Programme Specification for Psychology Extended Degree: Level Zero Programme BSc (Hons)
|
Final award |
BSc (Hons) |
|
Intermediate awards available |
University Certificate |
|
UCAS code |
C801 |
|
Details of professional body accreditation |
BPS |
|
Relevant QAA Benchmark statements |
Psychology |
|
Date specification last up-dated |
October 2009 |
Profile
The summary - UCAS programme profile
BANNER BOX:
-
This programme prepares students for successful transition to a Psychology Degree
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Successful applicants to the level zero programme will be expected within the period of their studies to demonstrate the capacity and commitment to develop a level of academic performance corresponding with the threshold standard required for progression to level 1.
Students who have been out of education for a while or those with disabilities and relevant aptitude or experience at an appropriate level are encouraged.
Applicants to the programme with no GCSE in English and Mathematics (or equivalent) will normally be interviewed and will be asked to complete a diagnostic test to assess their current level of literacy and numeracy. The 'level 0' degree programme has been devised for post-FE students and school leavers who
- Would benefit from membership of a Higher Education learning community as they
acclimatise to a higher level of study. - Have previously studied in a purely vocational context and require fuller academic
development before progressing onto an undergraduate programme. - Would prefer to study for four years in order to start their degree at a suitable entry point
for their current level of education.
ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
What is Level '0' Psychology?
The level 0 Psychology provides a broad background to psychological study skills and the application of research for progression onto the 3 year single honours BSc Psychology degree at UEL. By joining the level 0 programme full-time students are embarking on an extended 4-year programme of studies in Psychology and enjoying all the benefits of membership of the UEL psychology student body from the beginning of this programme.
Level '0' Psychology at UEL
- provides instruction and guidance in study skills essential for degree-level study
- provides a transition route onto a 3 year psychology degree
- offers scope in programme content
- offers access to the psychological community and academic experience at UEL
- offers extensive study skills and personal development support
1 year full time for progression onto 3 year FT or 4.5 year PT degree in Psychology
Learning environment
Lectures, seminars, practicals, workshops, personal tutorials, laboratory space, web-based learning
Assessment
Undertaken individually and in groups, assessment will comprise essays, coursework, reports, debates and computer based assessments.
To pass the level 0 and proceed to level 1, students are required to obtain pass-level (40%) or better in all 6 modules (at first or second attempt, with the opportunity to repeat in a second year).
Students obtaining an average of 70% or above in each of the modules they undertake will be awarded a University Certificate ‘With Distinction’
Work experience/placement opportunities
Project work
Small groups will be involved in a research project. They will be involved in designing the study, conducting the research and analysis of the results which will be presented in report form.
Added value
The level 0 programme is a 1 year full time preparation for transition onto a degree in Psychology. The programme is designed to accommodate a range of needs for students of all types. Whether interested in studying a short taster course in psychology, wishing to develop study skills before entering Higher Education, or wishing to pursue a psychology degree, the level 0 programme can fulfil all of these needs. Each of the options offered within the programme is designed to fit in with student’s existing lifestyle and commitments whilst enjoying the benefits of membership within the UEL School of Psychology.
IS THIS THE PROGRAMME FOR ME?
If you are interested in...
- Personality
- Eating Disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Depression and Anxiety
- Cultural Differences
- Leadership, Conformity and Minority Influences
- Propaganda and Psychological Operations
- Espionage and Counter-terrorism
- Psychological Theories of Dreaming
- Psychology and Road Safety
- Parapsychology
- Psychokinesis
- Psychology and holistic healing
If you enjoy...
- Conducting research
- Working as part of a group and individually
- Finding out more about the way people behave
- Acquiring and developing new study skills
- Thinking and working creatively
- Debating psychological theories
- Want to be part of a thriving university community
If you want...
- To build confidence in your academic abilities, if you have been out of education for a while.
- To acquire or enhance skills in psychological research
- To develop study and research skills essential for degree-level study (analytical reading and note-taking, essay planning and writing, reports, independent thinking, problem solving, coherent reasoning, academic writing).
- To have the opportunity to move onto study at degree level in psychology
- To spend more time thinking about and preparing for the particular specialism of your degree, while developing skills essential for degree-level study.
- To look at areas of psychology not necessarily covered in conventional psychological programmes
Your future career
The critical and creative skills gained from this programme will give you the foundation to go on to study psychology at degree level. This will then allow you to go on to seek employment or further training in Educational psychology, Occupational psychology, Forensic psychology, Research, Teaching, Human Resources, Market Research, Retail etc.
