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

The BSc (Hons) Psychology (including foundation year) provides foundation level degree entry for applicants without the qualifications required for direct entry to BSc (Hons) Psychology or who have been out of education for some time. It provides a specialist psychology programme designed to enable students to develop knowledge and skills in each of the core subject areas within the discipline along with a range of transferable graduate skills, and provides a pathway into the BSc (Hons) Psychology. The BSc (Hons) Psychology is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and is aligned with the QAA (2019) benchmark statement for undergraduate psychology programmes.

The teaching and learning strategy employed across the course is designed to:

• stimulate students’ interest in all aspects of human behaviour and its causes.
• provide an appropriate intellectual challenge while enabling development of advanced knowledge and transferable graduate skills.
• promote students’ self-management of the learning process with a view to future training, employment, and continuing professional development.
• encourage students to think of themselves as active and productive partners in
a collaborative venture of learning.
• equip students with the ability to participate in ethical and inclusive practice across a range of contexts, including conducting ethical research in line with the principles of open science, ethical and inclusive conduct in the workplace, and social responsibility.
• provide opportunities for students to examine issues that resonate with their lived experiences from a psychological perspective.
• develop students’ confidence and ability to challenge established psychological knowledge and practices.
• equip students from diverse backgrounds with the skills and opportunities to transform their lives and make meaningful contributions to their communities.
• prepare students for postgraduate training and graduate employment.

Factors influencing the choice of teaching and learning strategy include the need to:

• enhance students’ communication, information technology, and digital literacy skills.
• develop students’ analytical, research, and problem-solving skills.
• respond to variation in students’ learning styles and preferences.
• support learning for students in both full-time and part-time mode.
• support learning for students from diverse backgrounds with differing expectations and needs.
• promote ethical, inclusive, non-discriminatory, and socially responsible behaviour in all aspects of the discipline.

Module teams will ensure that there are opportunities for students to:

• be actively involved in and take responsibility for their own learning.
• develop and test psychology related research questions and hypotheses.
• work to deadlines and balance conflicting pressures.
• use appropriate resources and technology.
• review, evaluate and reflect on their learning and experiences.
• work cooperatively and productively with their tutors and peers.
• understand and apply ethical and inclusive principles and practices at all times.

As well as access to the University-wide learning facilities, psychology students also have access to dedicated psychology laboratories and specialised equipment and software for conducting supervised research. Throughout the programme, students work collaboratively with tutors and the programme team to help ensure that the curriculum meets their needs and career aims and are actively involved in all decision-making processes of relevance to the programme and the student experience.

The BSc (Hons) Psychology (including foundation year) is designed to prepare students for progression to the BSc (Hons) Psychology. It helps students to develop a comprehensive and critical understanding of the core subject areas in psychology (biological, cognitive, developmental, social, individual differences, and research methods) and awareness of the historical and cultural context of psychological knowledge within each subject area. It also allows students to develop a critical understanding of the empirical basis of psychological knowledge and equips them with the knowledge and skills to apply ethical and inclusive principles and practices across different aspects of the programme, including conducting ethical and inclusive research in line with the principles of open science, and ethical and inclusive conduct in the workplace. It also provides opportunities for students to develop skills essential for the BSc (Hons) Psychology, including skills in academic writing; numeracy; information technology; public speaking; and argumentation. The teaching, learning and assessment strategy is designed to enable students to develop and demonstrate competence in all aspects of the curriculum and to develop and apply a range of transferable graduate skills across different contexts, thus providing students with a firm foundation for their progression to the BSc (Hons) Psychology and postgraduate training or graduate employment. On completion of the programme, students are able to demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition, and creativity, and have the knowledge and skills required to become ethical, inclusive, and socially responsible professionals capable of excelling in a range of professional employment contexts.

On successful completion of the programme, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate a comprehensive and critical understanding of psychology as an academic discipline and awareness of how psychological knowledge can be applied in different contexts.
2. initiate and sustain arguments and solve problems using appropriate methods and techniques.
3. discuss and demonstrate awareness of the historical and cultural context of classic and contemporary psychological knowledge.
4. manage their own learning and engage self-reflective practice to identify developmental needs.
5. ethically apply the knowledge and skills developed throughout the programme in different contexts.
6. critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, and data to make evidence-based judgements.
7. communicate information, ideas, and both problems and solutions to specialist and non-specialist audiences through different modalities in line with the principles of open science.
8. exercise initiative and personal responsibility, including decision-making in complex and
unpredictable contexts.
9. progress to postgraduate training or graduate employment with the knowledge, skills and confidence required for success.
10. demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition and creativity and become inclusive,
ethical, and socially responsible professionals in their chosen careers.

