Psychology with Integrated Foundation Year BSc (Hons)

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This is a four-year version of our popular BSc (Hons) Psychology course, with an integrated foundation year. Learn a comprehensive and integrated approach to examining the brain and human behaviour. Study a wide range of phenomena. Develop transferable skills you can use in any context.

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Overview

As well as examining the five core areas of psychology as specified by the British Psychological Society (BPS), our content is also underpinned by the unifying meta theory of evolution. This is important to help you understand human thoughts and behaviours.

This approach allows learning that is applicable and relatable to matters that concern you and your future career. Pursue your interests in your final year by choosing modules such as mental health and illness, addiction and clinical neuropsychology.

Why us?

We are a University that is nationally recognised for supporting learners particularly from non-traditional backgrounds and many students come to us with no formal qualifications but with valuable work experience
Accreditation by the British Psychological Society (BPS), which means when you graduate with a 2:2 or above, you have Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership to the BPS which is an essential step for any career in psychology
Our Psychology courses are 1st in the north-east for teaching quality (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024)

The School of Psychology was awarded an Athena Swan Bronze Award in 2021, in recognition of its commitment to supporting and transforming gender equality
We integrate equality and diversity throughout the course using diverse assessment methods, with a focus on assessment for learning with modules including Male Psychology and Development and Neurodiversity

Course structure

Teaching methods include a mixture of large and small lectures, seminars and workshops, one-to-one and group tutorials. Students will have personal development sessions with academic staff to help with your studies and developing your employability skills.

We encourage you to develop independent study skills through problem-based learning. Tailor your employability skill development by choosing your own bespoke options from a catalogue of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses.

As well as assessments that count towards your degree, there are also on-going assessments for feedback and consolidating your learning. Assessment methods include essays, scientific reports, presentations, multimedia web pages, expert witness reports, writing formulations, case studies, exams, portfolios, online quizzes, academic posters, patchwork text, an exhibition, an academic poster conference, post occupancy evaluation and designing behaviour change interventions.

Modules

Foundation Year

Essential Study Skills (20 credits)
Foundation Project (20 credits)
Practical Statistics (20 credits)
Foundations of Psychology (40 credits)
Contemporary Issues in Psychology (20 credits)

Some modules have prerequisites. Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article.

Year 1 (national level 4):

Core modules

Being a Psychologist (40 credits)

Learn the essential skills needed to study psychology at degree level including academic skills, personal development and research studies. Broaden your academic and psychological literacy via a series of research projects and practicals supported by personal tutors.

Genes to Mind (20 credits)

Consider the relationship between biology and the human mind. Examine how DNA ultimately gives rise to thinking, conscious and complex human beings. Explore genetics and evolution, as well as the core areas of biological psychology, cognitive psychology and individual differences across topics as diverse as addiction, altruism, and sexuality.

Mind to World (20 credits)

Learn the story of how single units of personhood (or ‘minds’) interact with one another and come together to create societies. Focus on the way in which humans communicate with each other and operate in their social world. Explore the core areas of developmental psychology, cognitive psychology and social psychology across topics such as perception, language, interpersonal relationships, emotion, autism, and psychopathy.

Introduction to Mental Health (20 credits)

Examine biological, cognitive, and social models of mental illness and mental health. Consider a number of mental health problems including mood disorders (such as depression and anxiety), psychotic disorders (such as schizophrenia), eating disorders, and personality disorders. Analyse behaviours that pose a risk to physical and mental health, including alcohol and drug use, poor diet, and a lack of physical activity. Discuss public health approaches to mental health and wellbeing and how we can aim to improve the mental health of the general population and/or lower risk of mental illness, by considering social networks, social inequality, and happiness.

Optional modules:

Psychology in the Media (20 credits)

Address common misconceptions about psychology and the role of the media in these misconceptions. Examine how the media influences the behaviour of individuals, and the application of psychological theories to understanding why people believe false and sensational claims.

Year 2 (national level 5):

Core modules

Research Methods and Data Analysis in Psychology (20 credits)

Work on a number of research projects across core areas of psychology. Develop more advanced skills in research methods, and gain opportunities to have input into research design as you become more skilled. Learn more advanced data analysis skills and apply these in the research projects.

