Program Overview

Psychology and English

Course Overview

The Psychology and English course at Bishop Grosseteste University is a comprehensive program that combines the study of psychology and English literature. The course is designed to provide students with a deep understanding of the human mind and behavior, as well as the power of literature to shape our understanding of the world.

Course Structure

The course is structured over three years, with each year building on the previous one to provide a comprehensive education in psychology and English literature.

Year 1

• Researching Psychology I: This module introduces students to the core areas and methods of psychology, including research design, statistical techniques, and qualitative research methods.
• Introduction to Psychology across the Lifespan: This module provides an understanding of developmental psychology across the lifespan, exploring physical development, cognitive development, social and emotional development throughout childhood and later into maturity.
• Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology (CHiP): This module immerses students in the origins of psychology, with respect to early understandings of what psychology is, as well as the development and establishment of psychology as a discipline in its own right.
• Introduction to Literary Studies: This module introduces students to the literary-critical skills and approaches that are fundamental to the study of English.
• The Gothic: Transgressive to Shock: This module introduces students to the suspenseful world of Gothic literature, covering texts from the eighteenth century to the present.
• Poetic License: Lines and Lyrics: This module equips students with the necessary skills to analyze and evaluate poetry, empowering them to read, analyze, and discuss poems and lyrics.

Year 2

• Personality and Individual Differences: This module covers the history, cornerstone theoretical frameworks, and methodological approaches of personality research.
• Social Psychology: This module develops students' knowledge and understanding of social psychology, one of the core areas of psychology introduced in Researching Psychology I.
• Researching Psychology II: This module builds and extends on core methods and statistical techniques acquired at level 4 in Researching Psychology I.
• Victorians Unbound: This module introduces students to the generic and thematic diversity of the Victorian period, considering a range of texts from across the period.
• Literature & Identity: Self or Subject?: This module is organized around key frameworks for the understanding of human and cultural identity, exploring literary texts drawn from a variety of genres, periods, and cultures.

Year 3

• Psychology Dissertation: The Dissertation requires students to work independently in producing a substantial piece of research that demonstrates mastery of academic knowledge and research skills commensurate with Level 6.
• BioPsychology: This module focuses upon the BPS Core domain Biopsychology, covering aspects of the biological basis of behaviors, emotions, and mental health.
• Cognitive Psychology: This module develops knowledge and understanding of the BPS core domain of Cognitive Psychology, which students will have been introduced to at level 4 in Researching Psychology I.
• Psychological Research Design and Project Preparation: The module provides an opportunity for students to build upon and apply the key intellectual, transferable, and practical skills gained at Levels 4 and 5 of the program in order to design an appropriate research project for their Psychology dissertation.
• The Future Unwritten: Late 20th- and 21st-century Literature: This module offers a final opportunity for students to extend their critical engagement with modern writing through an examination of some of the most significant writers, movements, and innovations in literature since the end of the second world war.

Entry Requirements

• Students will normally need 96-112 UCAS tariff points (from a maximum of four Advanced Level qualifications).
• Students will also need GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at grade 4 (previously C) or above (or equivalent).

Assessment

• Assessment in English Literature is designed to give students the oral, written, and digital skills to be confident and successful.
• Assessments in Psychology take place at the end of each module in order for students to demonstrate their understanding of the objectives covered.

Careers & Further Study

• Studying English Literature at BGU equips students to succeed in a diverse range of professions, including creative and professional writing, publishing, editing, human resources, public policy, journalism, social media, and public relations fields, marketing, technology, librarianship, teaching, and a wide range of creative and media industries.
• In Psychology, students will be ready to apply their knowledge of psychology to the world in which they live, with the necessary workplace skills for a variety of future careers.

Support

• Studying at BGU is a student-centered experience, with staff and students working together in a friendly and supportive atmosphere as part of an intimate campus community.
• Students will know every member of staff personally and feel confident approaching them for help and advice.

Fees & Funding

• A lot of student finance information is available from numerous sources, but it is sometimes confusing and contradictory.
• At BGU, the Student Advice team are experts in helping students sort out the funding arrangements for their studies, offering a range of services to guide students through all aspects of student finance step by step.