UDPSYCFY - BSc (Hons) Psychology (including foundation year)

The BSc (Hons) Psychology (including foundation year) course provides a specialist programme which enables students to acquire and develop knowledge in each of the core areas of the discipline, along with a wide range of academic and transferable skills.
The teaching and learning strategies employed across the programme are designed to:
• stimulate students’ interest in all aspects of human behaviour;
• provide an appropriate intellectual challenge at BSc level whilst enabling students to gain the relevant knowledge and skills across the discipline of Psychology;
• promote students’ self-management of the learning process with a view to future training and continuing professional development.
• encourage students to think of themselves as active and productive partners in a collaborative venture of learning.

Factors influencing the choice of teaching and learning strategy include the need to:
• enhance students’ communications, IT and digital literacy skills;
• develop students’ research skills and their ethical awareness;
• develop students’ problem-solving skills;
• respond to variation in students’ learning styles and preferences;
• to support learning for students in both full-time and part-time mode.

Module teams will ensure that there are opportunities for students to:
• be actively involved partners in their own learning;
• develop and test psychology-related hypotheses;
• work to deadlines and balance conflicting pressures;
• use appropriate resources and technology;
• review, evaluate and reflect on their work;
• to work with others and develop team-working skills.

As well as access to the University-wide learning facilities, Psychology will also have access to their own dedicated research laboratories and specialised project support equipment (such as Psychometric tests, Psychophysiological measuring equipment etc). Throughout the course, students will work collaboratively with academic staff to design and develop aspects of the curriculum and through constant dialogue will be actively involved in all decision-making and problem-solving processes.

This course aims to provide a specialist programme in Psychology that meets the requirements of the British Psychological Society (BPS) for Graduate Membership and the Graduate Basis for Chartership (a prerequisite for progression to Chartered Psychologist status). In order to achieve this, the programme is designed to ensure that students develop a thorough understanding of the core areas in Psychology (biological, cognitive, developmental, social, individual differences and research methods), are aware of the conceptual and historical context for current theory and knowledge within each of these areas and have an opportunity to choose from a range of different areas of advanced study of psychological theory and application. The teaching, learning and assessment strategy is designed to enable students to develop and demonstrate competency in a wide range of academic and transferable skills within the context of the discipline which will also be invaluable in future employment or training. The foundation year is designed to provide students with the required skills to progress to the BSc (Hons) Psychology. This includes skills in academic writing, numeracy, IT and digital literacy, interpersonal communication and teamwork, presenting logical and coherent arguments, and sourcing and using evidence to support arguments.

On completion of this course, students will be able to:

Demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition and creativity and will act as inclusive, collaborative and socially responsible practitioners/professionals in their discipline.

The following learning outcomes incorporate and depend on systematic understanding of the key aspects of the knowledge base of psychology, including a coherent and detailed knowledge of some specialist areas in depth.

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. deploy established techniques of analysis and enquiry within psychology;

2. devise and sustain arguments and solve problems using different methods and techniques, some of which are at the forefront of psychology;

3. describe and comment on particular aspects of current research or equivalent advanced scholarship in psychology; recognising the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge;

4. manage their own learning and make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (for example, refereed research articles and/or original materials appropriate to psychology);

5. apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding and initiate and carry out projects;

6. critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data (that may be incomplete) to make judgements, and frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution - or identify a range of solutions - to a problem;

7. communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences using different modalities and technology as appropriate;

8. exercise initiative and personal responsibility, including decision-making in complex and unpredictable contexts;

9. undertake appropriate further training of a professional or equivalent nature including the development of communication, IT and digital literacy skills.

QAA Statement for Psychology (2019)
https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/subject-benchmark-statements/subject-benchmark-statement-psychology.pdf?sfvrsn=6935c881_13

A range of formative and summative assessment methods will be used in the course, with the choice of assessment instrument chosen to test the specified learning outcomes. Overall, the strategy is to promote students’ written, oral, research and digital literacy skills within the context of their understanding of the discipline. At Level 4, assessments seek to encourage students to assimilate and describe theory. At Level 5, assessments require students to critically evaluate the knowledge and theories they have encountered. Students at this level are also required to produce research reports including data analysis and interpretation. At Level, 6 assessments test students’ critical knowledge of applied areas of psychology and their ability to be independent researchers.

The course team aims to provide feedback on written (non-exam based) work within a three-week period from the submission date.

Assessment is part of the learning process and confirms the outcomes of the learning process. As such, the assessment process is used to provide an insight into learning and to trigger corrective action. It also provides feedback on curriculum design and delivery and, via the ongoing iterative process of module monitoring, makes a significant contribution to the continued development and improvement of the courses.

A variety of assessment methods are used throughout the course (see syllabi) including seen and unseen written examinations, individual and group assignments, laboratory and computer based investigations, poster and oral presentations and a Level 6 empirical project.

