Studying our Psychology BSc course will equip you with the knowledge and expertise in cognitive, social, developmental, biological and individual difference psychology that you can use to make a real difference in people’s lives. In core areas of study, you will build your understanding of the Foundations to Psychology that include the history and concepts surrounding cognitive and biological psychology. As a fundamental element to the study of psychology, you will also be given an Introduction to Psychological Research Methods and Data Analysis that will equip you with the skills to design, conduct, analyse and write an ethically sound research project. You will build on this further in our Methods of Research in Psychology unit that will expand on your knowledge of research methods to be able to assess personalities and develop methods of psychological assessment. Moreover, you will develop your knowledge of contemporary topics and theory in psychology in the context of everyday behaviours in our Psychology in Everyday Life unit.  

In areas of social psychology, you will explore key topics to understand how people change and develop biologically, cognitively and socially across their lifespan while considering cultural and social factors in our Social Processes and Lifespan Development unit. To build on your foundations, you will explore the various applied areas of psychology including health, clinical, counselling, educational and forensic psychology in our Psychology in Context unit. By combining areas of Biological and Cognitive Psychology, you will examine the human thought process, perception, language, memory and learning from both perspectives. You will also be able to explore the cultural effects on human psychology in our Culture and Individual Differences unit to understand the contemporary applications of psychological diversity and the links between cultural norms and behaviour. We also offer a range of optional units on this course. With a particular focus on children and young people, you can study the causes and treatment associated with exceptional children in our Atypical Child and Adolescent Development: Theories and Applications unit.  

Aside from this, you may also choose to explore the history of the science behind Cognitive Neuropsychology to understand memory and amnesia; or study concepts of Critical Social Psychology and consider how this can be applied to behaviours such as aggression and violence. If you are interested in practicing counselling, you can explore the concepts of counselling, psychotherapy, coaching and psychological therapies in our Introduction to Counselling unit. You may also learn to apply core coaching skills in psychology in our Coaching Psychology unit; or discover the applications of biological and social psychology in areas of health and disease in our Applied Health Psychology unit. More interestingly, you may choose to deepen your understanding of criminal behaviour in our Psychology and Criminal Behaviour unit that covers a range of compelling issues, theories and research in criminal and forensic psychology. If you are interested in areas of mental health, our Psychology of Mental Health unit will allow you to examine the clinical symptoms of the most common psychological disorders.  

In more specific areas, you can develop an understanding of Problem Solving behaviours in humans. You may also choose to explore how psychology contributes to the performance and wellbeing of organisations and employees in the workplace in our Occupational and Organisational Psychology unit. Finally, you will complete a Psychology Research Project that will allow you to explore a particular topic of interest to you that is relevant to your field of study while also demonstrating the knowledge and skills you have acquired throughout the course. To prepare you for your career, you will have the opportunity to undertake a Placement Year (Psychology) to develop your employability skills and gain relevant work experience. 

English Language Foundation

This unit focuses on your ability to understand and use the English language accurately when you read, speak, listen and write. We will concentrate on the English you need for undergraduate level study in your chosen subject area, covering grammar, subject area vocabulary and the four language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.

A key element of the unit is the grammar of the language, and particularly the verb tense system in English, because your ability to use the verb tense system accurately will be extremely important when you come to write essays and reports. This unit will focus in particular on the grammar of the language.

We will also focus on reading, listening and speaking skills in the context of your chosen subject area. Beginning with short texts, we will practise each skill and practise it again, so that gradually you will see, hear and feel that your command of the language is improving. 

A recurring focus of the unit will be your acquisition of 'learner autonomy'. This means your ability to acquire the language yourself, without needing a teacher's help. This is important because from next year you will not have an English teacher to help you. So we will consider and practise strategies to help you gain confidence in your own ability to increase your knowledge of and ability to use the language, including for instance guessing meaning of difficult words, deciding which words are important in a text, recognising differences between formal and informal language, and other strategies, so that as the first semester continues, you begin to feel more confident in your use and experience with the English Language.

Academic Skills Foundation

When you begin your undergraduate level studies, you will be expected to have knowledge of and ability to use a large range of 'study skills'. You will also be expected to have some knowledge of the subject area you will  be studying. This unit deals with both of these aspects of your preparation for undergraduate level study. 

All of the academic skills are practised in English, so you will use your developing acquisition of the language from the partner unit 'English Language Foundation' to practise and gain mastery of these skills. You will also use your language and study skills as you learn the foundation of your subject area, putting the skills into practice as you learn.

Developing English Language Skills

This unit builds on the progress you made during its partner semester 1 unit 'English Language Foundation' and increasing your level from that which you had achieved by the end of semester 1. 

We will recycle the tense system in English and other elements of the grammar system, but you will  now learn how to use other aspects of the grammar, including the passive voice, as well as linking words and phrases and devices which enable you to write longer sentences but retain grammatical accuracy. 

You will notice that we gradually introduce more specialist language that you need in preparation for your degree and we will expect you to use and develop the skills that you gained in the previous units so that you are able to work more independently.

Academic Skills Development

This unit builds on the skills learnt and practised in its partner semester 1 unit 'Foundation Academic Skills'. We will add more skills to the list, including summarizing and synthesising, argumentation, critical thinking and referencing and citation skills, as well as several others and practise and test them in the same way as with the semester 1 unit.

We will also investigate the research skill and you will learn how to prepare a research proposal and conduct a literature review, and how to plan a research project, learning about the research tools available and how they can be used to conduct research in your chosen field. 

You will continue to broaden your knowledge of key current issues and theory in your chosen subject area, and apply the critical thinking and argumentation skills you acquire in this unit to argue for and against propositions you have studied in the form of in both essays and presentations and in seminar situations, ensuring that you are ready to step up to your chosen undergraduate course with a base level of subject area knowledge from which to continue your academic development as you progress to level 4 study.