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
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
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
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:
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