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Duration of programme: 4 years (where students join the programme in year 1)
Award on successful completion: Bachelor of Science with Honours
Location of delivery: Abertay University, Bell Street, Dundee
Accreditation: To be sought on approval (all core PSY module structure has already received approval from accreditors)
Composition of the programme: 120 SCQF (Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework) credits in each academic year, delivered largely in modules of 20 credits each, with 3 modules taken in term 1, and 3 in term 2 each year. First and second year of the programme includes a choice of microcredential modules worth a total of 20 credits per year. All students complete a 40-credit individual research project in the final year.
Students will be given the option to register on this pathway at the beginning of their degree programme, or to register for the BSc (Hons) Psychology (with no pathway). They will be given another opportunity to register for this pathway at the start of Year 2 provided they have completed the necessary modules for the pathway award at level 7 (PSY106), and again the start of Year 3 providing they have taken the required Year 2 pathway modules. Year 2 is the last point at which
they could switch to one of our other psychology pathways, given our programme structure, but students may be able to gain advanced entry to one of our Food/Sport degrees given our entry requirements and prior learning. Finally, if a student initially chooses a pathway but subsequently changes their mind, they can choose to graduate with a BSc (Hons) Psychology as they will have completed all the core psychology modules.
Contact hours and workload: Each academic year typically requires 1200 hours of student effort; on average across the 4 years of this programme, 20-25% of that time is in seminars, practicals and accessing online content (lectures, activities, etc.); the remainder is independent study.
Assessment methods: Assessment is by a range of methods including reports, case studies, essays, exams, vivas and student presentations.
Academic staff: This programme is delivered by staff in the Department of Health, Sport and Wellbeing, Department of Sociological and Psychological Sciences and Department of Built Environment and Life Sciences. Staff profiles can be viewed at https://www.abertay.ac.uk/schools/school-of-applied-sciences/
Core modules in the programme*:
Other modules that may be offered, but are subject to change over time:
Developments in the discipline
The discipline of psychology is continually evolving, with most new developments coming in
experimental and statistical methods. The use of neural imaging techniques is the most significant advancement in understanding the links between brain and behaviour of recent times, along with advances in open science practices. However, the core subject disciplines are unlikely to change (*core modules are correct at the time of writing, and will depend on the stage of entry, but are subject to annual review and may change because of this). This keeps the curriculum relevant and maintains a real-world connection as new policy, practice, employability, and professional approaches come to the forefront. New developments are readily incorporated into the core curriculum without having to fundamentally change the programme structure.