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BPS Accredited

I'm looking for Psychology (Conversion) online course start in 2024, could someone please explain to me what's the difference in terms of if this course is BPS accredited or not? Does it effect of job choice once graduated? How important it is? Many thanks
Original post by DanielleDD27
I'm looking for Psychology (Conversion) online course start in 2024, could someone please explain to me what's the difference in terms of if this course is BPS accredited or not? Does it effect of job choice once graduated? How important it is? Many thanks

If you want to practice Psychology then BPS accreditation is an absolute mandatory requirement. You cannot access further qualifications (required to become a Clinical Psychologist, Forensic Psychologist, etc.) without it.

However, if you don't want to work in the field of Psychology, or don't want to practice Psychology (perhaps you want to teach or do research) then BPS accreditation is not required.
To add to the above - conversion courses are accredited, as that is the whole point of them. There are many normal psychology masters that aren't as they are for academic interest
Reply 3
Original post by Interrobang
To add to the above - conversion courses are accredited, as that is the whole point of them. There are many normal psychology masters that aren't as they are for academic interest

Thank you for your help, I’m applying the conversion course with University of Hertfordshire, I’ve had a look the program, however it state that the course is not accredited with BPS. Would this be an exception? Thank you again .
Reply 4
Original post by DanielleDD27
Thank you for your help, I’m applying the conversion course with University of Hertfordshire, I’ve had a look the program, however it state that the course is not accredited with BPS. Would this be an exception? Thank you again .

If I'm looking at the same one as you (the online conversion MSc) it states it's not currently accredited but they are trying to get it for students from 2023 entry onwards. This would not be an exception - as it stands there is no guarantee it will be accredited by the time you start studying, though it may be the case they have successfully achieved accreditation by that point. It may be a bit of a gamble if your ultimate goal is to progress onto study that requires you to have an accredited Psychology degree.
Original post by DanielleDD27
Thank you for your help, I’m applying the conversion course with University of Hertfordshire, I’ve had a look the program, however it state that the course is not accredited with BPS. Would this be an exception? Thank you again .

Ah - the post above would be the exception. I would assume that given that the undergraduate course at Hertfordshire is accredited, it will be OK. However, there are no guarantees
Original post by DanielleDD27
Thank you for your help, I’m applying the conversion course with University of Hertfordshire, I’ve had a look the program, however it state that the course is not accredited with BPS. Would this be an exception? Thank you again .

Hi there,
Our MSc Psychology online conversion course has recently been developed and we have applied for the BPS accreditation. Once a student completes an accredited course, they gain the accreditation and are then eligible to take further specialist courses in psychology.
We have requested that the accreditation be back-dated to the time that students start the course, but can't yet confirm the accreditation until this process is finalised.
Do keep an eye on our course page as we will update the accreditation details there.
Hope this helps to clarify the position, but please let me know if you have any other questions.
Best wishes,
Gaynor
Marketing and Communications Team
Original post by DanielleDD27
I'm looking for Psychology (Conversion) online course start in 2024, could someone please explain to me what's the difference in terms of if this course is BPS accredited or not? Does it effect of job choice once graduated? How important it is? Many thanks

@DanielleDD27
There is some brilliant advice on here already. I would say that there are many providers out there that are fully accredited by the BPS. If you wanted an unbiased view of an institution in higher education check out their report with the QAA (a bit like Ofsted) and their Teaching Excellence Framework Report (which is very student feedback heavy) both readily available online.

If you are studying online I would ask about the quality of the Virtual Learning Environment and access to journals - I did my MSc Psychology at Arden and this area was exceptional

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador

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