Psychology (With Professional Practice Year)

This course provides you with the experience, knowledge and skills to follow a wide range of careers where you can make a real difference to people’s lives. You explore the core areas of psychology, learning how it applies to everyday life, then choose from optional units in areas such as atypical child development; health psychology; counselling; criminal behaviour; and mental health. You also have the opportunity to gain workplace experience or to take a placement year.

Professional Practice Year
Take your course over four years and include a professional practice year after your second year of studies. It is an opportunity to apply your learning in the workplace while enhancing your knowledge and skills through fee-free paid practice. It also builds your CV and industry contacts with many students progressing to employment within their practice-year organisation or institution.

Course accreditation/industry endorsement
This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). Graduating from a BPS-accredited degree with a 2nd-class Honours or above makes you eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the Society. It also enables you to enrol for Stage 1 postgraduate training.

Facilities and specialist equipment
Within the Psychology department, we have dedicated, specialist, industry-standard psychology laboratories and computing environments including:

• Cognitive neuropsychology lab

• Biological and cognitive psychology lab

• Virtual reality lab

• Research cubicles containing up-to-the-minute technology such as a driving simulator, eye-tracking software and EEG recording equipment

• Software for data analysis, experiments and survey building

Industry links
Elements of the course, including assessment, have been developed working with psychology-related professionals from organisations such as the NHS; disaster recovery services; and digital application development. This ensures our teaching and your learning aligns with employer requirements. Members of our academic team engage with local organisations such as Luton Borough Council, HM Probation Service and charities. They are also actively involved in entrepreneurship and business, bringing this experience into their teaching and integrating it into the curriculum.

Your student experience
Benefit from friendly, approachable staff, small class sizes and easy access to academic support as well as specialist facilities dedicated to Psychology rather than shared with other departments.
Get to know your peers and academics well by taking part in our many social events.
Experience a wide variety of teaching methods including workshops; problem solving; virtual reality simulations; computer-based activities; and guided learning.
Complete authentic assessments reflecting workplace practice; choose how you present your work – for example, as a podcast, presentation or webpage.
Take up field-trip opportunities including visits to relevant charities working with head injuries, pregnancy loss, neurodiversity and gendered violence.
Benefit from membership of our Student Research Institute, providing opportunities to engage in research; assist staff; and attend research conferences.
Our research addresses real-life issues including reading development; cognitive function in long COVID; and prevention of gender-based violence.
Present your supervised research to your peers and psychology professionals as part of our annual Student Research Conference.
Hear from a variety of guest speakers at special events and masterclasses run by the Psychology department.