Psychology in Education BSc (Hons) (with Foundation Year)
UCAS Code: PSE1|Duration: 4 years|Full Time|Hope Park
UCAS Campus Code: L46
Work placement opportunities|International students can apply|Study Abroad opportunities
About the course
Demand for individuals with knowledge and skills in the field of Educational Psychology is growing. The single honours BSc Psychology in Education course at Liverpool Hope University equips students with knowledge and understanding of human thinking and behaviour, and the skills to apply this knowledge to real-life educational settings.
The course provides an in-depth scientific knowledge and understanding of the core areas of psychology (social, cognitive, biological, developmental, individual differences) and the opportunity to apply theories, methods, and approaches from psychology to education. Students will gain a critical understanding of how young children, adolescents, and adults learn and develop within diverse educational settings in local, national, and global contexts. They will also be supported to develop knowledge and awareness of contemporary issues in psychology and education.
Situated within the Department of Psychology, and taught by lecturers from psychology and education, the course provides an intellectually stimulating environment in which students will acquire skills of critical thinking and independent learning. The transferable skills developed through the course will be relevant to a range of careers including teaching, mentoring, educational psychology, and social work
Course structure
Teaching on this course is structured into lectures, where all students are taught together, seminars of small groups of around 20-30 students, and tutorials which typically have no more than 10 students.
In the first year of study, there are approximately 12 teaching hours each week, which reduces to approximately 10 teaching hours in the second and third years.
In addition to the in-class hours, students will be expected to complete independent study (e.g., reading relevant texts and completing assignments) both on their own, and in groups.
Students will also have the opportunity to engage in specific enrichment activities including research internships, workshops and talks from special interest groups, placements, and the Global Hope programme.
Assessment and feedback
During the course, students will undertake a variety of assessments, including written exams, essays, research reports, presentations, and assessed laboratory work. Assessments include both individual assignments, and group work. In the final year, students complete an individual empirical research project (dissertation).
Feedback is provided electronically for all coursework, and students have the opportunity to discuss this with a tutor if required.
Curriculum overview
The Psychology in Education degree is a single honours course that provides knowledge and understanding of the human mind and behaviour, and applies this to educational issues and settings. Important concepts such as perception, cognition, personality, and social behaviour are studied as part of this degree. Specialised tutorials will support the application of psychological theory and research to the field of education.
Foundation Year
The Foundation Year is a great opportunity if you have the ability and enthusiasm to study for a degree, but do not yet have the qualifications required to enter directly onto our degree programmes. A significant part of the Foundation Year focuses upon core skills such as academic writing at HE level, becoming an independent learner, structuring academic work, critical thinking, time management and note taking.
Successful completion of the Foundation Year will enable you to progress into the first year (Level C) of your chosen honours degree. Further details can be found here.
Year One
Year one introduces the core areas of psychology and students reflect on a range of issues relating to psychology and education.
What is Psychology?
This lecture series explores the historical and conceptual issues underpinning the study of psychology as a scientific discipline.
Individual and Group Perspectives
Lectures explore theories and conceptual issues in social psychology and individual differences, and their relationship to important social issues (e.g., racisms, populism, the environment).
Research Design and Analysis 1
In this lecture and seminar series, students develop an understanding of basic research designs, and are introduced to statistical analysis.
Developing a Psychological Imagination
Students engage in a series of structured activities that support their critical thinking, presentation, writing, and research skills. These skills are developed in the context of working as an individual and as part of a tutorial group.
Ethical Dilemmas in Psychology
This lecture series explores the history of psychology and ethics, in addition to possible future ethical issues for psychology.
Psychology and Globalisation
This lecture series considers how globalisation has affected our understanding of psychological theories and constructs, and informed the methods used in psychological science.
Science, Data, Facts, and Truths
These seminars explore how biases in human thinking and reasoning affect how we think about real-world social problems. Students work together to acquire data in relation to a real-world social problem of their choosing.
Experimental Programme Design
These seminars give a hands-on introduction to programming psychological experiments.
Reflective Learner in Psychology
Students work in tutorial groups to explore topics encountered in lectures and seminars and apply these to the field of education. Example topics include individual differences in learning, ethical dilemmas in educational contexts, and how psychology can help to understand global challenges within education.
Year Two
Year two focuses on the topics of cognitive and developmental psychology, and on applications of psychology. Students will gain knowledge and awareness of how psychology can be applied to the field of education, covering topics such as inclusion, wellbeing, technology, and life-long learning.
Vision and Cognition
This lecture series explores how our visual and cognitive processing systems influence how we perceive information.
Developmental Psychology
This lecture series examines how humans change cognitively, socially, and emotionally over the lifespan across different experiences and contexts.
Research Design and Analysis 2
These lectures and seminars build on the introductory understanding of research design and analysis gained in Year 1. Students collaborate in small groups to conduct two research studies (one experimental and one qualitative).
Health Psychology
These lectures explore the role of psychology in supporting psychological health. There is a particular focus on evaluating how psychological perspectives can be used to inform health interventions in the workplace.
Educational Psychology
These lectures discuss fundamental issues in educational psychology. Topics include classroom behaviour, young people who are considered to be at risk in education, civic engagement, and thriving neighbourhoods.
