School of Social Sciences modules

Module overview: This module explores new and developing areas of criminological theory and research.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module provides students with a critical, sociological exploration of the prison - more specifically, the experience of imprisonment. It will deal with concepts such as time & liminality, renegotiations of identity and masculinities, coping, and negotiations of gender to unpack the implications of being in the prison environment on individual prisoners. This module will enable students to critically engage with the prison experience through the study of key sociological concepts relevant to prison life. The themes and concepts explored will be closely related to contemporary issues facing the prison estate (and thus prisoners) today which have a significant bearing on how these issues manifest into lived experience.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: The module explores the complex relationship between gender, crime and criminal justice in contemporary society. It explores, compares and reflects upon a range of criminological theories and concepts around the theme of gender, crime and criminal justice. The module highlights both predominant and under-discussed issues when exploring crime, offenders, victims and criminal justice in relation to gender.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module will introduce students to crimes that have shaped the 20th and 21st century in many respects: war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It is only recently that criminology has taken notice and started to theorise and research these crimes, which in many ways resist common criminological conceptual tools. Typically, these crimes are committed by ‘normal people’ and many of the core conceptual frameworks of criminology cannot be applied. In addition, the re-emergence of international criminal justice and new instruments for the prosecution of perpetrators has instigated interest in the field. Students will consider the different cases of genocide through a thematic overview of the perpetrators, victims and bystanders. There will be an overview of the legal responses to genocide as well as a consideration of how genocide is remembered and memorialised.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module is designed to consider the experience of vulnerable people within all areas of the criminal justice system including the police, courts, probation and the prison service. The module will require students to engage in critical debates about the criminal justice process and explore how each stage can impact on vulnerable groups including people with mental health difficulties, young people, older people, and people with drug and alcohol dependency.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module traces the historical, economic, and social contexts wherein ‘race’ and ethnicity come to be associated with crime, victimisation, and disproportion in the criminal justice system. From individual racist violence to state crime, ‘race’ and ethnicity are examined in relation to both visible and hidden victimisation and as a source of fears of criminality and threat to social order.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module aims to critically explore the complexities of the sex industry, related criminological issues and policy. It will consider both the motivations of those who purchase sexual services and the diverse reasons why individuals are involved in the provision of sexual services, on and off the street. The module will also identify the cultural factors which impact on this global industry and the nature and extent of crime and victimisation in indoor and outdoor sex work. Different theoretical understandings of sex work/prostitution, their influences, and the way they impact on the way the industry is controlled, will also be addressed, including law and policy in Britain and internationally. How these policies impact on sex workers and communities will also be addressed.

This module allows students to gain an understanding of the different ways in which the sex industry can be studied in a highly sensitive research context, including the importance of being reflective. By considering a variety of perspectives, students will be equipped to critically evaluate the impact of different social control strategies in relation to sex work/prostitution. Furthermore, by using sociological and criminological theories to explain different stances and courses of action towards prostitution, this module will ensure students can apply theory to practice.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module offers a broad disciplinary engagement with the development of criminal justice policies at a national and global level, drawing on sociological, social policy and socio-legal perspectives. The module aims to investigate the complex inter-relationships between theory, policy and practice in the field of criminal justice. Students will be encouraged to evaluate different sources of knowledge about crime and criminal justice, and particular attention will be paid to the role of academic research in shaping and evaluating criminal justice policies.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: The module aims to equip the student with a critical understanding of the nature of domestic violence and criminal justice in both domestic and international contexts.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module will provide a social and historical framework from which to highlight the contested nature of conceptions of justice and the rule of law itself. The module covers issues such as police and state legitimacy, the road to mass incarceration, and questions who are the Heretics and Renegades in society?

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module provides students with a critical understanding of the lived experiences of individuals who are seeking support to stop offending and recover from substance abuse. It will explore the connections between theory, policy, and practice, in order to support desistance and recovery, to reduce reoffending and improve resettlement. This provides students with an academic, practical, political, and applied appreciation to the impact of rehabilitation.

This module will build on previous knowledge gained across the course to advance the understanding of how ex-prisoners further their desistance and recovery within ‘through the gate services’ and post-prison.

The themes and concepts explored will be connected to innovative and creative practices in desistance and recovery, to support the multi-faceted needs of individuals within the Criminal Justice System. This module will also seek to give critical appreciation to the practices involved in prison, probation and third sector organisations to support recovery and desistance from crime. 

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module introduces students to the study of children, youth and crime by examining patterns of offending and desistance from crime amongst children and young people. The module will consider the ways in which notions of childhood and youth offending have been depicted in academic, political and popular discourses and assess the extent to which these various discourses have influenced the response of youth justice systems to address both children as offenders and the victims of crime. Taking a historical and comparative approach, it will explore how the tension between conceptualizing juvenile delinquents as 'children in trouble' or 'children in need' stimulates or inspires youth justice, policy and practice.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module utilises core texts and contemporary research pieces in the area of criminology and criminal justice in order to explore theory formation, methodical analysis and avenues for their critical appraisal. The module introduces learners to the key relationship between theory and method, equips them with the skill of evaluation and underlines the importance of each of those components of criminological knowledge. Furthermore, the module develops skills for selecting and employing theory and method in an independently researched topic in the area of crime and justice.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Using post-colonial perspective and the contemporary theme of intersectionality in social sciences, this module develops core knowledge and skills for understanding the process of dominant theory and practice formation in criminology and the criminal justice sector. Utilising critical race theory, critical whiteness studies and black feminism, it will develop students’ intellectual capacity to critique those dominant approaches to understanding crime discourse and the unequal access to justice based on race, ethnicity, gender age, class and their intersections.    

