Drama and Psychology

Our Psychology course begins with intentional support for your successful transition to university, carries you through the content and skills that define a Psychology graduate, and ends by opening up conceptual and career possibilities you may not have previously considered.

In addition to exploring the five main psychological perspectives: biological, cognitive, developmental, individual differences and social, and research methods, you will engage with the historical and conceptual underpinnings of Psychology throughout. You’ll also learn to leverage your science to the benefit of your fellow students, industry and for social good.

Year one
You'll begin by exploring the main areas of Psychological science, the ways in which you can use psychology in your life, and controversial issues around race and gender. In addition, you’ll be introduced to the research and data analytic skills you will need to become a scientist in your own right.

Year two
In your second year, you'll be ready to take on further depth and challenges as you advance your understanding of research design and analysis. You'll take a closer look at biological, cognitive, developmental and social psychology, as well as enjoying optional modules of your choice presenting the scholarly specialities of individual members of staff.

Students on the single honours course also have the option to choose a work placement module, whilst all students can choose to take a professional placement year.

Year three
Year three is when you embark upon your dissertation which involves working one-to-one with a member of staff on an original research project in Psychology. You'll also learn about creative enterprise with psychological science, completing a consultancy project of your own. In addition, you'll continue to enjoy the same opportunities to study specialist topics as in year two.

Please note that optional module choices may change to best reflect the strength and expertise of our staff.

Assessment varies and includes essays, debates, research reports, group presentations and examinations, as well as more authentic assessments (for example, policy briefs).

Most modules involve a mixture of lectures and follow-up seminars and tutorials. In the case of research methods, much of the teaching is conducted via practical classes.

You’ll participate actively in seminars and tutorials; these are characterised by small-group work. Bookable tutorials enable you to have one-to-one discussions with staff.

The University offers an extra-curricular three-year Global Citizenship Programme which runs alongside the degree for all three years of the undergraduate degree. The programme includes a scholarship to fund international study (for UK and EU students only).

Further study abroad opportunities are available from our International Office and the ERASMUS programme.

We encourage you to undertake placement opportunities, especially in your second year. The opportunity to take a Placements module in second year is available. Students who take advantage of the Global Citizenship programme can use their scholarship to support the option of doing an international placement.

Our students make use of part-funded Santander internship and placement opportunities. Last year over 60 placements/internships across a variety of businesses were generated for students across all courses including Psychology. These provided students with experience in areas such as marketing, multimedia and product design, filming and editing, business management, HR, customer services, research and analysis, project management and events.

Some of our graduates have completed, or are currently taking postgraduate education at the Master's and PhD levels. Graduates with single or major honours in Psychology can apply directly for postgraduate training, in order to work towards becoming a professional psychologist.

The majority of Psychology graduates, across the country, do not become professional psychologists. Some of our graduates have gone on to train in counselling. Many students choose to undertake PGCEs and a number of these are gaining experience for Educational Psychology courses. Other students go into management, sales and advertising, probation work and human resources. Psychology is an attractive option since students learn both numerative/scientific skills and people skills.

At the end of the academic year, we award prizes to recognise achievements in academic success and reward effort and excellence. Prizes specific to Psychology are:

• The British Psychological Society Graduate Award
• Oxford University Press Prize for best dissertation.

This optional placement year provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.

By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.

Before your Professional Placement Year, you'll work to secure your placement, constructing a development plan with your module leader and your placement coordinator from our Careers and Employability team.

On your return to University for your final year, you'll submit your Placement Portfolio, detailing your development on your placement.

This Psychology course is taught at our Newton Park campus. You'll have access to a wide range of excellent facilities including:

• Commons building
• Newton Park library
• Virtual Learning Environment.

Teaching resources include EBSCO (online access to over 400 Psychology-related journals), statistical computer software for analysing quantitative data and NVivo for qualitative data analysis. We also have a biopsychology lab where we make use of "biopac" equipment (computerised biological measures such as EEG) for practicals and project work as well as other shared and dedicated laboratory spaces for research.