Advanced Counselling and Psychotherapy Studies

University of Salford

United Kingdom, Salford

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Home/United Kingdom/Salford /University of Salford/Advanced Counselling and Psychotherapy Studies

University of Salford

United Kingdom , Salford

Key Facts

Program Level

Master by Course Work

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Campuses

Main Site

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake DeadlinesSeptember-2026

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 1 year(s)

Tuition Fee

GBP 17,520 / years

Next Intake September-2026

Advanced Counselling and Psychotherapy Studies

About

Introduction

In a nutshell

International applicants: please check the international intakes page for the latest information and application dates.

This flexible course will enable you to advance your expertise in Counselling and Psychotherapy in the areas most relevant to your practice.

You will gain a deeper understanding of a range of psychological problems of varying degrees of severity and further develop your therapeutic skills.

To apply, you MUST be qualified or be about to qualify as a fully trained professional counsellor or psychotherapist.

Please note: Due to the structure of this programme, it is not available to applicants who require a Student Visa.

You will:

Gain advanced skills for complex psycho therapeutic situations.
Benefit from up-to-date thinking from experts in theory, practice and research.
Conduct publishable research that creates a real impact.

Placement

options available

International

students accepted

Counselling Suite Reception Students practice their skills and work with real patients through our on-site clinic

Counselling Suite 1-1 Session Room Working with peers and patients, students develop their skills to support others.

Students having a discussion in the counselling suite

Counselling Suite 1-1 Session Room

This is for you if...

You are a qualified counsellor or psychotherapist and in practice.

You want to conduct publishable research that creates a real impact.

Your practice would benefit from up-to-date thinking from experts in theory, research and practice.

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Requirements

What you need to know

To apply, you MUST be qualified or be about to qualify as a fully trained professional counsellor or psychotherapist.

You will be a practising Counsellor and/or Psychotherapist, with professional membership - this includes newly qualified counsellors. You will be motivated to study Counselling and Psychotherapy at an advanced level to deepen your knowledge and critical thinking skills.

Please note, this is a post-qualification course and those without a professional counselling or psychotherapy qualification are not eligible to apply.

If you have any queries about eligibility for the course, please contact the Postgraduate Admissions Tutors:

pg-counselling-admissions@salford.ac.uk

Accredited Counsellor or Psychotherapist Entry

Accredited counsellors or psychotherapists with the BACP or UKCP are eligible for specific entry routes.
Accredited counsellors or psychotherapists with a degree are able to receive 60 M-level credits via a specific accreditation of prior learning process, resulting in a fast-track through the MSc.
Accredited counsellors or psychotherapists without a degree are able to apply for direct entry onto the MSc.

Year 2 Entry: If you meet the standard entry criteria and have existing M-level modules then you may be able to enter directly into year two with up to 60 credits as long as your previous credits are a reasonably close match to modules on this course. This means you would just have 2-3 taught modules to complete and the Dissertation.

Year 3 Entry - Dissertation only: For those with an existing PGDip in counselling or psychotherapy, who also have evidence of current professional membership, and have at least a year of supervised practice as a counsellor/psychotherapist, you may be eligible to enter the course at year three. This means you would only need to successfully take the Dissertation module to complete the MSc.

English language requirements

If you are an international student and not from a majority English speaking country, you will need IELTS 6.5 with no element below 5.5. We also accept a range of other English language qualifications. If you do not have the English language requirements, you could take our Pre-Sessional English course.

Standard entry requirements

Undergraduate degree

Normally 2:2 Hons degree or equivalent is required.

Professional registration

RA recognised professional qualification in counselling or psychotherapy: If you are not qualified, please apply for the MSc/PGDip Counselling and Psychotherapy Studies (Professional Training)

Evidence of a recognised counselling or psychotherapy professional membership (for example, BACP/UKCP or equivalent, or evidence of eligibility to successfully apply for professional membership).

Therefore, to gain entry onto this course, you will need to be a qualified counsellor or psychotherapist with a recognised counselling or psychotherapy professional membership (or evidence of eligibility to apply for recognised counselling or psychotherapy professional membership).

International Students

We accept qualifications from all around the world. Find your country to see a full list of entry requirements.

Alternative entry requirements

Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)

We welcome applications from students who may not have formal/traditional entry criteria but who have relevant experience or the ability to pursue the course successfully. The Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) process could help you to make your work and life experience count. The APL process can be used for entry onto courses or to give you exemptions from parts of your course. Two forms of APL may be used for entry: the Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning (APCL) or the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL).

English Program Requirements

Equivalent qualifications

English language requirements are shown on individual course pages. Generally, this is shown as an IELTS grade, however we accept a range of equivalent qualifications.

As a general guide:

For undergraduate courses we require IELTS 6.0 (with a minimum 5.5 in each component) or equivalent

For postgraduate courses, we require IELTS 6.0 (with a minimum 5.5 in each component) or equivalent

For the International Foundation Year, we require IELTS 4.5 (with a minimum 4.0 in each component) in UKVI IELTS for UKVI (Academic)

The approved equivalent qualifications list includes the following:

Secure English Language Tests (SELTs)

University of Salford English language courses

Regional-based qualifications

Majority English Speaking Countries as deemed by UKVI

Medium of English Institutions

Applicants who require a Student Route visa to study in the UK may require evidence of a Secure English Language test rather than an examination or qualification due to visa requirements, as deemed by the UK Government Home Office, Visa and Immigration (UKVI).

Career

Employment and stats

What about after uni?

This post-qualifying course will enable you to conduct advanced studies into counselling and psychotherapy which, in turn, will enhance your career prospects. Study of counselling and psychotherapy at this level could lead you to posts such as specialist or senior counsellor, counselling service manager, as well as academic careers. Because the course focuses on a range of perspectives, this could support you in contributing to the field of health and social health in a range of ways and with higher level contextual awareness. Following successful completion of the course, you may also consider studying for a PhD.

You may also choose to pursue further study and research on our Professional Doctorate (Health and Social Care/Advanced Practitioner/Social Work).