Psychology (Undergraduate)

PSYCHOLOGY

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PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology is one of the most fascinating, challenging, inspiring and useful subjects you can study. Whether you study Psychology on its own, or combine it with another area like Criminology, or Child Development, you’ll get extraordinary insights into the way people across the world think and behave.

Studying Psychology is an invitation to look into the essence of what makes us all tick, and so gives you the perfect foundation for working with others in the future. A Psychology degree also equips you with a wide range of other essential skills: you’ll be comfortable with numbers and statistics, able to work with different technologies, to solve problems and use your initiative. With so many of these attributes being highly valued by employers, a Psychology degree is a great investment for your future career.

Judy David Academic Group Leader

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Your first step on this journey into the human condition is to say hello to us! We’re a friendly Department, with cutting edge facilities, so come and let us give you a tour and show you why we think Psychology is the right choice for you.

THE PSYCHOLOGY ACADEMICS ARE STILL CONTRIBUTING IN THEIR FIELD OF EXPERTISE, SO THEY ARE CONSTANTLY UP TO DATE WITH INFORMATION. Alexandra Morley-Hewitt BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling

CONTENTS:

BSc (Hons) Forensic Psychology UCAS code: C890

BSc (Hons) Psychology

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UCAS code: C800

BSc (Hons) Psychology and Child Development UCAS code: C891

BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling UCAS code: CB89

BSc (Hons) Psychology and Criminology UCAS code: CMV1

Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate

t: 01782 294400

Introduction Key Facts Why Staffs?

Our Brilliant People A Better Campus Choose More Open Days Application Process

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HERE ARE JUST A FEW REASONS WHY WE BELIEVE YOU SHOULD STUDY WITH US. TO REALLY FIND OUT IF WE’RE RIGHT FOR YOU, PLEASE COME ALONG TO ONE OF OUR OPEN DAYS. WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU.

KEY FACTS HIGHLY RANKED

We’re one of the Top 10 Psychology Departments at ‘new’ (post-1992) universities in the UK (2016 Guardian University Guide).

TOP MARKS FROM OUR STUDENTS

Student satisfaction with our degrees is always high, and our BSc (Hons) Psychology award received 98% in the 2015 National Student Survey (putting us in the top 5 of all UK Universities for Psychology).

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CUTTING-EDGE FACILITIES

Our home in the £30 million Science Centre means we have some of the best resources around. Our suite of labs is packed with state-of-the-art equipment, from an observation room with two-way mirror and cameras, to a cognitive lab with eyetrackers and specialist software.

INSPIRED TEACHING

Our hands-on approach to teaching involves plenty of active learning to inspire you to achieve your full potential. All our lecturers are highly qualified and bring a wealth of experience to share with you.

EXPERT STAFF HIGH ACHIEVERS

Our students get great results. In fact, in 2015 70% of them achieve a First Class or 2:1 Honours degree with us.

We are able to offer a range of degrees due to the wide range of specialist professional expertise on offer. Some of our lecturers have a background in Forensics and Criminology, others have influenced policy-making at Government level, or work as professional counsellors.

REAL-WORLD RESEARCH

You’ll learn a lot more than just theory - our Psychology team are active in meaningful, applied and influential research, 100% of which has been classified as having worldleading impact in its originality, significance and rigour.

AWARD-WINNING TECHNICAL SUPPORT Our dedicated and enthusiastic technical support staff are here to help you with all aspects of your study. In fact they’re so good, Paul Gallimore, one of our Technical Support Officers, was awarded the Higher Education Academy (HEA) Psychology Technician of the Year Award in 2014.

GETTING YOU OUT THERE

We’ve designed our degree courses so that they are interesting, challenging and a great preparation for the real-world. Each one has specialist modules as well a range of applied options for you to choose from, and you can even choose to do some work experience as part of your course, such as working as a research assistant or intern.

GRADUATE SUCCESSES

Our graduates go on to work in a wide range of careers, with many achieving success in areas such as management and leadership, training, the prison service, health and social care settings, research and teaching, and psychologist positions.

FRIENDLY, SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT

We offer a famously friendly and supportive study environment. Our approachable lecturers are always on hand to help and advise you throughout your studies and our personal tutorial system means you have all the support you need when you need it.

Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate

t: 01782 294400

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WHY STAFFS? WE’RE RECOGNISED BY THE BPS A VIBRANT COMMUNITY The quality of our Psychology degrees is well known. We’re accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), which is the first step towards helping you become a Chartered Psychologist in the future. The BPS uses a process of accreditation through partnership, to make sure that high standards are met on all our courses and training programmes on an ongoing basis.

TEACHING WITH PASSION The passion our lecturers feel for their subject is infectious, and you’ll directly benefit from their enthusiasm and pride. We want to enthuse you – and care about making your experience at university first-rate. Our lecturers also have diverse links with the world of work, including local health organisations and NHS Trusts, so our degree courses include lots of opportunities for work experience.

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It’s not all about all about learning in the classroom. You can join us for a drink in our Psychology in the Pub series, come along or help out at our ‘Weird and Wonderful Psychology’ community event, present your own research findings at our student conference and come and hear from our invited guest experts at our regular Research Seminar series.

Many of our students also become student advocates for our courses.

FANTASTIC FACILITIES Our bespoke facilities have been designed for you, and are only used by you, and the technology inside our labs is state-of-the-art.

The Human Sciences Suite is connected via digital communication panels for remote data acquisition and observation. You’ll also get to try out the 32 channel Neuroscan EEG system in our

Electroencephalographic (EEG) Laboratory, and the nerve stimulation unit in our Pain Laboratory (it’s not as scary as it sounds!)

We also have a range of Cardiovascular testing machines, and all kinds of diagnostic equipment for Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory.

There’s also a play room for observing children, a Counselling room that has cubicles with live broadcast/recording facilities, and for cognitive projects we have suites with eye-tracking machines and specialist software and hardware.

RESEARCH We are active in lots of research and enterprise, so your lectures, workshops and practical sessions will be informed by the latest theory and applied to real-world settings. In fact, there’ll be lots of opportunities for you to get involved in the work we do.

AFTER YOUR DEGREE A Psychology degree gives you lots of career options in both arts and scientific fields, depending on what you are most interested in. From mental health roles to paediatric social work and criminal or parole based work - the choices and opportunities are truly vast.

The different transferable skills you’ll gain will appeal to a wide range of employers, as giving you the widespread recognition of psychological and analytical expertise.

And if you choose to explore further training, such as postgraduate study, all kinds of new career areas will become available to you. As a Chartered Psychologist your work could span Clinical, Educational, Occupational, Forensic, Counselling and Sport and Exercise Psychology.

Of course, Psychology graduates go into a whole range of careers, from human resources and market research to public relations, retail management, academia, research and teaching. Because the scope of our teaching is so broad, the career options are too. And you’ll receive lots of assistance within the department to find the direction that’s right for you.

HOW YOU’LL LEARN We want you to be responsible, reflective and progressive in the way you learn. So our teaching methods encourage you to gradually become more evaluative and more independent, with modules designed to build on previous subjects and skills from term to term. And because not all people learn in the same way, we use a range of different methods including group work, individual work, lectures, tutorials, laboratory classes and workshops. At each level, we combine more innovative methods such as problem based learning with more traditional methods (eg. lectures), to give you the broadest learning experience possible.

Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate

t: 01782 294400

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OUR BRILLIANT PEOPLE

I can honestly say that my time at Staffordshire University as an Undergraduate was both amazing and challenging from beginning to end. Throughout the course I changed and grew exponentially both personally and professionally. My confidence grew in every aspect; academic writing, computer literacy, hypotheses formation and testing, effective teamwork skills and public speaking. Through a combination of hard work and determination and the support and encouragement that I received from the fantastic members of staff, I accomplished my academic objective. Selecting Staffs was the best decision I have ever made, and I’m proud to be a part of Team Staffs Jenny Parfitt-Bowman, BSc (Hons) Psychology Now working towards PhD in Psychology

I immediately felt drawn towards enrolling at Staffordshire University from the first time I visited, as part of their Open Day. Everyone my parents and I met that day were friendly and informative, which helped to reassure us about my decision to attend this university.

During my time there I liked the feel of the campus easy-going and laid back. I felt that all of the facilities were to the highest standards and staff were extremely approachable, knowledgeable and supportive. If I had any queries related to my work I felt more than able to just email or drop in to see them, without feeling as though I was inconveniencing them. The teaching was always up to date and current in terms of what was happening in the worlds of psychology and criminology, rather than being dated material.

