Detailed programme and requirements
WISP is a five-year unified master programme in Psychology.
Unified means that it does not have a separate bachelor phase, but that after five years a master’s degree is awarded. In terms of structure, the programme of studies is comparable to a Bachelor + Master however. The first three years are devoted to covering the basis of the different fields within psychology, the last two years are devoted to specialization in one specific area within psychology.
During years 1-3 a number of obligatory courses cover all major fields in psychology and focus on certain skills any psychologist should possess. In addition there is ample opportunity to choose elective course on topics of students own interest.
In years 4 and 5 students complete a specialization of their choice.
The current specializations that are being offered are:
- Clinical Psychology – track Neuropsychology
- Clinical Psychology – track Psychotherapy
- Business Psychology
- Social Research
Also in these final years there is still plenty of opportunity to complete elective courses or courses of a different specializations.
Courses in the Faculty of Psychology are assigned credits in accordance with the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). One academic year of studies is equivalent to 60 ECTS credits. These credits need to be gathered by passing all obligatory courses in a given year, complemented with credits obtained from elective courses. A minimum of 300 credits must be earned during the 5-year course of study.
The programme of studies for the year 2024/2025
If you have started your studies in an earlier year, scroll to the bottom of the page for detailed descriptions of the programme of studies that applies to you.
The tables underneath provide an overview of the programme of studies with all obligatory courses listed. Below the table are further explanations of course types and requirements.
Obligatory courses
| YEAR 1 | semester | hours and format | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic Skills | first | 30h seminar | 4 |
| Biological Bases of Behavior I | first | 30h lecture + 30h seminar | 8 |
| Intellectual Property Rights | first | 4h lecture | 0.5 |
| Introduction to Contemporary Philosophy | first | 30h lecture | 4 |
| Introduction to Psychology | first | 30h lecture | 4 |
| Occupational Health and Safety | first | Online test | 0.5 |
| Research Methods | first | 30h lecture + 30h seminar | 8 |
| Basic Psychological Skills | first & second | 60h training | 4 |
| Biological Bases of Behavior II | second | 30h lecture | 4 |
| Cognitive Psychology I | second | 30h lecture | 4 |
| History of Psychology | second | 30h lecture | 4 |
| Statistics I | second | 30h lecture + 30h training | 8 |
| Logic | second | 30h seminar | 3 |
| Elective courses | second | 4 | |
| total | 60 |
| YEAR 2 | semester | hours and format | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive Psychology II | first | 30h lecture | 4 |
| Developmental psychology I | first | 30h lecture | 4 |
| Emotions and Motivation | first | 30h lecture | 4 |
| Experimental Psychology | first | 30h training | 4 |
| Psychometrics | first | 30h lecture | 4 |
| Statistics II | first | 30h training | 4 |
| Developmental Psychology II | second | 30h lecture + 30h seminar | 8 |
| Individual Differences | second | 30h lecture | 4 |
| Social Psychology | second | 30h lecture + 30h seminar | 8 |
| Standardized Diagnostic Testing . | second | 30h training | 4 |
| Statistics III | second | 30h training | 4 |
| Elective courses | first & second | 8 | |
| total | 60 |
| YEAR 3 | semester | hours and format | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology . | first | 30h lecture + 30h seminar | 8 |
| Psychological Interviewing | first | 30h training | 4 |
| Psychological Assessment | first | 30h lecture | 4 |
| Empirical Paper | first & second | individual research project | 6 |
| Health Psychology | second | 30h lecture + 15h seminar | 6 |
| Career Development Path | second | 30h seminar | 4 |
| Personality Psychology | second | 30h lecture | 4 |
| Qualitative Research Methods | second | 30h training | 4 |
| Elective courses | first & second | 20 | |
| total | 60 |
| YEAR 4 | semester | hours and format | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master’s thesis | first & second | 10 | |
| Elective courses | first & second | variable | |
| Specialization courses . | first & second | variable | |
| Professional Ethics in Applied and Experimental Psychology |
second | 30h lecture | 4 |
| total | 60 |
| YEAR 5 | semester | hours and format | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master’s thesis | first & second | 10 | |
| Elective courses | first & second | variable | |
| Specialization courses . | first & second | variable | |
| total | 60 |
The empirical paper is an individual research project students conduct throughout year 3, under supervision of an academic researcher. Students select a topic of their interest and develop a research plan in cooperation with their supervisor. After data is gathered and analyzed, the results of the study will be described in an empirical paper that has the format of a scientific article. The paper is reviewed by the supervisor and a second independent reviewer.