The programme includes a 15-credit core employment module (PC5050 Psychology and Employment) taken at Level 5. The aim of PC5050 is to provide students with the opportunity to develop their understanding of the relevance of psychological theory and empirical research to employment issues. It also equips students with the ability to apply ethical principles from the discipline across a range of contexts, including ethical conduct in the workplace and social responsibility. These values are based upon the guidance on appropriate ethical knowledge and practice at undergraduate level published by the British Psychological Society (2019). Through engagement with a work-based project undertaken as part of a work-based experience, this module aims to provide students with the opportunity to explore the ethical application of their knowledge of the psychological material encountered within the curriculum to a question of relevance to their work experience, and to develop their skills in time and project management. The module further aims to develop students’ employability skills through the provision of taught sessions of various aspects of employability (e.g. effective self-presentation, time-management and digital literacy skills) and through an assessment pattern designed to develop students’ abilities in effective oral presentation, written communication, reflective learning, and ethical conduct and social responsibility in the workplace.

Level 4 and 5 are all core modules for BSc Psychology. Part time students have a recommended pathway:

Please refer to course handbook to view course structure.

The BSc (Hons) Psychology is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) as conferring eligibility for Graduate Membership of the Society, and the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC).

The latter is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist and is a requirement for entry to BPS accredited postgraduate training courses.
It is important to note that BPS requires a minimum standard of a Lower Second class (2ii) honours degree in order to be eligible for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership. Student membership of the BPS is open to everyone studying on a Society accredited undergraduate or postgraduate conversion course.

Students can take a combination of 15 credits at level 6 including as a core module PC6P01. Students must ensure a balanced programme of studies across the two semesters (e.g. 60 credits each semester from 15 credit and PC6P01).

Students must comply with the British Psychological Society's ethical standards in any course-related activity or assessment. These are covered in the following key documents

https://www.bps.org.uk/sites/bps.org.uk/files/Policy%20-%20Files/BPS%20Code%20of%20Ethics%20and%20Conduct%20%28Updated%20July%202018%29.pdf
https://www.bps.org.uk/sites/www.bps.org.uk/files/Policy/Policy%20-%20Files/Ethics%20Guidelines%20for%20Internet-mediated%20Research%20%282017%29.pdf

Failure to comply with appropriate ethical standards, including failure to follow the University’s or School of Psychology’s specific procedures for gaining ethical approval, will result in an allegation of academic misconduct.

The following modules are compulsory to obtain BSc (Hons) Psychology and eligibility for Graduate Membership of the British Psychological Society, and the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC):

PC4009 Introduction to Research in Psychology
PC4051 Study Skills for psychology
PC4053 Child Development and Behaviour
PC4052 Personality
PC4054 Cognition and Behaviour
PC4056 Biological Bases of Behaviour
PC4055 Social Influences on Thinking and Behaviour

PC5001 Research Design and Data Analysis in Psychology
PC5056 Individual Differences
PC5055 Development Across the Lifespan
PC5067 Social and Cultural Understanding of Us and Others
PC5054 Cognition
PC5052 Psychobiology

PC6P01 Project

Progress with the development of graduate skills will be articulated to students as they progress through the programme via feedback from tutors and peers enabling them to reflect on their achievement based on the evidence available. At each level identified modules include activities and opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and personal development: PC4051 Study Skills for Psychology provides students with essential skills and the knowledge and ability to engage in reflective practice at the start of the course. Throughout the course, students will work collaboratively with academic and support staff to design and develop aspects of the curriculum, and through constant dialogue will be actively involved in all decision-making and problem-solving processes. Other activities outside of the academic aspect of university life will also contribute to aspects of the development of graduate skills. Students will be encouraged to develop their personal portfolio, to critically review their learning experiences, to set their future personal and academic goals and to evaluate their progress towards these goals. Academic Mentors, Personal Tutors and the Course Leader will support students in this.
PDP will be embedded within each module with students given time to reflect on their learning. In PC4051 Study Skills for Psychology students will reflect upon and develop their use of oral and written communication skills, skills in identifying, analysing and evaluating information, IT and digital literacy skills, and interpersonal skills. Students will develop a profile of personal, professional and transferable skills, attributes and achievements. At Level 5 students have a 15 credit module (PC5050 Psychology and Employment) which provides them with key employability skills and work-based experience and learning opportunities. In the final year project (PC6P01 Psychology Project), supervisors will initially assist supervisees with the clarification of the terms of the project and ethical considerations, establishing a timetable for the research and subsequent meetings, directed background reading, as well as report format and writing and statistical analysis.

The course has been designed to meet the British Psychological Society accreditation benchmarks (Graduate Basis for Chartership).
https://www.bps.org.uk/sites/bps.org.uk/files/Accreditation/Undergraduate%20Accreditation%20Handbook%20(2017).pdf

The three final years of this course are accredited by British Psychological Society (BPS) as conferring Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC), subject to obtaining a minimum of a lower second class (2:2) honours degree.

There are a variety of career opportunities for graduates who want to train to become Chartered Psychologists (e.g., Clinical, Forensic, Occupational), but the wide range of subject-specific and transferable skills acquired on this course mean that Psychology graduates are sought after in industries as diverse as the media, human resources, teaching, social services, and the charity sector.

On graduation you’ll be able to enter further training to begin a career as a psychologist in clinical, counselling, educational, health or occupational fields. There will also be options to study at postgraduate level including our Psychology of Mental Health MSc or Counselling Psychology Professional Doctorate.

If you decide that you’d like to enter a career that isn’t directly linked to psychology, the course will give you a strong foundation to secure roles in HR, marketing or advertising.

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

• at least one A level (or a minimum of 32 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC Subsidiary/National/BTEC Extended Diploma)
• English Language GCSE at grade C (grade 4) or above (or equivalent)