an understanding of families including an appreciation of experiences of families with an intellectually disabled member. It aims to enhance your abilities to support families via theoretically informed, partnership-based empowering practices.

Research Project: The research project requires you to initiate, conduct and report upon an original piece of research. The work is conducted to deadlines agreed with a project supervisor and project must include empirical quantitative or qualitative research – data collection and relevant analysis must be included. Any statistical analysis must be both descriptive (e.g. means, standard deviations and graphs etc.) and inferential (i.e. statistical tests).

You will also take one of the following units:

Communication and Investigative Interviewing of People with Intellectual Disabilities: This unit aims to promote communication skills and opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities and outline the status of the law concerning vulnerable adults as witnesses/victims. It aims to provide you with the opportunity to examine issues that arise when people with intellectual disabilities are interviewed as witnesses/victims of crime.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: This unit outlines and discusses the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy. You are strongly encouraged to view this course as an introduction to the academic literature on this subject, rather than as training to be a therapist.

Critical Disability Studies and Intellectual Disability: The perspective of Critical Disability Studies (CDS) is about how society and its agents respond to the labelled person's circumstances rather than how intellectual disability inhabits the person. This unit will address the relationship between workers and disabled people that CDS might call for. Here disability and intellectual disability in particular will be a standpoint or position from which to view society, in contrast to disability as a categorisation of people.

Awards

When you have successfully completed units with a total of 60 credits you will be eligible for the award of Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Psychology of Intellectual Disabilities. A further 60 credits (a total of 120 credits) leads to eligibility for the award of Postgraduate Diploma. Completion of a further 60 credits (a total of 180 credits) leads to the award of MSc Applied Psychology of Intellectual Disabilities.

Teaching and assessment

The content of the course is delivered via the internet. At the beginning of the course you will be provided with a user name and password to enable you to access the distance learning materials.

Resources include:

• specially written text by University academic staff and external experts
• links to relevant websites and electronic versions of selected readings
• online discussions and other interactive learning activities
• links to the library and other University learning resources

We realise that studying on your own away from the University presents special challenges and we try to provide support in a number of ways. You will be allocated a personal tutor when you register for the course. Tutorial support is provided throughout by email and telephone) tutorials and by personal tutorials during study schools or at other times by arrangement.

Assessment

Each unit is assessed by coursework. There are no examinations. Types of assignments include practice files, essays, communication profiles, statistical analysis and reports, literature reviews and a research project.

Career prospects

Students come on to the course with a range of professional backgrounds and experience. Some are just beginning their careers while others are already senior managers. Graduates of the course frequently make significant progress in their careers; others go on to obtain advanced academic qualifications such as PhDs or professional doctorates.

Facilities and features

Although you will be studying away from the University, there are a number of resources you can access:

• The University Library: you can use many of the University Library facilities via the internet. The library also has dedicated services to support distance learners.
• SCONUL Access scheme: students from the UK and the Republic of Ireland are eligible for the SCONUL scheme, which enables them to access library facilities and borrow books at up to two other universities near their homes.
• Workshops and conferences: optional study weekends or workshops, usually beginning on Friday and continuing until Sunday lunchtime, may be held during the year, depending on demand. They cover a range of course issues, including material relating to specific units, workshops on topics of current interest and sessions to develop academic and research skills. There will be opportunities for group work, as well as traditional lectures and presentations. Although these workshops are not compulsory, students who do attend find them very useful and we strongly recommend that you attend if at all possible.

Study weekends may be combined with one-day conferences with speakers of national and international repute.

Entry requirements

The entry requirements for MSc Applied Psychology of Intellectual Disabilities are shown above, for more detailed information please contact:

Department: Psychology
Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 5550
Email: sci-pgrad@port.ac.uk