Skills for Life: The Psychology of Personal and Professional Development (20 credits)

Explore your own potential as a lifelong learner and leader. Develop your understanding of the importance of agency and self-advocacy in relation to life and career transitions and how lifelong learning can enhance social inclusion, active citizenship and personal development, but also self-sustainability and employability.

Use research techniques that include psychometric measures, narrative and storytelling. Undertake volunteering opportunities to provide an additional context in which to consider your lifelong learning and leadership characteristics – and to develop a sense of your future professional self.

Cradle to Grave: Integrated Perspectives on Development (20 credits)

Meet a fictional family as you learn about the psychology of the human journey through the lifespan, from parent-offspring conflict in the womb to explanations for ageing and death. Explore topics including attachment, the 'teenage brain' and challenges in adolescence, personality development and cognitive change.

Twenty-Four, Seven: Everyday Motivations and Biases (20 credits)

Apply social, cognitive and biological psychology to understanding everyday motivations and biases in, for example, perception and memory. Explore topics including vision and sensory perception, social group processes, aggression, eyewitness testimony and eating disorders.

Optional modules (choose two):

Psychology of Belief (20 credits)

Study the extraordinary phenomena of behaviour and experience, including those labelled as paranormal. Understand and explain, within the context of science, the bizarre experiences people have had and why people believe in anomalous events and the explanations surrounding them. Consider various anomalous experiences (e.g. extra-sensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis, telepathy, hallucinations, hauntings, out of body experiences and near-death experiences, along with astrology and superstition) and various explanations within psychology (e.g. probability, cognitive biases, biological explanations, environmental factors and individual differences).

Meet the Relatives: Evolutionary Psychology and Animal Behaviour (20 credits)

Learn about theory and research in evolutionary psychology and animal behaviour and how research on human and non-human animals can be integrated and applied to understanding aspects of contemporary life. Evaluate the extent to which we can learn about human psychology by studying non-human animals, what research on other animals tells us about the idea that humans are special, and the implications of research on animal behaviour for our understanding of the abilities of other animals, and how we treat them. Topics covered on this module may include, health and happiness, mate preferences, mating strategies and parenting, evolutionary approaches to contemporary and popular culture, hormones and behaviour, social organisation and social living and intelligence and cognition.

Investigating Complex Issues in Psychology (20 credits)

Work in teams to study the different psychology specialisms including clinical skills, health and wellbeing, counselling and forensic psychology. Draw on your knowledge of psychology generally, and of these different specialisms to apply different perspectives to current, real-world psychological issues in a problem-based learning context. Topics will vary from year to year but may include defining normality and abnormality, the effects of the media on aspects of psychology, the role of comparative research in psychology, gender issues, schizophrenia, and the stability of personality.

Assessment, Formulation and Evidence Based Practice (20 credits)

Focus on three core skills of clinical psychology. Learn a range of methods used by psychologists to assess a service user such as psychometric tests, interviews and taking a history. Learn how a clinical psychologist integrates the results of assessments of various methods with different psychological models to develop hypotheses and interventions tailored to the individual service user. Learn how to evaluate the effectiveness of practice based on existing evidence through reading systematic reviews, and learn how to design your own research to evaluate the effectiveness of psychological practice.

The Psychology of Detection, Interviewing and the Criminal Trial (20 credits)

Investigate how psychology is used in detecting and interviewing suspects, and collecting evidence for conviction, including eyewitness testimony, expert testimony, and confessions. Examine sources of bias in the collection and presentation of forensic evidence, fallibility of eye-witness memory, and how to recognise and decrease the risk of mistakes. Examine the psychology of the courtroom, focusing particularly on jury decision-making. Focus on how different aspects of psychology can be used to understand and enhance the probability of detecting and convicting offenders. Consider forensic scenarios and case studies which will facilitate the application of knowledge and understanding of theories and research from social, cognitive, biological, and developmental psychology, and individual differences.

Final year (national level 6):

Core modules

Empirical Project (40 credits)

Work with a supervisor to apply what you have learned in research methods modules to your own research project. Report your findings in an extensive research report, and present your project in the form of an academic poster at our poster conference.

From Research to Reality (20 credits)

Evaluate some of the ‘big issues’ at the cutting edge of psychology such as free will, the nature of consciousness, the interface between psychology and politics, psychology and religion, the role and scope of anomalistic psychology, psychology and social policy, psychology and culture including the psychology of music or art, psychology and information technology including issues such as cybercrime, computational modelling and transhumanism, current issues in psychological research such as the replication crisis, value of psychology as a discipline, the future of psychology.