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: The module aims to provide an advanced critical understanding of the key concepts and contemporary theoretical approaches to policing. The module will provide postgraduate students with an in-depth understanding of the social, historical and economic development of policing within national and international contexts.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module enables students to critically analyse and assess the connection between research, policy and practice within the areas of punishment, rehabilitation, desistance and recovery from substance misuse. The real-world application of this module inspires and enhances the students’ academic and practical knowledge to increase their employability skills, in order to acquire new competencies relating to this sector that involves both governmental institutions (prison) as well as non-governmental agencies working in rehabilitation.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: The module will provide an in-depth critical understanding of the key contemporary issues in the UK criminal justice system. It will focus on the history and development of contemporary criminal justice and the emergence of the state police and will explore contemporary policing, punishment and sentencing, prison and youth justice agencies. Through an analysis of the construction of both the offender and the victim and inequalities in criminal justice pertaining to race, class and gender, it will critically appraise the concept of justice. Finally, it will address some of the challenges posed by social and political developments for the future of criminal justice including, risk, globalisation, privatisation, and the rise of the digital age.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module aims to critically explore major topics and debates relating to gender, crime and victimisation. This will be achieved by providing students with a critical awareness of feminist-influenced criminological theories.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module explores critical criminological perspectives on the ‘culture(s) of control’ developed since the 1970s in the US and the UK which have now been exported internationally and have influenced the development of crime and security policies on a global scale. It is designed to equip learners with the ability to explore and critically evaluate this process as a radical expansion of power nationally and internationally under the pretext of loss of state control over borders, and narratives of population’s (in)security and (in)effectual crime control in the age of globalisation and digitalisation. The themes that the module will cover include contemporary fixation on risk and crises in criminal justice and security infrastructures, neoliberal governmentality though crime, risk and insecurity, discourses and policies of new social and bio-control, joining individual subjectivity to national security via a ‘new resilience’ debate.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module aims to critically explore acts of war, political violence and ‘crimes of aggression’ through the lens of criminological discourse. It will provide an in-depth critical understanding of war and its relationship with ‘crime’; this will be achieved by critically evaluating the role of individual states, international communities, as well as victims, bystanders and known perpetrators or combatants.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module introduces students to the academic skills needed for successful university study, alongside introducing employability skills and career planning tools.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 40
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module introduces students to key criminological theories and concepts that form the foundation of our understanding of crime.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 40
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module introduces the central operations of the Criminal Justice System, following a path from first point of contact with the police through to disposal. The module introduces the mechanisms and functions of a variety of criminal justice agencies, which may include: Police, CPS, courts, prisons, youth justice teams, offender management, and private criminal justice provision. Contemporary criminal justice issues will be considered.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 40
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module seeks to introduce students to the idea of intersectionality within criminology and criminal justice.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 40
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module prepares students for independent research by introducing them to a range of research methods, along with the relevant skills that are key for future employment.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 40
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module takes a series of real world concerns as starting point from which to explore issues in contemporary political theory. By exploring key concepts in political theory, such as freedom, equality, violence and rights, the module aims to provoke critical engagement and reflection on the contested nature of contemporary political theory.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 40
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module provides an introduction to the key actors and institutions in the international system, and more broadly to the study of international relations. It explores the roles key states, regional organisations and groupings, international organisations, NGOs and transnational actors play in the international order. It will explore how their power, role and significance have been affected by change and evolution in the international system, and how in turn these affect the processes of interaction, cooperation and conflict.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module provides an introduction to the nature and structure of the international system. It begins with an exploration of previous international systems based on city states, empires and feudal political systems. It then moves on to a consideration of the evolution of the 20th Century States System, beginning with the decline of pax-Britannica, the inter-war crisis, the emergence of pax-Americana, the establishment and design of key international institutions, the Cold War, the end of the Cold War, rise of non-state actors, globalisation, the decline of the west and the rise of China, the ongoing economic crisis and democratisation. Across these topics students are asked to think about the evolution of the international system in terms of hegemony, balance of power and sovereignty.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module will provide a critical introduction to the history and contemporary evolution of political economy. Students will engage with a variety of key historical thinkers and theoretical approaches in order to develop a qualitative understanding of the rich tapestry of political economy. Emphasis will be placed on how different theoretical approaches seek to understand, reform – and even abolish – capitalism as a global socio-economic system.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module provides an introduction to the main theories of international relations, including realism, liberalism, Marxism, the English School and constructivism. It also introduces students to methodological issues in social studies including classical, positivist and post-positivist concerns.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: Political ideologies may be understood as frameworks of political understanding and commitment that are at the heart of political debate and have helped to shape the world we live in. This module will enable you to explore the core ideas and beliefs of the major ideologies, to examine debates within and between ideologies, and to develop your own critical thinking in this area. You will also examine how ideologies have been expressed through political movements and parties, their historical influence and impact, and to what extent they remain relevant today.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Politics is fundamentally concerned with governance, which involves making and implementing collective decisions and rules. This module will illustrate how this involves a range of actors and institutions and is not just a matter for government or the state. The module will interrogate contemporary and common understandings of British politics through a series of theories and themes. Specifically, it will introduce the notion of British Political Tradition as a central theoretical perspective to explore these issues. The aim is to provide students with an overview of key developments and conceptual tools for understanding the change and continuity in the modes of governing and government: from the post-war census to post-Brexit politics.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: The module explores the UK’s relationship with the EU, and investigates the application of appropriate theory in order to understand both the access of the UK and its decision to exit.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module looks at the historical evolution of international human rights law at the United Nations. Questioning why the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was not enough to secure universal protection for all, and exploring instead the various conventions designed to fine-tune human rights protection. The module will explore what rights are covered by the conventions and how the UN and human rights advocates use these legal mechanisms to promote and protect human rights internationally. This module will offer students a clear understanding of how the legal mechanisms translate into recourse for those whose human rights have been violated.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module provides an overview of contemporary security issues, encompassing different perspectives from the state to the individual, and how security threats have changed over time and continue to change.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding will give students an opportunity to understand and examine the way communities, states, organisations and institutions tackle violent conflicts (or potentially violent conflict situations). Using a range of theoretical models, case studies from around the world, and relating this to our own experience, students will learn about their own conflict styles, how to analyse conflicts, the different roles played by the UN and local communities in peacebuilding, and become familiar with current debates in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. It will build a global outlook, critical thinking and opportunities for rethinking difficult global challenges.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module develops an understanding of the key theories of peace, warfare and security, and their relevance to and practice in the 21st century.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: The state plays a fundamental part in social life and in shaping social development, and is a central concept in political analysis. On this module you will investigate the nature, development and prospects of the state using a variety of theoretical approaches, and consider big questions about the state, such as: why should we obey the state? who has power and how is political influence exercised? does business exercise unrivalled influence? what are the arguments for ‘growing’ or ‘shrinking’ the state? is globalisation forcing the state to retreat?

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module will provide a critical political economy approach to development in the Global South. Students will study the evolution and dynamics of development policy and practice in the Global South from the period of post WWII state-led development to contemporary processes of neoliberal globalisation. Students will engage with a variety of theoretical approaches in order to understand issues facing development in the Global South, and will explore the roles and links between key institutions and actors at the global, national and local level.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module explores various debates within the field human rights. It begins by looking at the different theoretical frameworks scholars employ in the study and practice of human rights. Then the module takes specific controversial debates within the field and looks at them in depth. Students will be challenged to see the complex nature of human rights as a moral framework for political action.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module provides an overview of contemporary environmental debates, with a particular focus on climate change and its consequences. Students will critically assess the evidence for global environmental crisis, and efforts at global cooperation to address the issues, considering issues such as responsibility, and the role of environmental movements and alternative models of development.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module provides an opportunity for students to focus on a subject of their choosing related to Global Development  and their own  future aspirations. Students will be required to select a Global Development based dissertation topic and to engage with theoretical, methods and empirical material that is appropriate to study in this field. They will identify, plan and deliver a sustained and in-depth piece of work, linking it to theory and critically reflecting on their subject matter and research findings.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 40
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module provides an opportunity for students to focus on a subject of their choosing related to Human Rights and their own  future aspirations. Students will be required to select a Human Rights based dissertation topic and to engage with theoretical, methods and empirical material that is appropriate to study in this field. They will identify, plan and deliver a sustained and in-depth piece of work, linking it to theory and critically reflecting on their subject matter and research findings.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 40
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module provides an opportunity for students to focus on a subject of their choosing related to International Relations and their own future aspirations. Students will be required to select an International Relations based dissertation topic and to engage with theoretical, methods and empirical material that is appropriate to study in this field. They will identify, plan and deliver a sustained and in-depth piece of work, linking it to theory and critically reflecting on their subject matter and research findings.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 40
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module provides an opportunity for students to focus on a subject of their choosing related to Peace Studies and their own  future aspirations. Students will be required to select a Peace Studies based dissertation topic and to engage with theoretical, methods and empirical material that is appropriate to study in this field. They will identify, plan and deliver a sustained and in-depth piece of work, linking it to theory and critically reflecting on their subject matter and research findings.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 40
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module provides an opportunity for students to focus on a subject of their choosing related to Political Economy and their own future aspirations. Students will be required to select a Political Economy based dissertation topic and to engage with  theoretical, methods and empirical material that is appropriate to study in this field. They will identify, plan and deliver a sustained and in-depth piece of work, linking it to theory and critically reflecting on their subject matter and research findings. 

