Psychology and Sociology

Are you fascinated by human nature, by who we are, how we interact and why we behave the way we do? Are you curious about the forces shaping society around us and how we can change it for the better? If so, you will enjoy our BSc (Hons) in Psychology and Sociology.

Our joint degree provides an intellectually challenging and stimulating environment for exploring questions around the individual and society, while also offering opportunities for experiential and work-based learning.

The combination of studying psychology and sociology will allow you to explore a large and fascinating world, the fundamental nature of human beings, and how that nature, alongside cultures, institutions, and structures, shapes our social world.

This course is designed to equip you with a comprehensive understanding of psychological and sociological perspectives, both in theory and in practice. Combining psychology’s focus on the individual with sociology’s focus on the social, the course provides you with valuable interdisciplinary insight into topics, issues and debates surrounding human behaviour and society. Our interdisciplinary approach encourages you to connect the dots between psychological phenomena and sociological patterns, fostering a holistic understanding of the human experience.

You will also engage with debates about the practical, theoretical, and ethical issues in conducting research and analysing data from both disciplines, as well as explore how research can be used to understand better and address social issues relevant to different communities and social groups.

The course will help you to develop your graduate identity – a clear sense of your transferrable skills and competencies and how you can apply these within today’s labour market – through a combination of discipline-specific teaching and experiential, work-based learning which will foreground transferrable skills that employers are looking for. Our graduates have gone into a wide variety of fields, including business, health, media, education, social care and management.

On this course you will:

• reflect upon how psychological and sociological knowledge can affect real change in people’s everyday lives;

• learn to use social scientific research methods and evidence to make sense of human behaviour;

• learn how to think and write critically, giving you skills that can be valuable in many professional fields; and

• apply your skills and knowledge in a real-world context through experiential and work-based learning opportunities.

Course Modules

Year One

You will:

• start to gain a thorough grounding in the key concepts, theories and schools of thought in psychology and sociology;

• develop a sound understanding of the historical development and contemporary applications of psychological and sociological knowledge, as well as explore the very latest debates in both disciplines; and

You will study the following modules:

• Introduction to Sociology

• Classic & Contemporary Sociology

• Foundations of Psychology

• Psychology in Practice

• Methods of Social Enquiry

• Developing your Academic Voice

Year Two

You will:

• gain basic quantitative and qualitative research skills in psychology and sociology;

• begin to learn how to synthesise relevant evidence to develop coherent and systematic arguments

• start to develop an interdisciplinary mind-set by drawing on relevant insights from sociology, psychology and education to understand the complexities of contemporary local and global issues; and

• undertake work-based learning and reflect on this experience, drawing on relevant knowledge from sociology, psychology and education.

You will study the following modules:

• Exploring Research

• Self & Identity

• Responding to the World

• Professional Challenge

• Culture & Society

• Biological & Cognitive Psychology OR Developmental and Social Psychology

Year Three

You will:

• develop skills to critically evaluate a range of epistemological and methodological perspectives in psychology and sociology;

• employ evidence-based, comparative reasoning and to critically examine practical, theoretical and ethical issues associated with the use of different quantitative and qualitative methodologies, paradigms and methods of analysis in psychological and sociological research;

• reflect critically on ethical issues in psychological and sociological research and current codes of ethics and conduct;

• develop your competence in the presentation and interpretation of qualitative and quantitative data;

• have the opportunity to undertake an optional placement; and

• have the opportunity (subject to availability) to study for one semester at a university overseas.

You will study the following modules:

• Placement Module OR Sociology of Work & Organisation

• Quantitative Research Methods in Psychology

• Social Psychology & Social Justice OR Cognitive Psychology

• Interaction & Social Order

• Developmental Psychology OR Psychobiology in Context

• Qualitative Research Methods in Psychology OR Qualitative Research Methods in Sociology

• Dissertation Prep (0 credit module)

Year Four

You will:

• develop specialisms in psychology and sociology;

• demonstrate detailed and contemporary knowledge and understanding in relation to chosen specialisms;

• through independent scholarly activity, synthesise and critically evaluate a wide range of psychological and sociological theories, theorists, concepts and practices;

• conduct independent research appropriate to sociology or psychology; and

• articulate your emergent ‘graduate identity’.

You will study the following modules:

• Dissertation (Psychology or Sociology-focused dissertation)
  Articulating your Graduate Identity

• Three option modules

*Module options

Sociology options may include the following:

• Class, poverty, and inequality: Social Policy Responses

• Sociology of Scotland

• Inequality, Poverty and Social Policy in Comparative Perspective

• Queer Feminist Sociology in Action

• Understanding the Sociological Present

Psychology options may include the following:

• Cognitive Science of Belief

• Critical Engagement with the History of Psychology

• Evolutionary Psychology in the Modern World

• Sport and Exercise Psychology

• Peer Relations in Childhood & Adolescence

• Community Engagement & Ethical Practice

These modules are indicative and may change year on year.

You will be taught in lectures, seminars, practical workshops and laboratories. Outside these timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning through self-study. Your work will be assessed using a number of techniques, including essay writing, presentations, report writing, critical reflections and examinations.