BSc (Hons)
Psychology
Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS)
Course Overview
Why take this course?
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour. It is concerned with understanding the thoughts, feelings and motivations that underpin behaviour.
Our high quality research reputation, cutting edge laboratory and computing facilities, and our research active academics, makes us the ideal place to study psychology.
What will I experience?
On this course you can:
- Integrate your learning with the current research activities of staff
- Monitor the behaviour of infants and toddlers in our labs housing purpose built ‘double video’ equipment
- Put your investigative techniques to the text is our Forensic Interviewing Lab
What opportunities might it lead to?
Our course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) which provides eligibility for graduate membership of the BPS and the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership – the first step towards becoming a chartered psychologist.
However, studying psychology fosters the development of a diversity of skills that prepares you to also enter a range of other employment areas.
Here are some routes our graduates have pursued:
- teaching
- health associated professions
- social welfare
- police work
- research
- marketing
I like that the lecturers are not afraid to introduce to you controversial debates and ideas which deepen your knowledge and understanding of key ideas.
Amelia Woodard, BSc (Hons) Psychology student 2013
Key Facts
- UCAS Course Code:
- C800
- Duration
- 3 years full time, 4 years sandwich with work placement, 6 years part time
- Entry
300 points from 3 A levels or equivalent, with 100 points from a science subject (biology, chemistry, geography, physics, mathematics, psychology or statistics).
Other qualifications- Fees
UK/EU/Channel Islands and Isle of Man full-time students: £8,750 p/a*
UK/EU/Channel Islands and Isle of Man part-time students: £3,000 p/a*
International full-time students: £11,900 p/a*
International part-time students: £5,950 p/a*
*Please note that all fees are subject to annual increase.- Contact
- sci.admissions@port.ac.uk
+44 (0)23 9284 5550 - Department
- Department of Psychology
Subject:
Psychology
Find out what our students say about studying at Portsmouth, including:
- The practical work that backs up the theoretical study
- The ability to take part in cutting-edge research
- Friendly lecturers who have worked in the field
Visit us at our open day
Wed 10 Jul
Structure & Teaching
Year one
In the first year you take a broad-based approach to core aspects of psychological theory and research.
Core units in this year include:
- 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
You will continue to build on your knowledge, including a greater in-depth approach to the different psychological disciplines.
Core units in this year include:
- 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 the final year you can begin to develop more specialist areas of knowledge and undertake a large scale research project of your choosing.
Options to choose from in this year include:
- 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
You will be taught by academics at the cutting edge of their subject. We strive to keep a close link between research and teaching, and aim to keep your learning experience stimulating through a blend of lectures, small focused seminars, one-to-one tutorials, alongside practical research and experiments.
How are you assessed?
We operate a range of assessment techniques and publish the assessment criteria so you know how your work will be evaluated. Here’s how we assess your work:
- written examinations
- practical reports and essays
- poster presentations
- oral presentations
- self-led research project
Tutor's view
Professor Vasudevi Reddy
Psychology
The course deals with current theoretical issues and recent empirical findings with relevance for everyday life. You will be taught by staff who are actively engaged in research in these areas.
Visit us open day
Facilities & Features
Laboratories
Carry out your own investigations
Forensic Interviewing Suite
Use state-of-the-art audio and video-recording facilities
University Library
Modern, comfortable and a great learning environment
Laboratories
You will benefit from our range of modern, high quality facilities. Monitor behaviour using our eye-tracking equipment or test minority influencing scenarios in our Observation Suite. Other labs include:
- Toddler and Infant Laboratory
- Psychophysiology Laboratory
- Digital Analysis and Video Editing Suite
- Psychology of Applied Cognition Laboratory
Forensic Interviewing Suite
Train in the art of forensic interviewing. Use the suite’s state-of-the-art audio and video-recording facilities to uncover your subjects bluff. Or detect deception using our thermal imaging cameras, specifically looking for the blush reflex around the eyes, cheeks and neck.
University Library
Modern, comfortable and a great learning environment, our library offers a wealth of information including 400,000 books, DVDs, maps and thousands of online ejournals and newspapers. Many electronic resources are available anywhere, 24/7 and our friendly staff are always on hand to help.
We went to visit Marwell Zoo as part of the Animal Behaviour unit, which involved analysing the behaviour of rats.
Elizabeth Onanuga, BSc (Hons) Psychology student 2013
Careers & Opportunities
Career prospects
If you want to become an accredited psychologist, you will need to enrol on a postgraduate course to continue your studies. However, by this point you will have a better idea of which area of psychology you wish to specialise in such as development, occupational, counselling, educational, forensic, health, or sport and exercise.
This course serves as an excellent starting point for many other graduate career paths. You will become excellent at teamwork, communication, problem solving, self-motivation and time management, which are skills highly desirable to employers in a vast range of sectors.
Roles our graduates have taken on include:
- clinical psychologist
- forensic psychologist
- educational psychologist
- counsellor
- health planning analyst
Career planning
Finding a job is a competitive business, but the statistics show that 89 per cent of our 2011graduates went into employment, further study or training within six months of finishing their degrees.
To make sure you take the right steps on your career path, we’re here to give you help, support and advice throughout your study. Even after you’ve graduated, we continue to give you support for up to five years.
Employers tell us that they want graduates to be able to demonstrate certain skills when they come out of university. Our courses take account of this. We make sure we prepare you for employment through work-related learning, projects, placements and working in simulated environments that are designed to prepare you for the working world.
Open Day
Our next open day is Wed 10 July
VISIT US! Have a look around and get a feel for what it’s like to live and study here. We’ll be on hand to talk to you about your course interests and show you all of our amazing facilities. You’ll also get to meet tutors and other students…
Application, Fees and Funding — find out more