MSc Intellectual Disabilities and Autism
Canterbury, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 19,300 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for International & EU| UK: GBP 10,000
Introduction
You will develop advanced knowledge and a critical understanding of intellectual disabilities and autism. Our degree programme has been designed to provide four distinct pathways for students who want to specialise in autism, intellectual disabilities, forensic issues and clinical practice.
You can choose whether you would like to attend the course entirely online, or campus-based. The course includes lectures, seminars, project work, tests and presentations.
About the Tizard Centre
The Tizard Centre is part of the School of Psychology and is at the forefront of learning and research in autism, intellectual disability and community care. In 2013 the Tizard Centre received a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in recognition of its outstanding work in these areas.
The Centre has excellent links with health and social care organisations and other relevant establishments. Our primary aims, through research, teaching and consultancy, are:
- To find out more about how to effectively support and work with people with learning disabilities
- To help carers, managers and professionals develop the values, knowledge and skills that enable better services
- To aid policymakers, planners, managers and practitioners to organise and provide enhanced services.
The Tizard Centre is recognised as leading the field in deinstitutionalisation and community living, challenging behaviour, quality of staff support, sexuality, quality of life, and autism, and has had a significant impact on national policies in these areas. We are committed to addressing issues arising from social inequality.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Scholarship value
The award covers tuition fees, return airfares and living costs for a one-year taught Master's programme.
Deadline
Deadline for Commonwealth application: - 12 December 2024.
Hold an unconditional offer (with the only outstanding condition, international fee deposit) of a programme of study from the University of Kent - 31 January 2025
Criteria
To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, candidates must:
- Hold an undergraduate degree at UK first-class level equivalent.
- Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by one of the eligible Commonwealth countries listed or be a British Protected Person.
- Be a permanent resident in one of the eligible Commonwealth countries listed above.
- To be committed to the University of Kent, you can apply for more than one course and/or to more than one University, but you may only accept one offer of a Shared Scholarship.
- Not have studied or worked for one (academic) year or more in a high-income country.
- Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship.
- Return to their home country as soon as their period of study is complete. In some circumstances, a student may be permitted to remain in the UK if seeing doctoral study and satisfy certain strict conditions.
- Hold an offer by the deadline for a full-time postgraduate taught degree on one of the eligible courses at the University of Kent:
- MSc Artificial Intelligence
- MSc Infectious Diseases
- MSc Cyber Security
- MA International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
- MSc Applied Actuarial Science
- MSc Conservation Science
- MA English and American Literature
- MSc Artificial Intelligence
- MSc Infectious Diseases
- MSc Cyber Security
- MA International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
- MSc Applied Actuarial Science
- MSc Conservation Science
- MA English and American Literature
Further details
Commonwealth Shared Scholarships, set up by DFID in 1986, represent a unique partnership between the United Kingdom government and UK Universities.
Funded by the UK Department of International Development (DFID), Commonwealth Shared Scholarships enable talented and motivated individuals to gain the knowledge and skills required for sustainable development. They are aimed at those who could not otherwise afford to study in the UK.
These scholarships are offered under six themes:
- Science and technology for development
- Strengthening health systems and capacity
- Promoting global prosperity
- Strengthening global peace, security and governance
- Strengthening resilience and response to crises - Access, inclusion and opportunity.
How to apply
To be considered for the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship you must:
- Make a formal application for a postgraduate degree at the University of Kent commencing September 2025/26. This can be done online here.
- Complete the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) online application process. For information on how to do that and full details of the application process please go directly to the Commonwealth Scholarships webpages.
- Applications will be considered based on Academic Excellence and a completed application.
- The Commonwealth will accept applications until 12th December 2024 (closing at 16:00 GMT).
Curriculum
Stage 1
- Understanding Research Methodology in Intellectual Disabilities and Autism
- Introduction to Intellectual Disabilities and Autism
- Models Frameworks and Approaches to Support
- Understanding issues and interventions in Intellectual Disabilities and Autism
- Understanding and evaluating the quality of support and services
- Conducting Research on Intellectual Disabilities and Autism
- Work-Based Learning / Hypothetical Case Study in Autism
Teaching and assessment
The course will include a variety of assessment modes, assessing the development of conceptual, theoretical and applied skills. We will use a range of assessment methods to assess learning outcomes, such as: assessing conceptual and analytical skills via critical analysis of the literature to equip students to engage with research and field-specific literature; assessing analytical skills using short reports; assessing applied and clinical skills to improve quality of life for autistic individuals and those with intellectual disabilities, via the use of real-life case studies; assessing students’ implementation skills via self-management projects etc.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Our postgraduate courses improve employability prospects for both those with established careers and new entrants to the field. Many of our students already work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in professional, management or supporting capacities.
Our programmes support their continuing professional development and enhance their opportunities for career advancement. Other students, who are at the beginning of their careers, move on to a range of professional roles in health and social care including working as psychologists in learning disability or behavioural specialists in community learning disability teams; service management of development roles; clinical psychology training or a PhD.