Psychology and Counselling BSc (Hons) at Staffordshire University

About

Our Psychology and Counselling degree will provide you with an excellent grounding in academic psychology and will introduce you to the world of therapeutic practice.

The course is perfect if you are interested in working with people experiencing difficult circumstances and is an ideal basis for further study to qualify as a counsellor.

Completing this degree means you can apply directly to Masters or postgraduate counselling courses that lead to British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) accreditation. If you decide not to pursue the further training necessary to become a professional counsellor or psychotherapist, you will still develop key academic competences, such as self-understanding, communication and relationship skills that are vital to employment success.

Our multi-million-pound Science Centre is home to cutting edge facilities such as cognitive research cubicles, observation and counselling suites, IT labs and psychophysiology equipment.

The course is perfect if you are interested in working with people experiencing difficult circumstances and is an ideal basis for further study to qualify as a counsellor.

Completing this degree means you can apply directly to Masters or postgraduate counselling courses that lead to British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) accreditation. If you decide not to pursue the further training necessary to become a professional counsellor or psychotherapist, you will still develop key academic competences, such as self-understanding, communication and relationship skills that are vital to employment success.

Our multi-million-pound Science Centre is home to cutting edge facilities such as cognitive research cubicles, observation and counselling suites, IT labs and psychophysiology equipment.

The course is perfect if you are interested in working with people experiencing difficult circumstances and is an ideal basis for further study to qualify as a counsellor.

Completing this degree means you can apply directly to Masters or postgraduate counselling courses that lead to British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) accreditation. If you decide not to pursue the further training necessary to become a professional counsellor or psychotherapist, you will still develop key academic competences, such as self-understanding, communication and relationship skills that are vital to employment success.

Our multi-million-pound Science Centre is home to cutting edge facilities such as cognitive research cubicles, observation and counselling suites, IT labs and psychophysiology equipment.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling

Work placements

Students on all undergraduate Psychology courses at Staffordshire University can opt to undertake a placement (sandwich) year; a structured work experience opportunity which enables you to develop and implement psychology specific and transferable skills whilst getting experience in a professional working environment.

Placements take place between levels 5 and 6 of our undergraduate degrees and last for a period of 9 months, typically from September to June. The Placement Year is an assessed, pass/fail year that would be added to your existing programme of study. The assessment is by written reflection and submission of a placement activity log. Please note that it is the responsibility of the student to secure their own work placement – we will of course support you through the selection, application and approval process. Psychology and Counselling placement students have worked in charity organisations, wellbeing practitioners in local primary schools, and as life coaches at the YMCA supporting young people experiencing homelessness. While some students carry out their placement in a setting close to the University, students do have the flexibility to look for placement opportunities further afield including international opportunities if appropriate.

Throughout your placement period you will be supervised by a Workplace Supervisor, (usually your line manager) and you and your supervisor will have regular contact with the University through an allocated University Placement Supervisor.

Feedback from students who complete the placement year is overwhelmingly positive with many reporting it has helped them prepare for the world of work and helped guide their future career plans.

The Psychology Department works with local, regional and national employers alongside international university partners to provide students with placement and work experience opportunities both in the UK and abroad.

The fee for the placement year will vary depending on the year – please get in contact if you would like more information about this.

Work placements

Students on all undergraduate Psychology courses at Staffordshire University can opt to undertake a placement (sandwich) year; a structured work experience opportunity which enables you to develop and implement psychology specific and transferable skills whilst getting experience in a professional working environment.

Placements take place between levels 5 and 6 of our undergraduate degrees and last for a period of 9 months, from September to June. The Placement Year is an assessed, pass/fail year that would be added to your existing programme of study. The assessment is by written reflection and submission of a placement activity log.

Throughout your placement period you will be supervised by a Workplace Supervisor, (usually your line manager) and you and your supervisor will have regular contact with the University through an allocated University Placement Supervisor. Contact with both you and your workplace supervisor may at times be via phone or SKYPE, and you will also receive at least one planned visit by your University Placement Supervisor to the workplace towards the beginning of the Placement.

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During the first year, you will practice the counselling skills needed to examine the professional issues that make counselling and allied professions such a challenging, yet rewarding career route. In your second and third years, you will continue to build on these practical skills.

To help you build a deeper understanding of the human mind, you will study social psychology, individual differences, biological psychology, research methods, and cognitive psychology. In addition, we offer modules orientated towards counselling.

These include Core Counselling Skills, Counselling Theory, Ethics and Personal Development, and Personal and Professional Perspectives in Counselling.

The academic team who teach counselling modules are qualified and accredited practicing counsellors. They will lead your lectures, seminars, and practical sessions in our multi-million-pound Science Centre. In the Science Centre, you will have access to our bespoke counselling suite of rooms to develop and practice your skills.

A crucial part of becoming a psychologist is learning to understand, conduct, and analyse scientific research. As with all high-quality undergraduate psychology degrees, this means our courses feature modules that focus on teaching these skills. We take great care in closely guiding students through this learning process (via small group teaching, group work with peers, support clinics, and step-by-step guides) supporting our students in preparation for the increasingly data-driven world.

Practical experience with industry-standard SPSS statistics software teaches students to answer a wide variety of research questions by interrogating complex datasets.