Scholarships
The scholarship below is open to all international students and those applying from England, Wales and Northern Ireland with a 2.1 or above for a postgraduate course. It's paid in two instalments, in December and March.
Develop your theoretical understanding, hone your practical skills and achieve a higher level of personal awareness and resilience by studying counselling at a postgraduate level. This MSc equips you with the skills you need to offer emotional support for people experiencing problems in their lives.
Join the only Masters programme in the UK to provide comprehensive training in the pluralistic framework for counselling and psychotherapy integration. This means you’ll absorb a wide range of theories and interventions, learning how best to adapt your approach to the needs of your clients.
We enjoy a rich tradition of providing training in counselling and counselling skills. Our teaching staff are highly respected leaders in their field, and you’ll be joining a vibrant community of practitioners and past and current students.
Abertay has a strong research orientation, and the Tayside Centre for Counselling (TCC) is based on campus. There are opportunities for you to be involved in projects that are influencing and developing the role and effectiveness of counselling interventions in modern society.
If you’re a Scottish or EU domiciled student and are planning to study this course, you could be eligible for a postgraduate loan. Find out more here.
Frequently asked questions about our MSc Counselling.
Important Information for prospective MSc Counselling students.
The course offers a comprehensive selection of topics on talking therapies, interventions and professional practice, with core areas including:
There are three exit points on this programme. These are:
From the outset you’re engaged in skills learning, as the first year of this MSc introduces you to counselling and practical training in the application of helping interventions. This foundation year provides counselling skills, and the experience you need to undertake a practice placement.
The subsequent two years involve a fascinating combination of teaching in theory, research, practice and professional issues, and self-development, all of which are designed to be directly linked to practice placement.
Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to take part in workshops to introduce and develop your understanding of mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, addictions, and eating disorders, along with specific approaches such as solution-focussed therapies and mindfulness.
In combination with the one day a week attendance on campus, in years two and three you’ll take a placement as a counsellor – an essential part of your professional training.
You’ll be assessed by using case-studies, theory essays, literature reviews, practice observations, and reflective accounts, along with reports from supervisors and practice placement. Assessment tasks are integrated into the course and spread through the three years.
Formative assessment is ongoing and the programme team provide feedback on practice skills and activities in class.
Provides students with core counselling skills, theoretical knowledge and opportunities for personal and professional development.
An introduction to the process of using counselling skills in practice and strategies for facilitating therapeutic change within the pluralistic framework. This module will allow students to conceptualise counselling within professional and supervisory contexts.
Provides students with a deepened and extended understanding of theoretical models of counselling to develop their capacity to use theory to facilitate change in clients.
Provides students with a supportive and critically challenging arena to reflect on and explore theoretical, ethical, professional and personal issues arising from the research and the application in practice of theory and interventions.
Provides students with essential learning in counselling theory. This module addresses key areas of practice including counselling contracts, ethical issues, personal soundness, supervision and professional skills.
An in-depth examination of the skills, concepts and professional knowledge required to use a pluralistic framework for counselling practice. It covers the framework and common interventions and approaches which are used in conjunction with it. Teaching also involves practice skills in goal collaboration, case-formulation and client process monitoring.
This module focuses on practice placement, monitoring and supervision. In addition it provides the student with an opportunity to explore critical issues around the relationship between theory, practice and research in relation to a collaborative pluralistic framework through a collaborative project.
The module allows the student to integrate theoretical and practical knowledge in order to demonstrate their effectiveness as a counsellor and begin preparation for their subsequent career.
Please provide certified proof of your English language level. Applicants should have achieved IELTS at 7.0 (with no band less than 6.5) or equivalent.
The course fees you'll pay and the funding available to you depends on factors such as your nationality, location, personal circumstances and the course you are studying. Visit the links below and scroll down to find the Postgraduate section.
Find out about grants, bursaries, maintenance loans and living costs in our postgraduate taught fees and funding section.
The scholarship below is open to all international students and those applying from England, Wales and Northern Ireland with a 2.1 or above for a postgraduate course. It's paid in two instalments, in December and March.
This £1,000 award is open to all prospective new postgraduate students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
s.lumsdaine@abertay.ac.uk
+44 (0)1382 30 8384