Optional modules (choose three):

Please note, the full list of optional modules may change from year to year.

Occupational Psychology (20 credits)

Focus on the scope of occupational psychology and its application to work, employees and organisations. Cover topics aligned with the British Psychology Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology such as psychological assessment at work; learning, training, and development; leadership, engagement, and motivation; wellbeing and work.

Development and Neurodiversity (10 credits)

Learn about the development of our understanding of Neurodiversity and the historical progression of how we have characterised Neurodiverse populations, including Autism Spectrum Conditions and Williams Syndrome, from early diagnostic formulation to current day. Examine biological aspects of Neurodiversity such as brain differences, as well as their relevance to cognition and behaviour. Critically engage with topics of current relevance in Neurodiversity, including relationships, healthcare and education.

Environmental Psychology (20 credits)

Gain specialist knowledge of Environmental Psychology, an applied sub-discipline of Psychology which bridges a range of core areas and related disciplines such as architecture, planning, and geography. Cover topics which include the role of the environment in social development and relationships, the relationships between environments, health and wellbeing, place attachment, place identity and the importance of home.

Psychology of Addiction (20 credits)

Take an introductory look at the psychology of both substance and non-substance-related addictive behaviours. Examine a variety of addictive behaviours such as alcoholism, addiction to psychoactive drugs, gambling, and sex addiction, as well as theories relating to the development, persistence, control and treatment of addictive behaviours. Link these behaviours to various areas of psychology such as the biological effects of drug use, how cognition plays a role in addictive behaviours and the social implications of addiction.

Health Psychology and Behaviour Change (20 credits)

Examine how psychological concepts, principles and theories can be applied to understand and alleviate problems associated with health and health-related behaviours. Cover topics which include personality, health and illness, sociocultural aspects of health and illness, and stress and health. Focus on psychological interventions aimed at changing health-related behaviours.

Cyberpsychology (10 credits)

Cyberpsychology is the field in psychology which focuses on how emerging technology impacts on human behaviour. This module will look at how technology is incorporated into our daily lives and how we are able to make connections to the offline world, along with the impact of those connections and their influence on the self, which is key to understanding the digital prism we now live in.

Applied Memory Research (20 credits)

This module will take a flipped classroom approach to learning about current topics in which the psychology of memory is investigated in terms of its real-world applications. Using problem-based learning you will work in groups to learn about a variety of topics which may include issues such as recovered and false memory, memory and PTSD, childhood amnesia, mindfulness and memory for future events. Real world issues and problems relating to memory will be considered in relation to topics drawn from the research interests of members of staff, which means that the topics may change from year to year.

The Psychology of Humour and Laughter (10 credits)

This module highlights the important function humour and laughter have considering the psychological approach of this often-multidisciplinary area of study. Utilising an integrated approach to understanding the psychology of humour we will consider many aspects of psychology, such as evolutionary, biological, social, personality, psychometrics, and also the application.

The Psychology of Serious and Violent Offending (20 credits)

Apply psychology to understanding offenders and a number of common forms of serious and violent offending encountered in forensic settings. Draw on approaches from across the discipline of psychology, applying psychological theory and research to aspects of serious and violent offending, for example gang violence and crime, intimate partner violence and other forms of domestic violence, sexual violence, murder, terrorism, financial and corporate crime, cybercrime.

Digital Humans: The Psychology of Online Behaviour (20 credits)

Study cyberpsychology, the psychology of how humans interact with technology and online environments. Look at the online world and its impact on human behaviour. Explore how humans have adapted to a world with increasing amounts of technology: becoming digital humans in the process. Study the rise of artificial technology, and its impact on human behaviours. Consider how we interact with virtual environments, explore virtual identity, online vs. offline behaviours, and how we approach privacy and self-disclosure in an increasingly digital world.

Advanced Quantitative Methods (10 credits)

Further develop your research design and data analysis skills, building on the foundations provided at Years 1 and 2. Cover advanced quantitative research design and acquire a number of advanced data analysis techniques.

Professional Placement (10 credits)

Enhance your employability by completing a placement with a professional organisation, possibly, but not necessarily, related to psychology. Past placements have included conducting research and analysing data for NHS trusts and private clinical organisations or working as psychology teaching and research assistants.