After I finished my degree I secured myself employment at H.M.P Service in Oxfordshire. The role that I am currently in now, involves me delivering programmes that aim to reduce re-offending and rehabilitate prisoners. Undoubtedly the degree that I completed at Staffordshire University has enabled me to apply for and successfully be accepted into the psychology based roles that I have undertaken within the prison service.

The quality of the teaching is very strong and the course undoubtedly provides an excellent platform for you to enter into employment in this field should you wish to.

Laura Maddocks, BSc (Hons) Psychology and Criminology, Currently working within HM Prison Service

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Paul Gallimore, has worked as a technician in the Psychology department for 14 years, and was named one of nine STEM technicians to be announced at the annual Higher Education Academy annual conference in 2014. He was recognised nationally for his contribution to supporting the student learning experience.

He was nominated by Academic Group Leader Judy David for his work as Technical Skills Specialist which has involved providing support and guidance to students in all aspects of experiment design and application and designing an online technical learning resource which consists of user guides and podcasts to help support technical training.

During the past few years Paul has been involved with the design, development, and operation of the psychology laboratories based within the new £30m Science Centre at Staffordshire University.

Paul said he was honoured and surprised to have received the award. He added: “These awards help to raise the profile of the work of technicians who put themselves out for the students and who are being more proactive within their departments.

“My aim is to get the psychology technology into the core teaching because if we can give students the practical skills that they can take with them and provide students with the means to design and run their own experiments then it may give them the edge in an interview or career situations.”

Paul Gallimore Technical Skills Specialist

Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate

t: 01782 294400

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A BETTER CAMPUS

AT STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY, WE’RE COMMITTED TO INVESTING IN YOUR FUTURE – LITERALLY. OVER A PERIOD OF 18 MONTHS, WE’RE SPENDING MILLIONS OF POUNDS ON OUR UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES, SO WHEN YOU JOIN US, YOU’LL BE COMING TO A PLACE WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO START OPENING DOORS AND BREAKING BOUNDARIES.

In recent years, our Stoke-on-Trent campus has undergone a massive transformation, with the students at the heart of our plans. From the amazing Science Centre to environmental improvements, we’re focused on building the best campus for our students.

But whilst it’s all well and good a university saying they care what students think, we’re putting our money where our mouth is.

This all stems from a decision to make Stoke-on-Trent the main campus of Staffordshire University. In 2016 the majority of students from our Stafford Computing and Technology courses will be

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moving to the Stoke-on-Trent campus. So we’re making sure that when you arrive, you enter a university that is fit for purpose. One with a great mix of study and social spaces. One that feels safe and thrives on the friendly reputation we’ve built.

What we found was that a modern edge-of-city campus is ideal. Close enough to the city for the social life, but far enough away to focus on studying. Great transport links around the city, but also great spaces around the campus.

The best of both worlds.

So, starting in Summer 2015, we’ll be working on the College Road and Leek Road sites of our Stoke Campus.

We’ll be creating great social spaces and easy access between the Students’ Union, venues and teaching rooms.

Bringing the best teaching facilities together with fantastic student areas – making it feel safe and easy to jump between your lectures and your life outside University.

As well as that, we’re also investing £12m in a new Computing and Games facility. This project, called Digital Kiln, will merge beautiful learning space with state-of-theart technology to support all sorts of courses from Cyber Security to Games Design.

This investment is continuing the work we’ve already started to create great social spaces and easy access between the Students’ Union, halls of residence, and other facilities. We’ve committed to doubling the investment that’s already started to create enhanced facilities. Come 2016, it’s going to have the buzz and the feel of the edge-of-city campus that students want.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Gunn Healthcare Centres of Excellence This redevelopment work isn’t just happening in Stoke-on-Trent though. Healthcare and Midwifery students won’t miss out with significant further investment in our Centres of Excellence in Stafford and Shrewsbury – adding new student spaces and learning resources to make these campuses totally self-contained and right up to date.

So, with all this to come, maybe it’s time you joined us at Staffordshire University?

Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate

t: 01782 294400

KEY FACTS WORK STARTS: SUMMER 2015 ADDITIONAL £40M INVESTMENT IN STOKE-ON-TRENT CAMPUS MULTI-MILLION POUND INVESTMENT IN STAFFORD CENTRE OF HEALTHCARE EXCELLENCE AND SHREWSBURY CENTRE OF HEALTHCARE EXCELLENCE COMPLETION DATE: AUTUMN 2016.

