Psychoanalytic Studies

Psychoanalysis is a clinical practice inaugurated by Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939). Freud produced an extensive body of theoretical writing articulating his practice and his questions. Practitioners in the field have built on this literature ever since. The Graduate Diploma in Psychoanalytic Studies provides a clinically informed direction for the reading of this body of literature. It benefits from attending closely to the work of the French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist Jacques Lacan (1901 – 1981) and his reading of Freud’s work. While the Graduate Diploma does not require its students to begin clinical practice it is delivered by experienced practitioners in classes which include trainee psychoanalytic psychotherapists. The Graduate Diploma also requires its students to be in their own psychoanalysis as this constitutes a fundamental component in any education in the field. This is primarily due to the basic premise of Freud’s work – the existence of unconscious processes of the mind – which only the experience of psychoanalysis can hope to bring home to a student. In this way the Graduate Diploma provides an effective entry point into the psychoanalytic field without requiring a student to train as a practitioner.



In addition to its clinical practice psychoanalysis has had enormous influence in the articulation of the forces at work in culture . Inspired by writings of Sigmund Freud such as the landmark ‘Civilisation and Its Discontents’ [1930] many psychoanalytic concepts have been adopted – oftentimes in questionable applications – in diverse fields of academic and artistic enquiry such as psychology, philosophy, law, psychiatry, literary criticism, film studies, fine art, women’s studies, queer studies, sociology, and anthropology. Undoubtedly at this point in the early 21st Century psychoanalysis stands as an unavoidable reference for any serious consideration of the fields of the mental, the social and the cultural.



Since the ‘Copernican’ revolution brought about by Sigmund Freud’s epoch-marking discovery of the laws of our unconscious mental processes psychoanalysis stands as a clinical practice and an emerging body of knowledge which both challenges and informs our approach to mental life, in both its normal and its pathological aspects. Any college graduate who has an appreciation that study of psychoanalysis is required for any thorough investigation of mental phenomena and human subjectivity will benefit from this Graduate Diploma in Psychoanalytic Studies.



What Will I Learn?

• Analyse and critically evaluate ideological and cultural factors involved in psychological and cultural theories and practices.

• Analyse and critically evaluate the relation of psychoanalysis to other practices and discourses such as psychology, philosophy, law, psychiatry, literary criticism, film studies, fine art, sociology, and anthropology.

• Apply the knowledge and experience of the programme to produce a Graduate Diploma dissertation demonstrating robust research competencies compatible with the psychoanalytic field.

• Communicate an understanding of the ethics of psychoanalysis as articulated by Jacques Lacan and the difference between this position and other approaches to ethics.

• Communicate the importance of the experience of psychoanalysis for study in the field.

• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental concepts of the theory of mental life provided by psychoanalysis.

• Display a systematic understanding of key aspects of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalytic theory.

Module/Trimester/Credits



Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:

The following modules will all be taken in either year 1 or year 2. The school will confirm which modules are to be taken each academic year as they are delivered biennially. The Dissertation is always taken in year 2.

MDCS41960 Dissertation Graduate Diploma 2 Trimester duration (Aut-Spr) 20

MDCS40400 Psychoanalysis in Context Autumn 5

MDCS40410 The Symptom and the Dream Autumn 5

MDCS40440 Human Sexuality and Sexuation Autumn 5

MDCS40450 Transference and the Interpretation of Desire Autumn 5

MDCS40420 Psychoanalysis and Language Spring 5

MDCS40430 Child Psychoanalysis: Theory and Application Spring 5

MDCS40460 Ethics, Research Methods and Clinical Applications Spring 5

MDCS40470 Psychosis Spring 5

You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information at: https://www.ucd.ie/registry/prospectivestudents/admissions/rpl/ Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage.

Online Application.



Who Should Apply?

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes

International (Non EEA) applicants: No

2 years part-time.



Attendance is on Wednesday afternoon/evening (2.00 – 7.45pm) over 4 semesters from early September to early May each year. The weekly contact hours (4½ hours) combine formal teaching and classroom discussion. Students on the Graduate Diploma are required to attend their own psychoanalysis with a recognised reputable psychoanalytic practitioner. All teaching is carried out in The School of Psychotherapy at St Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4.

X667: Graduate Diploma in Psychoanalytic Studies Part-Time

Commencing September 2026

Graduate Taught