This course achieved 100% student satisfaction in the most recent National Student Survey
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour. You’ll investigate how and why humans (and other species) behave in the ways they do, and be asked to consider the processes driving these behaviours. As you’ll discover, such processes can act at many levels – from those operating within single cells, to those influencing society as a whole.
With its focus on individual and social behaviour, Psychology links naturally with other disciplines such as Biology, Philosophy and Sociology. It also integrates with subjects valued in the workplace, such as Business Studies, Marketing and Human Resource Management.
Psychology at Stirling is internationally renowned for research, and this feeds into teaching. In our taught modules, you learn of the importance of research in furthering the understanding of behaviour and, in practical work, develop research skills of your own.
Accreditation
British Psychological Society
The Psychology Single Honours and all Psychology Combined Honours degree courses are accredited as conferring eligibility for Graduate Basis for Registration with 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.
Entrance requirements
Year 1
Highers BBBB.
A-levels BBC.
IB Diploma with a total of 32 points.
HNC or HND with Bs in graded units.
Access courses and other UK/EU and international qualifications are also welcomed.
Year 2
A-levels ABB or Advanced Highers ABB to include Psychology.
HND in Social Sciences to include four Psychology units with Bs in graded units.
General entrance requirements apply.
Other information
If examinations are taken over two sittings, or there are repeats or upgrades, the entrance requirements may be higher.
Required subjects
English Standard Grade (2), GCSE (C) or equivalent.
Applicants with English Standard Grade (3) will also be considered, although alternative entry conditions may be made in this case.
Mathematics Standard Grade (3), Intermediate 2 (C), GCSE (C) or equivalent.
Funding
Modes of study
Full-time (three modules per semester).
Part-time (one or two modules per semester) is available.
February entry is available.
Alternative routes
We encourage applications from those with ‘non-traditional’ entry qualifications such as HNC and access courses. It is always worth contacting us to find out the best option for you.
We also offer direct entry into the Year 2 of the course for those with appropriate A-levels or Advanced Highers (to include Psychology) and also those who’ve completed an HND in Social Sciences (to include four Psychology units with Bs in graded units.
Find out more
http://www.stir.ac.uk/natural-sciences
Degree course
You will take Psychology plus two other subjects in Year 1.
Semesters 1 - 2
Semesters 1 – 2 comprise an introduction to psychology as a biological and social science including: Child Development; Brain and Behaviour; Language and Thinking; Animal Behaviour; Clinical and Abnormal Psychology; Social Psychology and Cognitive Psychology.
Semesters 3 - 4
In Semesters 3 and 4, the taught modules are designed to emphasise the links between different parts of the subject: a module on The Social Mind explores the psychology of human and non-human communication; a module on the Brain and Behaviour – Clinical Perspectives explores abnormal psychology from the perspectives of Neuroscience and Clinical Psychology. Also included in Semesters 3 and 4 is an introduction to Psychological Research Methods.
Semesters 5 - 8
The remainder of the degree course is spent learning the core of the subject in depth. You will take advanced modules in all of the core areas: Social Psychology, Biological Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Clinical and Health Psychology, Individual Differences (including personality differences) and also Cognition and Neuroscience.
In your final year, as a Single Honours student, you will conduct your own research project and, in addition, take special options from a wide variety of approximately 20 different topic areas which are closely related to the research interests of staff.
Entrance to Honours is dependent on your satisfactory progress in Years 1 and 2.
Other degree options are the Bachelor’s degree (BA or BSc in Psychology) and the General degree of BSc, which can be completed in three years.