Empirical Paper Learning Outcomes
The master’s thesis is the closing piece of the study program. During four semesters –under supervision- students develop a research plan, collect and analyze data, and present the results in the master’s thesis, which will be defended in front of a committee. The defense of the master’s thesis is regarded as the final exam, and is the moment of actual graduation.
Master’s Thesis Learning Outcomes
WISP TUTORS LIST 2024/2025
Elective courses
During all years of study students have the freedom to select elective courses. Elective courses come in two general types, 1) those offered by WISP and 2) those offered by other departments of the University – so called OGUN courses (Polish abbreviation for “general university courses”, meaning that the course is open for all university students, irrespective of their field of study).
The elective courses offered by WISP are psychology courses, the “OGUNs” offered by other departments can be related to any topic or field, depending on the department offering the course.
WISP elective courses range from basic introductory courses, primarily aimed at a beginning students, to very specific and specialized courses directed towards students in their final stage of studies. A distinction is made between electives that focus practical application of knowledge and skills, and those that are more typically academic. The large majority of WISP elective courses are labeled as “academic”. Students must complete at least 6 ECTS of “academic” electives by the end of their studies.
In addition, during their course of studies students must complete at least 15 ETCS of OGUN courses, 5 out of which should be from the domain of the humanities (for example anthropology, history, linguistics, law, philosophy, etc.). The two obligatory “courses” in the first year: Intellectual Property Rights and Occupational Health and Safety also count as OGUN courses. A maximum of 40 ECTS of OGUN courses can be counted towards completion of the study programme. It is allowed to complete more than 40 ECTS of OGUN courses, but course beyond the 40 ECTS limit will not count towards completion of the study programme.
Specialization courses
In years four and five students must complete at least 48 ECTS of specialization courses. At the end of year three students enroll in a specialization of their choice, which guarantees them access to all courses of that specialization. Students completing at least 48 ECTS of a given specialization, will receive a certificate of completion. Students are not obliged to complete all 48 ECTS within one specialization however. At their free will student may choose to de-register from courses of their specialization and to register for courses of other specializations – provided there is space. Although the requirement for graduation is the completion of at least 48 ECTS of specialization courses, a certificate of completion of a specific specialization is only awarded in case 48 ECTS are completed within a single specialization. Students are free to complete more than 48 ECTS of specialization courses, in order to make it possible to complete one specialization but also explore other specializations.
Other courses and requirements:
Physical Education (PE)
By the end of their third year of studies, students must have completed 3 semesters of Physical Education (PE) classes. The University offers a wide range of sports and physical activities students can choose from.
Language
By the end of their third year of studies, students must:
- Complete 2 semesters of language classes (60 hours per course) offered by the University. They are free to choose any language except their native language OR the official language of the country of citizenship. Polish language is reccomended for foreign students. Students receive credit for language classes.
- Pass a benchmarked language exam at the B2 CEFR level (upper intermediate). The language of choice cannot be the native language or English. To fulfill this requirement students can take exams organized by the University or present any of the major recognized language certificates attesting to the required level.
By the end of their fith year of studies, students must raise their level in a foreign language in one of three ways:
- passing an exam at a level higher than B2;
- passing with a grade at least 60 hours of language classes at a level higher than B2 in the same language as the B2 exam;
- passing with a grade a specialization course (min. 30 hours, training or seminars) in applied psychology conducted in the same language as the B2 exam.
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Optional internships
Details are available here
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The programme of studies for students who started their studies in the year 2019-2020 or earlier
IMPORTANT!! Make sure to correctly identify your programme of studies.
Your programme of studies is determined by the year when started your studies at WISP (transfer students are an exception to this, see below). So if you started your studies in October 2018, you need to look for the programme of studies of the year 2018-2019. If you have taken a Dean’s leave or a medical leave this has no influence on that.
Students who transferred to WISP and started their studies in a higher year than the first year, will have to complete the programme valid for the cohort of students on the year transferred into. For example, if you transferred to WISP and started your studies in October 2020 on the third year of studies, the programme of studies applying to that cohort is the one of 2018-2019, as the students who are in year three in 2020-2021 started their studies in the year 2018-2019.
Programme of studies for students who started in the year 2019-2020
Programme of studies for students who started in the year 2018-2019
Programme of studies for students who started in the year 2017-2018
Programme of studies for students who started in the year 2016-2017
Programme of studies for students who started in the year 2015-2016
Programme of studies for students who started in the year 2014-2015