The Department of Psychology is a dynamic and expanding place that prides itself on offering an excellent student experience. The Department comprises a large team of dedicated, expert staff who are committed to inspiring student learning through high-class teaching that is underpinned by cutting-edge research and important professional practice.
The Department offers a number of undergraduate courses in psychology, including specialisms in counselling and forensic investigation. All these courses are accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), which means that students are eligible to train to become chartered psychologists such as clinical, educational and forensic psychologists once they complete their course with the necessary grades.
These courses also offer a work placement for students that wish to gain some professional experience. You can read Ella's story about her placement at Tottenham Hotspur Foundation and about Charlotte who was the Overall Placement Prize Winner for the Faculty of Science & Technology in 2018. The Department also offers a number of Master’s courses that provide advanced coverage of specialist topics including clinical psychology, forensic psychology and health psychology.
The Department holds a Bronze Athena SWAN award.
There are over 50 staff in the Department, many of whom have established research and professional practice links with external bodies such as Dorset Police and Dorset NHS Trusts. Staff also undertake cutting-edge research in diverse areas including cyberpsychology, forensic psychology, clinical psychology and cognitive neuroscience. The many and varied research projects that our expert staff engage in come under one or more of the following three research groups that exist within the Department: Cognitive Processes and Neuroscience; Health and Clinical Applications; Social and Forensic Applications. Membership of these groups is not only open to our staff but also to our growing body of postgraduate research students that makes a valuable contribution to the research that takes places within the Department.