Male Psychology (10 credits)

Examine male psychology supported by the Male Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society. Find out about key psychological issues that affect men and boys, such as physical and mental health issues, grief, suicide, trauma, male stereotypes and archetypes, intimate partner violence, sexual assault and fatherhood. Learn about the impact of acknowledging and understanding sex differences for full understanding of the human condition, and how this may enable us to tailor support and interventions to men facing issues. Critically consider modern conceptualisations of masculinity such as toxic masculinity and positive masculinity.

Dark Personalities (10 credits)

Explore the dark side of the human mind by engaging in the psychological study of dark personality. Learn about the ‘Dark Tetrad’ traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy and sadism. Consider why men with dark personality are often attractive to women. Learn about dark personality disorders, focusing on psychopathy. Discuss ethical issues raised by psychopathy, and consider questions such as: Are psychopaths born or made? How are the brains of psychopaths different, and how does this affect how they think and feel? Why do some psychopaths commit violent crimes? Are psychopaths natural leaders? Why are psychopaths so prevalent in popular culture?

Memory and Life (10 credits)

Study real world issues and problems relating to memory, for example, recovered and false memories, post-traumatic stress disorder and memory, memory closure and expressive writing, childhood amnesia, pregnancy and memory, life stories and post-traumatic growth, mindfulness and memory, role of memory making in mental health after perinatal loss, simulation of future experiences and anxiety.

Helen McArdle House is based on our City Campus and has benefitted from a multi-million pound investment in modern facilities in recent years.

Many of our healthcare courses are taught here, including Nursing, Paramedic Science, and Healthcare Sciences.

The building is made up of a variety of teaching and learning spaces, including mock hospital wards, OSCE suites, the Patient Diagnostic Suite, Mental Health and Wellbeing Suite, and seminar and IT classrooms.

A lot of academic staff offices are based here, with an open-door policy in place.

View our AccessAble accessibility guide for Helen McArdle House.
Helen McArdle House
The University boasts a collection of more than 430,000 books with many more titles available through the inter-library loan service. There are nearly 9,000 journal titles, mostly in electronic format. Each year the University invests around £1 million in new resources. Resources for Counselling and Psychology include:
- PsycARTICLES - This is an American Psychological Association (APA) database containing full-text articles from over 50 peer-reviewed Psychology journals covering 1985 to the present
- Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection - This database provides nearly 575 full text publications and covers topics such as emotional and behavioral characteristics, psychiatry and psychology, mental processes, counselling, and observational and experimental methods
- Science Direct - This provides some full text access to scientific and technical peer-reviewed journals. Coverage is all aspects of science, including Psychology and Counselling
- Web of Knowledge - Provides access to ISI Web of Science, a multidisciplinary database of journal abstracts and citations from 1981 to date
Library Services - counselling and psychology
Our Psychology courses are based on City Campus. There are a range of classrooms and teaching spaces, including: Silent Labs (including a sound proof booth) and 1-2-1 interview rooms for research work; Powerlabs; the Sandbox, a communal space for Psychology students to relax and study; plus dedicated laboratories for specialist research work.
School of Psychology
We have specialist psychological and computer laboratories for our counselling, forensic, clinical and psychology courses, plus the ‘Sandbox’, a dedicated space for you to develop ideas collaboratively.

Our specialist facilities include:
- High specification research cubicles, including a soundproof cubicle
- Visual psychophysics laboratory
- SkillsLab, a 30-seater IT suite
- Powerlab psychophysiological measurement equipment
- A transcranial direct-current brain stimulation machine (tDCS)
- Eye tracking laboratory
- Private interview booths
- Simulation and behavioural observation suites
- Multimedia and games research room
- Specialist data analysis and experiment building software
Specialist psychology laboratories
Map and directions

Facilities

The School of Psychology is based in the Murray Library on City Campus, close to the city centre and a three-minute walk from the University metro station.

You’ll find a range of specialist laboratories and excellent library resources here.

Entry requirements

We don’t currently display entry requirements for United States. Please contact the Student Admin team on studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk or 0191 515 3154.

Entry requirements are provided for guidance only and we may offer you an entrance interview which will help us determine your eligibility for your chosen degree. This enables us to consider making you an offer if you are perhaps a mature student who has been out of education for a period of time, or you have gained significant knowledge and skills through employment rather than traditional education.