How we support you
Each student will have a tutor responsible for providing regular guidance and support in relevant areas of personal and academic life. They will have access to the on-line support from their tutor and their peers through UELPlus. They will be able to use the IT programmes available to all psychology students at UEL such as the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). Training in the use of SPSS, Excel, and Word will be given and they will have the support of the Psychology help-desk which provides help and advice to all psychology students. We have an excellent library with access to hundreds of academic journals and other literary resources. The university provides a counselling and advisory service that any student can use and we also provide a good careers advice service.
Outcomes
Programme aims and learning outcomes
What is this programme designed to achieve?
This programme is designed to give you the opportunity to:
- Enjoy a stimulating and engaging introduction to a broad perspective on psychology
- Become a part of the wider Higher Education community whilst you study for access to a degree programme
- To develop transferable skills to enable successful completion of a degree programme in psychology
What will you learn?
Knowledge
- A broad-based introduction to some of the key concepts and theories relevant to understanding the character and functions of psychology
- Descriptive knowledge of the technologies needed to conduct psychological research
Thinking skills
- developing psychological arguments for debate
- how to identify different points of view in psychological texts
- how to create research questions
Subject-Based Practical skills
- competence in using SPSS for statistical analysis
- technologies for writing essays and empirical reports
Skills for life and work (general skills)
- how to organise and manage a workload effectively
- how to locate and select sources of information for written work/research
- how to work collaboratively
- how to debate
Structure
The programme structure
Introduction
All programmes are credit-rated to help you to understand the amount and level of study that is needed.
One credit is equal to 10 hours of directed study time (this includes everything you do e.g. lecture, seminar and private study).
Credits are assigned to one of 5 levels:
- 0 - equivalent in standard to GCE 'A' level and is intended to prepare students for year one of an undergraduate degree programme
- 1 - equivalent in standard to the first year of a full-time undergraduate degree programme
- 2 - equivalent in standard to the second year of a full-time undergraduate degree programme
- 3 - equivalent in standard to the third year of a full-time undergraduate degree programme
- M - equivalent in standard to a Masters degree
Credit rating
The overall credit-rating of this programme is 120 credits.
Typical duration
The typical duration of this programme is one year full-time at level 0 followed by 3 years at undergraduate level (total 4 years)
How the teaching year is divided
The teaching year begins in September and ends in June, but some programmes also allow students to join at the start of Semester B, in February and is divided into 2 semesters. A typical full-time student will study the equivalent of 120 credits over the year, which are 3 x 20 credit modules in semester A and 3 x 20 credit modules in semester B
What you will study when
This programme is part of a modular degree scheme. A typical full-time student will take six 20 credit modules per year. [An honours degree student will complete six modules at level one, six at level 2 and six at level 3].
The following are the core requirements for completion of the programme and access to a Psychology Honours degree.
|
LEVEL |
TITLE |
CREDITS |
STATUS |
|
0 |
Becoming a Psychology Undergraduate (I) |
20 |
Core |
|
0 |
Becoming a Psychology Undergraduate (II) |
20 |
Core |
|
0 |
Approaches to Psychology |
20 |
Core |
|
0 |
Contemporary Applications of Psychology |
20 |
Core |
|
0 |
Key Studies in Psychology |
20 |
Core |
|
0 |
Research Psychology |
20 |
Core |
Requirements for gaining an award
In order to gain a University Certificate in Level 0 Psychology you will need to obtain 40 level 0 credits. Students gaining over 70% in each 20 credit module they undertake are eligible for a University Certificate ‘With Distinction’.
In order to gain a Certificate of Higher Education you will need to obtain 120 credits at level one or higher.
