Description
If you're working in a context which makes considerable use of social or psychological research or are fascinated by social research, this certificate will equip you with the knowledge, skills and confidence to appraise research and communicate your assessment to academic and non-academic audiences. Drawing together topics from criminology and psychology, it supports future study and adds value to your career by providing professional development in research literacy, managing research and conceiving of new studies.
Key features of the course
- Focuses on critical appraisal of research and constructing new questions
- Applies focus relating social and psychological research to everyday and professional contexts
- Provides the opportunity to develop a case study relevant to your work environment or interests
- Develops your communication skills to academic and non-academic audiences, offline and online.
Planning your studies
You must hold a UK honours degree (2:2 at least) or equivalent to study for this qualification. All teaching is in English, and your proficiency in the language needs to be adequate for postgraduate study and for contributing to online discussions by text and voice. If English is not your first language, we strongly recommend that you make sure you can achieve a score of at least seven in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). To assess your English Language skills in relation to your proposed studies, you can visit the IELTS website. Although experience of distance education may be an advantage, it is not essential.
How long it takes
The minimum time to complete this qualification is one year.
Career relevance and employability
Completing the qualification will enable students to manage social and psychological evidence. In particular students will able to independently source, select and review social and psychological research, evaluate its relevance for complex real life issue/cases, assess its validity and persuasively communicate their findings to academic and non-academic audiences. The postgraduate certificate will be of direct interest to existing professionals who wish to advance their careers or those wishing a career in all areas of public policy, social justice, management, advertising and marketing. It provides professional development for all those working in professions that value research literacy, analytic and communication skills.
Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.
Modules
To gain this qualification, you need 60 credits from the following:
You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 20 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you.
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:
- Knowledge and understanding
- Cognitive skills
- Practical and professional skills
- Key skills
Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes, and how they are acquired through teaching, learning and assessment methods.
Credit for previous study elsewhere
For this qualification, we do not allow you to count credit for study you have already done elsewhere.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
How to register
If you want to study for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of
our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the
module you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that module.
During the registration procedure you will be asked to declare which qualification you are studying towards.
See a full list of modules available for this qualification