Psychology with Sociology, BSc (Hons), with industry placement

Course summary

Interested to learn how we think and behave and how the social influences and structures of our everyday lives affect us? With this combined honours course, you’ll cover all aspects of human behaviour and our underlying thoughts, feelings and motivations. You’ll learn about the rapidly changing nature of contemporary society and graduate with a true understanding of the interaction between the individual mind and the social world in which we live.

• Take your first step to becoming a professional in your field – as a successful graduate, you’ll be eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership with the British Psychological Society, putting you on the ladder to becoming a professional psychologist.

• Expand your horizons and experience with opportunities for international exchange and a year studying abroad (in Year 2).

• Develop your skills as a scientist working alongside leading researchers with the Research Apprentice Scheme.

• Maximise your learning with a personal tutor assigned throughout your studies to provide the support and guidance you need to get the most out of your course.

• Shape your own study path with an exciting range of topics available through lectures, optional courses and project supervision.

• Gain invaluable experience and cultivate professional contacts by taking an optional placement year.

• Benefit from studying on a course that the Research Assessment Exercise rates as excellent for research and the Quality Assurance Agency praises for its quality of education.

• Immerse yourself in an innovative and imaginative curriculum that’s continually shaped by the latest developments in psychological research.

• Make the most of our specialist facilities – we’ve got 22 labs to choose from, including a virtual reality laboratory with 3D modelling software, sound-proof cubicles with a range of stimulus equipment and computer laboratories. You'll be able to get your hands on everything you need for your own research.

In your first year, you’ll study the basic theories of psychology, covering learning, social, developmental, clinical, cognitive and physiological psychology. You will also develop your skills in methods of psychological research, information technology, communication and critical thinking. On the sociology side, you’ll study key concepts and theories surrounding real world issues such as poverty, social exclusion, work, community, religion, media, crime, education and more. In your second year, you'll study three modules in parallel in each semester, covering the whole breadth of the British Psychological Society curriculum. All modules include practical exercises in PsychEL, which you will record in your LabBook. The coursework includes authentic reports such as case studies, executive summaries, group presentations, data visualisations, interview skills and reflective reports. These will give you the confidence to step right into work when you graduate. Sociology topics include the processes of social change and sources of social identity in the modern world. In your final year, you will have complete freedom of choice about the topics you specialise in for your final year. You'll study eight current topics from a list of over twenty options, taught by world experts in their fields. A typical year’s list includes options in forensic, developmental, health, clinical, occupational, cognitive, social, and neuropsychology. You'll also choose to work on your own research project, supervised by one of our staff. All of our staff are active researchers, and all of our staff teach, unlike other universities. As a large school, you can be confident that we can cover almost every area. Extra study options include the sociology of consumer culture, the mass media, drugs in society, tourism, health, the body, risk, sexuality, race and ethnicity, science, technology and religion. The modules shown for this course or programme are those being studied by current students, or expected new modules. Modules are subject to change depending on year of entry.