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 40
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module provides an opportunity for students to focus on a subject of their choosing related to Politics and their own future aspirations. Students will be required to select a politics based dissertation topic and to engage with theoretical, methods and empirical material that is appropriate to study in this field. They will identify, plan and deliver a sustained and in-depth piece of work, linking it to theory and critically reflecting on their subject matter and research findings. 

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 40
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module will explore the operation, practice and context of contemporary policy making at the national level. It will explore the actors, mechanisms and practice of policy making, and the drivers of policy change, via a focus on specific case studies. It will engage with key decision-making theories and models of the policy process, exploring how institutional analyses and other theoretical approaches help to understand the complexity of the policy process. 

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module will explore the operation, practice and context of contemporary diplomacy and international relations. It will explore traditional forms of and approaches to diplomacy and analyse the impact of changes in the international system on the practice and operation of international relations in order to understand contemporary forms of diplomacy. It will analyse diplomacy in the context of the cold war and post cold war, the rise of new actors in international diplomacy and the impact of technology and the media on international relations. It will explore critical debates in relation to diplomacy, notably feminist and post-colonial approaches.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: The aim of this module is to introduce students to planning, managing and developing community action. The module outlines the key policy debates and dominant methodologies of community development e here in the UK as well as in the global south. It is centred around case studies and simulation exercise to build competencies and knowledge around partnership and stakeholder engagement, budgeting, risk analysis and problem solving. The module reviews the contemporary context of community development through engaging students in different case scenarios and a project planning exercise, where students work in small groups to develop a small social project.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Through a series of workshops, students will focus on the politics of social justice and nonviolent resistance, the context within which activism takes place, and the key players that undertake the work of social change. Students will explore these issues in greater depth through case studies of activism undertaken in particular geographical areas (i.e Africa, Myanmar, Russia, Brazil) as well as on different issues (i.e Corruption, landrights, oppression and environmental protection). Students will undertake a group project that will explore the development, and assessment, of movements using nonviolent resistance. The module will include theoretical basis of nonviolence, debates in resistance studies, the historical developments, and the work of particular types of activists in social change at different levels of different strategies.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module explores the concept of globalisation and the way in which the idea and institutions of global governance have emerged to regulate it. 

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module will explore the related issues of terrorism, security and human rights. It will explore the synthesis between the fear of terrorism which is a pervasive threat felt by both states and individuals, the response to these threats that states adopt in creating security policy, and the impact upon human and civil rights.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: Peacekeeping, the prevention and reduction of violent conflict, plays a huge role in the international response to violent conflict. Having been through changes since it was first formalised through the UN in the 1950’s, peacekeeping has developed in terms of tools, approaches, actors and aims. Although the UN still plays a dominant role, new ideas and theories are being developed, including an understanding of the role played by local communities. In this module students will learn the development of peacekeeping, differences in missions and roles, and current theories of peacekeeping including deterrence, relationship building, proactive presence, conflict resolution and unarmed civilian peacekeeping.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module provides an advanced introduction to current debates about the persisting relevance of colonialism to thinking about politics today. it introduces students to the critical theoretical literature around ‘coloniality’ and race from post-colonial and decolonial perspectives and applies these ideas to contemporary political issues.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module provides the theoretical and practical underpinning for global issues management and crisis communication. Students in this module will learn about issues management as a process of facilitating communication leadership in organisations in order to mitigate threats to the organisations. Likewise, they will develop knowledge matching response strategies to different situations, crises, and stakeholders. Students will have the opportunity to practice these skills in Leeds Beckett’s simulation laboratory. 

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: British politics seems to be in a permanent state of crisis, from Covid-19 to Brexit, to the 2008 financial crisis and the period of austerity that followed. The aim of this module is to help students understand this crisis-stricken moment in British politics by charting some of the most significant developments in British politics over the past century, and by considering the key issues and challenges in British politics today. Students will study the ‘postwar consensus’, Thatcherism, the rise and fall of New Labour and Brexit Britain, along the way considering important current issues such as the potential fracturing of the UK given resurgent Scottish nationalism, how British government can adapt to its post-Brexit future, the effect of social media on British politics and electoral campaigning, and the role of structured inequalities in British politics and society.

In covering these topics students will develop a detailed understanding of the key actors, institutions, processes and ideologies in British politics, and be better equipped to progress into Master’s or doctoral level study of politics, or a career in fields such as politics, economics, law or public administration.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module provides insight, debate and practical strategies in the field of the protection of civilians from violence on a local, national and international level. This is increasingly becoming a central concern for international interventions, but on the local level innovative projects are being supported. From understanding the roles of international agencies, NGOs and local organisations, to investigating strategies and tactics of those affected, this module will enable you to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and the way in which it fits with peace and conflict theory and human rights.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module will explore the possibilities and challenges of taking gender seriously within both International Relations and International Political Economy. It will introduce key theoretical, conceptual, empirical, and practice debates surrounding the role of gender in international politics and global political economy. The module begins by introducing key concepts, theories, and methods for studying “the international”, though a focus on concepts including gender, sexuality, intersectionality, violence, social reproduction, the household and the everyday. It does so by incorporating a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives, including variants of feminist approaches to International Relations and International political economy, Masculinity Studies, and Queer Theory. Next, the module will examine violence and international politics, by exploring key issues such as war, political violence, the military, sexual violence in conflict, and nationalism. Finally, it will explore key debates and issues in global political economy, such as globalisation, migration, and trafficking, and examine forms of resistance through an exploration of transnational activism.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: The module aims to introduce and develop students’ knowledge and ability to deploy the principal classical and contemporary theories of International Relations. It will do this by developing theory within the context of contemporary and historical case studies. It is essential to give students without a background in IR a baseline understanding of different theoretical accounts of the international.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: A critical introduction to theories of global development, which situates development in the broader historical context of North-South relations, and explores the contested question of what ‘development’ means.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module aims to equip students with a better understanding of the environmental dilemmas that confront us in the contemporary world, by moving beyond the limitations of mainstream economic analysis in coming to terms with the threats of environmental degradation and climate change. The module tries to reawaken a broader type of ethical, natural and social theorisation which has been present in political economy at least since the 18th century. It is not a module on environmental or resource economics, though these will be discussed during the term. Rather, this module tries to understand social production as much more than a series of market relations. It tries to develop a broader socio-cultural understanding of production that ‘de-naturalises’ the way we view and exploit the natural world. The module also attempts to throw light on the tension between economics and the environment given the framework of an unequal world market. We will examine to what extent the pursuit of greater distributional justice in the global political economy is amenable to facing the challenges of environmental degradation and climate change. We will look at the opportunities and risks associated with the expansion of the global market, as well as the practicability of notions of sustainable development.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module will interrogate the concept of insecurity and draw on a range of theories and understandings of security, and how this has evolved from a focus on the state to incorporate human security. The relationship between conflict, security and development will be explored, including the roles of key actors, agencies, policies and interventions, and key intersections of gender, ethnicity, poverty and exclusion. Responses to traditional and new security threats will be examined from a human rights perspective via a range of local and global case studies.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module will equip students with an understanding of key theories and concepts that are used to understand violence, conflict, and peace. It will provide an overview of various approaches that have been applied to manage or resolve various types of conflict and to build peace, with reference to case studies. Students will gain an understanding of key actors and processes associated with conflict resolution and peacebuilding, as well as key achievements and obstacles to building peace. 

