Program Overview

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Communication and Counselling Studies - BSc (Hons)

Overview

Offering practical skills and robust understanding of the importance of effective communication in counselling, health and related contexts.

Summary

This interdisciplinary and skills-focused degree programme:

• Provides students with a theoretical, empirical and experiential understanding of applied communication studies within interpersonal, professional, social and cultural contexts.
• Offers students an introduction to counselling theories, skills and ethical-decision-making.
• Equips students with knowledge to identify opportunities to plan and undertake interdisciplinary research in the fields of communication, counselling studies and mental health.
• Develops students’ organisational, observation, analytical and reflective skills for continuing personal and professional development, all of which are a prerequisite for training or working as counsellors, psychotherapists or other healthcare professionals.
• Teaching is by an award-winning team of lecturers, researchers and practitioners with experience in the applied field of mental health, including counselling, psychotherapy and health communication.
• Holds Advanced Training Status for counselling studies from the National Counselling Society (NCS).

About this course

About

The emphasis in this course is on developing an understanding of the emotional and psychological development of the person within family, social and cultural settings. The course also emphasises the importance of rigorous and reflective ethical decision-making practices for working with vulnerable populations and clients within counselling and healthcare settings. Students take a range of core and optional modules which provide a firm grounding in theories, practices, skills and capacities needed for effective communication in interpersonal and professional contexts. Each module combines lectures, seminars and group tasks to facilitate students gaining a comprehensive intellectual knowledge, while learning from experience.

Associate awards

• Diploma in International Academic Studies DIAS

Attendance

• Three years full-time. Each module usually involves two hours of lectures plus a one hour seminar each week. In addition, students are required to undertake substantial directed independent learning.

Start dates

• September 2025

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Attendance and Independent Study

• As part of your course induction, you will be provided with details of the organisation and management of the course, including attendance and assessment requirements - usually in the form of a timetable. For full-time courses, the precise timetable for each semester is not confirmed until close to the start date and may be subject to some change in the early weeks as all courses settle into their planned patterns. For part-time courses which require attendance on particular days and times, an expectation of the days and periods of attendance will be included in the letter of offer. A course handbook is also made available.

Assessment

• Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes. You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessments. This feedback may be issued individually and/or issued to the group and you will be encouraged to act on this feedback for your own development.

Modules

Year one

• Communication and Language
• Social Psychology of Communication
• Interpersonal Communication: Skills and Strategies
• Understanding Ourselves and Others
• Understanding the Life Course
• Nature and Contexts of Counselling

Year two

• Advanced Interpersonal Communication
• Research Methods
• Counselling Theory
• Communication in Relationships
• Mental Health and Well-being
• Reflections on Workplace Experience

Year three

• International Academic Studies (optional)

Year four

• Dissertation
• Critical Issues in Counselling Studies
• Psychosocial Issues
• Rethinking Communication (optional)
• Communication & Social Justice (optional)
• Healthcare Communication (optional)

Standard entry conditions

• We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.

A level

• BCC*

Applied General Qualifications

• RQF Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma / OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Extended Diploma
• Award profile of DMM

Irish Leaving Certificate

• 104 UCAS tariff points to include a minimum of five subjects (four of which must be at higher level) to include English at H6 if studied at Higher level or O4 if studied at Ordinary Level.

Scottish Highers

• Grades BCCCC.

Scottish Advanced Highers

• Grades CDD.

International Baccalaureate

• Overall profile is minimum 24 points (including 12 at higher level)

Access to Higher Education (HE)

• Overall profile of 60% (120 credit Access Course) (NI Access Course)
• Overall profile of 12 credits at Distinction, 30 credits at Merit and 3 credits at Pass (60 credit Access Course) (GB Access Course)

GCSE

• For full-time study, you must satisfy the General Entrance Requirements for admission to a first degree course and hold a GCSE pass at Grade C/4 or above in English Language (or equivalent). Level 2 Certificate in Essential Skills Communication will be accepted as equivalent to GCSE English.

English Language Requirements

• The minimum requirement for this course is Academic IELTS 6.0 with no band score less than 5.5. Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement for Tier 4 visa purposes.

Careers & opportunities

• Our overall aim is that students develop knowledge and skills to enhance their prospects for employment, academic progress and continuing professional development.
• The BSc Communication and Counselling Studies programme in itself is not counsellor training and will not provide the graduate with a professional counselling qualification but rather is concerned with equipping students with a knowledge base of therapeutic communication and associated counselling skills which can be built upon after graduation.
• The programme provides an excellent springboard for students who wish to pursue professional counselling training and accreditation following graduation. It is also an excellent platform for graduates who wish to pursue further training for careers in a range of therapeutic or helping roles (social work, nursing, teaching, occupational therapy). The course can be used as a route into the area of more generic graduate schemes. It is ideal for graduate entry into careers such as the civil service, police, retail management or human resource management. Graduates will also have opportunities to apply for postgraduate doctoral level research.

Fees and funding

• Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and EU Settlement Status Fees: £4,855.00
• England, Scotland, Wales and the Islands Fees: £9,535.00
• International Fees: £17,010.00

Additional mandatory costs

• It is important to remember that costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges) and normal living will need to be covered in addition to tuition fees.
• Where a course has additional mandatory expenses (in addition to tuition fees) we make every effort to highlight them above. We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free Wi-Fi are also available on each of the campuses.
• There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
• Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as a part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs, as well as tuition fees.