Eligible entry qualifications:

1. Normally a minimum of three Level 2 qualifications (NVQ, GCSE or equivalent), including Maths and English at grade C or above** and a minimum of 40 UCAS tariff points from Level 3 qualifications (e.g. A or AS Levels, T Levels, BTEC certificates/diplomas, access courses or equivalent). T Levels must be in a related subject.
OR
2. Demonstrable evidence of appropriate knowledge and skills acquired from at least three years of post-school work experience.

If you are unsure of whether you think you might be suitable for the course, please contact us!

** If you have studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade then you will need to achieve a grade 4 or above. Equivalent alternative qualifications are also accepted, such as Level 2 Key Skills in Communication and Application of Number.

If English is not your first language, please see our English language requirements.

Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.

Fees and finance

The annual fee for this course is £9,250 if you are from the UK/Ireland/EU settled/pre-settled.

If you are a full-time UK/Irish/EU settled/EU pre-settled student you may be eligible to receive financial support to cover your fees for the full four years. UK and EU settled students may also be eligible to receive a maintenance loan.

Please note, this course is not available to international students.

Learn more about settled status, pre-settled status, special discounts, visa requirements and Common Travel Area (CTA) agreements for the Republic of Ireland applicants in our Help and Advice article.

Take a look at the Your Finances section to find out about the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

The Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's by night

Career ready

Graduates from this course can move into a broad range of careers spanning management, personnel, social work, public services, counselling and advertising, or alternatively, pursue postgraduate qualifications in specific fields of psychological practice such as clinical or forensic psychology.

Career options

If you decide to develop a career in psychological practice, a key benefit of our BSc (Hons) Psychology course is its accreditation by The British Psychological Society. If you achieve at least a second class honours, you will have the graduate basis for Chartered Membership with the Society. This is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.

Meet the students

Studying at the University is definitely the best thing I have ever done with my life

Eddy Conniff

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Contact

Contact the Student Helpline for further information about studying at the University of Sunderland:

0191 515 3000

student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk

View Programme Specifications for the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing

Page last updated: 13 March 2024

We aim to provide clear, accurate and timely information to prospective and current students. We continuously review and enhance course content in consultation with our students and the information provided on our website is the latest available. If you have received an offer from us to start a course, we will communicate any important changes to you in writing. We will always seek to ensure that our prospective students are fully aware of the basis on which they are accepting an offer.

Overview

Why us?

Course structure

Modules

Foundation Year

Year 1 (national level 4):

Core modules

Being a Psychologist (40 credits)

Genes to Mind (20 credits)

Mind to World (20 credits)

Introduction to Mental Health (20 credits)

Optional modules:

Psychology in the Media (20 credits)

Year 2 (national level 5):

Core modules

Research Methods and Data Analysis in Psychology (20 credits)

Skills for Life: The Psychology of Personal and Professional Development (20 credits)

Cradle to Grave: Integrated Perspectives on Development (20 credits)

Twenty-Four, Seven: Everyday Motivations and Biases (20 credits)

Optional modules (choose two):

Psychology of Belief (20 credits)

Meet the Relatives: Evolutionary Psychology and Animal Behaviour (20 credits)

Investigating Complex Issues in Psychology (20 credits)

Assessment, Formulation and Evidence Based Practice (20 credits)

The Psychology of Detection, Interviewing and the Criminal Trial (20 credits)

Final year (national level 6):

Core modules

Empirical Project (40 credits)

From Research to Reality (20 credits)

Optional modules (choose three):

Occupational Psychology (20 credits)

Development and Neurodiversity (10 credits)

Environmental Psychology (20 credits)

Psychology of Addiction (20 credits)

Health Psychology and Behaviour Change (20 credits)

Cyberpsychology (10 credits)

Applied Memory Research (20 credits)

The Psychology of Humour and Laughter (10 credits)

The Psychology of Serious and Violent Offending (20 credits)

Digital Humans: The Psychology of Online Behaviour (20 credits)

Advanced Quantitative Methods (10 credits)

Professional Placement (10 credits)

Male Psychology (10 credits)

Dark Personalities (10 credits)

Memory and Life (10 credits)

Facilities

Entry requirements

Fees and finance

Career ready

Career options

Meet the students

Eddy Conniff

Meet the team — BSc (Hons) Psychology with Integrated Foundation Year

Related courses

Contact