Foundations in Biological and Cognitive Psychology is a mandatory module for all students taking a psychology degree route. Together with the “Foundations in Social and Developmental Psychology” module, level 4 students will attain a holistic underpinning to the major approaches in psychology. The module will cover conceptual and historical issues of behavioural, biological and cognitive approaches to psychology.

Social Psychology is concerned with the scientific study of human social behaviour, experience and thought. Developmental Psychology is concerned with the scientific study of systematic changes in human psychology across an individual’s lifespan, particularly cognitive, perceptual, social and emotional development in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. This module provides an introduction to key theories and approaches in Social and Developmental Psychology.

This module is designed to provide students with two essential aspects of further psychological study. Firstly, an introduction to psychological research methods; including a consideration of methodology and data analysis for both quantitative and qualitative data.  Secondly, this module will also equip students with the essential academic study skills required for their degrees.

This module aims to introduce you to key features of the sociological perspective and what many call the sociological imagination. It is concerned with making the everyday strange and the far away near to gain a better grasp on key aspects of social life. This leads into a key concern of sociology with questions of power and inequality. Students will be able to engage with key debates about the nature of inequality and power using contemporary examples and analysis.

Introduction to Criminology aims to introduce students to the history of criminological thought, combining biographical fact with historical and cultural context. Students will develop an understanding of how crime is defined and measured and examine theoretical perspectives that seek to explain causes of criminal behaviour.

This module will introduce students to political concepts, principles and theories that shape the operation of politics in the UK, and how this affects policy responses to various social issues and problems with a particular emphasis placed upon crime and deviance. As well as introducing students to the political institutions of the UK, the module examines the different ways that political choices are framed and made in the UK and the process of debate and dialogue is a key part of the content of the module.

This module will introduce the major aspects of social change that have led to and developed within modern societies. The emphasis will be upon structural changes in Britain and Europe, but will give room for students to explore social change in rapidly changing middle income countries as well. 

The module will look into the history of people’s movement across the globe. Moreover, a focus on migration also includes discussions about different causes of migration, and its voluntary and forced forms, as well as asylum seeking.

Biological psychology (biopsychology) looks at psychological processes from a biological perspective, dealing with issues such as behaviour genetics, endocrinology and physiological psychology. Cognitive psychology studies how information is processed by the brain and sense organs. It is concerned with issues of how people perceive, understand, make decisions about and remember information.

All researchers require a basic understanding of qualitative research methodology. This module develops the knowledge gained in the Psychological Research Methods Module, and provides students with the skills to carry out research of sufficient quality and rigour to complete their own independent studies.

This module provides students with the skills to carry out quantitative research of sufficient quality and rigour to complete their own independent studies.  Students will attain a holistic underpinning to the major research skills utilized within psychology.

This module will build on the broad introduction at Level 4 and seek to provide research-based accounts of social and developmental behaviour in key areas, such as people in groups, prejudice and discrimination, aggression, social influence, emotional and social development, life-span adult development and developmental social psychology. 

Social Theory provides students with the opportunity to engage with the ideas of a range of important theorists from the late 20th and early 21st centuries, allowing for an engagement with the insightful, often challenging and sometimes counter-intuitive perspectives that come from a range of contemporary social theorists. 

This module intends to examine definitions of globalisation, the dimensions of globalisation and the evidence to evaluate the extent to which globalisation is now a key element in important aspects of social life. This module will allow students of sociology should be able to engage with these debates by evaluating a range of data and arguments about globalisation.

The central theme is the social nature of health. Understanding the broad patterns of morbidity and mortality are fundamental to enabling informed discussion regarding the social nature of health. The module seeks to broaden student’s understanding of contemporary health and illness with a content which is topical, wide ranging combining contemporary issues in health with classic debates within this field.

This module will encourage students to develop a critical approach to race, racism and resistance from a global perspective, looking not only on conceptions and lived experience in the Western countries but also other parts of the world, including the Global South including Latin American, Africa and Asian contexts, and Central and Eastern Europe. The module will explore key sites of contemporary racism and anti-racist political activism, drawing on examples such as the Black Lives Matter movement and pro- and anti-refugee solidarity activism in Europe and beyond. Attention will also be paid to decolonial and postcolonial approaches, as well as the intersection of gender, race, class and other categories of difference when exploring race, racism and resistance globally.

Abnormal Psychology seeks to explain unusual or maladaptive behaviour through the examination of rigorous, research-based subject matter. The concept of ‘abnormal’ can be problematic given negative connotations with ‘not normal’ and this will be a key area of debate: the essence of normality and the appropriateness of labels which may have important ramifications for how people suffering psychopathology are in some way perceived as ‘not normal’ or as inferior members of society.

This module seeks to primarily explore and touch upon individual differences in personality and intelligence. The module also aims to introduce students to other elements of differential psychology for example creativity, cognitive styles, motivation and leadership.

Research is an important and integral part of your degree, and the Research Dissertation gives students the opportunity to expand learning and develop interests in a particular topic. Students will critique research by others and will reflect on their own work, moving students from a theoretical knowledge of research toward a more informed level of skill and application. 

Gender and sexuality are an everyday experience for most people and impact on their daily lives. However, great complexity surrounds gender and sexuality in a contemporary society and culture. The module will consider theoretical aspects of gender and sexuality, as well as, it will look at different ways, both qualitative and quantitative, of researching gender and sexuality and it will deploy the most recent sociological research related to gender and sexuality.

To explore the relationship between technology and society is to look at the relationship between people and things. In this respect important debates about material culture and their origin in anthropology need to be examined. Material culture is one important element, with considerable contemporary interest, that links to the wider perspective of material civilization. The other major approach is to explore contributions to the study of technology – especially the debate about social construction and technological determinism. The module will take a broad definition of technology to include the important mundane material world (tables, chairs, pavements) alongside contemporary communications technologies (mobile phones, internet). This module will explore definitions and theories of technology and society, important anthropologically inspired accounts of the material world, and more recent work on the impact of communications technology.