The Graduate Certificate (GradCert) Personality Disorder is a focused qualification in working with people who have a diagnosis of personality disorder.
It will give you the opportunity to develop specialised knowledge about the needs of people with personality disorder in a variety of settings. You will extend your knowledge, understanding and skills to support and meet the needs of the challenging experiences faced by people who are often stigmatised, isolated and rejected by society.
You will be taught by lecturers with a wide range of knowledge about personality disorder from diverse perspectives. In addition, an important contribution will be made from clinical experts in the School of Forensic Mental Health* (part of the Forensic Mental Health Managed Care Network in Scotland) and the health sector across Scotland.
* School of Forensic Mental Health was established in November 2007. Hosted by The Forensic Network, the School is available to colleagues and associates from across Scotland to assist with teaching, training and research needs in forensic mental health.
We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
Don’t worry if your qualifications are not listed here, we take a range of factors into account when assessing your application and are happy to consider other alternative combinations of qualifications and experience
If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Postgraduate & Post-experience Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.
You will normally be educated to Ordinary bachelor degree level, or equivalent.
You may also be considered with other academic, vocational or professional qualifications.
All academic degrees/awards at UWS are taught in English. For applicants whose first language is not English*, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. All English language qualifications must have been gained within two years of the start of your UWS course.
* applicants who are exempt from english language requirements include:
In general terms, if you are applying to study a course at, or above, Year 1 (SCQF Level 7) bachelor’s degree level, then the UKVI’s minimum level of English proficiency is Common European Framework for References of Languages (CEFR) at B2 (Upper Intermediate).
At UWS, we define our general English language requirements using the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training) as follows:
These are minimum requirements and some courses may require a higher standard for admission†.
† Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see IELTS Score Exceptions section below for more information).
For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (BSc Adult Nursing, MSc Adult Nursing, BSc Mental Health Nursing, MSc Mental Health Nursing, BSc Midwifery and MSc Midwifery), applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
Our BSc Paramedic Science degree leads to professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC); it has different IELTS requirements than other Health-related courses. Although it is not possible to apply for this degree directly as an international student, for applicants who meet SAAS residency requirements and for whom English is not their first language, then the following IELTS scores are required:
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science degrees, which may lead to professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
Our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work degrees are professionally recognised by the Scottish Social Services Council and applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
In additional to IELTS, we also accept a number of alternative English language for application and admission to our courses for both home/EU and international students at bachelor's degree study at Year 3 (SCQF Level 9), and above. From Cambridge to TOFEL iBT qualifications the number of these qualifications is extensive.
Find out about non-IELTS English Language Tests
UWS has also reviewed a range of High / Secondary School qualifications studied by non-EU applicants that can be used as a basis of entry to a UWS. These range from Botswana GCSEs to USA High School Graduation Diplomas, the number of these qualifications is extensive.
Find out more about international English Language high-hchool qualifications
Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:
The GradCert comprises three, 20-credit modules at SCQF Level 9:
You will be taught by lecturers with a wide range of knowledge about personality disorder from diverse perspectives. In addition, an important contribution will be made from clinical experts in the School of Forensic Mental Health (SoFMH)* and the health sector across Scotland.
Our course is taught mainly online with four study per module at our Lanarkshire campus.
Teaching is through a combination of lectures, tutorials and workshops. You’ll also learn, reflect and learn from your own area of practice.
We use a variety of assessment methods throughout the course although the majority of your assessments will be coursework based which will include essays, case studies and peer review. Our practical based assessments include presentations.
Programme Specification and Module Descriptors for Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses are available to download (PDFs). These provide you with core information concerning your chosen subject.
You will have broadened your knowledge of personality disorder and enhanced your professional credentials. This is particularly the case if you are employed in the following settings and roles:
// Community forensic mental health
// Criminal justice / social workers
// Mental health practitioners working in the Scottish Prison Service or police custody
Use the Link below to download details of our full-time, part-time tuition fees for Bachelor, Masters, Research, and English Language pre-sessional courses for session 2023-24.
Tuition Fees£500 per module (20 credits)
£1,550 per module (20 credits)
£1,550 per module (20 credits)
£3,000 per module (20 credits)
All students should apply directly to the University through our online application system. Before you apply, you should check that you meet our entry requirements and you should have all your supporting documents ready.
The first stage of the process is to complete the initial application form. You will then receive a follow-up email with further instructions relating to your application including documents that you will need to forward to support your application, e.g. degree transcripts and certificates etc.
Most courses don't have a formal closing date, but they will close when they are full; apply early to avoid disappointment. There may also be funding deadlines that apply to you.
The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) applies to all international students and researchers (apart from exempt nationalities) who are subject to UK immigration control and are intending to study or research at postgraduate level in certain sensitive subjects.
Students and researchers who are nationals of EU countries, the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the United States of America do not need an ATAS certificate.
An ATAS certificate may be required for certain taught postgraduate master's degrees for international students at UWS.
For the latest information on ATAS and details of eligibility and how to apply for a certificate check the UK Government's dedicated ATAS web pages.
Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!
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