Affective Disorders MSc

Overview

Our Affective Disorders course has been created for a broad spectrum of students and mental health professionals who are interested in specialist training from world-class experts. You will study all aspects of affective disorders, ranging from their characterisation and assessment to the challenges of treating these debilitating conditions. Affective disorders are also known as mood disorders and the main types include depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders. Affective disorders are leading contributors to the global burden of disease and specialist training in this area is currently sparse. The purpose of our course is to meet the growing need for a graduate training course that focuses exclusively on affective disorders.

Course detail

Our Affective Disorders course is accessible to a wide audience, but would be of particular interest to psychiatrists, GPs, psychologists, related medical professionals and pharmaceutical scientists. It is especially suitable for health professionals who wish to refocus their career and specialise in affective disorders. It is equally suitable for health professionals who already work in a relevant field and wish to gain recognition for their expertise. It is very well suited for graduates who wish to pursue clinical psychology training, or research PhDs in affective disorders. This course adopts a multidisciplinary approach by capitalising on the most recent findings from a range of clinical and non-clinical disciplines, such as psychiatry, psychology, genetics, neuroscience, epidemiology and biostatistics. Upon completion, you will be able to integrate knowledge from different disciplines and relate it to the behaviours and symptoms present in affective disorders. You will be trained in the key scientific and methodological aspects of affective disorders, their care and related research. You will also gain transferable skills through a variety of tutorials and exercises. You will benefit from the teaching of world-renowned experts in the field, conduct a research project and have the possibility to do a clinical observership across the full range of affective disorders services within the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. You will be taught by The Centre for Affective Disorders, within the IoPPN, which represents a centre of excellence for understanding the science related to mood and anxiety disorders and using this knowledge to develop new treatments, including both psychological and pharmacological treatments. The clinical observership will enable you to observe various presentations, treatments and outcomes first-hand. We will use a delivery method that will ensure students have a rich, exciting experience from the start. Face to face teaching will be complemented and supported with innovative technology so that students also experience elements of digital learning and assessment.

Teaching and assessment

You will be taught through a mix of lectures, seminars and tutorials. Teaching on this course takes place in lectures, seminars and tutorials and through practical lab work. The rest of your time will be spent on self-study, including reading, research and writing assignments. The primary methods of assessment for this course are written examinations and coursework. The study time and assessment methods typically give an indication of what to expect. However, these may vary depending upon the modules.

Career prospects

Upon completion, you will have a solid understanding of the concepts, theories and practicalities that are relevant to affective disorders.

A minimum 2:1 degree classification will be required in medicine, psychology, nursing, pharmacy, professions allied to medicine (e.g. radiography), or a scientific degree such as biomedical science, or neuroscience. In order to meet the academic entry requirements for this programme you should have a minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree with a final mark of at least 60% or above in the UK marking scheme. If you are still studying you should be achieving an average of at least 60% or above in the UK marking scheme.