Candidates for individual accreditation must note that they will also have to meet all other criteria outlined by BACP. The two-year delivery of the programme on a part-time basis will be introduced in September 2018 and this mode of delivery has also been accredited by BACP.

This MSc programme in Counselling and Psychotherapy is founded on a person-centred view of personhood and person-centred ways of being and the core training offered by the programme is in the person-centred approach. In this we view the relationship in counselling as central, and support Rogers’ belief in the ‘self-therapeutic capacity and wisdom of clients’. However, we also take a strong ‘anti-schoolism’ stance which reflects our sincere respect for other, non-person-centred practices and practitioners. Our starting point for the Keele Counselling Model is thus a unifying ethos which enables us to respect and welcome a diversity of professional skills and orientations.

We employ a wide variety of teaching and learning strategies including lectures, large group work, community meetings, tutorials and small group work. Within this framework students are introduced to a range of practices which are related to relevant philosophical traditions including existentialism and phenomenology. Throughout the course, students are supported to establish a sense of coherence in their own therapeutic position in line with the course philosophy and aims.

The centrality of a secure and constantly reviewed ethical position, based on the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions, is presented to the programme members as a major personal responsibility. We accept the overwhelming evidence of the theorists that the major factor in helping human beings change in a desired positive direction is a relationship in which they feel safe, valued and challenged.

Why study at Keele

• The full-time MSc in Counselling and Psychotherapy is a BACP accredited programme. We are currently applying for BACP accreditation of the part-time MSc.
• Keele Counselling staff have a wealth of experience in providing counselling training to both UK and international students
• Keele has a thriving counselling community with students from a range of professional, cultural, social and educational backgrounds
• Staff who are up to date with current therapeutic practice, training and research
• All staff are active practitioners in counselling
• An annual Counselling Conference with internationally renowned keynote speakers and researchers in counselling

The programme aims to equip students with the knowledge and expertise to support their work as professional person-centred/humanistic counsellors. It aims to integrate students’ counselling skills practice with academic study at Masters level and to facilitate student learning in several areas of counselling, namely counselling skills, counselling related theory and personal and professional development.

The programme offers to students a thorough theoretical grounding in person-centred/humanistic counselling and an introduction to research methodology. The principles underpinning the programme are holistic personal, professional and academic development, ethical practice, relationships and community.

Please note that we are operating a gathered field for applications for this programme, which means that all applications received by the closing date of 7th March 2018 will be given equal consideration. Applications received after that date will only be considered if there are still places remaining after all the applications received by 7th March have been fully processed.

The entry requirements, for applicants who have not already completed the Keele Graduate Certificate in Counselling or BSc Psychology with Counselling at Keele, are a 2i degree in any discipline or equivalent professional qualifications. This is to ensure that students have the required foundational written and analytic skills to study at MSc level.

The MSc in Counselling and Psychotherapy is a very demanding course - emotionally as well as academically; we are training to people to work not just with "the worried well", but to work with people who may be in great emotional and psychological distress. For this reason, and in line with the requirements of BACP, applicants also need to demonstrate the following attributes: self awareness, maturity and stability; ability to make use of and reflect upon life experience; capacity to cope with the emotional demands of the course; ability to cope with the intellectual and academic requirements; ability to form a helping relationship; ability to be self-critical and use both positive and negative feedback; awareness of the nature of prejudice and oppression; awareness of the nature of difference and equality; ability to recognise the need for personal and professional support; competence in or the aptitude to develop generic personal skills, including: literacy, numeracy, information technology, administrative skills, self-managements skills, communication and interpersonal skills.

We are also looking for applicants with some experience of working with people in a helping capacity, whether voluntary or paid.

Applicants will need to address all of these points in their personal statements in the application form and in response to the criteria questionnaire to be completed as part of the application process.

In addition, applicants whose first language is not English must have an IELTS score of at least 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each sub-test (or equivalent).

