Psychology & Child Development, BSc (Hons)

• Benefit from dedicated laboratories and computer rooms where you can learn a variety of psychological research methods

• Develop your special interest in child development, while studying other major areas of psychology

• Gain hands-on experience of experiments, observation, interviews, questionnaires and psychometric tests in small group projects

• Study in a supportive environment with your own personal tutor, plus one-to-one supervision for your extended project

• Use our excellent links with relevant organisations in the local area to find a volunteering placement in your third year

• Learn from experienced academics who are experts in diverse fields including childhood, health and wellbeing and investigative psychology

• Our campus is friendly and compact with a community feel, offering first-class, sustainable facilities for learning and teaching.

Are you intrigued by the many facets of human experience and behaviour? Do you wish to discover more about psychology and understand how different children develop? On our Psychology and Child Development course you can debate, participate in, and conduct research in these complementary subjects as part of a rewarding learning experience.The programme has a strong focus on research methods culminating, under expert supervision, in an extended independent research project on a child development topic. This allows you to engage with the latest research findings and psychological theories and gives you a chance to make a significant contribution to the vibrant research culture at Winchester.In Year 1, you examine different approaches within psychology – personality and individual differences, social, developmental, cognitive and biological – illustrating how they lead to distinct perspectives on key research questions, and to the methods psychologists use to answer these questions. You also develop skills in essay writing, reading journal articles, structuring arguments and using IT within psychology. Core modules include Psychology in Contemporary Society and Foundations in Psychology.In Year 2, you examine the above approaches in more depth and continue your study of different research methods, exercising greater independence in your practical work. In particular, students further develop their skills in critical thinking, research and presentations. You also learn more about child development by studying Developmental Psychology.The first two years lay the foundations for more specialised study in Year 3, where you choose an area to research in greater depth. Core modules include Advanced Issues in Developmental Psychology and Topics in Educational Psychology, while optional modules may include Advanced Statistics and Applied Statistics, Health Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience.Due to the wide range of skills, and the rigour with which they are taught, training in psychology is widely accepted as providing an excellent preparation for many careers. In addition to subject knowledge, you also develop skills in communication, numeracy, analysis, teamwork, critical thinking and independent learning — all of which are highly valued by employers.On graduation, successful careers await you in education, health and social care, marketing, business, management, human resources and other fields. Roles such as psychological wellbeing practitioner and assistant psychologist are open to graduates and are an excellent way to gain experience before taking the next step towards a career as a psychologist.Those wishing to pursue professional careers in psychology need to undertake further study and training to gain professional recognition as a Chartered Psychologist. Graduates will be eligible to apply for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) status, which is an entry requirement for accredited postgraduate training courses in psychology.