Assessment requirements
Progress will be monitored primarily via individual supervisions with main academic tutors, feedback from practice placement educators and supervisors and annually checking students’ progress against key milestones.
The key milestones are represented by the assessment for each stage of the programme, as specified in the taught units.
Year 1
Module 1: Counselling Psychology Theory 1
- Theory Paper: Humanistic Counselling Psychology - 5000 words
- Professional Issues Presentation – 1.5 hours long
Module 2: Counselling Psychology Research 1
- Reflexive Case Study – 5000 words
- Research Proposal - 5000 words
Module 3: Counselling Psychology Practice 1
- Process Report: person-centred therapy – 3000 words
- Fitness to Practise Part 1 – PCEPS assessment
- Fitness to Practise Part 2 – Professional Practice Oral assessment
Module 4: Personal and Professional Development 1
- Documentary Evidence 1: Counselling Psychology Practice (50 hours), Personal Therapy (10 hours)
Year 2
Module 1: Counselling Psychology Theory 2
- Theory Paper: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - 5000 words
- ‘Diversity and Difference’ Case Study – 5000 words
Module 2: Counselling Psychology Research 2
- Systematic Review Paper - 5000 words
- Systematic Review Poster
Module 3: Counselling Psychology Practice 2
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy skills assessment
- Process Report: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – 3000 words
Module 4: Personal and Professional Development 2
- Documentary Evidence 2: Counselling Psychology Practice (250 hours*), Personal Therapy (25 hours*)
*please note these are cumulative totals including practice from year 1
Year 3
Module 1: Research Thesis (50,000 words)
Module 2: Personal and Professional Development 3
- Documentary Evidence 3: Counselling Psychology Practice (450 hours*), Personal Therapy (40 hours*), Completed SoP Log, Reflexive Essay (3,000 words), Evidence of Conference presentation
- Documentary Evidence oral assessment
*please note these are cumulative totals including practice from year 1 and 2
All assessed units must be complete to allow progression onto the next year.
An aegrotat award will not be offered to students who are not able to successfully complete their studies due to ill health.
An exit award of MPhil in Psychology of Counselling will, however, be offered to those students who complete the required assessed activities, as outlined in the next section of this handbook.
It is important to note that students will not be eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC if exiting with this award.
Accreditation of prior or experiential learning (APL or APEL) towards the D.Couns Psych. award will be awarded in line with the policy outlined by the Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester.
Progression and monitoring
There are several key milestones for progression on the Doctorate programme, which are outlined here.
Trainees should always come prepared for a progression meeting on the programme, with the required information available and in the requested format.
We have presented details of each standard progression point below separately, in order that it is clear what information is required and will be discussed at each point.
Please note that additional review meetings can be scheduled by programme staff for a trainee, outside of these standard review processes, where particular concerns deem this necessary.
Year 1
Annual review meeting – May/June
The annual review meeting in the first year of the programme involves a meeting with a member of the trainee’s research supervisory team (ideally their primary research supervisor) and an independent review appointed by the Programme Director. The independent reviewer will be another member of staff either based on the programme or within the wider institute who is not involved in the trainee’s research supervision.
The specific outline for the annual review year 1 meeting will be provided in a taught session earlier in the year, due to the particular nature of this particular review. The review meeting will last for approximately 1 hour and will involve a student presentation on (1) their doctoral thesis research proposal and (2) their progress on the course in relation to their practice placement work, personal therapy and Standards of Proficiency Log. Ahead of the meeting, the student will be required to complete the student section of the e-prog annual review form, and to upload to this form (1) their complete research proposal and (2) placement report form(s) for any placements which they have started.
Following the student presentation, the independent reviewer and supervisor will be able to ask a number of questions about the proposed research and progression in relation to practice requirements. These will on the whole focus more time on the research element, though both elements are considered equally in terms of progression.
The meeting will also allow time for discussion of any professional conduct or fitness to practise issues raised at the University or on placement.
The aim of the meeting is to determine whether or not a trainee is progressing satisfactorily and this will be formally recorded following the meeting. A common outcome at this stage is for trainees to be given some corrections to their research proposal documentation in order to pass that assessment at doctoral level. Beyond this, where it is decided that a student’s progression is not satisfactory at this point in the programme the options would be as follows:
An action plan and monitoring systems will be put in place in order to support the trainee to progress. This might, for example, include additional or supplementary work, changes to areas of professional practice highlighted as unsatisfactory to date, or additional/modified placement arrangements.
It will be recommended that the trainee cannot progress beyond this point on the programme. They will, therefore, have failed to complete all necessary components of the programme and therefore discussions should focus on the possibility of the exit award (see below).