Applicants will be required to initially complete an online application form including a personal statement. Once the application has been received, if the applicant meets the entry requirements for the programme, they will be sent a set of criteria questions to fill out. In line with the gathered field process, applicants will be scored on their responses to these questions and, on the basis of this scoring, will progress to the next stage of the selection process, namely a group interview with up to 7 other applicants and two members of the course team; will be held on a waiting list to see whether or not they may be called for interview at a later date or will be informed that they will be not be progressing further. 

If called for interview, applicants will be informed of the criteria against which they will be assessed at interview and, following this interview, will be offered a conditional or unconditional place, depending on references and other conditions that might need to be met  (e.g. the completion of required qualifications); will be held on a waiting list, or may be informed that they will not receive an offer for a place.

The course is taken full-time over one complete year or part-time over two complete years. All Masters students are required to take four 30-credit taught modules (120 credits at Level 7), plus a 45 credit dissertation module and a 15 credit module; see below. All modules must be passed for the award to be made (total of 180 credits at level 7). Students who successfully complete only the four 30-credit taught modules (120 credits) may exit with a Postgraduate Diploma, and those successfully completing only the two modules indicated *below (60 credits) may exit with a Postgraduate Certificate. However, it must be noted that these exit awards are not BACP accredited qualifications.

Taught modules

• Exploration in counselling (30 credits)*
• Understanding in counselling (30 credits)
• Integration in counselling (30 credits)
• Practicum (30 credits)*
• Dissertation (60 credits) 20,000 words. The preparation and submission of a dissertation will give students the opportunity to research, in-depth, a counselling topic or issue of interest to them
• Personal and Professional Development and Reflexivity (15 credits)

In addition, all students have tutor led training in the practical skills of counselling, as well as access to digital recording equipment for counselling practice with peers and for the production of case material for critical analysis

For the Practicum module, students must complete a minimum of 100 hours of supervised counselling practice and, alongside this, a minimum of 14 hours of counselling supervision. They must also have a minimum of 20 hours of personal therapy. For part-time students, the Practicum module has to be completed in Year 1.

Students will have to pay for their own personal therapy and may have to pay for their counselling supervision, so should be aware of the additional cost and time implications of this, as well as of completing their placement.

If the completion of a counselling placement is not a requirement for a student’s future plans i.e. they intend to pursue a career in a counselling related field, then they are entitled to transfer to the MSc in Counselling and Psychotherapy Studies. 

The programme begins with compulsory attendance at a residential weekend and a two week induction. Attendance at the annual counselling conference is also compulsory. For part-time students, these elements (residential, two week induction and conference) are required in Year 1 only. 

Attendance requirement for this course is set at 90%. 

With the exception of a multiple-choice questionnaire classroom test, all modules are assessed on the basis of coursework.

The pass mark for a module is 50%. The dissertation is a piece of independent research written up in 20,000 words. Masters students attaining exceptional performance (course average of at least 70% including 70%+ for the dissertation) may be awarded a distinction.

• Students are required to attend a minimum of 20 hours of personal therapy to complete the course and payment for this is the responsibility of the students. An average cost for personal therapy is approximately £35-£45 per hour.
• When completing the 100 hour placement requirement, students also have to undertake a minimum of 14 hours of supervision for which there may also be a charge.  Again, an average cost for supervision is approximately £35-£45 per hour.
• Parking is also an additional cost for students who wish to use their cars on campus. Details of student parking permits are sent out with the pre-enrolment information.
• Students are also expected to pay travel costs to and from their placements.
• Students should also be aware that possible additional costs may be incurred when attending the compulsory non-residential Conference weekend. Refreshments and lunches are provided for the students free of charge during the weekend but there will be an additional cost should students wish to attend the Saturday evening Conference dinner and also if wishing to book local accommodation.

Home / EU and international students, use this link for tuition fees

Includes residential fee and attendance at the annual Keele University Counselling conference

If you are offered a place on our programme, please email your acceptance as requested and ensure a non-returnable advance deposit payment of £300.00 is made, as we can only hold your place for a limited time. 

