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BSc (Hons)

Psychology of Child Development

Attendance

Campus

Start

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Duration

3 Years

Start

September 2023

UCAS Code

C891

Delivery

Campus Taught

Foundation entry

Explore young minds – with a degree that delves into the social, biological and cognitive issues that shape the way children think, feel and interact with the world around them.

This is a course designed to help you understand children’s thoughts, emotions and behaviour in scientific detail. While you’ll study the core modules in research methods, psychology and statistics that will give you a degree recognised by the British Psychology Society, you’ll also take a series of specialist modules focused around child development.

You’ll have the chance to develop your skills and understanding in a superb setting – with specialised facilities for observing children playing and interacting with others, together with a cognitive neuroscience lab for observing their minds. There’s also the chance to go on a placement to assist with child-centred research. And, thanks to extensive links with schools and children’s services, you can focus on Educational Psychology – studying language development, literacy, peer relations, online safeguarding, antisocial behaviour and bullying.

Whether you see your future in clinical psychology, research, education or a range of other roles in and around child development, this degree can offer the tools and knowledge for a fascinating career.

Why study with us

At our purpose-built child observation suite, you can witness, record and analyse children’s behaviour and interaction with toys, peers and adults.
While this is a specialist degree, it offers the well-rounded understanding of psychology to earn accreditation from the British Psychological Society (BPS).
We offer the chance to get involved in research, whether assisting or participating, with paid internships, placements and part-time roles.

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What you'll do

While you’ll have a strong focus on child development, you’ll also have the flexibility to choose from various option modules as you progress.
You could take the chance to spend a year on placement, building workplace experience and professional skills to boost your career prospects when you graduate.
As this course shares a common first year with Forensic Psychology, Neuropsychology and more, you may have the chance to switch specialisms as your interests develop.

Module overview

Course delivery

Following the pandemic, we have found that some courses benefit from a blended learning and teaching approach. Therefore, the majority of your teaching will be face-to-face on campus aside from a small amount of online teaching where we have learnt it works best.

90%Face-to-face

10%Online

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our published course information. However, our programmes are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may cause alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses. Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of accrediting bodies or revisions to subject benchmarks statements. As well as to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.

View the course facilities

Within the extensive laboratory facilities available, the School has developed two outstanding laboratory complexes in which you can develop a deeper understanding of the psychology of child development: The Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (DCN) lab and the Child Observation Suite (COS).

Accreditations

This course is accredited by the BPS, the learned and professional body, incorporated by the Royal Charter, for Psychology in the UK. We will provide you with the breadth and depth of knowledge that allows you to graduate with Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) provided you achieve at least a lower second class honours degree.

Future careers

Our Psychology of Child Development BSc (Hons) course offers the specialist skills for a range of roles working with children, but also provides the knowledge to open a broad range of other paths too.

This degree offers a strong foundation for pursuing a future working with children in educational or clinical psychology. For many of our graduates, that means taking the next step with specialist postgraduate study, including our own BPS-accredited masters degrees.

You could also pursue roles in allied health – working alongside occupational therapists and speech and language therapists. However, our graduates are valued in a wide range of sectors. As such, you could also take on a graduate-level role in organisations including the Police, Prison Service, NHS, social and community services, health authorities and in the pharmaceutical industry, not to mention education and training organisations.

Fees and funding

2022/23

Full-time£9250 per year

Sandwich year£1000 for the sandwich year

Part-time£1540 per 20 credits

International

Full-time£14250 per year

2023/24

Full-time£9,250 per year

Sandwich year£1,385 for the sandwich year

Part-time£1,540 per 20 credits

International

Full-time£14,900 per year

Sandwich year£2,000 for the sandwich year

Scholarships and bursaries

We have a wide range of scholarships, bursaries and funds available to help support you whilst studying with us.

Select your country and see eligibility information and how to apply by selecting more info on the cards below.

Select your country/region

Across the various modules you’ll study on this course, you’ll learn in a variety of methods and environments. You’ll have lectures and tutorials, as well as practical sessions and – in your own time – plenty of independent study.

Whatever the day’s task, you’ll have a great environment for your studies. In our multi-million-pound building, you’ll go to work in a well-equipped lecture theatre, computer suites and multiple laboratories. Here, we also have dedicated facilities for observing children, as well as the tools for neurological analysis and a cognitive psychology complex.

Our teaching staff meet the same high standards. You’ll learn from academics that produce first-class research – the sort of work that has an impact far beyond academia, earning it a ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world-leading’ rating in our last assessment.

We’ll measure your progress throughout the course in a variety of ways. In your first year, you’ll have coursework and multiple-choice exams, while the second year will introduce essays to the mix, before your final year brings more substantial research project work as part of our honours assessment.

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This course is based in the School of Psychology and Computer Science located in the Faculty of Science and Technology

For information on possible changes to course information, see our essential and important course information

You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at the University of Central Lancashire on our student contract page