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CHOOSE

MORE AT STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY, WE WANT TO GIVE YOU AN EDGE OVER THE COMPETITION. WE WANT YOU TO TAKE AWAY SOMETHING EXTRA. SO WE MAKE SURE YOU’LL GET SOMETHING EXTRA WHEN YOU’RE HERE. A LOT EXTRA ACTUALLY. To help you open doors as well as your mind, we’re spending millions of pounds on our edge-of-city campus. When you’re here, you’ll be able to work with brilliant academics and access a whole load of cutting edge facilities; from animation studios to photography darkrooms to surface decoration workshops. Past students have gone on to exhibit at prestigious galleries, museums and festivals across the world.

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You can also get more back with grants, loans and bursaries to help fund your study whilst enjoying a cost of living ranked the third lowest in the UK.

MAKE MORE OF YOUR TIME HERE • Improve your skills with online training platform Lynda.com and access over 3,000 online tutorial videos • Want to get fit while you study? Take advantage of our special student rate gym memberships • Don’t just learn while you’re with us, earn. Take a job at the Students’ Union, become a paid Student Ambassador with Unitemps or turn working while you study upside down with a seasonal role at Alton Towers Resort • Then spend. We’re a hop, skip and a short walk from shops, boutiques, restaurants, bars and clubs • Catch the latest musicals, opera, drama at the Regent Theatre and Stafford Gatehouse

MORE WAYS TO STUDY YOUR WAY • Grants, loans and bursaries to help fund your study • More hands-on, real world learning, fewer lectures • Hit the books whenever you want - access to our 24- hour library • Get all the software you need including access to the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite and download Microsoft Office 365 on up to five devices for free • Professional guest lecturers - previous presentations included Microsoft, Marvel Comics and Epic Games

At Staffordshire University, you’re in the best place to do more, with City Centre shops, boutiques, restaurants, theatres, bars and clubs all just a short stroll away.

Plus, with student rate gym memberships and over 100 sports, clubs and societies to join – including skydiving, snow sports and our very own Beard Society – you can experience more too.

So, if you’re looking for a place that gives you exactly what you need to succeed (and more), then open the door and your mind to Staffordshire University.

A CAMPUS WITH MORE TO OFFER • We’ve spent and continue to spend millions of pounds on our edge-of-city campus • We’re a place literally in the middle of things with easy access to Manchester, Birmingham, London • Get your film fix at our on-campus Film Theatre • Take advantage of our brilliant and friendly Student Support team • Stay fit and well with our NHS Healthcare centre with two doctors • Enjoy a cost of living ranked third lowest in the UK

Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate

t: 01782 294400

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There’s only one real way to experience Staffordshire University, and that’s to come and see it for yourself.

University is where you’re due to spend the next few years of your life, so before you decide on somewhere, it makes sense to have a good look around.

That’s where an Open Day comes in. This is your opportunity to get to know the place. Test it out.

Immerse yourself in every aspect of Staffordshire University and see if it’s right for you.

We’ll give you the chance to see everything, from the Students’ Union and the library to the IT suites and our impressive sports facilities. We’ll also show you the halls of residence, so you can start planning exactly where to put your TV and laptop.

You’ll then meet our expert lecturers, see live demonstrations of lab and studio sessions, and delve deeper into your chosen subject with an informative talk.

Advice is available on managing your student finances and ways to fund your study, as well as tips on writing a strong personal statement to include in your application.

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Best of all, you’ll have time to speak with current students about their experiences of Staffordshire University – which means you can hear exactly what it’s like to be at the heart of things in the centre of the country. It’s the best way to get a real feel for life here.

Our Open Days give you an idea of everything Staffordshire University has to offer, so you’ll be ready to make one of the most important – and most exciting – decisions of your life.

LEARN MORE OR BOOK YOUR PLACE AT

www.staffs.ac.uk/opendays GO ONLINE TO WATCH OUR VIRTUAL TOURS

APPLICATION PROCESS NOT RECEIVED THE OFFER YOU WANTED?

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CLEARING

The UCAS clearing process gives students another opportunity to find a place.

MISSED THE UCAS DEADLINE?

Don’t worry, apply via UCAS until the end of June and if we have vacancies left on your course we’ll consider your application. We accept CLEARING applications from mid July.

Visit: www.staffs.ac.uk/clearing

Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate

t: 01782 294400

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For more detailed information on courses or studying at Staffordshire University, visit: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate

www.staffs.ac.uk/socialmedia The information in this guide is correct at time of publication, but may be subject to change.

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