Psychology and Anthropology BSc

About the Course

Psychology is often defined as the study of behaviour and of the mind. Through their theories and research, psychologists investigate a diverse range of topics including:

• the relationship between the brain, behaviour and subjective experience;
• human development;
• the influence of other people on the individual’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour;
• psychological disorders and their treatment;
• the impact of culture on the individual’s behaviour and subjective experience;
• differences between people in terms of their personality and intelligence;
• people’s ability to acquire, organise, remember and use knowledge to guide their behaviour.

Anthropology at Brunel is an outward-looking and cosmopolitan social sciences, its subject being the documentation and explanation of cultural diversity. You will apply the ideas of anthropology to practical issues and will gain a solid grounding in the social sciences (sociology, psychology and media and communications). Special emphasis is placed on cross-cultural studies.

About Social Sciences at Brunel

Psychology, sociology, anthropology and communications together constitute the Social Sciences at Brunel, and we offer a wide range of BSc courses across these subject areas.

The focus of study is upon all aspects of human behaviour: its personal, social and cultural dimensions. We have a strong research reputation that enhances all our undergraduate teaching, with particular expertise in areas such as: neuropsychology; psychoanalysis; developmental psychology; social psychology; contemporary social structure and social change; the role of science and the media; ethnicity and kinship; and power, inequality and prejudice in modern societies.

We provide a stimulating introduction to the social sciences by teaching a broad base of cross-disciplinary modules in the first year. Thereafter, you specialise increasingly in your particular disciplines.
Our courses will help you to develop specific skills in the practical methods associated with your discipline, including ethnographic fieldwork. A full range of laboratory and technical facilities is used in the teaching of experimental psychology, including video production, psychophysics and information technology.

We provide a stimulating introduction to the social sciences by teaching a broad base of cross-disciplinary modules in the first year. Thereafter, you specialise increasingly in your particular disciplines.

Our courses will help you to develop specific skills in the practical methods associated with your discipline, including ethnographic fieldwork.

Anthropology brochure
Psychology brochure

Aims

This degree ensures that you gain an understanding of the breadth and diversity of Psychology. Combining this with Anthropology, this course is particularly suited to students who are curious about their own and other societies and who are interested in understanding social processes and meanings in the world around them.

Rigorous training is provided in a range of methodologies and research skills appropriate to psychology and anthropology.

Enquiries

Dr Andrew Clark
Admissions Tutor

Helen Stevenson
Admissions and Marketing Administrator
School of Social Sciences
Tel +44 (0)1895 265952
Email helen.stevenson@brunel.ac.uk

Related Courses

• Psychology BSc
• Psychology with Professional Development BSc
• Communication and Media Studies BSc
• Communication and Media Studies with Professional Development BSc
• Anthropology and Sociology BSc
• Anthropology and Sociology with Professional Development BSc

Special Features

Psychology

• The degree provides graduate basis for registration and membership with the British Psychological Society (assuming a 2.2 or above is achieved). This can be important as an entry qualification for postgraduate professional training in psychology.
  
  
• A full range of laboratory and technical facilities is used in the teaching of experimental psychology, including brain imaging facilities (fMRI, EEG), psychophysics, eye tracking and the use of information technology.
  
  
• We enjoy greater funding than many other comparable academic schools and departments in Britain.

Anthropology

• Students can carry out fieldwork placements overseas. Roughly half of our students spend their second work placement abroad, engaged in research in countries such as: South Africa, Botswana, India and Nepal.
  
  
• This course differs from anthropology courses at other universities because of the broad social science perspective from which it is taught.
  
  
• You are encouraged to seize the valuable opportunity offered by our membership of the European Union’s SOCRATES scheme to study at one of 15 continental European universities.
  
  
• Research has an international reputation, with particular expertise in child-focused anthropological research, medical anthropology, psychological and psychiatric anthropology and the anthropology of education and learning.

Facts and Figures

School of Social Sciences

Psychology, Sociology, Social Anthropology and Communications together constitute the Social Sciences at Brunel, and we offer a wide range of BSc courses across these subject areas.

