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Why BSc Psychology?

The University of Buckingham’s unique tutorial teaching model is central to our teaching on the psychology degree. For every module on the psychology degree, you will have weekly tutorial meetings with your module tutor, each with a maximum of seven students. This means your tutors will get to know who you are and encourage you to engage with the content of the modules. Tutorials are also a great way to ask questions, get to know other students, and practice your teamworking skills. Our emphasis on employability skills means that we approach the tutorials as a professional work meeting where there is an expectation that students prepare for and participate in the tutorial.

By choosing to study psychology at The University of Buckingham, you’ll benefit from a committed team of lecturers who genuinely care about the people they teach because they spend time with their students.

Study

We are an in person teaching university, we do not offer an online or remote version of our degree programme. We are proud that our teaching is based upon our unique tutorial group teaching which involves interacting in small groups within the larger cohort.

The psychology programme offers the opportunity to study each of the seven areas of practitioner psychology:

• Clinical
• Counselling
• Educational
• Forensic
• Health
• Occupational
• Sports and exercise

These are the areas that are recognised in the UK and are available to study as optional modules beyond the first year. This enables you to make an informed choice about your future career as a psychologist (useful careers information can be found on the BPS website. The lecturers delivering these modules are practitioners or experts within these fields. Alongside the academic content, they provide valuable insights for our students in terms of what it is like to work as a professional psychologist. Because of our tutorial teaching model, you get to interact with them and ask questions about their experiences and your future career.

Further optional modules enable the application of psychological theory to other exciting areas that reflect the research specialisms and interests within the School of Psychology. These include cyberpsychology, animal behaviour and creativity and expertise.

In the final two terms of your degree, you will undertake your own research project. This enables you to design your own research, collect and analyse data and write your research up. This enables students to demonstrate many of the skills they have been taught throughout their degree programme. In doing so you will demonstrate important project management skills. Unlike many other universities you will be able to develop a research project within an area of your choosing with the help of a one-to-one academic project supervisor.

As one of the few BPS accredited two year BSc Psychology degrees in the UK, you will be able to fast track your career within this popular field, or opt to consolidate your learning through postgraduate study once you have graduated.

This programme is accredited as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the BPS (British Psychological Society), provided the minimum standard of a Second Class Honours is achieved and you pass the final year research project module.

Quality teaching

We offer high quality teaching using our unique tutorial teaching model. Buckingham degrees are recognised around the world. You will have lectures with your whole cohort, seminars of varying sizes and weekly tutorials with a maximum of seven students in total.

High calibre staff

Our academic staff will teach three terms out of four, with the remaining term used for research and scholarly activity. Because of this, we have no difficulty in attracting high calibre, highly respected lecturers. University of Buckingham lecturers enjoy spending time with students because they all teach within our tutorial teaching model. It is also the philosophy of Buckingham’s staff to be available to students outside the scheduled tutorial times and to encourage good working relationships between staff and students.

Assessment methods

The assessment of individual modules within each course varies. However, most modules have a combination of within module coursework assessments and examinations. The coursework will tend to be used to develop skills while the exams assess content knowledge.

Preparation for work

All our degree courses combine academic challenge with the transferable skills that will stand you in good stead for future employment. The Buckingham tutorial teaching model means that our students are better prepared than other student to discuss their ideas and communicate their understanding of psychology.

Graduate employment

Our graduates have gone on to further study at most of the world’s leading universities, including Harvard, London, Oxford and Cambridge and secured jobs in senior positions around the world. Among our alumni we have a graduate who became the head of his country’s civil service and one who became a leading Formula One motor-racing driver. Another secured a position as the Minister of Sabah and one female law graduate became the first British lawyer to become a French Advocate.