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

Learning is assessed using a range of formative and summative methods. Assessments are designed to be sufficiently challenging but also engaging, inclusive, and anticipatory, and provide students with a choice of assessment types and/or formats. This allows students to demonstrate their learning in creative and personalised ways while providing opportunities for them to reflect on their developmental needs as they progress through the programme. Modules at each level of the programme include assessments focused on employability, self-reflection, professional ethics, and equity, diversity, and inclusion in psychology.

At Level 3, assessments are designed to allow students to develop competency and confidence in basic academic and practical skills required for success throughout the course, including skills in academic writing; numeracy; information technology; public speaking; and argumentation. At Level 4, assessments encourage students to assimilate and describe core lines of theory and research and help them to develop the skills required for academic and professional success, including skills in self-reflection, time-management, career planning, and personal development. At Level 5, assessments require students to critically evaluate core psychological theories and their evidential bases and to question and challenge existing psychological knowledge and practices. Students at this level are also required to demonstrate application of the knowledge and skills they have developed throughout the programme (e.g., in the context of conducting psychological research and/or evaluating psychological interventions). At Level 6, assessments focus on the ethical application of psychological knowledge in different career related contexts. This includes designing evidence-based psychological interventions, producing case formulations for clients with complex needs, designing mental health promotion campaigns for different audiences, programming experiments using advanced technology and software, initiating and conducting empirical research, and writing research reports in accordance with professional publication standards and the principles of open science, which are emphasised at all levels of the course. Students are provided with constructive written and oral feedback for all formative and summative assessments from module leaders, lecturers, personal tutors, and academic mentors.

The assessment process is used to provide valuable insight into the learning and teaching strategy and the curriculum design and delivery, and through the ongoing iterative process of module monitoring, contributes to the continued development and improvement of the programme and the student experience.

The BSc (Hons) Psychology (including foundation year) is designed to allow students to achieve their career aims and has a strong and explicit employability and career development focus, starting at level 3 and continuing through levels 4-6. At level 3, PC3050 Preparing for Success and PC3053 Psychology in Practice equip students with essential practical and academic skills and have a strong employability and career planning focus. PC3052 Working with Diverse Populations introduces students to basic EDI principles and emphasises how such principles underpin every aspect of the course and the career pathways open to psychology graduates. At level 4, PC4058 Becoming a Socially Responsible Professional and PC4060 Careers in Psychology are closely interlinked and are designed to encourage students to start planning and preparing for their careers at an early stage of the programme. PC4058 Becoming a Socially Responsible Professional equips students with a range of subject-specific and transferable skills essential for success as a student and also in the occupations and roles that psychology graduates are well equipped to enter and excel in. PC4060 Careers in Psychology discusses different psychology-related career pathways and related occupations and develops students’ understanding of how the skills acquired in PC4058 Becoming a Socially Responsible Professional and other modules are applied in different employment contexts. All modules include employment related and career development workshops which are scheduled throughout the year, including workshops on writing a CV and a personal statement, searching for vacancies, acquiring relevant experience, and succeeding at interviews. All level 6 modules have a strong employment focus and are informed by the occupations and career pathways that psychology graduates aspire to and are well equipped to excel in (e.g., Counselling Psychology; Clinical Psychology; Work Psychology; Forensic Psychology). All modules at this level include scheduled sessions on career planning and provide opportunities for students to discuss their plans with tutors, peers, and guest speakers with experience working in psychology related professions and roles.

As well as the strong employability focus in modules at all levels of the programme, students are also encouraged and supported to enter voluntary or paid positions with organisations and charities to gain relevant work experience. Such opportunities are advertised in Weblearn and representatives from different organisations attend regular psychology careers events to offer valuable careers and employment advice. Students are also eligible for BPS student membership, which provides access to a host of career-development information and resources, networking opportunities, conferences and events, and voluntary and paid employment opportunities in psychology related roles.

Part time students have a recommended pathway for levels 3 and 5.

Level 3
Year 1 Autumn
PC3004 Perspectives in psychology
PC3050 Preparing for success

Year 1 Spring
PC3052 Working with diverse populations

Year 2 Autumn
PC3003 Foundations of research in psychology
PC3051 Psychology in everyday life

Year 2 Spring
PC3053 Psychology in practice

Level 4
Year 3 Autumn
PC4013 Research methods and data analysis in psychology
PC4058 Becoming a socially responsible professional

Year 3 Spring
PC4059 Psychology across time and cultures

Year 4 Autumn
PC4061 Mechanisms of the mind
PC4060 Careers in psychology

Year 4 Spring
PC4063 psychopathology
PC4062 Equity, diversity, and inclusion in psychology

Level 5
Year 5 Autumn
PC5058 Quantitative research methods in psychology
PC5060 Cognitive and biological explanations of behaviour

Year 5 Spring
PC5061 Qualitative research methods in psychology
PC5064 Development across the lifespan

Year 6 Autumn
PC5057 Individual differences
PC5059 Psychological interventions: From problems to solutions

Year 6 Spring
PC5062 Social and cultural explanations of behaviour
PC5063 The psychology of creativity and innovation

Level 6
Year 8 Autumn
PC6P01 Psychology Project
Option modules

Year 8 Spring
Option modules

Level 6 consists of one core 30 credit module: PC6P01 Psychology Project. All other modules at this level are 15 credit option modules. Students must ensure a balanced programme of studies across the two semesters (e.g., 60 credits each semester for full time students).