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: The module will explore the theorisation of Human Rights within International Relations debates. It will evaluate the contested conceptualisation of Human Rights, via universalist/relativist and cosmopolitan/communitarian debates, and locate the theorisation of rights within the broad schools of International Relations thought. It will explore the tensions that emerge through the institutionalisation of rights at an international level, the operation of sovereignty and the politics of rights at a group and individual level.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module introduces students to the basic principles of the phonetic analysis of speech. It covers the theoretical bases of phonetics, including the source-filter theory, vowel classification and plosive Voice Onset Timing (VOT), as well as an introduction to instrumental analysis of speech using spectrograms. It also provides continued training in practical phonetic transcription, using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and ExtIPA to capture more detailed and nuanced aspects of speech, including disordered speech. This is supplemented by training in perceptual analysis of voice quality.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 10
• Pre-requisites: Level 4 modules on the BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy, must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: The module will consider how projects fit within strategic and programmatic approaches to change, and how they are ethically designed, developed, and funded. It will introduce the essential components of project management, including Project Cycle, the Logical Framework, communication, stakeholder engagement and evaluation. It will develop key skills in project management, funding proposals and communication using authentic sources and case studies.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module aims to equip students with an introductory understanding of the knowledge and skills needed to understand and consume research in the field Speech and Language Therapy, and related communication disorders research, and to gain awareness of the importance of evidence-based practice. It covers key theories in research methods, provides an understanding of terminology, and introduces a range of research approaches, designs and procedures of importance in the field. This module places emphasis on knowledge acquisition and development of understanding of key research design concepts and terminology. It delivers an introduction to the issues involved in quantitative and qualitative designs, data collection and analysis, and allows students to use this knowledge practically by engaging in research-based tasks. 

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 10
• Pre-requisites: Must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Module Aims:

• To introduce students to core linguistic concepts and approaches involved in the study of morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics
• To introduce students to a variety of appropriate linguistic technical terminology and provide them with the tools with which to describe and analyse language
• To raise awareness of typical child language acquisition and development
• To develop awareness and understanding of societal, cultural and individual differences in language

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 15
• Pre-requisites: Must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module introduces students to the anatomy and physiology relevant to speech, language, hearing and swallowing that forms part of the scope of practice for Speech and Language Therapists. Students are introduced to the anatomical structures and functional physiological processes involved in speech production, language processing, hearing and swallowing. Students also learn about the role of the brain and human nervous system relevant to speech, language, hearing and swallowing.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: Must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module introduces students to the basic principles of the clinical analysis of spoken language. It covers the theoretical bases of phonetics and phonology. It also provides training in practical phonetics and phonological analysis of child language. Students will develop an understanding of the production, transmission, and perception of speech sounds and how these are used to convey meaning. Furthermore, students will learn to use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to transcribe simple sequences of sounds and to transcribe English phonemically. Students will also be introduced to the analysis of children’s phonemic inventories and identification of common processes in child language.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 15
• Pre-requisites: Must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This research-led module aims to develop students’ practical ability to make good public policy, with a particular focus on contemporary issues and long-term challenges. Working closely with a range of stakeholders from local and national government, the private and third sectors, and academia, students will devise responses to a range of actual public policy challenges. Working in small groups, students will deploy knowledge of theories of the policy process and of the reality of policy complexity to better understand the nature of contemporary public administration.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module develops students’ knowledge of where public policy comes from, with a focus on policies’ historical and political antecedents. Students will gain a detailed understanding of the most useful theories of the policy process, including the roles of a variety of key actors and institutions, and an understanding of shifting policymaking paradigms from the late-1970s onwards. In so doing, students will better understand why we get the policies we do, and how to more effectively influence the future course of public policy. 

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module is designed to develop a critical understanding of research as a practice and a product. The module will develop a critical understanding of the nature of knowledge offer general training on research approaches, including key theoretical, ethical and practical considerations.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module supports students to develop their knowledge and understanding of acquired and developmental speech pathologies and communication difficulties as a result of speech pathologies. Students are expected to learn theories, principles, models and evidence-based approaches related to the conditions, assessment and intervention from both medical and social perspectives. Students have the opportunity to analyse and interpret data, helping them to link theory to practice.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: Level 4 modules on the BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy, must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module introduces core concepts in Speech and Language Therapy, giving students the conceptual tools they need at level 4 to be able to start to integrate their knowledge from foundation disciplines, and providing the basis for application of knowledge in level 5. This includes threshold concepts such as ways of conceptualising interpersonal communication and communication breakdown, ways of perceiving disability applied to communication disorders and models of practice.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 10
• Pre-requisites: Must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module develops knowledge and understanding of the key medical conditions relevant to speech and language therapy practice, including presenting features, pathophysiology, and medical investigations and management. Teaching is largely delivered by medical professionals and specialist clinicians to provide expert input to each area and aims to enable students to explain the key features of a range of medical conditions occurring in children and adults, including their impact on communication, eating, drinking and swallowing.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 10
• Pre-requisites: Level 4 modules on the BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy, must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module develops students’ ability to apply an understanding of social, health and counselling psychology to enhance effective speech and language therapy practice. Psychological and therapeutic theories, as well as specific techniques that can be used when working with clients, will be introduced in lectures.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 10
• Pre-requisites: Level 4 modules on the BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy, must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module will introduce concepts and models which underpin clinical practice and enable students to draw together knowledge of medical sciences, linguistics, and psychology across the lifespan, as well as disorder specific knowledge in dysphagia and disorders of speech. Students will integrate this learning alongside clinical and professional skills relevant to the management of clients with communication and swallowing difficulties in diverse contexts using a case-based approach. 

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 30
• Pre-requisites: Must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module will enable students to draw together knowledge gained across the course and integrate this learning alongside clinical and professional skills relevant to the management of clients with communication and swallowing difficulties in diverse contexts. The module will support the preparation for transition to professional practice through consideration of the professional requirements of the HCPC and the drivers to contemporary SLT practice.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: Year 1 MSc Speech and Language Therapy Modules, must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module supports students to develop their understanding of theories, principles, models and evidence based approaches to management of across a range of communications disorders across the lifespan.  

