MSc Psychology and Education (Conversion)

The MSc Psychology and Education conversion course at Sheffield University was the highlight of my time at university. The course is well thought out, with brilliant lecturers who are passionate about their respective fields and advancing the education of their students.

Because lectures are held as intimate classroom sessions, rather than big lecture groups, it is easy to form relationships with all your classmates as well as university staff. I found our lecturers, especially course director Dr. Anna Weighall, incredibly helpful and accommodating throughout the course. Lecturers are also available to answer any course related questions, either by mail or through the online group forum which is shared with all the students on the course. You are also assigned a personal tutor.

Sessions are limited to three times a week, including one practical session that allows you to discuss lecture materials (and rehearse practical assessments) in a more informal setting.

As each module was concluding, we submitted our work (usually an essay, but sometimes also through more practical evaluations). That way we only focused on one topic at the time, and our grade in the module was determined by effort rather than “a good exam day”.

Since completing the MSc Psychology and Education course, I have progressed to a psychologist training programme. I feel confident my time in Sheffield has prepared me for the upcoming study, role and responsibilities. Thus, I would highly recommend anyone who is looking to do a psychology conversion course to apply to Sheffield University.”

One of my favourite aspects of the course was the timetable and the way they handled evaluations.

Last summer I finished my Bachelors degree and then started my Masters degree at the University of Sheffield. Compared to the bustling metropolis, I prefer a quiet city, which is one of the reasons why I chose Sheffield. I moved from nursing to psychology and education.

Apart from the reason of personal interest, I think the pain of the body will eventually dissipate, but the pain of the mind is often remembered. Why more and more social news reported that teenagers suffer from psychological problems?

Although I don’t believe I can heal other people’s hearts just through one year, I hope to learn about why and how they suffered by psychological illness from this course. The course was very fulfilling. It went from a wide range of psychological backgrounds to research methods and statistical analysis techniques and backed to the various branches of psychology.

After the class, I joined in voluteering activities. Every week I went to a local primary school and played with children. By getting along, I found out that Chinese and English children do have a lot of different personalities and habits. I also attended in Student Union as Education counsellor.

This year's study has established a basic understanding of educational psychology and a rich theoretical reserve for me.

I feel that I have some misunderstanding of written theories which is because I have not been exposed to similar cases in reality. Therefore, I hope that in the future I will have a chance to understand their inner activities at a deeper level by working with children and young people. In general, this year's harvest is a lot, I will miss this time.

After working for four years in education as a primary school teaching assistant, I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in educational psychology; however, having had no formal education on the subject, I was unsure of how to proceed. The University of Sheffield has a fantastic reputation for the impact its research has on the global community and, as I had already completed my undergraduate degree here in 2014, I checked online to see if there was a course that would provide me with a suitable qualification to begin my new career path and discovered the MSc Psychology and Education (conversion) course.

This degree provided the perfect opportunity to both learn the fundamentals of psychology and achieve a BPS accredited qualification and I was eager to enrol. Initially, I was concerned that I would be at a disadvantage due to my lack of experience in psychology but this fast-paced course quickly provided me with the foundational knowledge necessary to engage with a wide range of resources. The staff on the course were supportive and knowledgeable with each specialising in a different area of psychology and the way that they incorporated their own interests and experiences into lectures greatly enriched the course.

Throughout the degree, I was able to learn about a variety of psychological perspectives and was actively encouraged to critique them with a conscientious attitude in order to become a reflective and ethical practitioner. I finished the course by completing a dissertation which involved designing and conducting my own experimental research and reporting the findings in an APA style report – a feat that I was incredibly proud of after having only very basic psychological knowledge just one year ago. A particular highlight of the course was being able to access professional resources that are utilised by educational psychologists and gain hands-on experience using those tools. Overall, I feel that I have been equipped with a robust set of skills that will be a fantastic asset in my future career.