Communications & Counselling Studies
This course offers practical skills and robust understanding of the importance of effective communication in counselling, health and related contexts. While this course is not formal counsellor training, it does provide a solid academic grounding for students who wish to pursue professional counselling or psychotherapy training and accreditation following graduation.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | |
| Awarding Body | Ulster University |
| NFQ Level |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 | Ulster University |
Duration
Three years full-time. Each module usually involves two hours of lectures plus a one hour seminar each week. In addition, students are required to undertake substantial directed independent learning.
Entry Requirements
Irish Leaving Certificate
104 UCAS tariff points to include a minimum of five subjects (four of which must be at Higher level) to include English at H6 if studied at Higher level or O4 if studied at Ordinary level.
Careers / Further progression
Career options
Our overall aim is that students develop knowledge and skills to enhance their prospects for employment, academic progress and continuing professional development.
The BSc Communication and Counselling Studies programme in itself is not counsellor training and will not provide the graduate with a professional counselling qualification but rather is concerned with equipping students with a knowledge base of therapeutic communication and associated counselling skills which can be built upon after graduation.
The programme provides an excellent springboard for students who wish to pursue professional counselling training and accreditation following graduation. It is also an excellent platform for graduates who wish to pursue further training for careers in a range of therapeutic or helping roles (social work, nursing, teaching, occupational therapy). The course can be used as a route into the area of more generic graduate schemes. It is ideal for graduate entry into careers such as the civil service, police, retail management or human resource management. Graduates will also have opportunities to apply for postgraduate doctoral level research.
During your time at Ulster you will have opportunities to engage with our Employability and Careers staff for advice and support . Employability and careers staff provide tailored classes specifically for students on the BSc Communication and Counselling Studies, to support you with your career goals and aspirations. They will help you identify the skills and experience you need to gain along the way to enhance your CV and employability.
Further information
Start date: September 2024
Deadlines for on-time applications
2024 entry application deadlines
For courses starting in 2024 (and for deferred applications), your application should be with us at UCAS by one of these dates – depending on what courses you apply for. If your completed application – including all your personal details and your academic reference – is submitted by the deadline, it is guaranteed to be considered.
16 October 2023 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – any course at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or for most courses in medicine, veterinary medicine/science, and dentistry. You can add choices with a different deadline later, but don’t forget you can only have five choices in total.
31 January 2024 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – for the majority of courses.
Some course providers require additional admissions tests to be taken alongside the UCAS application, and these may have a deadline. Find out more about these tests at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/admissions-tests
Check course information in the search tool to see which deadline applies to you at the application weblink below.
Apply as soon as possible: Student funding arrangements mean that as offers are made and places fill up, some courses may only have vacancies for students from certain locations. It’s therefore really important that you apply for your chosen courses by the appropriate deadlines mentioned above, as not all courses will have places for all students.
All applications received after 30 June are entered into Clearing - find out more about Clearing at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/clearing-and-results-day/what-clearing
Overview
Offering practical skills and robust understanding of the importance of effective communication in counselling, health and related contexts.
Summary
This interdisciplinary and skills-focused degree programme:
• Provides students with a theoretical, empirical and experiential understanding of applied communication studies within interpersonal, professional, social and cultural contexts.
• Offers students an introduction to counselling theories, skills and ethical-decision-making.
• Equips students with knowledge to identify opportunities to plan and undertake interdisciplinary research in the fields of communication, counselling studies and mental health.
• Develops students’ organisational, observation, analytical and reflective skills for continuing personal and professional development, all of which are a prerequisite for training or working as counsellors, psychotherapists or other healthcare professionals.
• Teaching is by an award-winning team of lecturers, researchers and practitioners with experience in the applied field of mental health, including counselling, psychotherapy and health communication.
• Holds Advanced Training Status for counselling studies from the National Counselling Society (NCS).
While this course is not formal counsellor training, it does provide a solid academic grounding for students who wish to pursue professional counselling or psychotherapy training and accreditation following graduation. It is also an excellent platform for graduates who wish to pursue further training in a range of professions, e.g. social work, social care, nursing, youth work, medicine, community work, law, business, human resources, and teaching.
About
The emphasis in this course is on developing an understanding of the emotional and psychological development of the person within family, social and cultural settings. The course also emphasises the importance of rigorous and reflective ethical decision-making practices for working with vulnerable populations and clients within counselling and healthcare settings. Students take a range of core and optional modules which provide a firm grounding in theories, practices, skills and capacities needed for effective communication in interpersonal and professional contexts. Each module combines lectures, seminars and group tasks to facilitate students gaining a comprehensive intellectual knowledge, while learning from experience.
Our programme facilitates participation and interaction. Thus, this course also offers students opportunities to apply theory to practice in the composition of a range of assignments (case studies, work-based learning report, reflective journal, essays, presentations, dissertation). Students will be encouraged and supported to become independent learners who can understand, evaluate and challenge new ideas and concepts. We believe that this supportive environment caters for the diverse range of learning styles students bring with them to the University.
Within the School we pride ourselves on a friendly and supportive atmosphere. Students' learning experience will be supported via the allocation of a study skills advisor who will provide students with individual support and guidance throughout their studies. The School also has innovative recording practice labs, which allow students to practise communication and counselling skills within a safe and secure environment. The University boasts a state of the art Learning Resource Centre with library staff dedicated to faculties and subject areas.
Modules
Here is a guide to the subjects studied on this course.
Courses are continually reviewed to take advantage of new teaching approaches and developments in research, industry and the professions. Please be aware that modules may change for your year of entry. The exact modules available and their order may vary depending on course updates, staff availability, timetabling and student demand. Please contact the course team for the most up to date module list.
Year 1
Communication and Language
Social Psychology of Communication
Interpersonal Communication: Skills and Strategies
Understanding Ourselves and Others
Understanding the Life Course
Nature and Contexts of Counselling
Year 2
Advanced Interpersonal Communication
Research Methods
Counselling Theory
Communication in Relationships
Mental Health and Well-being
Reflections on Workplace Experience
Year 3
Researching Talk
Dissertation
Critical Issues in Counselling Studies
Psychosocial Issues
Groups, Identities and Relations - Optional
Gender and Representation - Optional
Year 5
Healthcare Communication - Optional
Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes. You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessments. This feedback may be issued individually and/or issued to the group and you will be encouraged to act on this feedback for your own development.
Coursework can take many forms, for example: essay, report, seminar paper, test, presentation, dissertation, design, artefacts, portfolio, journal, group work. The precise form and combination of assessment will depend on the course you apply for and the module. Details will be made available in advance through induction, the course handbook, the module specification, the assessment timetable and the assessment brief. The details are subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.
Normally, a module will have 4 learning outcomes, and no more than 2 items of assessment. An item of assessment can comprise more than one task. The notional workload and the equivalence across types of assessment is standardised. The module pass mark for undergraduate courses is 40%. The module pass mark for postgraduate courses is 50%.
Ulster University,
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Belfast
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T: 02870 123 456