MSc Foundations in Clinical Psychology & Health Services

The MSc Foundations in Clinical Psychology & Health Services at Goldsmiths offers a one-year (or two-year part-time) programme that equips students with clinical theory, research skills, and real-world experience to work in health services or pursue doctoral training. It suits psychology graduates and health professionals aiming to enter NHS, research, or health-policy roles.

Curriculum Structure

Students follow either an Applied Clinical Psychology pathway or a Research in Clinical Psychology pathway, sharing core modules before branching into placement or advanced research.

In the first year, all students take Understanding & Treating Psychological Disorders, where they study major mental health conditions and evidence-based treatments; Professional Issues in Psychological Practice, learning ethics, multidisciplinary working, and service issues; Multivariate Statistical Methods and Research Design & Analysis, which develop advanced quantitative and qualitative research competence. Those on the Applied pathway complete Professional Practice, a 35-day placement in a clinical-service setting where they apply theory to real-world work. Students on the Research pathway instead take Advanced Quantitative Methods, Applied Research Design in Clinical Psychology, and a Statistical Data Analysis Project, gaining deeper analytic and methodological skills. Every student completes a Research Project (Dissertation), designing and conducting an empirical study under supervision.

Focus areas (string):
“Clinical disorders, health-service practice, professional ethics, advanced research methods, placement experience, empirical research”

Learning outcomes (in a string):
“Ability to assess and understand psychological disorders; apply clinical theory in health-service settings; conduct rigorous research; reflect on professional practice; design and complete a substantial empirical research project.”

Professional alignment (accreditation):
Taught by clinical-psychology researchers and practitioners; provides a foundation for applying to doctoral clinical psychology programmes or working in health-service research or management.

Reputation (employability rankings):
Goldsmiths is highly regarded for its research-intensive psychology department; this MSc helps graduates progress to NHS, private healthcare, academic research, or professional clinical psychology training.