Overview

This innovative new psychology and clinical psychology degree is your opportunity to develop specific knowledge of the core psychology curriculum prescribed by the British Psychological Society (BPS) while developing an awareness of the clinical skills needed for practice.

Designed and developed by qualified clinical and chartered psychologists, the course includes an introduction to the four key areas of clinical psychology; adult, child, older adult, and learning disability. You practice clinical psychology around assessment and formulation and complete a number of work-related initiatives, designed for the role of assistant psychologists, psychological wellbeing practitioners, and other junior psychologist roles.

Alongside the clinically relevant aspects of your work, you develop your skills as an academic psychologist and gain transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, organizational skills, and personal development planning.

You cover all of the core modules included in the BSc (Hons) Psychology program, in addition to specific modules relevant to developing clinical psychology skills. Please note this course does not qualify you to work independently as a clinical or practitioner psychologist.

Professional accreditation

This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society.

Course structure

Year 0 (foundation year) core modules

This module will assist you in developing the personal and academic skills that you will need for undergraduate study. It focuses on developing skills such as information retrieval, evaluation, critical thinking, note-taking, presentation skills, and group work.

Contemporary Issues in Social Sciences

This module will introduce you to the historical and contemporary development of social science disciplines and will provide examples of theoretical challenges and the ways in which research is applied in society. You will gain an understanding of the critical differences between disciplines and how interdisciplinary research is fostered through collaboration. You will also be introduced to academic standards, ethical guidelines and research protocols, personal development planning, and to a range of study and transferable skills relevant to your degree course and beyond.

Fake News: Progranda and Polemics, Past and Present

This module provides you with the opportunity to develop your skills in thinking critically about the information and analysis presented in an array of media in today’s digital world, drawing on the methodologies of a range of disciplines within the social sciences, humanities and law. You will explore examples of the debates over fake news in both the past and present, and look at how fake news can be used to both support and undermine the status quo, enabling you in the process to become more savvy and engaged citizens.

Historical and Popular Crimes, Justice, Laws and Psychology

This module introduces you to the history of crime and justice, using media representations and crime fiction as a way of exploring crime over time, including aspects such as changes in society, law and education in this context.

Project

This module allows students to identify an area of interest related to their undergraduate degree and to explore this through a small-scale research project where students will be required to produce an analysis of an area of focus.

Teesside: Culture, Literature, Culture and Society

This module provides you with an opportunity to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the Teesside region. You will learn about Teesside’s history, culture and society through the examination of various topics which will give you a deeper understanding of the region, both past and present.

Year 1 core modules

This module provides students with many of the skills needed to critically evaluate psychological theories and studies. It uses examples from psychology to highlight the common errors that people make when assessing arguments and evaluating evidence.

The module provides step-by-step guidance on how to overcome widespread mistakes and how to construct logical, balanced and coherent arguments. The module also requires students to assess the validity of a number of extraordinary claims, such as parapsychology, alternative medicine, astrology and mediumship. Students will be encouraged to be open-minded, yet require appropriate standards of proof when evaluating such claims.

Human Development and Social Psychology

You gain an understanding of two of the five core areas of study specified by the British Psychological Society (BPS): developmental psychology and social psychology. You consider theoretical and empirical work within human development and social psychology and are introduced to ethics in psychology, psychological research skills and report writing.

Introduction Clinical Psychology

You are introduced to the field of clinical psychology and the roles, responsibilities and ethics which underpin it. You gain an introductory knowledge of the roles of a clinical psychologist. This includes an awareness of formulation, ethics, and working across the lifespan. Lectures focus on the four core areas in clinical psychology work: adult, child, older adult and learning disabilities. You are also offered the opportunity to learn about the changing role of the clinical psychologist, in terms of delivering team-based interventions, training and supervision, and working as part of a multi-disciplinary team (MDT). Throughout the module, you develop an understanding of the importance of evidence-based practice, drawing upon relevant literature to support your work on the module.

Mental Health and Social Wellbeing

You are introduced to the field of mental health and wellbeing. The module includes a discussion of key theories and specific conditions which are amenable to psychological intervention. Brief introductions are given to different therapeutic approaches, medical, social, and resilience-based models of mental health and wellbeing. You are given the opportunity to participate in weekly discussion workshops/taster sessions, where topics from the lecture are considered in more depth. During discussion groups, you have the opportunity to work on your interpersonal and group management skills using a compassion-focused approach to group skills management.

Psychology, cognition and Individual Difference

You gain an understanding of three of the five core areas of study specified by the British Psychological Society (BPS): biological psychology, cognitive psychology, and individual differences. You consider theoretical and empirical work within biological and developmental psychology and individual differences and also develop psychological research skills and report writing in more depth to provide you with the skills necessary to plan, conduct and report psychological research.

Psychological Research Design and Analysis 1

Providing a foundation in psychological research methods and analysis, this module covers a range of experimental and non-experimental methodological approaches.

You are introduced to the Windows SPSS package for statistical analysis and graph drawing, and you learn about simple qualitative research and data collection methods.

The module covers ethics in research, qualitative and quantitative methods, survey design, simple non-experimental and experimental designs, reliability and validity, probability, hypothesis testing, descriptive data analysis, simple non-parametric and parametric statistical analysis, and research report writing.

By the end of the module, you’ll be able to identify the appropriate method for a range of research questions, analyze the resulting data and draw appropriate conclusions.

How you learn

Teaching is delivered using a range of lectures, seminars, and laboratory classes. We emphasize study skills so you learn how to use all our extensive facilities such as electronic journals, virtual learning environments, and computer programs. You also have access to our computer suites and specialist laboratories where you develop practical skills in the investigation of human behavior.

How you are assessed

Our varied assessments develop the skills most valued by employers and are reviewed annually. They include essays, exams, group, and individual presentations, poster presentations, portfolios, and a dissertation.

Career opportunities

Although this is an academic course rather than a professional training course, the skills and knowledge developed are particularly suited to prepare you for postgraduate study to begin your journey to become a Chartered Psychologist in any area of psychology. To work towards a career as a chartered psychologist you need to complete BPS and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) recognized qualifications at the postgraduate level. You can also enter a broad range of careers including health and social welfare, voluntary organizations, and the public sector.

All programs are designed to incorporate employability skills development alongside your degree. Our staff uses their extensive connections to provide many and varied opportunities to engage with potential employers through fairs, guest lecture sessions, live projects, and site visits. We also offer a series of workshops and events in the first, second, and third years that equip you with both degree level subject knowledge plus the practical skills that employers are looking for in new graduate recruits.