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 30
• Pre-requisites: Levels 4 and 5 modules on BSc (Hons) Speech & Language Therapy, must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: To introduce students to concepts, theories and approaches to human consciousness; ranging from biological/cognitive phenomena to experiential noumena.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module brings together the cutting edge of developments within the SLT profession, driven by research, resources and practice developments, as well as changing and evolving models and methods of service delivery. Students will be able to develop their critical understanding of the contribution of the most recent theory and research to evidence-based and cost-effective management of specialist areas of adult and/ or paediatric speech and language therapy practice. They will develop advanced skills in assessment and management of specialist areas of speech and language therapy. Students will select two specialist clinical areas from a choice of up to five.

The module also develops students’ understanding of key economic, social, political, ethical, health and educational policy drivers that influence the provision of speech and language therapy services in the public, charitable, social enterprise and private sectors. Advanced communication and professional skills, including demonstration of impact, business planning, leadership and influencing skills are developed. Students will select two from up to five topics in this area.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 10
• Pre-requisites: Levels 4 and 5 modules on BSc (Hons) Speech & Language Therapy, must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module examines the medical conditions, cognitive processes, and functional implications which characterise cognitive communication disorders, fluency disorders, voice disorders & modification, mental health conditions across the lifespan, neurodevelopmental conditions and learning disability across the lifespan. Students will synthesise medical, behavioural, environmental, psychosocial, ethical and legal issues associated with service users and integrate relevant theories and principles in order to plan assessment and management based on a critical appraisal of the evidence base within multidisciplinary contexts.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: Year 1 MSc Speech and Language Therapy Modules, must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module examines acquired and developmental disorders of language, with particular focus on aphasia and developmental language disorder. Students will study language disorders with consideration and evaluation of cognitive, medical, behavioural, environmental and psychosocial issues. They will undertake detailed description and analysis of child and adult disordered language, formulate hypotheses about clients’ language disorders, develop a language assessment using principles of language processing models, and formulate holistic management plans which are based on a critical appraisal of the evidence base.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: Year 1 MSc Speech and Language Therapy Modules, must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module examines a full range of acquired and developmental disorders of speech, including motor speech disorders, phonological disorders and Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia (DVD). Students will study speech disorders with reference to underlying medical conditions, social and behavioural factors, and will undertake detailed description and analysis of child and adult disordered speech, including the use of phonetic transcription of disordered speech using IPA and ExtIPA. The module will require students to develop hypotheses about clients’ speech disorders and to formulate holistic management plans which take account of relevant research and theories.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: Must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: The purpose of this module is to introduce students to a broad and interdisciplinary Psychology that requires them both to engage with theory and to appropriately reflect on their varied life and learning experiences. The module places a dual emphasis on the interpersonal and intrapersonal spheres and is intended to initiate students into a lifelong process of personal and professional development.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module aims to develop clinical skills to support speech and language therapy practice for clients with eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties. Students will study the physiological basis of dysphagia including changes that occur due to the normal ageing process, clinical and instrumental assessment techniques, holistic assessment in relation to multi-disciplinary team working, psycho-social aspects, ethics and mental capacity to inform case management and complex decision making. A range of lectures will cover specialist aspects of dysphagia in relation to palliative and end of life care, head and neck oncology, paediatrics and respiratory medicine. The module will also incorporate a strong theoretical emphasis and will focus on developing the skills for pre and post-registration evidence based practice. Students will learn about different research designs and methodologies and how to critically appraise the literature to judge the robustness of research published within topics relevant to Speech and Language Therapy. This will also include learning how to review and synthesise themes and identify gaps and contradictions in the literature.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 10
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module aims to develop theoretical knowledge and clinical skills to support speech and language therapy practice for clients with eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties. Students will have the opportunity to complete elements of a dysphagia log that has been designed to reflect the RCSLT competency framework. Students can complete this with their educator on placement or at university based workshops and teaching sessions.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: Levels 4 and 5 modules on BSc (Hons) Speech & Language Therapy, must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module develops skills for undertaking evidence-based practice. Students will be required to use research skills and methods to either complete a systematic review of the literature or conduct a research project, which will involve answering a research question by designing a study and collecting and analysing data. The skills acquired within this module will support evidence-based clinical reasoning as well as treatment and service evaluation.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 30
• Pre-requisites: Year 1 MSc Speech and Language Therapy Modules, must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module introduces students to the foundation subjects needed to study speech and language therapy. These include: development across the human lifespan, anatomical structures and physiological processes relevant to the human nervous system and to respiration, phonation, articulation, hearing, deglutition and language processing; linguistics, phonetics and phonology. It also provides training in practical phonetics and phonological analysis of child speech. Students will develop an understanding of the production, transmission, and perception of speech sounds and how these are used to convey meaning. Furthermore, students will learn to use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to transcribe simple sequences of sounds and to transcribe English phonemically.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 30
• Pre-requisites: Must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: Dominant models of mainstream psychology emphasise scientific method and understanding as the only possible way to describe and explain the human individual. This module examines scientific psychology but also highlights the narrowness of its assumptions by considering a range of alternative psychological approaches. Contemporary psychology is recognised here as interdisciplinary in its nature. This module uses the idea of “interdisciplinary psychology” in a two-fold sense of situating modern psychology in a historical and theoretical context, and also demonstrating the many different approaches that contest what psychological knowledge is and how it should be applied.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module introduces students to the study of social policy through an examination of its key influences, events, debates and developments. It focuses on the development of the UK welfare state over time, exploring how this has been shaped by a range of social, political, economic and cultural influences. To do this the module introduces a range of theories, critiques and perspectives related to poverty, inequality and social exclusion. It examines how the functions of the UK welfare state have been defined over time, especially in the post-war period. are introduced to demonstrate how social policy has developed over the years and defined the functions of UK welfare state. Alongside this, students are introduced to key debates and developments within welfare politics to explore how these have impacted on questions of gender, race and ethnicity, disability, poverty and inequality.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: The module introduces cognitive psychology with a focus on the major processes relevant to language: perception, attention, short and long-term memory, executive function and speech and language processing. Students will consider how theories of cognitive processing provide explanations of language impairment, and influence assessment and intervention for people with a range of communication disorders.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 10
• Pre-requisites: Level 4 modules on the BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy, must be discussed with the module leader prior to enrolment
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module will focus on sociological theories engaged with the emergence and development of capitalism and modernity.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module aims to encourage students to critically interrogate current social theory regarding the key features and characteristics of contemporary societies and their meaning and consequences. We want students to examine whether key social theories and models adequately describe contemporary societies or enhance our understanding of ongoing processes of social change. Thinking about the nature of change (social, economic, technological, political, and cultural) and how we can conceptualise it, is a key feature of the module.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Critical and philosophical dilemmas lie at the heart of sociology. For example, such matters as the nature of the human subject and reality itself, the difficulties of distinguishing observer from observed, the status of knowledge, the question of who or what can influence action and change, the function of criticism, legal and moral considerations, the issue of communicative efficacy in the face of technological developments that have separated thought from the body: all are closely linked, and all have been central to the development of the discipline. This is not a module in sociology or any subset: rather, by addressing some of the critical and theoretical issues underlying the field, it will lead to a better understanding of what forms and sustains it.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Critical Social Psychology explores the interrelationship between the individual and broader social and cultural phenomena.  It considers this relationship as a complex, ongoing, constraining and facilitating mutual interaction between a psychological individual, on the one hand, and a variety of interpersonal, political, cultural and historical forces and relations on the other.

