Course overview

BA Top Up Counselling City of Bristol College

This BA (Hons) Counselling degree builds on existing Counselling training at Foundation Degree/Diploma level to provide an academic Top Up qualification that supports you and your professional development.

If you are working in private practice, agency settings, statutory or not for profit services, this course can help you to develop your professional competencies in a range of areas and enhance your employability in the counselling field. You will develop key skills and knowledge to complement your role as a counselling professional.

The programme will equip you with contemporary counselling knowledge, theory, skills and the ability to critically reflect on counselling texts, research, ideas and practice. The experience of conducting research will equip students to work alongside other graduate professionals.

You will be required to engage in your own personal therapy and the course supports opportunities for your personal enquiry, reflection and development.

Apply through UCAS

Institution name: BCBC
Institution code: B20
Course code: X336
Campus code: J

Additional information

Who is this course for?

This course is a Level 6 top-up progression route to a Bachelor’s Degree with Honours. It is for students who have successfully completed a Level 5 Foundation Degree or Diploma in Counselling.

Furthermore, the BA (Hons) Counselling Top Up is intended to create a seamless progression route from our Level 2 and Level 3 provision in counselling.

What you'll learn

The BA (Hons) Counselling builds upon the curriculum design of the FdA Counselling at City of Bristol College. It offers you the opportunity to expand on the knowledge that you acquired at Level 5.

During the course, you will engage with critical contemporary counselling issues, such as:

  • Managing sustainable delivery
  • Teamwork and collaborative practice
  • Responding to vulnerability and crisis
  • Working with eco-anxiety
  • Developing transcultural competencies

The course covers counselling research, collaborative practice, leadership, coaching and mentoring.

Modules could include:

  • Collaborative practice: Identifying and working with Counselling Stakeholders
  • Research Dissertation
  • Leadership in a Counselling setting
  • Counselling within a contemporary context: working with culture, diversity and difference
  • Coaching and Mentoring

Course entry requirements

Applications to the programme are through UCAS.

All applicants must have:

  • GCSEs (or equivalent) in Maths and English at Grade 4 (C) or above.
  • A Foundation Degree in Counselling or a related subject, or achieved 120 Level 4 Credits and 120 Level 5 (or higher) Credits in related subjects.

All external candidates will be required to attend an interview before joining the programme.

Interviewers will be seeking evidence of:

  • Ability to write and discuss assignments at Level 6.
  • Recent reading of counselling research literature with an identifiable area of interest.
  • Ability to critically evaluate your own practice and personal and professional development.
  • Reflective awareness around experiences from recent and relevant courses

How is the course delivered and assessed?

Please note: this is an in-person course. Many of the classes are experiential and learning comes from your experience in the group. it is important that you are able to attend college regularly.

Delivery includes:

  • Lectures; seminars; collaborative study; critical reading, writing and listening; interdisciplinary practice; directed and independent study; evaluations; study skills; workshops and lectures delivered by guest speakers with specialisms.
  • Individual tutorial support will be a significant component of the mode of study, as will formative self, peer and tutor assessment.

Mode of assessments include:

Reports, presentations, simulated coaching/mentoring sessions, case studies and a dissertation

Future career and study opportunities

There are various options for pursuing further counselling training at Level 7 including Master’s degrees at a number of educational institutions. You could also progress to teaching qualifications.

Graduates from this programme may seek roles in a variety of counselling / healthcare settings and can enhance their existing roles.

Additional costs

You will be required to pay tuition fees.

As a City of Bristol College student, you may incur additional costs to attend your course. For example, it is likely you may need to pay for travel and stationery. 

Many courses offer learning opportunities that you may need to pay for. This may include things like study visits and visiting speakers. We will let you know in advance if there will be additional costs.

For this programme of study, you will need to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service application which costs £55. Students must receive a satisfactory DBS disclosure to continue on the course.

You will be expected to pay to join the BACP or National Counselling Society and will need to pay for your own counselling whilst on the course.

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What next?

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