Psychology and Child Development (with Placement Year) BSc

Staffordshire University

In our exciting BSc Hons in Psychology and Child Development you will learn about how psychology shapes who we are and how children behave and mature. To build a deep understanding of the human mind you’ll study social psychology, individual differences, biological psychology, research methods and cognitive psychology. The course is perfect if you are interested in working with children, young people, or those that work with these groups, as alongside the core psychology modules, you will study a series of specialist child development modules. In these you will learn about typical and atypical development, mental wellbeing and education interventions.

You will be taught by an expert teaching team which includes senior academics carrying out world-leading research as well as professional practitioners with industry experience. You will gain an appreciation of the complexity of child development and will develop skills relevant to applying your specialist knowledge to the real world. This will include working with case studies and developing skills in sharing your expert knowledge through advisory briefs, blog posts and podcasts.

As you go through your degree you will also undertake option modules that allow you to personalise your learning journey and give you the freedom to focus on what interests you. We will prepare you for the world of work, with dedicated modules at every year of study that are focused on your personal development, career and life planning. We have recently refreshed and improved our courses and as a result of this we are currently awaiting British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation of our new courses being delivered from September 2022.

The placement year take place between levels 5 and 6 of our undergraduate degrees and last for a period of 9 months, typically from September to June. Placement year students have previously worked in variety of settings and in various roles including, including as an Assistant Children’s Advocate for ‘Change Grow Live’, a Psychology Support Worker for Midlands Psychology and as wellbeing practitioners in local primary and middle schools. 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.

Accredited against the requirements for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society (BPS).