The outcomes of review meetings will be formally recorded and decisions explained in writing for trainees. Where a trainee wishes to appeal an outcome they can discuss with the Programme Director in the first instance and will be referred to the School Appeals processes and procedures explained in the PGR Handbook.
Year 2
Interim review meeting – January/February
Trainees will be required to meet with a member of their research supervisory team (ideally their primary research supervisor) and an independent reviewer at the end of their first semester on the second year of the programme. This will focus on whether or not their progression is meeting the required standards to progress further with the programme.
At this meeting trainees will be required to update staff on:
- Progression in relation to their practice placement work and personal therapy: for this they will be required to submit ahead of the meeting (1)placement reports for all of their ongoing placements along with (2) a completed documentary evidence cover sheet used at the annual submission outlining the number of placement hours (including supervision) completed as well as personal therapy hours.
- Progression in relation to their Standards of Proficiency log (no evidence is required here at this stage, just a verbal description of their progression)
- Progression in relation to the academic assignments on the course
- Progression in relation to their thesis work – this should be linked to the trainee's research schedule included in their year 1 annual review e.g. have noted milestones been reached?
- The meeting will also allow time for discussion of any professional conduct or fitness to practise issues raised at the University or on placement.
Should the trainee not have collated the appropriate documentation ahead of the scheduled meeting, the meeting will be postponed with one further opportunity offered. Should the trainee still fail to provide the appropriate updates/documentation for the meeting their progression will be automatically noted as ‘unsatisfactory’.
The aim of the meeting is to determine whether or not a trainee is progressing satisfactorily and this will be formally recorded following the meeting. Where it is decided that a student’s progression is not satisfactory at this point in the programme the options would be as follows:
An action plan and monitoring systems will be put in place in order to support the trainee to progress. This might, for example, include additional or supplementary work, changes to areas of professional practice highlighted as unsatisfactory to date, or additional/modified placement arrangements.
It will be recommended that the trainee cannot progress beyond this point on the programme. They will, therefore, have failed to complete all necessary components of the programme and therefore discussions should focus on the possibility of the exit award (see below).
The outcomes of review meetings will be formally recorded and decisions explained in writing for trainees. Where a trainee wishes to appeal an outcome they can discuss with the Programme Director in the first instance and will be referred to the School Appeals processes and procedures explained in the PGR Handbook.
Annual review meeting – May/June
Trainees will be required to meet with a member of their research supervisory team (ideally their primary research supervisor) and an independent reviewer at the end of the second year of the programme. This will focus on whether or not their progression is meeting the required standards to progress further with the programme.
At this meeting trainees will be required to update staff on:
- Progression in relation to their practice placement work and personal therapy: for this they will be required to submit ahead of the meeting (1)placement reports for all of their ongoing placements along with (2) a completed documentary evidence cover sheet used at the annual submission outlining the number of placement hours (including supervision) completed as well as personal therapy hours.
- Progression in relation to their Standards of Proficiency log (no evidence is required here at this stage, just a verbal description of their progression)
- Progression in relation to the academic assignments on the course
- Progression in relation to their thesis work – this should be linked to the trainee's research schedule included in their year 2 mid-year review e.g. have noted milestones been reached?
- The meeting will also allow time for discussion of any professional conduct or fitness to practise issues raised at the University or on placement.
Should the trainee not have collated the appropriate documentation ahead of the scheduled meeting, the meeting will be postponed with one further opportunity offered. Should the trainee still fail to provide the appropriate updates/documentation for the meeting their progression will be automatically noted as ‘unsatisfactory’.
The aim of the meeting is to determine whether or not a trainee is progressing satisfactorily and this will be formally recorded following the meeting. Where it is decided that a student’s progression is not satisfactory at this point in the programme the options would be as follows:
An action plan and monitoring systems will be put in place in order to support the trainee to progress. This might, for example, include additional or supplementary work, changes to areas of professional practice highlighted as unsatisfactory to date, or additional/modified placement arrangements.
It will be recommended that the trainee cannot progress beyond this point on the programme. They will, therefore, have failed to complete all necessary components of the programme and therefore discussions should focus on the possibility of the exit award (see below).
The outcomes of review meetings will be formally recorded and decisions explained in writing for trainees. Where a trainee wishes to appeal an outcome they can discuss with the Programme Director in the first instance and will be referred to the School Appeals processes and procedures explained in the PGR Handbook.
Year 3
Interim review meeting – January/February
Trainees will be required to meet with a member of their research supervisory team (ideally their primary research supervisor) and an independent reviewer at the end of their first semester on the second year of the programme. This will focus on whether or not their progression is meeting the required standards to progress further with the programme.
