Psychology

Introduction

Our Psychology degree will help you to apply scientific knowledge of the mind to recognise people's behaviour and to understand why they act in the way they do.

Human behaviour influences every facet of our everyday life, from the decisions we make, to how we respond to our environment and those around us.

Our Psychology degree will help you to apply scientific knowledge of the mind to recognise people's behaviour and to understand why they act in the way they do.

You'll develop useful and transferable skills in problem solving, communication, critical thinking and evaluation.

By the end of the course, you will be equipped with all of the necessary skills and knowledge to design and create your very own investigations and experiments.

On successful completion of study, we will issue one of the following awards dependent on your chosen pathway: BSc (Hons) Psychology, BSc (Hons) Psychological Studies - (Students who choose not to, or who are unable to, follow an accredited route can transfer at the start of Level 5 to an alternative degree).

Professional body accreditation

The BSc (Hons) Psychology programme is accredited with the British Psychological Society (BPS) meaning that successful completion of this programme (with a minimum of a 2:2 degree) will enable you to claim Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) after graduation, which is the first stage towards becoming a professional psychologist. (Students who choose not to or who are unable to follow an accredited route can transfer at the start of Level 5 to an alternative degree, BSc (Hons) Psychological Studies).

Course content

During your first two years of degree study, we put the emphasis on skill development to ensure you grow into an independent and inquisitive learner.

In Year 3, you’ll take greater control of your own studies and will be able to choose from a wide range of specialist options to conduct your own piece of empirical research. Your research project lets you put into practice the skills you’ve developed throughout the course.

You will also be encouraged, where possible, to contribute new findings and theory to existing knowledge in your specialist area. A variety of teaching and learning methods are employed to deliver the course and these are tailored to complement your needs. These include: formal essays, class tests, coursework, presentations and examinations.

Modules

This module map provides an indicative list of the modules that make up your course. Each module is worth a specified number of credits: you take a combination of compulsory and optional modules, enabling you to cover key subject knowledge while developing your own interest. You must take modules worth a total of 120 credits at each level of the course. The number of optional modules you can take depends on the number of compulsory modules at a given level, you may have more choice in later parts of the course. 

Our teaching is informed by research, and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline. You can always find the most up-to-date information about your modules and who is teaching them in our module catalogue. We aim to ensure that all optional modules run as scheduled. If for any reason an optional module cannot be run we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Before you can register on some optional modules, you may be required to have undertaken prerequisite modules. Some module combinations may not be allowed.

Foundation Year

Semester 1

Module title
Foundations in Psychology	Compulsory
Social and Applied Psychology	Compulsory
Experimental Design and Research Methods	Compulsory
Information Technology and Study Skills	Compulsory

Semester 2

Module title
Foundations in Psychology	Compulsory
Social and Applied Psychology	Compulsory
Experimental Design and Research Methods	Compulsory
Information Technology and Study Skills	Compulsory

Year 1

Semester 1

Module title
Foundations in Psychology	Compulsory
Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology	Compulsory
Comparative Basis of Behaviour	Compulsory

Semester 2

Module title
Perspectives in Psychology	Compulsory
Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology	Compulsory
People Behaving Badly	Compulsory

Year 2

Semester 1

Module title
Cognitive and Biological Determinants of Behaviour	Compulsory
Understanding the Social World	Compulsory
Contemporary Issues in Psychology	Compulsory
Volunteering	Optional
Psychology of Crime	Optional
Childhood: Contexts	Optional
Research Assistantship	Optional
The Psychology of Social Perception	Optional

Semester 2

Module title
Cognitive and Biological Determinants of Behaviour	Compulsory
Understanding the Social World	Compulsory
Contemporary Issues in Psychology	Compulsory
Further Research Methods	Compulsory

Year 3

Semester 1

Module title
Psychology Project	Compulsory
Typical and Atypical Development	Compulsory
Advanced Research Methods	Optional
Behavioural Medicine	Optional
Cyberpsychology	Optional
Psychological Interventions	Optional
The Psychology of Empowerment and Oppression	Optional

Semester 2

Module title
Psychology Project	Compulsory
Typical and Atypical Development	Compulsory
Children and Pictures	Optional
Health Psychology	Optional
Neuropsychological Disorders	Optional