Psychology

Psychology BSc (Hons)

This course equips you with an understanding of psychological theories and research about mind and behaviour, in line with current thinking and sector developments.

Overview

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and how it shapes and influences our behaviour. On this course, we explore human behaviour using sound scientific methodology – observation, measurement, and testing – to understand how and why people function in the way they do.

You’ll study core areas including biological, cognitive, developmental and social psychology, and you’ll cover personality and intelligence, research methods, and historical perspectives. You’ll have the option to complete a work experience placement where you’ll see academic theory applied in practice. We offer excellent facilities including dedicated computer laboratories with the latest analysis software, individual research cubicles, interview rooms, and an observation suite, all supported by our psychology technicians.

Studying a Psychology degree will equip you with a range of skills that are transferable and desired by employers including critical thinking, analysing data, communicating ideas (written, oral and visual), numerical reasoning skills, computer literacy, effective team work, project management, and being self-directed in meeting deadlines. These are the kinds of skills that make Psychology graduates attractive for employers, and competitive in the job market.

Gaining a professionally accredited psychology degree is an essential first step to a career as a psychologist or to move on to postgraduate study. An accredited Psychology degree allows you to access further training for specialist Psychology careers such as Clinical Psychology, Health Psychology, Educational Psychology and Forensic Psychology

Psychology graduates are valued across a range of fields and thrive in careers where an understanding of societal issues is key – in healthcare, criminal justice, education, social work, market research, social research, UX research, policy making, advertising and human resources. Graduates are also able to access graduate training schemes across various industries such as financial services, civil services etc.

Key features

  • Benefit from Education 2030, where a simplified ‘block learning’ timetable means you will study one subject at a time and have more time to engage with your learning, receive faster feedback and enjoy a better study-life balance.
  • Your programme will be delivered in teaching blocks, which means you predominantly focus on one 30 credit module at a time in your first and second year (apart from two 15 credit modules delivered in year 2).
  • We have experience delivering BPS accredited programmes, and our new block teaching design is undergoing accreditation. This ensures teaching remains relevant to the latest developments in the sector. Upon accreditation of our block teaching approach, you will be eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership with the BPS – the starting point of your career as a chartered psychologist – on successful completion of your degree (subject to achieving a minimum of 2:2).
  • The expertise of our staff spans across four main research clusters: Health Psychology, Cognition and Neuroscience, Psychology and Technology, and Self and Identity.
  • Employability is embedded in our course to reflect on and develop your skills, and you will be supported with learning how to prepare a job application.
  • In your final year, we have a dedicated Employability Skills and Psychology module where you will undertake a period of work experience and consider how psychological theory can be applied in a work environment
  • Graduate careers include healthcare, research, social work, marketing, police services, teaching and human resources.
  • Enrich your studies with an international experience through our DMU Global programme. Psychology students have recently explored the history of mental health and neuropsychology in Paris and cross-cultural factors within psychology in Kuala Lumpur.

 

  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: C800

Duration: Three years full-time

Start date: September 2023

Location: De Montfort University Leicester UK

Fees and funding: 

2023/24 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Additional costs: You may incur additional costs for this programme, including the cost of travelling to and from project/placement locations.

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: C800

Duration: Three years full-time

Start date: September 2023

Fees and funding:

2023/24 tuition fees for international students: £15,750

Find out more about available funding for international students.

Additional costs: You may incur additional costs for this programme, including the cost of travelling to and from project/placement locations.

I found out there is more than one way to see the world

Becka’s confidence rose as she discovered new people and perspectives – both on her doorstep and across the globe.

Entry criteria

GCSEs

  • Five GCSEs at grade 4 or above including English and Maths

Plus one of the following:

A levels

  • A minimum of 120 points from at least two A levels

T Levels

  • Merit

BTEC

  • BTEC National Diploma - Distinction/Distinction/Merit
  • BTEC Extended Diploma - Distinction/Distinction/Merit

 

Alternative qualifications include:

  • Pass in the QAA accredited Access to HE overall 120 UCAS tariff  with at least 30 L3 credits at Merit.
  • English GCSE required as separate qualification. Equivalency not accepted within the Access qualification. We will normally require students to have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course. 
  • International Baccalaureate: 30+ points

Interview: No

Work experience: No

Personal statement selection criteria

  • Clear communication skills, including good grammar and spelling
  • Information relevant to the course applied for
  • Interest in the course demonstrated with explanation and evidence

 

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.5 overall is essential.

English Language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Please note, direct entry onto Year 3 of this course is not available.

 

Structure and assessment

Education 2030

We want to ensure you have the best learning experience possible and a supportive and nurturing learning community. That’s why we’re introducing a new block model for delivering the majority of our courses, known as Education 2030. This means a more simplified timetable where you will study one subject at a time instead of several at once. You will have more time to engage with your learning and get to know the teaching team and course mates. You will receive faster feedback through more regular assessment, and have a better study-life balance to enjoy other important aspects of university life.