In this module you will explore the ways in which the psychology of an individual can be seen as fundamentally social and how this has been approached by different theorists. You will seek to differentiate between more traditional schools of social psychology and a more critical approach. This module critically considers this relationship and explores many fundamental aspects, such as language (discourse) and human experience.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module aims to provide you with an introduction to sociological perspectives on media and culture and their relationship to social, political and economic life. It looks at the importance of understanding media and culture and will enable you to think critically about the relationship between media, culture and identities in contemporary society. CMS gives you an introduction into key sociological debates on media and culture and how they relate to contemporary everyday life using contemporary examples for discussion. Upon completion of the module you will have a better understanding of the relationship between media, culture and the construction of social and individual identities in contemporary society.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module will encourage students to explore and critically engage with the impact of digital technologies on social life, identity, politics and other areas of contemporary life. They will develop an understanding of, and assess, contemporary theories and studies which have sought to explain changes brought about by the increasing integration of the digital with everyday life. 

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: One cannot meaningfully claim to be studying a ‘social’ psychology without an awareness of, and an appreciation of how, environments affect and shape human consciousness and human behaviour. During this module we intend to demonstrate how individuals and groups both produce and are produced by their environments.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module builds on the L4 module, Researching Society, by providing a deeper insight into and training in a variety of social research methods. It first considers the impact of values, politics and ethics on sociological research before moving on to examine a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods through in-depth examinations of specific pieces of sociological research. The module provides students with the skills and knowledge needed to critically evaluate the arguments and findings of existing research, carry out individual research, and to prepare and present a written research proposal.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: Using various meanings of what it is to “frame”, this module explores and critically reflects on the idea of madness. Situating psychiatric explanation as the dominant model in the construction and treatment of insanity this course examines the theoretical appropriateness and practical consequences of this narrow medical approach and suggests alternative perspectives for the study and treatment of the mad.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module aims to introduce students to contemporary sociological theory and debates around the contested concept of globalisation. The module aims to explore the characteristics of contemporary globalisation, consider the implications and consequences for different groups, and reflect on the tension between the global and the local (or the relationship between global social systems and localised everyday life). The module focuses on debates around the globalisation of economic activity, culture and identity and implications for political participation and citizenship.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: What is ‘Culture’? There are many answers to this question, which might refer to forms of behaviour, to the cultural heritage of a group of people, to belief systems, or to art and literature. This module focusses on how psychologists investigate culture, and on how it shapes (and is shaped by) mind, self and consciousness. We will also draw on approaches from related disciplines - sociology, philosophy, comparative theology, and anthropology. Themes explored on the module include; myths and legends, ritual and tradition, collective memory, sacred spaces, ‘virtual worlds’, and language, signs and symbols. You will also be introduced to a number of techniques used to investigate culture and its meanings, including participant observation, interpretation, reflexivity and ‘auto-ethnography’.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module explores classical and contemporary social theory. It will cover some important classical modern theorists such as Marx and Weber and then show how these theories have been developed by social theorists in the 20th and 21st century. This aims to equip students with the required analytical skills with which they can explore and explain, through appropriate frameworks, how the modern world is made up of a complex interaction of structure and agency.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Parapsychology can be defined as the study of experiences apparently beyond human abilities as currently understood by psychology. Parapsychological phenomena include; moving objects with your mind (psychokinesis), telepathy and clairvoyance (examples of extra sensory perception) and near-death and reincarnation experiences (the ‘survival hypothesis’). Parapsychology has a controversial reputation - parapsychological experiences are often dismissed as the result of gullibility, deception, or fraud. However there are many phenomena investigated by parapsychologists which cannot be so easily dismissed, and can apparently be replicated under controlled experimental conditions - telepathy being one example. This module explores this fascinating field, which draws on research from anthropology, theology and sociology as well as from psychology and the physical sciences.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module aims to equip students with both classical and contemporary theories of social movements, political protests, and episodes of collective action. It will therefore explore and analyse empirical events using a range of theories, including but not limited to collective behaviour, resource mobilization, political process and new social movement theories. Using a range of empirical examples we will look at why, when, and how social movements and political mobilizations take place in societies.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: Sigmund Freud is one of the most influential, erudite and prolific psychological theorists. Through his invention of psychoanalysis and its theories of the unconscious, sexuality, dreams, religion and so on, he revolutionised the way we think about the individual and the cultural world in which we interact. This module examines Freud’s key ideas and how these have been reinterpreted through his disciples and critics. Having explored this theoretical framework, it looks at psychotherapy, literature and film to see how psychoanalytic notions have been applied to the cultural world of which we are a part.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Many, if not most, of our social interactions involve attempts at persuading others to adopt, or validate, our various beliefs and worldviews.

We are constantly being culturally inundated with, and surrounded by, commercials, jingles, and logos almost every moment of every day (if your clothes have visible labels you’re currently advertising/broadcasting).

The purpose of this module is to explore, and become familiar with, the various dynamics and mechanisms of persuasion within society.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: Human development is a key focus for mainstream psychology. Considering the individual’s progression from the beginning of their existence through different phases of life has a longstanding role in psychological theory. However, this focus has predominantly centred on the early years - learning and cognitive development in infancy and childhood, in particular. This module seeks to broaden the traditional perspective and consider the full breadth of development across the lifespan. Consequently, this module considers how individuals develop and change throughout their lives. This involves not only the exploration of theories concerning psychological development, but also considering the social and cultural context in which this development takes place. On this module you will explore the entire lifespan from birth, through infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood, into old age. As death, and the process of dying, are also fundamental and universal aspects of life - despite the fact that death is often hidden or sometimes even considered taboo - these are also important topics covered by this module. In addition to traditional theories this module will draw on Transpersonal Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology and Critical Social Psychology.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: Radical psychology examines the dominance of scientific approaches in current thinking about how the psychological individual is constructed and theorised. Mainstream psychological thinking is part of the way we understand ourselves and is therefore a very powerful set of ideas. Radical psychology recognises the political dimension of the scientific search for objective and universal knowledge about the self and how this promotes and replicates unfair relations between individuals in Western society. This module critically assesses the project of mainstream psychology, by examining its uses and abuses, and theorising alternative and more socially beneficial approaches to psychology. Many of these alternative frameworks derive from the experiences of individuals and groups excluded or negatively conceived by orthodox psychological models.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: ‘Researching Psychology’ begins by exploring basic concepts – such as ‘objectivity’, ‘subjectivity’, ‘experiment’, ‘scientific method’ and ‘fact’ - which are a source of much debate and controversy within psychology. How psychologists define these concepts directly affects what research is done, how it is done, what count as valid results, and how we interpret them. So exploring these concepts provides a context for the different methods and approaches which we explore on the module. Underlying these controversies over definition, lies a central debate in modern psychology - about whether its scientific status depends on the use of quantitative methods and controlled experiments derived from the natural sciences. We will explore different possible answers to this crucial question.