At this meeting trainees will be required to update staff on:
- Progression in relation to their practice placement work and personal therapy: for this they will be required to submit ahead of the meeting (1)placement reports for all of their ongoing placements along with (2) a completed documentary evidence cover sheet used at the annual submission outlining the number of placement hours (including supervision) completed as well as personal therapy hours.
- Progression in relation to their Standards of Proficiency log (no evidence is required here at this stage, just a verbal description of their progression)
- Progression in relation to their thesis work – this should be linked to the trainee's research schedule included in their year 2 annual review e.g. have noted milestones been reached?
- The meeting will also allow time for discussion of any professional conduct or fitness to practise issues raised at the University or on placement.
Should the trainee not have collated the appropriate documentation ahead of the scheduled meeting, the meeting will be postponed with one further opportunity offered. Should the trainee still fail to provide the appropriate updates/documentation for the meeting their progression will be automatically noted as ‘unsatisfactory’.
The aim of the meeting is to determine whether or not a trainee is progressing satisfactorily and this will be formally recorded following the meeting. Where it is decided that a student’s progression is not satisfactory at this point in the programme the options would be as follows:
An action plan and monitoring systems will be put in place in order to support the trainee to progress. This might, for example, include additional or supplementary work, changes to areas of professional practice highlighted as unsatisfactory to date, or additional/modified placement arrangements.
It will be recommended that the trainee cannot progress beyond this point on the programme. They will, therefore, have failed to complete all necessary components of the programme and therefore discussions should focus on the possibility of the exit award (see below).
The outcomes of review meetings will be formally recorded and decisions explained in writing for trainees. Where a trainee wishes to appeal an outcome they can discuss with the Programme Director in the first instance and will be referred to the School Appeals processes and procedures explained in the PGR Handbook.
Annual review meeting – May/June
Trainees will be required to meet with a member of their research supervisory team (ideally their primary research supervisor) and an independent reviewer at the end of their first semester on the second year of the programme. This will focus on whether or not their progression is meeting the required standards to progress further with the programme.
At this meeting trainees will be required to update staff on:
- Progression in relation to their practice placement work and personal therapy: for this they will be required to submit ahead of the meeting (1)placement reports for all of their ongoing placements along with (2) a completed documentary evidence cover sheet used at the annual submission outlining the number of placement hours (including supervision) completed as well as personal therapy hours.
- Progression in relation to their Standards of Proficiency log (no evidence is required here at this stage, just a verbal description of their progression)
- Progression in relation to the academic assignments on the course
- Progression in relation to their thesis work – this should be linked to the trainee's research schedule included in their year 3 mid-year review e.g. have noted milestones been reached? At the meeting, there will need to be a discussion about whether or not the student is planning on submitting their thesis within the standard timescale, or whether they are planning on applying for a submission pending period
- The meeting will also allow time for discussion of any professional conduct or fitness to practise issues raised at the University or on placement.
Should the trainee not have collated the appropriate documentation ahead of the scheduled meeting, the meeting will be postponed with one further opportunity offered. Should the trainee still fail to provide the appropriate updates/documentation for the meeting their progression will be automatically noted as ‘unsatisfactory’.
The aim of the meeting is to determine whether or not a trainee is progressing satisfactorily and this will be formally recorded following the meeting. Where it is decided that a student’s progression is not satisfactory at this point in the programme the options would be as follows:
An action plan and monitoring systems will be put in place in order to support the trainee to progress. This might, for example, include additional or supplementary work, changes to areas of professional practice highlighted as unsatisfactory to date, or additional/modified placement arrangements.
It will be recommended that the trainee cannot progress beyond this point on the programme. They will, therefore, have failed to complete all necessary components of the programme and therefore discussions should focus on the possibility of the exit award (see below).
The outcomes of review meetings will be formally recorded and decisions explained in writing for trainees. Where a trainee wishes to appeal an outcome they can discuss with the Programme Director in the first instance and will be referred to the School Appeals processes and procedures explained in the PGR Handbook.
Examples of situations in which a trainee may not progress
Trainees may not progress for a variety of reasons. Examples may include, but are not limited to:
- multiple professional conduct issues recorded, either linked to situations at University or on placement (e.g. unprofessional or unethical communication with peers or staff, persistent lateness or non-attendance at University or placement);
- failure of more than one placement (see Programme Handbook (Placement) for details);
- failure of one academic assignment more than once (see details above regarding the marking of academic assignments);
- a negative outcome of a fitness to practise review, meaning that a trainee can no longer be sanctioned to go on placement (see the placement handbook for details of this process).
The number of clinical practice hours and personal therapy hours are reviewed at progression points.
A shortfall in these hours will not normally lead to situations where a trainee may not progress, unless an appropriate action plan is not in place to make up the shortfall or where University staff consider that the shortfall is so significant to mean that the trainee will not be able to complete the programme in the required timeframe.