Psychology BSc (Hons)

About the course

The BSc Honours Psychology degree at the University of Hertfordshire has a reputation for academic excellence, practical value and intellectual rigour. The degree provides a grounding in all major areas of psychology and our graduates are widely recognised as being thoroughly prepared for employment or for entry into postgraduate research and professional training courses. Success is reflected by relatively high levels of employment for our graduates reported through monitoring of first destination statistics.

We offer exceptionally well equipped laboratories with excellent computing facilities. There is a friendly and supportive atmosphere along with a lively and stimulating intellectual approach to the subject. Our staff are actively engaged in significant research which is reflected by our excellent rating in the Higher Education Funding Council's recent Research Assessment Exercise. Our undergraduate students benefit from the active research environment. We also obtained a rating of excellent in a recent subject review. We have many students studying for Masters degrees in Occupational Psychology and Research Methods in Psychology. There is also a clinical doctorate within the School.

All of these factors contribute to an active, friendly and forward looking School of Psychology committed to both teaching and research and promoting both the subject of psychology and the development of our students.

View our BSc Psychology brochure online

Why choose this course?

• One of the largest psychology departments in the country
• Our Psychology degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society
• Our staff are actively engaged in significant research which is reflected by our excellent, Grade 4 rating in the Higher Education Funding Council's last Research Assessment Exercise.
• Well equipped laboratories with excellent computing facilities
• We were awarded a Teaching Quality rating of excellent (23 out of 24) in our subject review.

Study routes

• Part Time, 6 Years
• Full Time, 3 Years

Locations

• University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

Careers

Psychology graduates are highly sought after by a wide range of employers, such as marketing, personnel, local government and retail, most of whom look for graduates with an extensive set of transferable skills. A degree in psychology opens up a wide range of career opportunities, not restricted to psychology, and graduates are highly employable.

Typical jobs include Manageress, Team Leader, Support Worker, Project Coordinator, Victim Contact Officer, Research Assistant, Probation Services Officer, Therapist Autistic Children

Employers: BUPA, Probation Service, Work with Families, Excel, Victim Support Team, North Herts Partnership, Sony, Autism West Midlands

Teaching methods

Formal lectures tend to form the core of most modules. Lecture notes for modules will be available on StudyNet, often alongside links to other web based learning resources. A fundamental part of psychology learning is the acquisition of practical laboratory skills. Students attend laboratory sessions each week in smaller groups, where they learn to plan, carry out and report on practical investigations of psychological processes. Courses in statistics, which needed to analyse the data from investigations, are supported by practical paper based and computer exercises. Each student has their own personal tutor with whom they meet in small groups on a regular basis.

Work Placement

Students have the opportunity to undertake an optional four-week work placement during the second year of their studies between the second and final years of the degree programme. A reflective report of the work placement can contribute to the final year assessment. This is a good opportunity for students to obtain experience in their chosen setting and sometimes leads to future job opportunities.

Professional Accreditations

This programme is accredited by the British Psychological Society as conferring eligibility for Graduate Membership of the Society with the Graduate Basis for Registration, provided the minimum standard of qualification of second class honours is achieved. This is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.

Structure

Year 1

Core Modules

• Brain & Behaviour

  This course will introduce the beginner to the terms and ideas necessary to understand biological psychology. The course will give an appreciation of how neurons and brains work, and, to some extent, why and how, from a biological point of view, we and other animals behave as we do. In addition, the course will consider what psychologists may learn from the effects of brain damage, for example following a stroke or in neurological/mental health disorders.

• Foundations of Social and Cognitive Psychology

  This module introduces students to: a. theory and research that seeks to understand the way in which individual attitudes and behaviours may be influenced by other people with particular reference to a contemporary issue; b. theory and research that seeks to explain the way in which individuals learn, store and use knowledge to make sense of everyday experiences and how understanding of these processes can enable others to manipulate individual attitudes and reactions.

• Introductory Developmental and Language Psychology

  The greatest changes in cognitive and social development arguably occur in childhood. This is therefore a period of particular interest in psychology. This module introduces students to topics in child development including language. Consideration will be given to research methods applicable to the research questions and to working with children. In addition, an applied area of interest (e.g. the classroom, interventions, health care, parenting, advertising) will be presented and discussed with a view to students learning how theory and research can be drawn on to explain and understand contemporary questions.

• Psychology in Action

  Practising psychologists will introduce students to potential careers in psychology and to selected topics within applied psychology. Issues surrounding the application of psychology in various fields such as clinical, health and occupational settings will be discussed. Students will also be given general advice by a careers specialist concerning the seeking and securing of employment.

• Research Methods for Psychologists 1

  The course aims to develop students' skills in formulating, executing, analysing and reporting the results of well-designed investigations of psychological phenomena. Investigations will be based on basic psychological theory, will employ a range of well-established and broadly applicable research methods, will require the skilled execution of practical techniques and will be analysed by means of appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical procedures. Students will be expected to master the theory of basic experimental design and the application of data analysis. Ethical considerations relevant to the conduct of investigations with human participants will be emphasised.

