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Psychology is the study of people: how they think, act, react and interact. Psychologists scientifically study all kinds of behaviour and the thoughts, feelings and motivations underlying behaviour. Psychology examines questions such as: how do people act on a first date? How can we ease the effects of parental divorce on children? How can we make teams work efficiently? How can we help people to overcome depression or phobias?
Overview
By collecting information about what people do, think, perceive and feel, psychologists answer questions about human behaviour, cognition and development.
The Psychology programmes at Kent give you a broad background in practical applications, experimental and other methodologies, information technology and theory construction, and also allow you to follow specialist interests at Stage 3. All your work will help you to demonstrate transferable skills valued by employers.
Applied Psychology is a four-year programme, the third year (Stage S) of which will be spent on special project work with practising Applied Psychologists (subject to availability of placements and achieving an average mark of 60 per cent at Stage 1).
Independent rankings
In the National Student Survey 2015, 89% of Psychology students at Kent were satisfied with the overall quality of teaching on their course. Psychology was ranked 5th for graduate employment prospects in The Complete University Guide 2015.
Course structure
The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules that will be available to you and provides details of the content of this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
In Stage 1 you take three compulsory modules: SP300 Psychology Statistics and Practical; SP301 Introduction to Biological and General Psychology, and SP302 Introduction to Social Psychology. You also take two optional modules from across the University. The School of Psychology offers two option modules: SP306 Introduction to Forensic Psychology and SP311 Business Psychology: An Introduction.
In Stage 2 you take seven compulsory modules in Psychology. These modules, together with the final year project, are required for professional recognition by the British Psychological Society. There is a further double module in Study Skills.
In Stage S (Year in Industry) you undertake a placement within an organisation that delivers a form of psychological service. Your work will be jointly supervised by an academic supervisor in the School of Psychology and a placement supervisor.
In Stage 3 you take two compulsory modules: SP633 Applying Psychology and SP582 the Psychology Project. You also take four optional Psychology modules, allowing you to follow specialist interests and benefit from staff research expertise.
Year in industry
Spend a year on placement within an organisation that delivers a form of psychological service, such as the National Health Service, Home Office, Department for Education or social services (subject to availability of placements and achieving an average mark of 60% at Stages 1 and 2).
The marks awarded for this year will be based on performance on the placement, a Reflective Diary kept by the student (marked on a pass/fail basis), a poster presentation about the placement experience, and the report of a research project conducted whilst on placement. The research report and the Reflective Diary must be submitted before the Autumn Term of Stage 3.
Teaching and assessment
Modules are taught by weekly lectures, workshops, small group seminars and project supervision. The Psychology Statistics and Practical modules include laboratory practical sessions, statistics classes, computing classes and lectures in statistics and methodology.
Most modules are assessed by examination and coursework in equal measure. Both Stage 2 and 3 marks and, where appropriate, the marks for your year abroad or placement count towards your final degree result.
Programme aims
The programme aims to:
- provide knowledge about, experience of, and insight into, the use of psychological experience by practising professional psychologists in an applied work setting
- attract and meet the needs of those contemplating a career in psychological professions and those motivated by an intellectual interest in psychology
- contribute to widening participation in higher education by offering a wide variety of entry routes
- provide a sound knowledge and systematic understanding of the principal approaches to psychology and perspectives such as social, cognitive, and biological
- develop a critical awareness and appraisal of the different approaches to psychology and related disciplines, and introduce students to a range of different theoretical and methodological approaches
- offer a range of modules covering the foundations of psychology, as defined by the British Psychological Society, which will enable students who successfully complete them, to obtain exemption from the initial or academic stage of training for entry into the British Psychological Society
- provide teaching informed by current research and scholarship, which requires students to engage with aspects of work at the frontiers of knowledge
- enable students to carry out independent research
- develop students' critical, analytical and problem-solving skills
- provide opportunities for the development of personal, communication, research and other key skills appropriate for graduate employment in the psychology professions and other fields.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
- psychology statistics, practical experimentation and research
- cognitive and social development
- interpersonal and group behaviour
- Cognition and cognitive neuropsychology
- personality and individual differences
- philosophical and theoretical issues in psychology
- the relationship between psychology and allied disciplines
- different frameworks in psychology and different levels of description and explanation
- applied psychology.