In order to gain a Diploma of Higher Education you will need to obtain at least 240 credits including a minimum of 120 credits at level one or higher and 120 credits at level two or higher
In order to gain an ordinary degree you will need to obtain a minimum of 300 credits including:
- A minimum of 120 credits at level one or higher
- A minimum of 120 credits at level two or higher
- A minimum of 60 credits at level three or higher
In order to gain an honours degree you will need to obtain 360 credits including:
- A minimum of 120 credits at level one or higher
- A minimum of 120 credits at level two or higher
- A minimum of 120 credits at level three or higher
Degree Classification
Where a student is eligible for an Honours degree, and has gained a minimum of 240 UEL credits at level 2 or level 3 on the programme, including a minimum of 120 UEL credits at level 3, the award classification is determined by calculating:
|
The arithmetic mean of the best 100 credits at level 3 |
× |
2/3 |
+ |
The arithmetic mean of the next best 100 credits at levels 2 and/or 3 |
× |
1/3 |
and applying the mark obtained as a percentage, with all decimals points rounded up to the nearest whole number, to the following classification
|
70% - 100% |
First Class Honours |
|
60% - 69% |
Second Class Honours, First Division |
|
50% - 59% |
Second Class Honours, Second Division |
|
40% - 49% |
Third Class Honours |
|
0% - 39% |
Not passed |
Assessment
Teaching, learning and assessment
Teaching and learning
Knowledge is developed through
- Presentation of frameworks of information in lectures
- Student centred seminar discussions
- Reading of specified texts on a weekly basis
Thinking skills are developed through
- Close analysis of specified texts
- Individual and small group exercises in seminar sessions
Practical skills are developed through
- Tutored introduction to psychological research
- Practical demonstration workshops
- Tutorial support
- Independent practical studies
- Project work
Skills for life and work (general skills) are developed through
- Understanding of university and the level 0 programme and structure
- Tutorials to discuss individual progress
- Group project work
Assessment
Knowledge is assessed by
- Coursework essays, reports, evaluations, debates
- Class tests, UELPlus exercises undertaken on-line
- MCQ's
Thinking skills are assessed by
- Coursework essays, reports, evaluation, debates
- Class tests, UELPlus exercises undertaken on-line
- MCQ's
Practical skills are assessed by
- Tutor observation
- Evidence of demonstrable understanding in completed project work
Skills for life and work (general skills) are assessed by
- Involvement in and contribution to seminar/workshop sessions
- Ability to understand and meet requirements of module specifications
- Regular contributions to discussions and tutorials
- Involvement in and contribution to group project work
Quality
How we assure the quality of this programme
Before this programme started
Before this programme started the University checked that:
- there would be enough qualified staff to teach the programme
- adequate resources would be in place
- the overall aims and objectives were appropriate
- the content of the programme met national benchmark requirements
- the programme met any professional/statutory body requirements
- the proposal met other internal quality criteria covering a range of issues such as admissions policy, teaching, learning and assessment strategy, and student support mechanisms
This is done through a process of programme approval which involves convening a panel of academic experts including some subject specialists from other institutions. Each panel scrutinises available documents and talks to the staff who will teach the programme before deciding whether it can be approved
How we monitor the quality of this programme
The quality of this programme is monitored each year through evaluating:
- external examiner reports (considering quality and standards)
- statistical information (considering issues such as the pass rate)
- student feedback
Drawing on this and other information a Review and Enhancement Process (REP) is drawn up by the staff who teach the programme that is reviewed at School level.
Once every six years the University undertakes an in-depth review of the whole field. This is undertaken by a panel that includes at least two external subject specialists. The panel considers documents, looks at student work, speaks to current and former students and speaks to staff before drawing its conclusions. The result is a report highlighting good practice and identifying areas where action is needed.
The role of the programme committee
This programme has a programme committee comprising all relevant teaching staff, student representatives and others who make a contribution towards the effective operation of the programme (e.g. library/technician staff). The committee has responsibilities for the quality of the programme. It provides input into the operation of the Review and Enhancement Process and proposes changes to improve quality. The programme committee plays a critical role in the University's quality assurance procedures.
The role of external examiners
The standard of this programme is monitored by at least one external examiner. External examiners have two primary responsibilities:
- To ensure the standard of the programme
- To ensure that justice is done to individual students
Listening to the views of students
The following methods for gaining student feedback are used on this programme:
- Module evaluations
- Student representation on programme committees (meeting 6 times year)
- Student/Staff consultative committee (meeting 3 times a year
Students are notified of the action taken through:
- circulating the minutes of the programme committee
- a newsletter published three times a year
- providing details on the programme notice board
Listening to the views of others
The following methods are used for gaining the views of other interested parties:
- Questionnaires to former students
Further Information
Alternative locations for studying this programme
| Location | Which elements? | Taught by UEL staff | Taught by local staff | Method of Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Where you can find further information
Further information about this programme is available from:
- The UEL web site
- Module study guides
- UEL General Regulations
- Academic Framework
- Student Charter
- Guide to Single Honours and Combined Programmes
- School web-pages
- British Psychological Society web-pages http://www.bps.org.uk
- Current External examiners
- External examiner reports (available from UEL virtual learning environment (UELPlus or Moodle))