Read more about Education 2030
 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

Academic expertise and accreditation

 

 

First Year

  • Professional Skills for Psychologists
  • Core Areas and Research Methods 1
  • Applied Psychology
  • Core Areas and Research Methods 2

Second Year

  • Mind, Brain and Behaviour
  • Psychology across the Lifespan
  • Psychology and Mental Health
  • Psychology of Social Problems
  • Personality and Social Psychology

Third Year

Core modules:

  • Psychology Project
  • Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology
  • Employability Skills and Psychology

Optional modules:

  • Criminological and Forensic Psychology
  • Counselling Psychology
  • Cognitive Neuropsychology
  • Work Psychology
  • Psychology of Health and Illness
  • Wellbeing and Positive Psychology
  • Psychology of Eating Behaviour
  • Psychology and Education
  • Cyberpsychology
  • Perception
  • Clinical Psychology: Theory and Practice
  • Introduction to data science for psychologists
  • Data Science with R
  • Human Sexual and Reproductive Behaviours
  • Loss, Grief and Bereavement: Cultural, Social, and Therapeutic Perspectives
  • Psychology of Addiction
  • Psychology of Human Rights, Activism and Social Justice
  • Psychology and Culture: Global Issues and International Perspectives

Our block teaching approach has been designed to be inclusive in order to make learning and teaching accessible to all. It has been designed using the Universal Design for Learning principles, which means there is a lot of variety in teaching, learning and assessment.

Teaching will be in the form of:

  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Workshops
  • Tutorials

Lectures are primarily presentation-based. Some lectures may have only 10-20 students whereas others may have up to 100-300 students.  Seminars and workshops typically involve more interactive or practical exercises and demonstrations and commonly have around 10-20 students. Tutorials may be one-to-one or to small groups. In addition to timetabled teaching you are expected to engage in approximately 20-25 hours of self-directed study, including library research, group work and report or essay writing.

Assessment combines various methods including:

  • Essays
  • Written exams
  • Multiple choice exams
  • Presentations
  • Podcasts
  • Portfolios
  • Critical reviews

We also utilise more innovative methods such as portfolios, podcasts, blogs, and grant applications. In your final year you will also complete an 6,000-8,000 word dissertation.

Teaching contact hours

Contact hours in a typical week will depend on your year of study and the optional modules chosen. However, typically you will have between 7-12 contact hours of teaching per week. As an example, within the second year of your studies you might typically have:

Personal tutorial/small group teaching: approx. 1-2 hours of tutorials per block, and as per request

Medium group teaching: approx. 4-5 hours of practical classes, workshops or seminars each week

Large group teaching: approx. 3-5 hours of lectures each week

Personal study: approx. 20-25 hours each week

Teaching across the programme is informed by the research interests and expertise of our staff group.  Four key research clusters exist within the division: Health Psychology, Cognition and Neuroscience, Self and Identity and Psychology and Technology.  Staff members have diverse research interests including areas such as decision making, language, vision, eating behaviours, reproduction, identity processes, cybersecurity and cybercrime.  

Accreditation

Upon accreditation, the course will confer eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society, provided the minimum standard of a second class honours is achieved. This is the first step towards becoming a chartered psychologist.

Facilities and features

Psychology students have access to a range of software for learning about research methodology, conducting studies and analysing data. For example, students have access to Psychopy which they can use for programming experiments.
Our Observational Suites are used in studies whereby the researcher observes participant behaviours in a non-intrusive way. Students can access the suite as part of their learning and for projects.
An EEG is composed of a number of small sensors that are used to record electrical signals in the brain. This equipment is located in our EEG lab, and can be used as part of cognitive research to capture how the brain responds to specific stimuli.
In this image, the participant (far right of the screen) is connected to an eye tracker as part of an experiment, while the researcher is accessing the responses. Eye trackers are used to capture eye movements, and have many applications in psychology (e.g. visual attention, behaviour and cognition). Students can access these in our Eye Tracker Suite.

 

Click on an image to learn more.

Facilities

We have dedicated lab space for Psychology students located in the Portland and Hawthorn buildings. This includes four computer labs, an EEG Lab, Cognitive Suite, Eyetracker Suite, Observation Suite, 12research cubicles and 3 research rooms. The 12 research cubicles are set up with Learning Space technology which allows sessions to be recorded for research purposes.

Our lab spaces are equipped with a wide range of technology and software including EEG, 

BioSemi Powerlabs, Tobii Eyetracker, SR Research Eyetracker and VR headsets which can be used to enhance the quality of research. We have dedicated Psychology Technicians who provide support for students with using this equipment and software for their research. 

Library and learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available. 

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose. 

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including Blackboard, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub. 

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Works
CCJ Graduate

Placements

As part of this course you will have the opportunity to complete a self-sourced work experience placement, which helps you apply your knowledge of academic theory to practical applications. Students are encouraged to source opportunities in line with their own career ambitions from different schemes and providers both inside and outside of the university.

Our careers programme DMU Works can help you secure a placement through activities such as mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and you will be assigned a personal tutor to support you throughout your placement. 

CCJ Policing Graduate

Graduate Careers

Graduates from this course gain a range of transferable skills desired by employers including critical thinking, communication skills, project management and data analysis, Graduates have gone on to work in a variety of roles across a range of well-respected industries including police services, teaching, social work, human resources, healthcare, research, and advertising.

Psychology graduate Kemi Agboke is now working as an Assistant Psychologist, conducting psychological assessments to help diagnose people with autism, dyslexia and ADHD.

Her role also allows Kemi to conduct research and work on topics that interest her, such as dream analysis, as well as day-to-day admin work to make life easier for the consultancy’s psychologists.

Many of our graduates progress into further postgraduate study, including courses such as Health Psychology MSc and Psychological Well-being MSc.

DMU Global

DMU Global

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world. Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

Students on this course have undertaken DMU Global trips to places such as Paris, where they explored the history of mental health and neuropsychology, and New York, which provided opportunities to consider inequality and segregation in the city. Students have travelled to Berlin to help support and assist refugees.

 

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