Payment can be made online, via the link below: http://www.keele.ac.uk/finance/income/paymentmethods/onlinepayments/ or by cheque, made payable to Keele University, post to Jo Gravano, Counselling Administrator, School of Psychology, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, within two weeks of receiving the offer by e-mail. 

If you accept the offer and make the advance payment in time, then joining information will be sent to you before the course begins.

There are a number of bursaries on offer to both home and overseas postgraduate students. Please see the following pages for details and eligibility:

• UK/EU students
• International students

Please note that the following details are based on the programme as it is currently run, so we cannot guarantee that the programme will be run on the same days, with the same timings, as is currently the case, in future years.

How do I apply and will I need to attend an interview?
Applications are made online. Once your application is received by Admissions, if you are eligible for the programme, then a criteria questionnaire will be sent to you by email which should be completed and returned within 5 working days of receipt. These questionnaires will then be scored and, on the basis of this, you may be invited to attend a group interview.

Is there a submission deadline for applications?
We are operating a gathered field which means that all applications received by 7th March 2018 will be given equal consideration. Applications received after this date will only be considered if there are still places remaining after all those applications considered as part of the gathered field have been processed.

How soon will I know if I will be offered a place?
We endeavour to turn applications round fairly promptly, so we would hope that your application would be screened for eligibility within a few weeks of receipt and that you would then, if deemed eligibile, be sent the criteria questionnaire to complete and return. We will endeavour to inform applicants within 6 weeks of the closing date for the gathered field (7th March 2018) whether we will be inviting them for interview, whether we will be holding them on a waiting list to potentially be called for interview, or whether we will not be processing their application further. Interviews will be held on a weekday, between 9am and 5 pm and applicants invited for interview should attend on the date offered. If unable to make this date, they would only be offered one further possible date. Applicants from outside of the UK may be offered an interview via Skype.

If you are offered a place on our programme, please email your acceptance as requested and ensure a non-returnable advance deposit payment of £300.00 is made, as we can only hold your place for a limited time. 

Payment can be made online, or by cheque, made payable to Keele University, post to Jo Gravano, Counselling Administrator, School of Psychology, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, within two weeks of receiving the offer by e-mail. 

If you accept the offer and make the advance payment in time, then joining information will be sent to you before the course begins.

What are the teaching hours of the course and approximately how much private study time per week should be allowed?

After the Residential Weekend and the Intensive Fortnight (see Further Information tab for details), teaching is from 9 am to 4:30 pm each Wednesday and from 11am to 5 pm each Thursday during term-time. For part-time students, they will attend on Wednesdays in Year 1 and on Thursdays in Year 2.

Applicants should note that they will need to find time, outside of the course hours, in which to carry out practice skills, at Keele, with peers from the course and in which to make recordings of those practice sessions. It is envisaged that a minimum of one hour per week would be devoted to this.

For full-time students, the course IS a full-time course and we recommend that the remainder of the week is devoted to private study and to carrying out placement, personal therapy and supervision hours.

Is there a placement element within the course?
Students are required to complete a minimum of 100 placement hours at an outside organisation, along with a minimum of 14 hours of supervision.

Are there any additional costs apart from the fees?

Students have to attend a minimum of 20 hours of personal therapy in order to complete the course and payment for this is the responsibility of the students. As a guide, costs for this on average are £35 - £45 per hour.

When completing the 100 hour placement requirement, students also have to undertake a minimum of 14 hours of supervision for which there may also be a charge. Again as a guide, costs for this are on average £35 - £45 per hour.

Parking is also an additional cost for students who wish to use their cars on campus. Details of student parking permits are sent out with the pre-enrolment information.

Students should also be aware that possible additional costs may be incurred when attending the compulsory non-residential Conference weekend. Refreshments and lunches are provided for the students free of charge during the weekend but there will be an additional cost should students wish to attend the Saturday evening Conference dinner and also if wishing to book local accommodation.

Is there any funding available to help with the fees?
Applicants can contact Student Support - Money Advice and Guidance, details of which can be found on the following link http://www.keele.ac.uk/studentfunding to enquire about any funding.