MSc Childhood Development and Wellbeing in Practice
Manchester, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 up to 2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 20,000 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* full-time | EUR 3334 part-time per 30 credits studied
Introduction
Learn about how inequalities in childhood and experiences inform child development, and how policy and practice can promote change and wellbeing. Learn to analyse critical frameworks that inform our understanding of mental health constructs in childhood, adolescence and emerging adulthood. Learn how to critically examine the evidence base and use of practices in children’s services.
Designed for people with an interest in working across children’s services, this course will encourage you to explore how to promote positive mental health for young people across a variety of settings.
You’ll develop your practical psychological skills in assessment, formulation and intervention planning, as well as your awareness of yourself as an aspiring practitioner and researcher. You’ll develop and practice critical research methods and analysis skills.
Features and Benefits
- Develop your skills - You’ll develop your practical skills for working with young people and families, theoretical knowledge, applied research skills, and strategies to maintain your well-being as a practitioner.
- Complete a dissertation that creates impact -You’ll complete a service-based dissertation project, informing practice through research.
- Outstanding academics - Our teaching staff includes practitioner psychologists and researchers in the areas of clinical, counselling and health psychology.
- Enhanced student support - We strongly believe in enhancing student wellbeing. Each student has a Personal Tutor and the Programme Support Tutors work closely with students throughout the course.
- Research active department - The Department of Psychology is home to the Stress, Health and Performance Research Group. The teaching team have expertise in mental health, trauma, and developmental disorders.
- Outstanding facilities - You’ll have access to our specialist facilities for psychology demonstration and practice, including an fNIR imaging research device, 12 experimental testing laboratories and 6 psychology laboratories.
Admissions
Curriculum
Course information
Our master's degree in childhood development and wellbeing is designed for those interested in working with children, young people and families. This course will also be of interest if you are looking to develop a foundation in theory and practice issues relating to young people’s mental health.
You might be a social worker, youth worker or a teacher looking to update your knowledge of mental health for children and young people. You might be a speech and language therapist looking for a course combining your expertise with mental health.
Whichever stage you’re at in your career, our course focuses on developing your therapeutic and practical skills, theoretical knowledge, and applied research skills, and explores the well-being of practitioners.
What will you learn and how will you learn?
Some of the topics you’ll consider include key mental health and well-being constructs during childhood, ‘typical’ development, strategies to maintain your well-being at work, and how to design research projects with impact.
The course will give you the opportunity to understand how major life events and intersectional issues affect development and growth, as well as practical tools for undertaking assessments and designing effective interventions for young people across a range of settings.
Core modules
- Childhood and Early Years Interventions
- Developmental Stages and Challenges in Childhood
- Clinical Skills
- Personal Development and Reflection
- Research Principles and Methods
- Research for Innovation Dissertation
- Core Therapeutic Principles
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Career prospects
You’ll have the skills to develop your career in mental health services for children and young people, such as in schools, social work, educational psychology, youth justice, civil services, and children’s centres.
As this course offers a comprehensive theoretical foundation to build your practitioner and research skills, you could pursue research or practitioner training routes to further your career in educational, clinical or counselling psychology.
Program delivery
Study
- Full-time 25% lectures, seminars or similar; 0% placement; 75% independent study
- Part-time 25% lectures, seminars or similar; 0% placement; 75% independent study
Assessment
- Full-time 94% coursework; 6% practical; 0% examination
- Part-time 94% coursework; 6% practical; 0% examination