Year One Modules
Contents
In Year One, you will take EIGHT MODULES – four in Semester One and four in Semester Two. Each module is worth 15 credits (or CATS points**). They are defined as either “CORE”, “COMPULSORY”, or “OPTION”. You MUST TAKE both core and compulsory modules. However, you can choose option modules from an available list.
It is important to note that the marks you achieve in Year One DO NOT contribute towards your final degree mark. However, you MUST pass (that being, get at least 40%) in each individual CORE MODULE to progress to Year Two. In contrast, you need only get a qualifying mark (that being, at least 25%) in any individual COMPULSORY or OPTION MODULE to progress to Year Two. Further information about progression criteria can be found here.
Please click on the ‘Module Names’ listed below for an outline of the module(s) and assessment procedures. Specific details will be provided by individual Module Coordinators in Module Handbooks or handouts.
Guidelines on signing up to option modules can be found here.
Semester One
Module Code Module Type Module Name
PSYC1004 Core*† Science of Psychology
PSYC1005 Compulsory Thinking Psychologically
PSYC1010 Core† Research Methods & Data Analysis 1
PSYC1015 Option*† Classical Studies in Psychology OR an external option
Semester Two
Module Code Module Type Module Name
PSYC1009 Core*† Psychology of Social and Individual Wellbeing
PSYC1011 Core† Research Methods & Data Analysis 2
PSYC1012 Core Empirical Studies 1
PSYC1014 Option*† Psychology of Attractiveness OR an external option
** Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) suggests that a 15 credit course equates to 150 study hours (including both contact time and self-study). If you are an Erasmus student, please click here for information on European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) points and CATS points.
* Available to University of Southampton students outside the Academic Unit of Psychology.
† Available to Erasmus students.
Further information on option module choices
You must take two option modules in Year One. Although you may take both options in the same Semester, we strongly advise that you take one in Semester One and the other in Semester Two. Your option module choices can either be “Internal”, within the Psychology Academic Unit, or “External” – that being, a module on offer in a different Department/Faculty in the University, as long as you meet the module’s pre-requisite(s) and there is no clash in your timetable. Your list of option modules can be accessed on the Student Record Self Service System, under the BSc Psychology programme criteria.
There is an exciting range of external option modules to choose from throughout the University, providing you with the opportunity to deepen your current knowledge or broaden your knowledge in another discipline. For example, you may wish to take a foreign language module if you are interested in studying or working abroad, or one in Education if you are interested in becoming a teacher or an Educational Psychologist. Flexible Learning at the University of Southampton, and the University’s curriculum innovation project (CIP), allows you to customise your curriculum. More information about which option modules are available to you can be accessed on Flexible Learning’s BSc Psychology webpage
It is important to note that, logistically speaking, it may prove easier to enrol in the internal option modules provided by Psychology (PSYC 1014 and PSYC 1015). Psychology has no influence over the scheduling of external option modules, and hence cannot guarantee that such modules will have compatible timetables. It is important to note that if a clash does occur in your timetable, your Psychology module MUST take precedence and you will NOT be able to take the external module concerned. If you desire to pursue an external module, then it is your responsibility to determine whether the respective timetables are compatible. On top of this, if you choose to study a non-Psychology option, you should check that you have the relevant background knowledge (some modules will require specific qualifications or prerequisites) and that there is the capacity to take additional students. Overall, you may feel that you want detailed exposure to specific aspects of Psychology during Year One and, if so, we would encourage you to take our internal option modules (PSYC1014 and PSYC1015).
Credit Systems
The University of Southampton and Psychology operate in accordance with a Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS). This scheme—specific to England, Wales and Northern Ireland—exists to monitor, record, and reward passage through modular degree programmes, as well as to facilitate the movement of students between different courses and Universities.
All Psychology modules are worth 15 CATS points. When a student successfully progresses each year of study, he/she automatically accumulates 120 CATS points—that is, 15 CATS points for each of the 8 modules completed that Year. To qualify for award of an honours degree, a student needs to accumulate a total 360 points across three years of the Programme—that is, 120 CATS points per year.
If a student meets all the progression and graduation criteria, then he or she will automatically accumulate the required number of CATS points. One complication is that some option units outside of Psychology at the University of Southampton—which may be available for Psychology students to take—do not give 15 credits per unit, but only 10.
Please try to ensure, when taking option modules, that they give the full 15 credits.