• Statistics for Psychologists 1

  The course aims to develop students' skills in analysing and reporting the results of investigations of psychological phenomena. Students will learn how to organise and analyse data by means of appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical procedures in order to address a psychological research question.

• The Academic Mind

  This module helps students to make the transition to undergraduate level study by providing direction and a chance to practice the skills that are essential to psychology graduates as well as transferrable skills that will equip them for more general employment.

Optional

Year 2

Core Modules

• Biological Psychology

  This course will further develop students' understanding of methods of enquiry and current knowledge in biological psychology paying particular attention to brain function, including the influence of genetic variables and chemical agents.

• Cognition

  This course will examine evidence, theory and applications relating to selected areas of current research interest in cognition. Topics such as knowledge representation, problem solving and psycholinguistics will be addressed.

• Developmental Psychology

  This course provides students with knowledge of research methods appropriate for investigating age-related change. Students will be introduced to age-related development in specific cognitive and social areas in both normal and exceptional populations and to the theories offered to explain such change. Where appropriate, the application of research findings to applied settings will be explored.

• Psychological Research

  The module will have two components. It will further develop the conceptual and practical skills necessary for identifying, summarising and evaluating key debates and arguments in psychology in both oral and written form. Students will participate in small group tutorial discussions and will be given individual feedback on their essay writing by their tutor. In addition, small groups of students working under the supervision of a member of the academic staff, will design, prepare and execute an empirical investigation, the results of which will be displayed and defended in a poster presentation.

• Research Methods for Psychologists 2

  The course will develop the conceptual and practical skills needed to perform empirical investigations in psychology, using both quantitative and qualitative methodology. Students will learn the theory underlying different investigative designs and paradigms as well as conduct, analyse and report both qualitative and quantitative investigations.

• Statistics for Psychologists 2

  The course will develop the conceptual and practical skills needed to handle data from empirical investigations in psychology. Students will learn the relationship between underlying investigative designs and the selection of appropriate methods for testing research hypotheses. Knowledge and understanding of a range of advanced statistical methods is taught to enable students to select and undertake appropriate descriptive and inferential analyses of data.

Optional

• Contemporary Social Psychology

  The course will introduce students to a variety of recent theoretical developments in Social Psychology and how these may be relevant in various applied settings. Topic areas to be studied will typically include prejudice, stereotype suppression, the effects of culture on the perception of self and others, terror management theory, evolutionary approaches in social psychology, motivated reasoning, reconciliation, tyranny.

• Cyberpsychology

  The course will introduce students to a variety of recent theoretical developments in Cyberpsychology and how these may be relevant in various applied settings. Topic areas to be studied will typically include online behaviour, (e.g. consumer, gambling, addiction), online education and health, online impression formation, social-networking, online relationships, online security, cyber-ethics, general principles of human computer interaction.

• Nonverbal Behaviour

  This module examines the nonverbal behaviour of individuals (including facial expression, eye gaze, posture) with a focus on hand gestures. Over the course of this module, students will gain insight into the social, cognitive and developmental aspects of gestures and understand the wider, real world implications of nonverbal behaviour. Specific topics include: the formation and interpretation of facial expressions, the communicative and cognitive functions of gestures, the role of gestures in development and the implications of nonverbal psychology in the real world. Students will be asked to review and critically evaluate current published research in this area.

• Psychology of Performing Arts

  The content will include: The psychology of magic, humour and charisma, theatre and human expression, social facilitation, the psychology of role preparation, delivery and role-play, the psychology of memory and language in the theatre and the therapeutic use of drama and dance.

• Schools of Psychotherapy

  The module begins with an overview of the theories in psychology, over the last century triggering multidimensional discussion of the practical constraints in which psychotherapy takes place. It discusses major schools of psychology and psychotherapies and their founders. Various methods of psychotherapies are explored. Clinical methods and weaknesses of interviews are considered, as are ways to improve clinical assessment's validity. The design and use of clinical interview is covered, as are psychometric measures (ability and personality). Students are made aware of legal and broader clinical issues relevant to psychotherapy practice. Evaluation of psychotherapy's procedures is also addressed. The module will also focus on practical, methodological and ethical issues that are likely to affect the efficiency of psychotherapy in the different clinical workplaces.

• Understanding Individuals: Personal Construct Psychology

  This module introduces the student to Personal Construct Psychology ("PCP"). PCP is a particular psychology based on George Kelly's personal construct theory. PCP offers a means of understanding both the behaviour of other people and one's own behaviour. PCP has a wide range of applications in both clinical and non-clinical settings and because it is rarely considered in any detail within undergraduate degrees in Psychology, this module offers students an unusual opportunity to discover an alternative way of thinking about how to make sense of why people behave in the ways they do and how attempts at behaviour change might be undertaken,. Practical methods of applying PCP will be taught in the module.

Year 3

Core Modules

• People and Society

  The course will extend students' knowledge and understanding of principles, processes and applications in social psychology, focusing on how variables of the social context affect both the cognitive processes and behaviour of individuals and social relations within and between groups. Topics to be studied are likely to include social perception (including prejudice), causal attribution, interpersonal attraction and relationships, group performance, inter-group conflict and social constructionism.

• Personality: Past and Present Debates

  This module introduces students to a critical analysis of personality theory and measurement, with particular reference to historical background and conceptual debates. Approaches typically included are: - Psychodynamic - Humanistic - Trait - Biological - Interactionism

• Psychology Placement

  This course provides students with the experience of, and the opportunity to, critically evaluate the application and relevance of psychology in a 'real-world' setting. Students will gain experience of employment and have the opportunity to see how they may capitalise upon skills and knowledge acquired as part of the degree.

• Psychology Project

  The project is a substantial piece of independent empirical research drawing on the methodolgy and concerns of the discipline of Psychology. It is only appropriate for students with suitable advanced background knowledge and skills.

Optional

• Advanced Topics in Memory

  This module examines contemporary research into the structures and representations of memory and the roles of memory in broader cognitive functions. Laboratory and naturalistic approaches will be compared. Specific topics may include working memory, autobiographical memory, prospective memory. Students will be asked to review and evaluate current published research.

• Advanced Topics in Thinking

  This module presents and examines recent research into how knowledge of things in the world may be organised and how basic mental abilities such as the evaluation of similarity and difference may affect a number of cognitive processes. Students will be asked to review and evaluate current published research in these areas.

• Brain Disorders

  This course will consider the biological mechanisms of brain disorders and how this knowledge has, or may, lead to the development of treatments. The focus will be on recent advances as revealed by current research. The challenges of translating fundamental research on the brain into treatments will be considered, including the use of animal models and clinical trials. Students will study a range of brain disorders, including researching selected topics in some depth for specific coursework tasks, considering the biological mechanisms and consequent behavioural outcomes. Topics may include, for example, a selection from Parkinson s, Alzheimer s and Huntington s diseases, schizophrenia and major affective disorders, stroke and drug addiction. Topics may be general themes relevant to several disorders, for example the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors in brain disease.

• Cognitive Neuropsychology

  This course attempts to show how a variety of disorders of perception, language and memory can provide a critical sourse of evidence through which to understand normal cognitive function. The course will focus on current models of cognition, through the relationship between cognitive function and neuropsychological systems will also be considered. The aim of the course is to provide students with a thorough grounding in understanding higher mental processes .

• Development and Self

  This course examines research on how cultural events contribute to the development of the self. In particular, it focuses on the nature of the relationship between bodies, intersubjectivity, language and our grasp of who we are. The interaction between learning to talk and using language for planning and moral judgements will also be covered. In reviewing this evidence, we will examine research from within the domains of first (child) language learning, cognitive science, anthropology, developmental science and the study of language impairment.

• Health Psychology

  Health psychology is the practice and application of psychological research into: the promotion and maintenance of health; prevention and treatment of illness; the analysis and improvement of the health care system and health policy formation. This module introduces some of the key theories and principles of health psychology in relation to the maintenance of health, the adoption of healthy behaviours as well as the development of, recovery from and adaptation to illness. In particular the emphasis will be on health in its broadest sense, i.e. a state of social, physical and mental well-being, rather than simply the absence of illness.

• Occupational and Work Psychology

  This module will provide an introduction to some of the key topics relating to people’s behaviour in the workplace. Topics will include stress; relationships in the workplace; error and accidents; leadership; and career development as well as other relevant aspects of organisational behaviour.

• Topics in Forensic and Criminal Psychology

  Forensic Psychology concerns the application of psychological theory and principles to the understanding of crime, crime control and the legal process. This module is designed to equip students with an overview of current psychological theory as applied to forensic topics. Particular attention will be paid to the psychology of judicial proceedings, eyewitness testimony, false allegations, offender profiling/investigation the causes of offending behaviour and methods of tackling crime and offender behaviour. In addition, students will examine the role the media plays in the construction of ideas about crime, fear of crime and policy in relation to crime.

• Topics in Psychopathology

  The course addresses substantive and methodological issues relating to mental illness from a cognitive perspective.

Fees & funding

Fees 2013

UK/EU Students

Full time: £8,500 for the 2013 academic year

International Students

Discounts are available for International students if payment is made in full at registration

View detailed information about tuition fees

Scholarships

• National Scholarship Programme

Find out more about scholarships for UK/EU and international students

Other financial support

Find out more about other financial support available to UK and EU students

Living costs / accommodation

The University of Hertfordshire offers a great choice of student accommodation, on campus or nearby in the local area, to suit every student budget.

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How to apply