BSc (Hons) Psychology (Clinical & Forensic Studies) with Foundation Year

You can expect a diverse range of teaching methods which include lectures, seminars, workshops, practical sessions, small group tutorials, and peer-learning. With approximately 14 hours of contact time per week, our inclusive and dynamic approach ensures that you receive a well-rounded education and benefit from a variety of teaching approaches.

We have made sure that teaching is not only done in a classroom setting. You will take part in practical exercises (e.g. a trip to Howletts to observe animal behaviour) and trips (e.g. Freud Museum in London) throughout your course and have the opportunity to be paired up with a Psychology student mentor from a higher cohort.

In addition, you will meet with your personal academic tutor (PAT), who will be able to assist you with any queries you may have, especially as you are finding your feet at university. They will also be able to signpost you to any of the University services should you need them.

When not attending lectures, seminars, workshops, or other timetabled sessions, you will continue your learning through self-study. Typically, this involves reading journal articles and books, undertaking research in the library, working on projects, and preparing and revising for module lectures, seminars, coursework assignment and examinations. Our team will support you in developing your self-study skills, to effectively engage with these tasks.

We will direct you towards specific readings, videos or activities to complete before class. You will be encouraged to develop your knowledge beyond the contents taught directly in class by exploring the broader research literature available and pursuing your own lines of enquiry. 

For your final year project (dissertation), you will undertake independent research. For that you will be assigned a supervisor who will guide you through your first substantial and independent work through regular scheduled meetings.

This is a full-time course and so the expectation is that you will spend the equivalent of full-time working hours dedicated to it. However, the way you manage these hours is up to you.

You will have scheduled sessions on campus (typically 12 hours per week) which you should prepare for and revise afterwards during your independent study time. In addition, there will be field trips, events, conferences, keynote talks and other activities you will be able to undertake even during your first year at university.

Our experienced interdisciplinary and international team of university lecturers, technicians, PhD students, tutors, research fellows, guest speakers, practitioners, and more will support you throughout your degree.

Our lecturers have doctoral-level qualifications in psychology and are research-active experts in the field as well as being past or current practitioners working in the NHS, probation service and prison service.

You may also be supported by postgraduate researchers who are working towards their own doctoral-level qualifications. Many of our team members have completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education and are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy.