Course overview

Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour. It is concerned with understanding the thoughts, feelings and motivations that underpin behaviour.

The nature of psychology makes it a wide-ranging discipline encompassing a variety of stimulating and exciting areas of study. Studying psychology at Portsmouth will allow you to undertake a broad-based approach to core aspects of psychological theory and research in the first two years, followed by an opportunity to develop more specialist areas of knowledge and undertake a large scale research project of your own choosing in the final year. The degree is a full-time, three-year course or can also be studied on a part-time basis, spread over six years.

Our BSc (Hons) Psychology degree is designed to provide a thorough grounding in all the fundamental areas considered essential by the British Psychological Society (BPS). It will also allow you to develop knowledge and interests in applied and more contemporary areas of the subject, as well as participate in a wide range of research activities.

The degree will prepare you for specific careers within psychology as well as providing you with knowledge and abilities that those who choose to follow other careers will also find invaluable. We will help you develop a range of skills as part of your studies that are highly valued by employers. These are designed to help you enter the world of work after you graduate and include important skills such as problem solving, communication, teamwork, information technology, numeracy, and the assessment of behaviour. You will also have the opportunity to gain work-related experience as part of your studies.

Course features

• Accredited by the British Psychological Society
• Long-established department and degree programme
• Excellent NSS ratings for our teaching and student support (National Student Survey, 2011)
• Personal tutorial system in all years with regular small group and one-to-one meetings with academic staff
• High quality research reputation
• Excellent research laboratory and computing facilities

Accreditation

Our degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), provided the minimum standard of a Second Class Honours degree is achieved. This is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.

Course content

At each level of the degree you will complete 120 credits of units, made up of 20-credit or 40-credit units. The names of the units you will study are listed below. A summary of the course structure, which describes more about each unit, can also be found on the Department of Psychology website.

Year one

In this year you will study six 20-credit core units:

• Key Ideas in Human and Animal Behaviour
• The Psychology of Everyday Life
• Exploring Psychology
• Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis for Psychologists
• Applying Psychological Research Methods 1 and 2

Year two

In this year you will study six 20-credit core units:

• Biological and Cognitive Psychology
• Social and Developmental Psychology
• Individual Differences and Psychometrics
• Employability Skills for Psychologists
• Research Methods and Analysis 1 and 2

Year three

In this year you will complete the compulsory 40-credit Psychology Research Project and choose four from the 20-credit option units listed below:

• Introduction to Forensic Psychology
• Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology
• Professional Practice in Sports Psychology
• Language and Communication
• Cognitivist and Constructionist Approaches to Disability
• Issues in Clinical and Health Psychology
• Self and Subjectivity
• Exploring Data
• Psychology Work Placement

Teaching and assessment

Teaching takes place in lectures and in smaller tutorial groups. Throughout the course you are encouraged to think critically and analytically, and to use your initiative. A variety of assessment techniques are employed ranging from written examinations, practical reports and essays to poster presentations and oral presentations. The Department publishes its assessment criteria so that you know how your work will be evaluated.

We operate a personal tutorial system throughout the degree. In years one and two your tutorial group will meet regularly with your personal tutor and you will also have the opportunity for one-to-one tutorials. In the final year you will work closely with one member of staff on your research project.

All course units are evaluated by students, whose views are represented at the Student Staff Consultative Committee meetings. There are also student representatives on the course Board of Studies, which meets twice yearly. This all ensures that students’ views are heard and acted upon.

A high priority is placed on integrating the research activities of staff within the teaching programme, providing you with the opportunity to learn about many theoretical and practical issues of importance in forensic psychology today. The Department has around 35 academic staff (12 of whom are members of the ICRFP). All members of staff have timetabled hours when any student can come to see them for advice and guidance on any aspect of the course.

Career prospects

Studying for an honours degree in psychology fosters the development of a diversity of skills that prepares you not only to pursue postgraduate studies in psychology (which may lead to careers as professional psychologists), but also to enter a range of other employment areas.

Our psychology degrees are well received by a wide range of graduate employers because of their broad content, depth and coverage of a wide range of approaches, providing much sought-after work-relevant abilities. As well as subject-specific knowledge, you will develop skills in communication, numeracy, teamwork, critical thinking, computing and independent learning – all of which are valued by employers. Many of the subject-specific skills such as research design, methodology, data measurement and analysis also have direct application in professions outside of psychology.

Recent graduates from our courses have entered a wide variety of graduate careers including:

• teaching
• health associated professions
• social welfare
• police work
• research
• marketing
• personnel

Each year, around one in five of our students also go on to study further postgraduate qualifications such as an MA, MSc or PhD.So whatever career path appeals to you, you can choose between using the degree as the first step in your career as a professional psychologist or as a more general springboard to a wide range of people-oriented occupations.

Facilities and features

The Department of Psychology is situated in King Henry Building, which is part of the Faculty of Science. King Henry Building is adjacent to the city’s Guildhall Square in the heart of the main Guildhall Campus and close to one of the main railway stations.

The Department includes a range of purpose-built facilities including practical and project rooms, a student computing suite and several specialised laboratories.

As well as supporting staff and postgraduate research, our research facilities allow undergraduate students to gain experience in a wide range of contemporary psychological research techniques. Our students have access to all laboratories and the training and technical support to use them throughout their courses.

A high priority is placed on integrating the research activities of staff within the undergraduate teaching programme, providing students with an opportunity to learn about many theoretical and practical issues of importance in psychology today.

Our accommodation contains excellent research and teaching laboratories, including:

• Forensic Interviewing Suite
• Observation Suite
• Toddler Suite
• Infant Laboratory
• Psychophysiology Laboratory
• Human Movement Laboratory
• Digital Analysis and Video Editing Suite
• Psychology of Applied Cognition Laboratory
• Eye-tracking Laboratories
• Macaque Study Centre at Marwell Wildlife

Full details of all our laboratories and facilities can be found on the Psychology website.

The University Library

You will also have access to the University Library, which is located in Ravelin Park, a short walk from King Henry Building. It opens from 8am to midnight, seven days a week in term-time (with reduced hours during vacations). Over 600,000 volumes of printed material are supplemented by multimedia and electronic resources, and thousands of ebooks and online journals provide 24-hour support. All this ensures an extensive collection of psychology books, journals and abstracts.

There is an interlibrary loan facility for books and journal articles not held in the library and a special short loan collection of books and articles in heavy demand. A large suite of multimedia PCs with onsite technical support is housed on the ground floor of the library. The library also has an electronic bibliography for psychology called PsycInfo, which is an invaluable tool for searching for literature on any topic.

Computing, email and internet facilities

You will have high speed internet and email access from your student account. There are open access areas around the campus with over 450 student PCs, Apple Macs, state-of-the-art printing facilities, laptop working areas and group working spaces. Within King Henry Building there is a shared teaching space with 50 computers and printing facilities that becomes an open access area when not in use for lectures. The building also has numerous private cubicles with computing facilities that you can reserve and there is wireless internet access throughout the building. Halls of residence also offer voice and data services, with internet access.

Entry requirements

View all the entry requirements for BSc (Hons) Psychology for the academic year 2013/14 (opens in new window).