Intellectual skills
You gain the following intellectual abilities:
- critical reflection on particular issues
- oral discussion
- written analysis and interpretation
- critical evaluation and exposition of ideas
- development of writing and reading skills
- time management and preparation
- self reflection and development through feedback from different sources such as staff and peers
- clarity in thinking, critical thinking and problem identification.
Subject-specific skills
You gain subject-specific skills in the following:
- completing an empirical study in an area of psychology, under supervision
- expertise in the design and conduct of psychological research
- evaluating and selecting appropriate frameworks and methodologies for exploring issues in psychology
- using the major analytic techniques employed by psychologists
- employing the inferential method of science such as deductive methods, single case methods and semiotics
- psychological statistical methods and their interpretation
- the use of psychology-oriented software applications such as database programmes, experiment generators and statistical packages
- disseminating psychological information to appropriate bodies, and using psychological knowledge to enhance this process.
Transferable skills
You gain transferable skills in the following:
- communication: organise information clearly, respond to written sources, present information orally, adapt style for different audiences and the use of images as a communication tool
- numeracy: make sense of statistical materials, integrate numerical and non numerical information, understand the limits and potentialities of arguments based on quantitative information
- use IT skills to produce written documents, undertake online research and process information using databases
- work co operatively on group tasks and understand how groups function
- improving students’ learning by exploring personal strengths and weaknesses, time management, develop specialist learning skills such as foreign languages and autonomy in learning
- problem solving, exploring alternative solutions and learning to discriminate between them.
Careers
Our students develop a broad range of transferable skills, such as excellent communication skills, both written and oral, the ability to work independently, to analyse and summarise complex material and to respond positively to challenges, all skills considered essential for graduate employment.
Our graduates have gone into areas such as local government administration, social welfare, the Home Office, the probation service, teaching, special needs work, the NHS and health charities, or on to postgraduate professional training courses, for example, in educational, occupational or clinical psychology.
Professional recognition
Accredited by the British Psychological Society as conferring eligibility for Graduate Membership with Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (provided you graduate with at least second class honours and pass your final-year research project). This is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.
Entry requirements
Home/EU students
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications, typical requirements are listed below, students offering alternative qualifications should contact the Admissions Office for further advice. It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.
| Qualification | Typical offer/minimum requirement |
|---|---|
| A level | AAA excluding General Studies and Critical Thinking |
| GCSE | Mathematics grade C |
| Access to HE Diploma | The University of Kent will not necessarily make conditional offers to all access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If an offer is made candidates will be required to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above. |
| BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma) | The university will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF;OCR) on a case by case basis please contact us via the enquiries tab for further advice on your individual circumstances. |
| International Baccalaureate | 34 points overall or 17 points at HL with Mathematics 4 at HL or SL |
International students
The University receives applications from over 140 different nationalities and consequently will consider applications from prospective students offering a wide range of international qualifications. Our International Development Office will be happy to advise prospective students on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about our country-specific requirements.
Please note that if you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes through Kent International Pathways.
English Language Requirements
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
General entry requirements
Please also see our general entry requirements.
Fees
The 2016/17 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
| UK/EU | Overseas | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time |
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
The Government has announced changes to allow undergraduate tuition fees to rise in line with inflation from 2017/18.
The University of Kent is currently considering whether to increase its regulated full-time tuition fees for all returning Home and EU undergraduates from £9,000 to £9,250 in September 2017. This would be subject to us satisfying the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework and the access regulator's requirements. The equivalent part-time fees for these courses might also rise by 2.8%.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk
UK/EU/International students on an approved Year Abroad for the full 2016/17 academic year pay an annual fee of £1,350 to Kent for that year. Those on an approved Year in Industry pay an annual fee of £865 to Kent for that year. Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status.
Funding
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. Details of our proposed funding opportunities for 2016 entry can be found on our funding page.
General scholarships
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. For 2016 entry, the scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications as specified on our scholarships pages. Please review the eligibility criteria on that page.