Welcome to Psychology! · Welcome to Psychology! Welcome to the University of Northampton and an exciting three years ahead. Psychology by its very nature is interesting and challenging,

Welcome to Psychology!

Welcome to the University of Northampton and an exciting three

years ahead. Psychology by its very nature is interesting and

challenging, and the psychology programmes aim to provide

discussion, debate and understanding. On behalf of all the staff

we would like to congratulate you on your entrance to university

and wish you every success in your studies this year!

In addition to the material presented here, we have also

prepared a webpage for our new students for 2018. Please have

a look at this, as it includes some activities for you to complete

before arriving for our Welcome Week in September. You can

find the site at:

https://mypad.northampton.ac.uk/psychologywelcome2018/

Psychology courses at Northampton

We offer several different courses in Psychology which categorise

more broadly into Single and Joint Honours degrees. If you have

been accepted for a Single Honours degree (including the

Developmental and Education and Counselling pathways) in

Psychology you will study only psychology for the duration of

your course whereas if you are taking the Joint Honours course,

you will study psychology alongside another subject of your

choice across the three years of your degree.

Regardless of which course you take, you will find that all

psychology students are taught together. You may also find that

other students from a variety of different courses attend classes

with you. We see this arrangement as one of the strengths of

our psychology provision - it means that you have plenty of

opportunities to meet students from a range of different

backgrounds and that you are exposed to many different ways

of thinking about course content.

At this stage our provision is reasonably flexible in that it is often

(but not always) possible to transfer between courses if you feel

that your chosen course is not for you.

Single Honours Psychology BSc (Hons)

Psychology BSc Single Honours Psychology students take six first

year psychology module, covering introductory topics in general

psychology and research methods, as well as topics on

professional pathways in psychology, applying psychology to our

daily lives, and positive psychology – the study of human

‘thriving’ or positive human functioning.

Your course leader for Single Honours

Psychology is: Kimberley Hill

([email protected])

BSc Psychology (Counselling) pathway

Five of the standard first year psychology modules and an

additional module in counselling are taken in the first year of the

BSc Psychology (Counselling) pathway. In years 2 and 3

students maintain the focus on counselling, and have the

opportunity to choose ‘designated’ (elective) modules across a

range of topics.

Your acting course leader for Psychology and

Counselling is: Liz Guilford/Louise King

([email protected])

BSc Psychology (Developmental &

Educational Psychology) pathway

Students on the Developmental & Educational Psychology

pathway have a similar structure to other courses in the first

year. In subsequent years there is a focused specialism in

Developmental & Educational Psychology along with a range of

designated modules.

Your course leader for Developmental and

Education Psychology is: Steve Kilpatrick

([email protected])

Joint Honours Psychology

Students on a joint honours degree with psychology take three

psychology modules in the first year (except those doing Joint

Honours with Law, who only take two psychology modules). The

remaining modules are set out by the other subject you study.

In second and third year you get to choose the number of

psychology modules that you want to study depending on

whether you wish to major or minor in Psychology.

Your course leader for Joint Honours

Psychology is: Alasdair Gordon-Finlayson

(alasdair.gordon-finlayson@

northampton.ac.uk)

Head of Year One

The Head of Year has responsibility for advising and guiding all

students within that particular year. The Head of Year also issues

extensions for coursework when required.

Head of Year One is Rachel Evenden, and she

can be contacted at:

[email protected]

VERY IMPORTANT!

All our Single Honours courses as well as the Joint Honours

course (but only when taken as the major subject) lead to a

degree which, upon successful completion, means that you gain

eligibility for the graduate basis for chartered membership (GBC)

with the British Psychological Society (BPS). The BPS is the body

that oversees the professional practice of psychology in the UK.

GBC refers to the accreditation by the BPS of undergraduate

courses considered to provide an appropriate foundation for

further training in psychology. We are pleased to say that the

BPS accredits all of the Psychology courses offered at the

university. We will advise you, later in the year, on which

modules you need to choose in your second year in order to have

your degree accredited by the BPS.

Course Information

You will be registered on a number of NILE (Northampton

Integrated Learning Environment) sites – one each for the

modules you are taking, and an additional NILE site common to

all psychology staff and students. This is accessible through the

NILE home page (it’s called “18/19 BSc Psychology”), and all

information about your programmes in general and anything to

do with the Psychology subject group will be made available

there. You must be registered on this module – this goes for all

psychology students including all joint honours students. If you

don’t see this, please speak to your Personal Academic Tutor.

Towards the end of your first year, you will be asked to choose

your designated modules for the second year, and more

information will be given about these closer to the time. In the

meantime, you can use the university website to access your

“Award Map” which outlines all the possibilities for your

programme, which enables you to tailor the content of your

degree towards your own interests as they develop. You will

need to complete 120 credits in each year of full time study, with

each module counting 20 credits (except for some of the second

year psychology modules which count 10 credits).

Recommended reading

Please note, this is not an exhaustive list – but this will provide

you with a starting point for reading for your course. For more

detailed, module specific lists, have a look at the reading lists

tab in the module links in NILE. Do check for availability of these

books in the library!

PSY1001

Davey, G. (ed.) (2011) Applied Psychology.

Chichester: BPS Blackwell.

PSY1003

Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, Vliek,

M.L.W., E Passer, M., & Smith, R. (2012).

Psychology: The science of mind and

behaviour (3rd edition). London: McGraw-Hill.

PSY1004

Freeman, R.P.J. & Stone, T. (2006). Study

Skills for Psychology: Succeeding in your

Degree. London: Sage Publications.

PSY1006

Dancey, Christine P. and Reidy, John. (2017)

Statistics Without Maths for Psychology (6th

Edition). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

Howitt, Dennis and Cramer, Duncan. (2014)

Introduction to research methods in

psychology (5th Edition). Harlow: Pearson

Education Limited.