Level 6 modules are subject to change depending on the number of students selecting each option and some modules may be replaced or withdrawn.

Students must comply with the BPS ethical standards in any programme-related activity or assessment. These are covered in the following documents:
https://www.bps.org.uk/guideline/code-ethics-and-conduct
https://www.bps.org.uk/guideline/ethics-guidelines-internet-mediated-research
Failure to comply with appropriate ethical standards, including failure to follow the procedures for gaining ethical approval within the University, will result in an allegation of academic misconduct.

The following modules must be completed for eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) from the British Psychological Society (BPS). Eligibility for GBC also requires achieving minimum second-class honours and passing the PC6P01 Psychology Project module.

Level 4
PC4013 Research methods and data analysis in psychology
PC4058 Becoming a socially responsible professional
PC4059 Psychology across time and cultures
PC4060 Careers in psychology
PC4061 Mechanisms of the mind
PC4062 Equity, diversity, and inclusion in psychology
PC4063 Psychopathology

Level 5
PC5057 Individual differences
PC5058 Quantitative research methods in psychology
PC5059 Psychological interventions: From problems to solutions
PC5060 Cognitive and biological explanations of behaviour
PC5061 Qualitative research methods in psychology
PC5062 Social and cultural explanations of behaviour
PC5063 The psychology of creativity and innovation
PC5064 Development across the lifespan

Level 6
PC6P01 Psychology Project

The teaching, learning and assessment strategy is designed to enable students from diverse backgrounds to develop and demonstrate competence on a range of professional and transferable skills. It aims to stimulate students’ interest in all aspects of the discipline; provide an appropriate intellectual challenge; promote self-management of the learning process; encourage students to think of themselves as partners in a collaborative venture of learning; and equip them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to reach their potential.

Student are provided with opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills in self-reflection at an early stage to facilitate their progression through the programme. At level 3, PC3050 Preparing for Success and PC3053 Psychology in Practice equip students with essential practical and academic skills and have a strong employability and career planning focus. PC3052 Working with Diverse Populations introduces students to basic EDI principles and emphasises how such principles underpin every aspect of the course and the career pathways open to psychology graduates. PC4058 Becoming a Socially Responsible Professional allows students starting the programme to develop a range of personal, academic, and professional skills, including skills in critical self-reflection and both personal and professional development. PC4060 Careers in Psychology explores potential career pathways and encourages students to reflect on how the skills acquired in PC4058 Becoming a Socially Responsible Professional and other modules can help them to succeed in different psychology-related employment contexts. It encourages students to plan ahead and to reflect on the extent to which their approach to learning and development is sufficient to allow them to achieve their career aims, and to identify developmental needs as they progress through the programme. PC4062 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Psychology encourages students to reflect on their own and other people’s professional behaviour, including established practices in psychology and related disciplines, and to appreciate the implications of non-inclusive behaviour and practices for other people as well as for psychology as an academic and applied science.

These and other modules provide students at an early stage of the programme with the confidence and ability to take responsibility for their own learning and behaviour as they progress through the programme and beyond, including reflecting of their approach to learning and identifying developmental needs. This emphasis on self-reflection and both personal and professional development extends to modules at levels 5 and 6 and helps to prepare students to progress through the course and excel in postgraduate training and graduate employment in different professional contexts.

The programme of study is designed to meet the benchmarks for British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation:
https://cms.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-07/Undergraduate%20Accreditation%20Handbook%202019.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 range of opportunities for graduates to progress to postgraduate training and employment in psychology related professions. The BSc (Hons) Psychology is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), which provides eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) for graduates achieving minimum second-class honours. GBC is a pre-requisite for progression to accredited postgraduate training programmes leading to Chartered Psychologist Status. Programme accreditation also provides eligibility for BPS student membership and access to career development information, resources, and events. The knowledge and skills that students develop throughout the programme also leave them well-positioned to progress to and excel in occupations and industries as diverse as advertising and media, human resources, teaching, social services, the police and prison services, healthcare, and the charity sector.

The BSc (Hons) Psychology (including foundation year) provides a firm foundation for progression to the BSc (Hons) Psychology and various employment focused postgraduate programmes in the School of Social Sciences and Professions. This includes MSc Counselling and Psychotherapy; MSc Addiction and Mental Health; MSc Child and Adolescent Mental Health; MSc Psychology of Mental Health; and MSc Criminology and Psychopathology, all of which provide accessible and clearly signposted pathways into graduate employment and/or Doctoral programmes.

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)