Clone of BSc Psychology and Language Sciences

The first two years of your degree comprise mainly mandatory courses taken by all students providing you with broad-based knowledge of psychology and language sciences. These cover fundamental topics, such as the neural basis of perception, memory and language, social psychology, individual differences, speech production and speech perception and the development of communication and cognition. Skills in planning, running and analysing experiments are taught through laboratory classes in years one and two.

All students in the second year complete a weekly observational placement with children in an early years setting. This is an integral part of the degree which enables you to develop observational research techniques and to relate developmental models of play and language to your real-life observations of young children's behaviour. Because the placement involves work with children, all students are required to undergo a satisfactory check with the UK Disclosure and Barring Service.

In your final year you will choose a research project to be completed under the supervision of an expert in your chosen field. Alongside the project you will select six modules from a broad range of specialised content areas, comprising clusters relating to particular areas of professional and research interest (e.g. educational psychology, speech and language therapy, neuroscience of language).

This programme is accredited by the British Psychological Society

Programme Structure

Do please note that the curriculum is under constant review and development, in consultation with both staff and students, and so some of the exact details below may be amended.

Year 1
PALS0007 Perception, Attention and Learning
PALS0008 Memory
PALS0009 Introduction to Speech Science
PALS-TBC Introduction to Statistical Methods
PALS0011 Neural Basis of Perception, Memory and Language
PLIN0006 Introduction to Language
PSYC0008 Evidence and Enquiry in Psychology
PSYC0220 Social Psychology

Year 2
PALS0013 Development of Communication and Cognition
PALS-TBC Intermediate Statistical Methods
PSYC0011 The Psychology of Individual Differences
PSYC0004 Language and Cognition
PSYC0235 Qualitative and Mixed Research Methods
AND ONE FROM PALS0012 Speech Production and Perception
OR PLIN0003 Introduction to Generative Grammar A
OR PALS-TBC Language and Communication
Plus one 15 credit elective module

Year 3
PALS0024 Research project (30 credits)

Plus six optional courses from the following:
PALS0015 Perspectives on Clinical Psychology
PALS0016 Developmental Disorders of Communication and Cognition
PALS0017 Development of Speech Perception and Production
PALS0018 Web Programming for Research in Psychology and Language Science
PALS0019 Brain Stimulation
PALS0003 Rehabilitation of Acquired Neurogenic Communication Difficulties
PALS0020 Deafness: Cognition and Language
PALS0004 Conversation Analysis
PALS0022 The Evolution of Vocal Communication
PALS0029 The Human Voice: Speech, Emotions, Identity
PALS0032 Deaf Culture and Identities
PALS0039 Introduction to Deep Learning for Speech and Language Processing
PALS-TBC Language and Communication in Dementia

PSYC0010 Social Psychology
PSYC0022 Psychology and Education
PSYC0024 Organisational Psychology
PSYC0025 The Social Psychology of Risk
PSYC0026 Topics in Developmental Psychology
PSYC0027 Human-Computer Interaction
PSYC0029 Speech
PSYC0002 Behaviour Change: an interdisciplinary approach
PSYC0030 Human Learning and Memory
PSYC0031 Cognitive Neuroscience
PSYC0032 The Brain in Action
PSYC0033 Language in Context
PSYC0035 Topics in Neurobiology
PSYC0036 Genes and Behaviour

PLIN0019 Semantic-Pragmatic Development
PLIN0021 Phonetic Theory
PLIN0029 Stuttering
PLIN0032 Sociolinguistics
PLIN0035 Psycholinguistics: Stages in Normal Language Development
PLIN0036 Linguistics of Sign Language
PLIN0038 Neurolinguistics
PLIN0044 Multilingualism in Cognition

Please note that not all optional courses are offered every year, and that there are restrictions on the combination of options that can be chosen.

Programme Director: Dr Caroline Newton

Admissions Tutor: Dr Vitor Zimmerer

Programme Administrator: David Newton

Admissions Enquiries: Undergraduate Admissions

Chair of the Board of Examiners: Professor Mark Huckvale

Head of Year 1: Dr Caroline Newton

Head of Year 2: Dr Alana Loewenberger

Head of Year 3: Dr Rosalind Potts

Application Procedure

In your UCAS application we are looking for the potential to meet our academic requirements and a strong interest in psychology and language. A questionnaire is sent to some applicants where the selectors need more information to evaluate a case.

All applicants who are offered a place will be invited to attend an applicant open day. This is intended to allow candidates to make an informed decision about whether the degree programme is right for them, and so all candidates resident in the UK are usually expected to attend.

We aim to make a decision about your application within four to eight weeks of receiving it.

If you are concerned that you have not heard from us after this timeframe then you are welcome to email the Admissions Officer.

Please do not call the Admissions Officer concerning the decision of your application. You will NOT be told of the decision by telephone.

The knowledge and experience gained on this course provide an excellent foundation for further specialised training in a range of career options including audiology, clinical and educational psychology, teaching and speech and language therapy.

The leading-edge experimental, empirical and statistical/computational tools provided on this course will enable you to develop and evaluate ideas across the areas of human psychology and communication, providing an exceptional basis for further research in these areas.

Knowledge of people and how they communicate – as well as the analytical and communication skills developed on this course – is also valuable in a wide range of careers in fields such as advertising, management and human resources.

Some of our recent graduates have gone on to do the following:

• Assistant Psychologist in a Neurorehabilitation unit
• MSc Clinical Psychology
• Teach First
• MSc Genes, Brain and Development
• HR consultant for Price Waterhouse Cooper
• Digital Marketing and Web Analytics
• MSc Education
• MRes Psychology
• PhD in Neuroscience at UCL
• DPhil at Oxford
• Deloittes
• MSc Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences
• MSc Health Psychology
• Assistant Psychologist
• Advertising for the Financial Times
• Degree in Medicine

Admissions Officer: Undergraduate Admissions
Admissions Tutor: Dr Vitor Zimmerer
Programme Queries: David Newton