2018 Welcome Week Timetable - BSc Psychology

You will be advised when your 10 minute 1:1 tutorial will be during welcome week by your Personal Tutor (PT)

Time Monday

24th September

Tuesday

25th

September

Wednesday

26th September

Thursday

27th September

Friday

28th

September

9am

Subject

orientation

Group 1 –

9am – 12pm

Senate (SN)

313

Charlotte Dann

Group 2 –

9am – 12pm

10am

Are you

ready?

Senate (SN)

101

Group 1 –

10.30 – 11am

Charlotte Dann

Group 2 –

10.30 – 11am

Senate (SN)

306

Sebastian

Bartos/Amar

Cherchar

Group 3 –

9am – 12pm

Senate (SN)

310

Josephine

Chen-

Wilson/Graham

Smith

Group 4 –

9am – 12pm

Senate (SN)

315

Sebastian

Sebastian

Bartos/Amar

Cherchar

11am Are you

ready?

Senate (SN)

101

Group 3 –

11am –

11.30am

Josephine

Chen-

Wilson/Graham

Smith

Kimberley Hill Group 4 –

11am –

11.30am

Kimberley Hill

12am

Expectations of

University Life

Group 1 – 12.30

– 1pm

Senate (SN) 101

Student academic

support &

Charlotte Dann

1pm

Expectations of

University Life

Group 2 –1pm –

1.30pm

Senate (SN) 101

Student academic

support &

Sebastian

Bartos/Amar

Cherchar

Group 3 –1pm –

1.30pm

Senate (SN) 101

Student academic

support &

Josephine Chen-

Wilson/Graham

Smith

Group 4 -

1.30pm – 2pm

Senate (SN) 101

Student academic

support &

Kimberley Hill

2pm

3pm

Induction,

Social

belonging,

Team building

Group 1 – 3pm

– 6pm

Creative Hub

(CH) 303

Charlotte Dann

Group 2 – 3pm

– 6pm

Academic,

digital and

employability

skills

Group 1 – 3pm

– 6pm

Senate (SN)

108

Learning

Library

Services,

Changemaker

4pm

5pm

Learning Hub

(LH) 322

Sebastian

Bartos/Amar

Cherchar

Group 3 – 3pm

– 6pm

Senate (SN)

303

Josephine Chen-

Wilson/Graham

Smith

Group 5 – 3pm

– 6pm

Senate (SN)

203

Kimberley Hill

team &

Charlotte Dann

Group 2 – 3pm

– 6pm

Learning Hub

(LH) 115

Learning

Library

Services,

Changemaker

team &

Sebastian

Bartos/Amar

Cherchar

Group 3 – 3pm

– 6pm

Senate (SN)

105

Learning

Library

Services,

Changemaker

team &

Josephine

Chen-

Wilson/Graham

Smith

Group 4 – 3pm

– 6pm

Learning Hub

(LH) 126

Learning

Library

Services,

Changemaker

team &

Kimberley Hill

6pm

2018 Welcome Week Timetable - BSc Psychology & Counselling

You will be advised when your 10 minute 1:1 tutorial will be during welcome week by your Personal Tutor (PT)

Time Monday

24th September

Tuesday

25th

September

Wednesday

26th

September

Thursday

27th

September

Friday

28th

September

9am Subject

orientation

Group 1 -

9am – 12pm

Learning Hub

(LH) 126 Liz

Guilford/Louise

King

Group 2 -

9am – 12pm

10am

11am

Are you

ready?

Group 1 -

11.30 – 12pm

Senate (SN)

101

Liz

Guilford/Louise

King

Learning Hub

(LH) 127

Rachel

Evenden

Group 2 -

11.30 – 12pm

Senate (SN)

101

Rachel Evenden

12pm

1pm

2pm

Expectations of

University Life

Group 2 – 1.30 –

2pm

Senate (SN) 101

Student academic

support & Rachel

Evenden

Group 1 - 2pm –

2.30pm

Senate (SN) 101

Student academic

support & Liz

Guilford/Louise

King

3pm

Induction,

Social

belonging,

Team building

Group 1 - 3pm

– 6pm

Learning Hub

(LH) 323

Liz

Guilford/Louise

King

Academic,

digital and

employability

skills

Group 1 - 3pm

– 6pm

Learning Hub

(LH) 127

Learning

Library

Services,

Changemaker

team & Liz

4pm

5pm

Group 2 - 3pm

– 6pm

Learning Hub

(LH) 318

Rachel Evenden

Guilford/Louise

King

Group 2 - 3pm

– 6pm

Learning Hub

(LH) 128

Learning

Library

Services,

Changemaker

team & Rachel

Evenden

6pm

2018 Welcome Week Timetable - Psychology (Developmental and Educational)

You will be advised when your 10 minute 1:1 tutorial will be during welcome week by your Personal Tutor (PT)

Time Monday

24th September

Tuesday

25th

September

Wednesday

26th

September

Thursday

27th September

Friday

28th

September

9am

Subject

orientation

9am – 12pm

Learning

Hub (LH)

318 Steve

Kilpatrick

10am

11am

12am

1pm

Are you

ready?

1.30 – 2pm

Learning Hub

(LH) 228

Steve Kilpatrick

2pm

Expectations of

University Life

2pm – 2.30pm

Senate (SN) 101

Student academic

support & Steve

Kilpatrick

3pm

Induction,

Social

belonging,

Team building

3pm – 6pm

Academic,

digital and

employability

skills

3pm – 6pm

4pm

5pm

Learning Hub

(LH) 124

Steve Kilpatrick

Senate (SN)

104

Learning Library

Services,

Changemaker

team & Steve

Kilpatrick

6pm