There will be an opportunity to gain practical experience of a number of methods and techniques, including psychometric tests and experiments in memory, cognition and perception. This module is also designed to prepare you for the final year dissertation. So you will develop skills essential to this project, including critically evaluating source material, interpreting a number of statistical measures commonly used by psychologists, and identifying a suitable research topic.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: The overall aim of this module is to provide understanding of both epistemological and methodological aspects of research process. In accordance with this core aim, the module is divided into two main parts. The first part of the module introduces students to fundamental epistemological questions for the social and socio-psychological sciences. It will specifically look at a number of problematic distinctions within research process, such as:  scientific versus ordinary knowledge; and theory versus empirical data. The question of the precise relationship between quantitative measurement and the scientific method will be explicitly investigated. In addition to this, the module will address practical issues related to different stages of research project design. The second part of the module will focus on discussing key methods and techniques used in social scientific research, such as ethnographic method, semiotic and discourse analyses, and causal analysis. This review of methods will include issues related to handling quantitative data, such as correlation and causation and statistical significance. Using case studies as examples the workshops will go through limitations and advantages of different research methods.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: The module covers the development of knowledge and understanding of contemporary approaches to family, intimacies and domestic practices. On successful completion of this module, students should be able to analyse the significance of sexuality to modern society through an exploration of sites of struggle over sexual behaviour. Students will be able to understand family and sexuality as a social construct, to understand feminist theories and perspectives on family and sexuality, and to analyse it using sociological perspectives.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: ‘Music has many different functions in human life, nearly all of which are essentially social. We use music to communicate with one another: it is possible for people from widely differing cultural backgrounds to establish contact through music even though the languages they speak may be quite incomprehensible to one another. Music can arouse deep and profound emotions within us, and these can be shared experiences between people from quite different backgrounds.’ (Hargreaves & North 1997, p.1). This module explores the various and integral roles music plays in constructing social, cultural and individual identities.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module will critically explore the intersection between science, technology, human bodies and health in contemporary societies. It will assess the ways in which methods of technical assessment have shaped how bodies and health are understood. The module will explore how the development of new technologies and disciplines such as genetics, neuroscience digital tracking have shaped health practices, treatments, identities and the governing of populations.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module aims to introduce students to major topics and areas of debate in the sociology of gender. This will be achieved by considering feminist theories and theories of gender as well as by looking at key issues and debates around gender and work such as gender at work and family and work. The particular focus will be on gender in contemporary post-industrial societies and explore the empirical and theoretical interconnections between gender, sexuality, ‘race’ and class. Students will also be applying their knowledge of gender and diversity to the workplace by undertaking a collaborative organisation based project. Upon completion of the module you will have an understanding of the significance of gender in the social construction of knowledge and of different theoretical positions.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Transpersonal Psychology - Psychonautics concerns the means and methods to study and explore consciousness (including the unconscious) and altered states of consciousness (ASCs); it rests on the realisation that to study consciousness is to transform it. In this way Transpersonal Psychology - Psychonautics may differentiate itself from more mainstream approaches in Psychology (Gk: Psyche logia the ‘study of the mind’) which are, arguably, more concerned with passive theoretical understandings than with active experiential transformations.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This Year 2 elective module aims to explore contemporary applications of psychological theories in mental and physical wellbeing. Specifically we will look at theories, preventions, and supportive interventions in different applied contexts such as schools, community, health and rehabilitation settings. This module will be of interest to students who may wish to eventually work in the following fields: Mental Health, or Clinical or Counselling Psychology, or Educational Psychology, or Health Psychology.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Behavioural Neuroscience is an interactive and content rich module that supports you in your learning and understanding of core areas in the field of Biological Psychology. The module aims to provide you with the competency to critically evaluate key themes, concepts and research within Biopsychology sufficiently well to meet BPS requirements.

Module content may include, for example, the Biopsychology of: Depression, Schizophrenia, Anxiety, Addiction, Stress, Sleep, Sex and Learning and Memory. Consideration will be given to evolutionary, genetic and hormonal influences on behaviour, with reference to research in human and non-human animals.

