Welcome to your Psychology and Child Development course

Welcome to University of Staffordshire

We know you're already passionate about your subject, which is why we're excited you've chosen University of Staffordshire as the place to turn possibility into reality.

To give you an insight into what life as a Psychology and Child Development student is like, your course leaders have prepared introductions to the course and further activities.

Welcome to your BSc (Hons) Psychology and Child Development course! We are really looking forward to meeting you in September and showing you the best of what the Psychology Department here at Staffordshire University has to offer.

We pride ourselves on being a friendly and supportive department, where staff and students work together to help you achieve your potential. This is always reflected in the high student satisfaction rates we get. You are joining one of the best!

First activity

The first semester gives you a taste of your next three years and gets you settled in with your course group. Through semester one’s exciting and informative sessions, you will get a better understanding of core areas of psychology and the different ways these are applied within the real world.

You get to learn about applications of core areas of psychology to tackle real-life issues, how we develop, grow, and change over our life, and some of the ways we carry out psychological research. We will also support you to develop academic and professional skills you will need during your degree and beyond, such as how to write your assignments and developing personal development and career plans.

You will have plenty of opportunities to meet the other students on your course and will be working together in small groups so that you have the chance to get to know one another. As well as students on your course you will get to meet your Academic Mentor and Dr Sarah Rose your Course Leader and person responsible for the smooth running of the course.

Your course group

We want you to feel part of a course team here at Staffordshire and we will give you (at no cost to you!) a purple ‘Psychology’ hoodie, with your course labelled on the back. We’d like to encourage you to wear this as much as you can, especially when you come on to campus, so you can always keep an eye out for others on your course and seek out a friendly face if you need to. We will buy hoodies in a range of sizes so no need to pre-order.

Course delivery

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 through a variety of lecture, seminars, workshops and tutorials and assessed in a range of different ways including: formal essays, exams, case studies, portfolios, presentations and reports.

A crucial part of becoming a Psychologist is learning to understand, conduct, and analyse scientific research. As with all high-quality undergraduate psychology degrees, this means our courses feature modules that focus on teaching these skills. We take great care in closely guiding students through this learning process (via small group teaching, group work with peers, support clinics and step-by-step guides) supporting our students in preparation for the increasingly data-driven world.

The course operates on a modular basis that provides flexibility and choice. Typically, the majority of modules are 20 credits with a smaller number of 40 credit modules. Each credit taken equates to a total study time of around 10 hours. Total study time includes scheduled teaching, independent study and assessment activity. Full-time students take modules worth 60 credits per semester, with part-time students taking proportionately fewer credits per semester. All students take a total of 120 credits per level and 360 credits for the degree as a whole. Your overall grade for the course and your degree classification are based on the marks obtained for modules taken at Levels 5 and 6.

Want to read in advance?

We are updating our reading lists all the time, so when you join us, we'll give you the most up to date lists. However, if you do want to familiarise yourself with some material in advance, the book below is the recommended text for your first year ‘Adventures in Psychology’ module and covers many of the topics you will encounter in your first year. You don’t necessarily have to buy this book as we have some copies in our library, electronic copies available through the University library, as well as some earlier but still relevant editions.

Martin, G.N., Carlson, N.R. & Buskitt (2019). Psychology (6th ed.). Pearson Education Ltd.

To support your studies specifically in developmental psychology the following book maybe useful.

Boyd, D. & Bee, H. (2019). Lifespan Development. Pearson Education.

Although you are only at the beginning of your journey with us, it is never too soon to think about where you are going. So you might also want to explore possibilities as developing Psychologists and beyond though the British Psychological Society website

Free downloadable software

There is a variety of software which can be downloaded from the University’s website and can also be accessed via the button below. This software is free for all of our students, as we understand to

reach your full potential and succeed in your degree you need the tools to help you. Examples of the software available are:

Microsoft Office 365
Microsoft Teams
SPSS
NVivo
Sophos Antivirus
Asure Dev Tools for Teaching
VMWare
Free Training

Click here for free software

Join a Society

Getting involved in a student group can enhance your time at University. It’s a great way to make new friends and connections, learn from other students and develop new skills whilst having some fun at the same time.

We have a Psychology Society (winner of the Proud To Be Staffs Award for inclusivity advocacy) with a vibrant and inclusive student community where everyone is welcome. Members of the society pride themselves on supporting each other through their degree. Please check out the Psychology Society page

There are also a range of other student groups. Whether you want to join a group as a member, get involved in running a group as part of a committee or help run an event or organise your own – your Students’ Union is here to make it happen! Please check out the Students’ Union website for more information on all of our groups, volunteering and other opportunities, or get in touch with the Students’ Union if you have more questions.

Click here for a list of the current clubs and societies run through the Students’ Union

Meet the team

Dr Sarah Rose

Associate Professor

I love inspiring students at all levels about child development and how we can share our psychological expertise to make a difference to children and their families. My research focuses on education, children’s wellbeing and children’s use of tech.

Sarah's profile

Dr Romina Vivaldi

Senior Lecturer

Romina's research interests are focussed on symbolic development as it relates to pictures and occupational gender stereotypes.

Romina's profile

Dr Samantha Littlemore

Lecturer

Sam is a Child Psychologist. Her research has focused on qualitative research on welfare issues for children and young people. Sam has worked for many years as a lecturer and also a practitioner.

Samantha's profile

Dr Claire Barlow

Course Director

Claire's research is primarily focused on children's drawings with further projects focussing on the development of expressive drawing, and more specifically how this compares to the development of representational drawing skill, longitudinal de…

Claire's profile

Dr Richard Jolley

Associate Professor

My research interests mainly lie in children's use and understanding of representation, particularly in their making and understanding of pictures.

Richard's profile

What to expect on Welcome Week

We're so excited for you to join us on campus and to welcome you to where you matter. During your welcome week you'll be able to meet our friendly student services teams, connect with new friends, join societies, explore on-campus venues attend club nights and much more.

We look forward to welcoming you to the campus in September.

If you have any questions, please send them to Dr. Sarah Rose (s.e.rose@staffs.ac.uk)

BSc (Hons) Psychology and Child Development Course Leader