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.
Contemporary Counselling in Context (20 credits)
Critically examine the debates surrounding the provision of counselling in the twenty-first century. Approach a number of contemporary real-world issues from a counselling perspective, including homelessness, eating disorders, alcoholism and domestic violence, for example.
Developing Listening and Counselling Skills (20 credits)
Gain confidence in sustaining longer skills sessions and focus on exploration of issues by the listener. Develop your practice not only by developing discrete skills, but also through developing self-awareness and recognising the impact they have on the listening process.
Optional modules (totalling 40 credits):
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.
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 Psychology (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.
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.
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.
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.
Psychology 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.