Clinical Psychology
These lectures examine psychological models applied to mental health. The curriculum covers classification, assessment and treatment, and focuses on specific diagnoses including anxiety, trauma, stress, PTSD, mood and eating disorders, depression, addiction, psychosis, and schizophrenia.
Psychological Interventions
These seminars build on Science, Data, Facts, and Truths from Year 1 and allow students to develop a psychological intervention for an individual, an organisation, or a community in a topic of their own choosing.
Applied Psychology Research
In these tutorials, students will work to develop a research funding proposal for a piece of psychological research within the field of education.
Year Three
Year three covers biopsychology, motivations, and emotions, and students choose two option courses based on their interests within psychology and education. In this year of the degree students also complete an independent research project focusing on the intersection between psychology and education.
Biological Psychology
These lectures explore psychology from evolutionary, genetic, and physiological perspectives.
Motivation and Emotion
This lecture series investigates motivation and emotion from various psychological perspectives (e.g., attitudes and self-concept, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and goal setting).
Research Design and Analysis 3
These lectures and workshops support the Dissertation and help to further develop the skills to be an independent researcher.
Future Challenges for Psychology and Society
In this lecture series we return to some important themes previously explored in the curriculum and re-examine them with consideration of a range of forthcoming challenges.
The Research Project: Dissertation
Students are guided by a supervisor in Psychology to produce an independent research project exploring the links between psychology and education. The Dissertation is completed following the principles of the Open Science Framework.
Students select two courses from the following, all of which can be explored within the context of education (topics subject to change):
Counselling Theory and Practice
This course introduces students to a range of different counselling theories and tools that can be adapted as appropriate to meet a client’s needs. Students have the opportunity to apply basic counselling skills related to Person Centred Therapy and explore the ethical, legal, and diversity frameworks which inform current practice.
Psychology of Religion
This course offers a critical scientific approach to the study of the psychology of religion, including the origins of religious belief, the relationship between religion and physical and mental well-being, and the relationship between religion and political violence / terrorism.
Psychology of Aesthetics and the Arts
This course is an opportunity for students to reflect on the relevance of the psychological function of our everyday perception of the world, both natural and built, which typically involves the experience of beauty and ugliness. The preferences and dislikes that are formed often reflect our identity and determine the choices of individuals and society.
Psychology of Peace and Conflict
This course explores how psychologists have contributed both conceptually and empirically to the understanding of war, peace, and conflict resolution. In addition, students are introduced to a range of peace-making strategies and given the opportunity to apply these to conflict situations.
Human Memory
This course provides an in-depth understanding of human memory. It expands on the underlying processes across different contexts, such as, how memory influences eyewitness performance, how memory interacts with technology, how memory changes through ageing, and how memory can explain individual differences in the acquisition of literacy skills.
Cognitive Neuroscience
This course explores the structural and functional brain mechanisms associated with information processing during high-level cognitive functions, such as, attention, decision making, and consciousness. Students have the opportunity to gain experience of how different techniques in Cognitive Neuroscience, especially electrophysiology, contribute to our understanding of the neural basis of cognition.
Communicative Development in Educational Settings
This course cover topics such as, why communication matters, the home learning environment, child directed speech, shared reading, bilingualism, developmental language disorders, storytelling, and the role of peers. There is also an opportunity for an immersive experience with psychometric measures that are typically administered by researchers and Educational and Clinical Psychologists. Psychology in Education students are guaranteed a place on this option course.
Entry requirements
There may be some flexibility for mature students offering non-tariff qualifications and students meeting particular widening participation criteria.
Careers
The course will prepare students for further training and/or for a career in fields such as education, social work, human resources, welfare, police, probation, prisons, and marketing. Providing successful accreditation by the British Psychological Society (BPS), the course will confer eligibility for graduate basis for chartered membership (GBC) with the BPS. Possible careers include educational psychologist, teacher, primary care graduate mental health worker, psychological wellbeing practitioner, and counselling psychologist. Additionally, a clear grounding in psychology and research methods will prepare graduates for a PhD and a future career in academia.
Enhancement opportunities
Work Placement Opportunities
Students are able to complete a placement year and support will be provided in finding a placement. Short-term placements may be available, including the option to work as a research intern.
SALA
The Service and Leadership Award (SALA) is offered as an extra-curricular programme involving service-based experiences, development of leadership potential and equipping you for a career in a rapidly changing world. It enhances your degree, it is something which is complimentary but different and which has a distinct ‘value-added’ component. Find out more on our Service and Leadership Award page.
Study Abroad
As part of your degree, you can choose to spend either a semester or a full year of study at one of our partner universities as part of our Study Abroad programme. Find out more on our Study Abroad page.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2024/25 academic year are £9,250 for full-time undergraduate courses.
If you are a student from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, your tuition fees will also be £9,250.
The University reserves the right to increase Home and EU Undergraduate and PGCE tuition fees in line with any inflationary or other increase authorised by the Secretary of State for future years of study.
Additional costs
On top of tuition fees, students will need approximately £250 for purchasing key textbooks. There may also be a cost for fieldtrips; details of which will be provided with plenty of notice.
Scholarships
We have a range of scholarships to help with the cost of your studies. Visit our scholarships page to find out more.
International tuition fees
The International Tuition fees for 2024/25 are £12,500.
Visit our International fees page for more information.
Course combinations
With Foundation year, this degree is only available to study as a Single Honours course.