The focus of study is upon all aspects of human behaviour and its personal, social and cultural dimensions. We have a strong research reputation that enhances all our undergraduate teaching, with particular expertise in areas such as: neuropsychology; psychoanalysis; developmental psychology; social psychology; contemporary social structure and social change; the role of science and the media; ethnicity and kinship; and power, inequality and prejudice in modern societies.

All of our academic staff are actively engaged in research and many have international reputations in their field. We provide a stimulating introduction to the social sciences by teaching a broad base of cross-disciplinary modules in the first year. Thereafter, you specialise increasingly in your particular disciplines.

Our courses will help you to develop specific skills in the practical methods associated with your discipline, including ethnographic fieldwork. We take particular pride in both the quality of our teaching and the extensive pastoral care of our students.

Course Content

Anthropology

This degree will introduce you to the history, theory and main contemporary issues within the discipline. You will also apply the ideas of anthropology to practical issues in the field of medical anthropology, in the anthropology of childhood and youth, and in the analysis of cultural diversity in Britain, Europe, Africa, parts of Asia, the Pacific and Latin America.

The course addresses contemporary issues such as war, nationalist movements, racial prejudice, inter-ethnic conflicts, and gender inequalities. Popular modules include: British Ethnic Minorities; Kinship and New Directions in Anthropology; Themes in Psychological and Psychiatric Anthropology; Anthropology and International Development; and Medical Anthropology in Clinical and Community Settings.

Psychology

The Psychology courses at Brunel emphasise the everyday and real-life significance of psychology by encouraging you to explore the relationship between the practical and theoretical aspects of the subject, both through your academic study and your work placements.

Typical Modules

Level 1

• Research Methods
• Statistics
• Foundations of Psychology 1: Learning and Social Psychology
• Introduction to Anthropology: Themes
• Foundations of Psychology 3: Brain and Cognition
• Introduction to Anthropology: Beliefs and Ways of Thinking
  

Level 2

• Advanced Research Methods
• Advanced Data Analysis
• Political and Economic Issues in Anthropology
• Biological Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Classical Anthropological Theory
  

Level 3 Core

• Dissertation in Psychology and Social Anthropology
• Advanced Issues in Psychology
• Advanced Topics in Individual Differences
  

Level 3 Options

Students take one Psychology module from the following list:

• Autistic Spectrum Disorder
• Inter-Group Relations
• Psychology of Ageing
• Therapeutic Approaches in Clinical Psychology and Mental Health
• Psychology of Expertise
• Understanding Health
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Drugs, Hormones and the Brain
• Practical investigations of mind and brain
• The Cognitive Neuroscience of Consciousness
  

And two Social Anthropology modules from the following list:

• Anthropology of the Body
• Anthropology of Childhood and Youth
• Anthropology of Disability and Difference
• Themes in Psychological and Psychiatric Anthropology
• Introducing Medical Anthropology: Theories, Themes and Controversies
• Anthropology of the Person
• Medical Anthropology in Clinical and Community Settings
• Anthropology of Education and Learning
• Global Health in Anthropological Perspective

Dissertation/Project

A major part of the final year is the writing of a joint psychology and anthropology project which is normally based on research carried out during the second work placement. This may include a combination of an ethnographic study and quantitative or qualitative research methods from Psychology to investigate a specific topic of interest.

Teaching and Learning

Our approach

We pursue excellence in both teaching and research. Our aim is to produce degree programmes which combine innovative and classical teaching methods with leading-edge research, and which recognise the value of practical work experience in the learning process. We take great pride in both the quality of teaching and the extensive pastoral care of our students.

Practical skills

This course will help you to develop specific skills in the practical methods associated with psychology. A full range of laboratory and technical facilities is used in the teaching of experimental psychology, psychophysics and the use of information technology.

Staff expertise

All members of the academic staff are actively engaged in research and many have international reputations in their field. Their innovative findings feed into your courses to ensure that teaching is up-to-date.

