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Top reasons to choose this course

• Our course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), the UK’s independent regulator of the psychology profession.
• We follow the BPS curriculum, this means the content of your course prepares you for entry to the profession and for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the BPS.
• Varied study methods – modules generally involve weekly lectures followed by seminars or practical sessions. These run alongside structured learning activities and independent study.
• Study all the major branches of psychology: developmental, cognitive, social and biological.
• Experienced and enthusiastic lecturers create an environment in which curious and critical future psychologists can develop and flourish.

• Our Psychology Research Laboratories are fully equipped to support a wide range of experimental and qualitative research, enhancing your learning experience.
• The option to take a community placement, putting theory into practice, gaining experience and making key contacts in the sector.
• Volunteering opportunities outside your course – broaden experience and links with sector.
• Visiting lecturers share their experiences of working in industry.

Course structure

This course covers all of the major branches of psychology: developmental, cognitive, social and biological. It also teaches the conceptual and historical issues of psychology as well as the research methods used in its academic practice, while giving you the chance to specialise in subdisciplines like cyberpsychology and ecopsychology.

Sociology modules focus on getting behind the news to help you critically engage with contemporary issues such as poverty and globalisation. You also look at how individuals form groups and communities, and how they coordinate social action and protest. 

You’ll learn through a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, group tutorials, individual tutorials, guided independent study and self-directed study. In your second year you can choose to go on placements with a local organisation.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up-to-date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you will be told about any new developments through .

Year 1

Year 1 introduces both psychology and sociology. You will also learn about research methods, which you will later apply in your own research work. 

Modules

• Developmental Psychology

  The module will introduce you to key theories and topics in child development and lifespan development. You'll examine issues from infancy through middle-childhood to adulthood to explore how people develop through time. The module provides an historical, biological, social and cultural context for studying child development, and life-span development to help you frame the theoretical perspectives presented.

• Psychology and Society

  This module will introduce you to the social history of psychology, and seeks to embed psychology within the social and historical contexts of its development, critically exploring how these contexts have shaped the aims, methods and outcomes of psychological theory and research.

  The module will introduce you to key issues, debates and approaches in psychology, as well as help you to develop essential skills for higher education study, including reflexive learning, critical analysis, team working and independent study.

• Psychological Investigations – Foundations

  The module introduces you to quantitative and qualitative research skills and methods used in psychology. You'll develop expertise in study design, data collection and analysis, as well as critical thinking and communicating complex information.

• Psychology Investigations – Practical Applications

  Building on Psychology Investigation – Foundations, this module enables you to further develop your range of quantitative and qualitative research skills and methods used in psychology.

• Sociological Imaginations

  This module will introduce you to contemporary ‘sociological imaginations’ of the social world and will give you the opportunity to apply sociological theories and concepts to contemporary topics. You'll develop your ability to think sociologically, by first understanding key sociological concepts and then exploring how these are applied in contemporary sociological research examples.

• Foundations of Sociology

  This module will equip you with an understanding of traditional sociological theory and its applications today. You'll be introduced to the foundations of sociology including key thinkers, key debates, and main theoretical perspectives.

  The module will examine the development of classical ideas and the continued relevance for different sociological perspectives throughout the twentieth century. Recent challenges to traditional sociological theory will also be examined and assessed.

Year 2

Year 2 on the Psychology and Sociology degree will elaborate on the scientific basis of psychology and show how we process the outside world.

Modules

• Theorising the Social World
• Psychological Investigation: Becoming an Independent Researcher
• Brain, Body and Cognition
• Sociology of the Life Course
• Social Psychology and Individual Differences

Options*

• Psychology, Mental Health and Distress
• Forensic Security
• Community Engagement: Theory into Practice 

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Final year

Your final year at ÑÇÖÞÂ鶹¾«Æ·ÔÚÏß will give you room to choose which areas of psychology or sociology you would most like to pursue. The dissertation is your opportunity to choose a topic to research in depth, and to report on the results of your research and the conclusions you have made.

Modules

• Community Wellbeing and Social Justice
• Dissertation OR Psychology Dissertation
  (the psychology dissertation must be taken and passed to be eligible for graduate basis of chartered membership of the BPS)

Options*

• Society and Outer Space 
• Class and Power
• Race and Ethnicity
• Sociology of Globalisation
• Sociology Topic 1
• Cyberpsychology
• Ecopsychology and Ecotherapy
• Critical Addiction Studies
• Sexualities
• Utopian Theory and Practice  
• Human Rights
• Education and Society
• Psychology of Poverty
• Race and Immigration
• Sociology of Parenting
• Class and Conflict in Contemporary Britain
• Power in the Psy Disciplines
• Sociology and the Climate Emergency
• Sociology Topic 2

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Placements

In your second year the Community Engagement option module offers the opportunity to engage with a local not-for-profit organisation and gain valuable hands-on experience. It is a great opportunity to develop your vocational skills and gain practical work experience while contributing to the wider community.

You will spend around 50 hours volunteering with the organisation. This will be supported and underpinned by organisational training, tutor support and by in-class teaching covering theories of community engagement, organisational structure and culture, and reflective learning. 

We will help you find a placement that is right for you from the range of local organisations who choose to work with our students.

The module features guest lectures delivered by external speakers drawn from the wider community. You will also produce a portfolio where you will reflect on your experiences and learning, with reference to practice examples and reflective theory. 

Lab facilities

Mithras House is home to all our School of Humanities and Social Science courses. It has a series of ‘labs’, which may be used for teaching on your course or in your independent research work.

VR and eye tracking lab
This lab is used for psychological research, specifically:

• eye-tracking research – eye-tracking (using an eye-tracking nano bar and eye-tracking glasses) is used to study visual attentional patterns across areas including CCTV observation and analysis, marketing and advertising research, and police and offender perceptions

• virtual reality research – VR allows participants to immerse themselves in virtual environments, so that researchers can study typically impractical situations. Research areas include the effects of virtual interactions, phobias, wellbeing, mediation, and city architecture

• measuring physiological responses within participants in response to external stimuli – equipment includes an electroencephalography (EEG) headset and Electrodermal Activity (EDA) equipment.

Stats lab
A specialist workspace with computing equipment for statistical analysis and projects involving video and audio editing software. The lab is accessible as a study space to students on psychology courses. 

It is also available to students studying courses involving video and audio recording and editing, such as politics degrees and our creative writing programmes. The stats lab contains eight soundproof booths for recording or transcribing interviews undertaken as part of dissertation research. 

Life lab
A comfortable space with lounge furniture intended for qualitative research with larger groups. Due to its relaxed layout and naturalistic environment, the space is suited to research using focus groups, research using observation-based methods and child research.

The space is also used for teaching on some social science courses, as well as for dissertation research for projects.

City lab
A space designed for collaborative student learning. It is used by students and staff involved in the university’s Global Challenges programme, our collective mission to contribute towards tackling the pressing issues facing our world.

Design lab
A space housing our extensive collection of historic dress and textiles, which are used in some teaching on our History of Art and Design courses. It has the space and equipment to work on textile projects. Displays created by students on these programmes are on view in the social spaces of the building.

Meet the team

Members of the course team include:

• Dr Rebecca Graber

Course fees

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2025–26.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• ÑÇÖÞÂ鶹¾«Æ·ÔÚÏß Boost – cost of living help for our new undergrad students. Find out about how we can help with your study, accommodation or travel costs and more...
• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international undergraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• Read our student contract and (pdf) for more on ÑÇÖÞÂ鶹¾«Æ·ÔÚÏß tuition fees.

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