MSc in Psychodynamic Developmental Neuroscience

Assessment

Formative Coursework

Students must complete one essay for course components 1, 2 and 4 and a practical exercise for component 3. These will be compulsory formative parts of assessment but will not be graded.

Graded Coursework

C3 will be assessed in the form of a written assignment that will include a practical statistical assessment. C4 in the second year of the course will contain an element of written assessment.

Examinations

There will be an unseen essay based examinations for based exams in the case of C1, C2, and C4. There will not normally be an oral examination associated with the thesis (C5) of no more than 15,000 words, but the Board of Examiners would wish to reserve the right to examine dissertations marginal for either passing or receiving a distinction.

First year teaching and assessment will take place at UCL. Second year teaching will be uniquely by Yale faculty on the neuroscience component (C4). The unseen examination related to this component of the programme will be examined primarily by Yale faculty but second marking will be by UCL staff. The Masters thesis will be primarily supervised either by Yale or UCL staff with secondary supervision by UCL staff. The viva for the Masters thesis will take place in London by the Chair of the Board of Examiners, the Yale lead on the programme and the external examiner.

Board of Examiners

The Board of Examiners will be chaired by Professor Peter Fonagy. He will be joined by the extrenal examiner Oliver Turnbull, head of course Eamon McCrory and other members of the teaching staff.

Dates of examination

C1. Psychoanalytic concepts June year 1
C2. Developmental psychopathology June year 1
C4. Developmental neuroscience: April year 2
C5. Research dissertation September year 2

The dissertation & viva

This is a qualitative or quantitative empirical research undertaken on a topic of the student's choice normally involving the acquisition of new data or the independent re-analysis of datasets already collected as part of a research program related to psychodynamic developmental psychopathlogy. It is presented as a thesis of no more than 15,000 words.

Resitting examinations

Candidates will be allowed to re-enter for assessment of an element of the programme in the following session for one occasion only.