Hours

Each module will involve two to three hours of contact time per week. Students will also spend a great deal of their time in private study and preparing assignments.

How will I be taught?

Teaching methods include tutorials, seminars, laboratory classes and integrated or formal lectures.

Assessment

Students are assessed using a range of methods, including coursework assignments, poster presentations, oral presentations and seen and unseen examinations.

Employability

Brunel graduates will develop a range of transferable skills that are useful in the wider workplace - Psychology degrees are highly regarded by employers in many fields and a joint honours degree in Anthropology will add a further dimension.

Students will acquire knowledge in new information and communications technologies and rigorous training is provided in methodologies and research skills. Our British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited courses provide eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartered membership (GBC). On completion students will acquire a range of skills, which include the following:

• Communicate effectively, both face-to-face or in writing
• Understand, analyse and use complex data
• Retrieve and organise information from different sources
• Handle primary source material critically
• Engage in effective team work
• Solve problems and reason scientifically to consider alternative approaches and solutions
• Make critical judgements and evaluations to gain different perspectives on a question
• Use personal planning and project management skills to become more independent and pragmatic

Careers

This degree forms the basis for a wide variety of careers, including development work, social research and journalism. Psychology and Anthropology degrees are valued by business and other employers.

With a good degree in psychology you may go on to train as a clinical, educational or occupational psychologist. Other careers include work with adults or children with disabilities, counselling, personnel management, market research and advertising, and prison and probation work.

Placements

This course is also available as a four year sandwich course (with Professional Development) which includes two high quality placements in a variety of settings.

The positive impact of a sandwich placement on graduate employment outcomes across Brunel is considerable. Those who have done placements are also much more likely to be in employment for which their degree was a formal requirement or where they believe their degree gave them a competitive advantage in recruitment.

Around 40% of Psychology students include sandwich placements as part of their degree which are predominantly carried out in a range of public sector and research environments.

Placement leavers from Psychology experienced the following outcomes:

• 88.7% progressed into employment or further study
• 63.8% were engaged in a graduate-level activity (employment or further study)
• 60.0% of employed leavers were working in the top three categories of graduate level employment
• The average starting salary was £17,481.

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £9,000 full-time

International students: £12,000 full-time

We are introducing over 700 scholarships for 2013, meaning that one in five applicants who join Brunel next year will receive financial support from the University. See our fees and funding page for full details

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements for 2013 Entry

• GCE A-level Typical offer AAB, with at least two of the three A-levels in traditional subjects (General Studies not accepted). Applicants who have already achieved at least ABB at A-level and have Personal Statements showing a strong interest in the course and transferable skills will also be considered. Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants within this range.
• Irish Leaving Certificate AAABB.
• Scottish Advanced Highers AAB.
• Advanced Diploma Progression Diploma Grade A in Society, Health and Development plus an A-level at Grade B for Additional and Specialist Learning.
• BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma D*D*D in a related subject.
• IBDP 35 points.
• Access Complete and pass a related subject Access course with 45 credits at Level 3, of which 30 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher.

For all of the above, 5 GCSEs at Grade C or above to include English Language, Maths and Science (please note that these must have been gained by the time you submit your UCAS application).

Non-traditional A-level subjects

The following list of A-level subjects are generally considered "non-traditional". Within your A-level qualifications we would ideally look for two subjects not on this list. Taking one of these subjects at A-level is not detrimental to your chances. The subjects you take will become important after the A-level grades are released, if you do not get the tariff points previously indicated. The Admissions Tutor will then give priority to those with two or more ‘traditional’ subjects.

Non-traditional subjects include: Accounting; Art and Design; Business Studies; Communication Studies; Dance; Design and Technology; Drama/Theatre Studies; Film Studies; Health and Social Care; Home Economics; ICT; Leisure Studies; Media Studies; Music Technology; Performance Studies; Performing Arts; Photography; Physical Education; Sports Studies; and Travel and Tourism.

English Language Requirements

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.