Module titles
- PSY911 Introductory Psychology 1
- PSY912 Introductory Psychology 2
- PSY9A3 The Social Mind
- PSY9A4 Brain and Behaviour - Clinical Perspectives
- PSY914 Research Methods
- PSY9AC Cognition
- PSY9ID Individual Differences
- PSY9AO Developmental Psychology
- PSY9AJ Social Psychology
- PSY9AK Animal Behaviour
- PSY9AL Clinical and Health Psychology
- PSY9A7 Psychology in Context
- PSY917 Honours Research Project or
- PSY918 (Joint Honours) Research Project
- PSY9Y7/Y8/X8/Y8 Elective Choices
Teaching and assessment
Teaching is by lectures, small discussion groups and laboratory work. There is an opportunity for fieldwork in the study of animal behaviour.
All modules combine continuous assessment with examinations at the end of semester. You are expected to act as a participant in a small number of research studies which are carried out here at Stirling.
Reading list
The essential text for Year 1 of the course, is:
Psychology (8th edition 2010), £40.99, Gleitman, H., Gross, J., and Reisberg, D., W.W. Norton & Company Ltd. ISBN 978 0 393 11682 3
Further Reading: Students wishing an overview of academic and applied psychology or who might be contemplating a career in psychology are directed to a number of British Psychological Society short books on careers in psychology which are available to purchase from the BPS (see the BPS website at – www.bps.org.uk).
Combined degrees
Psychology can be studied with:
| Course | UCAS Code |
|---|
| Biology |
CC18 |
| Business Studies |
CN81 |
| English Studies |
QC38 |
| European Language (French or Spanish) |
CR89 |
| Film and Media |
CP83 |
| Human Resource Management |
NC68 |
| Marketing |
CN85 |
| Mathematics |
CG81 |
| Philosophy |
CV85 |
| Politics |
LC28 |
| Sociology |
CL83 |
| Sports Studies |
CC68 |
(For a Combined Honours degree the higher entrance requirements of the subjects usually apply.)
Related degrees
Psychology at Stirling was rated 27th out of 104 UK Psychology departments in the 2012 Guardian University Rankings.
In the most recent National Student Survey, 98 percent of student respondents were satisfied with the quality of the Stirling Psychology course. For comparison, across the whole of the UK, 86 percent were satisfied with their Psychology courses.
Study abroad
Psychology at Stirling offers a wide variety of exchange opportunities during Year 3 of the degree course. We have well established links with universities in North America, Australia and Europe, allowing students to continue their studies while gaining valuable experience of different cultures and education systems.
Rating
Teaching provision in Psychology was rated by the Scottish Funding Council as ‘excellent’.
70 percent of Psychology research at Stirling was recognised as being of a quality that is internationally recognised in terms of originality, significance and rigour in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).
Strengths
Psychology at Stirling has an international reputation for research and maintains strong collaborative links with local schools, social services and regional health boards.
Psychology research facilities have recently benefited from the addition of a new suite of purpose-built testing cubicles for running experiments and a new research resources room for final-year project students.
Teaching and research in Developmental Psychology at Stirling is also enriched through our on-site playgroup facility.
Academic strengths
Research strengths of Psychology include Perception and Cognition; Neural Computation; Neuroscience and Neuropsychology; Clinical and Health Psychology; Comparative Psychology including Primatology, Developmental Psychology and Social Psychology.
Our students
It’s a really good team of staff here at Stirling and the degree was really well structured; you get a wide range of different disciplines and elements to the course. It was really enjoyable!
Becky Leonardi Year 1 PhD student, previously undergraduate on the Psychology course.
Career opportunities
Psychologists are employed in a range of different specialisms, such as Clinical Psychology, Educational Psychology, Forensic Psychologists working with the criminal justice system and Occupational Psychology. Most of these require relevant postgraduate training. Psychology is an expanding discipline and the demand for psychologists continues to increase.
Psychology is also a subject that has many applications and is particularly relevant in any field where people are an important feature. Psychology graduates are employed in marketing, teaching, occupational therapy, social work, nursing, personnel management, the police and the media. Studying Psychology develops transferable skills that are highly valued by employers, such as interpersonal and communication skills, numeracy and computer literacy, presentation and time management skills and critical thinking.