These topics will be explored initially through interactive lectures that provide an introduction and framework for further independent study. Tutorials and practicals will augment these by providing students the opportunity to apply and interrogate their learning, encouraging both a deeper understanding of material, and the development of specialised research and technological skills.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 10
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: The purpose of this module is to explore key concepts used in Critical Psychology, Transpersonal Psychology and Psychoanalysis, and to critically examine how these different approaches to the discipline may use these concepts in both similar and distinctive ways. This concept-based approach is designed to support you in developing a ‘theoretical vocabulary’, which you will draw on - and further develop and refine - through studying subsequent modules on the MA, and through your Independent Project.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: The purpose of this module is to explore the developments in psychoanalysis that have occurred since the pioneering work of Freud and the first generation of psychoanalysts. The outward spread of Freudian theory and practice to the three new and highly receptive outposts of Britain, USA and France will form the backdrop for an exploration of the changing face of psychoanalysis. Students will examine the evolution of psychoanalysis in these new contexts, especially in the two most important post-Freudian traditions; the work of Melanie Klein and British Object-Relations, and the Structuralist psychoanalysis of Jacques Lacan and his followers. An extensive elaboration of and critical engagement with the ideas of these two traditions will underpin an understanding of the profound impact that psychoanalysis has had and continues to have on contemporary formulations of psychology and culture. The current scene of psychoanalysis as a discipline of contestation and innovation in the face of critical challenges will form the final element of inquiry.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: The basic approach underpinning this module is that of Interdisciplinary Psychology, which seeks to explore the interrelationship of mind, self and world in new contexts - outside the traditional disciplinary, geographic and historical boundaries of European psychology. This module has been designed to provide a theoretical framework to support your own use of research techniques appropriate to advanced study on the Independent Project. It also helps to provide a theoretical and philosophical context for the research studies and techniques which you have been exploring on other modules on the MA. The module focusses primarily on exploring a range of methodologies - different understandings of the nature, purpose and scope of method in psychology - in order to support you in evaluating and developing critiques of them. In line with the interdisciplinary focus of the MA, the module will draw upon history and philosophy of science, Sociology and Critical Theory. We will also be exploring different methods and research techniques at the forefront of psychology; including narrative, Feminist, psychoanalytic, discourse-analytic and cultural-historical approaches.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module aims to introduce students to the contemporary and evolving subdiscipline of cyberpsychology. Students will explore a broad range of topics and debates within this field, covering theoretical concerns and practical applications of cyberpsychology. In addition to this, students will develop an understanding of key methodological and ethical issues arising from internet-mediated psychology research.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Drug Addiction is an interactive and content rich module that supports you in your learning and understanding of drug abuse and dependence. The module aims to provide you with the competency to critically evaluate psychological and neurobiological approaches in the study of addiction. You will develop an in-depth understanding of the social, psychological and biochemical factors relating to drug use and abuse. You will also gain knowledge of pharmacokinetics, acute and chronic drug effects and current treatment strategies. Through a combination of lectures, seminars and lab based learning, you will develop specialist knowledge and transferrable research and technological skills relevant to careers in the field of addiction e.g. drug rehabilitation, drug counselling, psychopharmacology. Through group based learning you will be supported in developing innovation, team work and communication skills in a research conference setting.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: The purpose of this module is to explore the origins, first figures, foundational concepts and theories of the psychoanalytic enterprise. Sigmund Freud’s ideas and practice will be at the centre of this module and his concepts and analytic techniques will be traced to the rich intellectual and scientific context in which they were born. As a difficult theorist and personality, the influence of Freud on his colleagues and followers, and their reciprocal impact on his theories, will also form a significant component of this module. This will provide students with a picture of the early development and critiques of psychoanalytic ideas which will lead into discussion of its contemporary relevance.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module explores how our identities, so often presented as a natural and eternal condition, are constructed for us by powerful forces of reproduction and representation, ones that blur the lines between fabricated and real, object and subject, outside and inside – in a process which at once helps to maintain social hierarchy and is largely beyond individual control. The cultural politics at work here does not only affect specific identities or groups and, to demonstrate this, the module conducts a series of in-depth case studies that operate across a number of conventional identity categories, including e.g. ‘race’, nation, class, gender and sexuality. Since all these cases connect with students’ own experiences, a good part of the module is about creating circumstances in which students can develop a clear sense of their own implication in what they are studying.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module helps you to develop critical thinking and reflective learning which are required in all other Psychology modules. It also enables you to practise and master key skills such as literature searching, presenting arguments for a case, essay writing, referencing and reviewing an article. It also introduces you to various possible career paths through studying Psychology.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: In this module you will be introduced to the main theoretical perspectives and research techniques developed by social and developmental psychologists. You will explore the way in which current issues and topics have been addressed by social and developmental psychologists. The seminar activities and assessment will provide you with the opportunity to consider ways in which psychological knowledge and research is applied, and begin to develop original approaches using ideas from the course.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module develops student knowledge of a range of different theoretical approaches to understanding masculinities. Students will be introduced to a range of different ways of understanding masculinities and will develop their abilities in relating these theoretical approaches to a range of empirical topics. The module will help students to understand and be able to reflect on the social construction of masculinities in a range of contemporary contexts.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: Mind, Brain and Behaviour (MBB) is an interactive and content rich module that supports you in your learning and understanding of core areas in the field of Biological and Cognitive Psychology. The module aims to provide you with the competency to critically evaluate core themes, concepts and international research within Biological and Cognitive psychology sufficiently well to meet BPS requirements and to study applications of these areas at levels 5 and 6.

The module has two strands. The Biological strand introduces students to the basic anatomy of the Central Nervous System and Peripheral Nervous System, and how these underlie behavioural processes such as sleep, emotion, memory and drug use. The Cognitive strand explores the cognitive basis of perception, attention, learning and memory, and how these processes guide human behaviour and decision making. Through a combination of lectures, laboratory-based practical classes and seminars you will gain an understanding of the main theoretical and methodological approaches in both fields. 

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: To provide a rich variety of theoretical and practical approaches to the study of Mindfulness drawn from contemporary Psychology, Psychotherapy, and a range of contemplative/spiritual traditions. To explore and cultivate cross-cultural and global perspectives.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module explores the development of the British welfare state and examines it in terms of the divisions between public and private provision and the conflicting moral judgements that are applied. The ways in which these State interventions build upon and entrench class divisions are explored. The concepts of inequality, social need and social justice are examined and students will develop their ability to examine, explain and critique different approaches to welfare.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module aims to equip students with essential knowledge in the field of mental health and to develop their skills in communicating their understanding of this complex and sensitive field to others.

This essential knowledge will cover issues such as: diagnosis and formulation; the influence of culture and the important links between mental health and work. It will also cover prominent approaches in the mental health field (such as the biological approach, cognitive/behavioural approaches and sociocultural approaches). These approaches to understanding and alleviating mental health problems will be considered in relation to areas such as anxiety, depression and schizophrenia. This will be done to build students’ knowledge of approaches to emotional distress so that they may then think critically about these models later in the course. Students will also develop an awareness of the roles of a range of different professionals in the mental health field.

The module also aims to introduce students directly to empirical research papers in the field of mental health. Our aim here is to illustrate how research methods, such as randomised controlled trials, experiments, interviews and case studies, are used to help us understand and treat mental health problems.

Finally, the module will offer students the opportunity to develop their understanding of emerging issues in the mental health field, such as newer approaches to psychological therapy; mental health in a digital age; the rise of mental health problems in young people; loneliness and mental health problems.

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module aims to provide students with the opportunity to gain an understanding of the psychology of appearance. That is, to understand the array of socio-cultural, physical, psychological and interpersonal factors that influence how people think and feel about their bodies, and how these factors are linked to people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Although the Psychology of Appearance is a field of study in its own right, the research and practice issues and debates covered in this module have implications for a range of other applied areas of psychology, for example, Clinical, Health and Sport Psychology, as well as relevance for teachers, coaches, and people working in medical and health settings.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: In this module, students examine how some of the major theoretical approaches that they have been introduced to in the first year of their degree course (e.g. biological and evolutionary, social cognitive, psychoanalysis, postmodernism etc.) have been applied to the study of gender and in particular, the study of women and femininity. We consider what psychological knowledge has taught us about women and femininity by examining a range of interesting topic areas including women and psychological distress, motherhood, eating disorders, women’s drug use and women as both perpetrators and victims of aggression and violence. In the module, we also revisit and explore further some of the major issues and debates that students were introduced to at level 4 in the module Introducing Psychology around psychology’s treatment of women and how feminist psychologists have sought to address some of the problems that have been identified. 

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module provides an exciting opportunity for you to explore professional practice within a field of psychology, to engage in a real-world project pertinent to one of these fields, and to develop transferrable skills that will enhance your employability.

Visiting professional practitioners provide a project brief, and guide you, in small groups, to research, design and implement a solution. Typically, you are also taken on a site visit pertinent to the project. Further support is provided in the form of interactive workshops on working in groups, reflecting on your experiences and practice, and producing and delivering presentations.

The module culminates in a conference, in which, each group presents their project to the Module Leader, the visiting professional practitioners, and other interested parties.

Typically, you can choose one of three possible fields of psychology. The particular fields can vary from year-to-year; previous examples include Forensic Psychology, Counselling Psychology and Educational Psychology.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: On this module you will develop your theoretical understanding of the scientific method and application of such methods. You will develop skills in numerical reasoning and statistical analysis. You will also develop skills in qualitative research methods and the collection, analysis and presentation of both types of data in the form of research reports. You will also develop your ability to work in small groups to design, implement and analyse small-scale research studies. 

• Level: 4
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: LTP

Module overview: This module builds upon the Research Methods in Psychology 1 module (L4). It advances your theoretical understanding and application of the scientific-investigative methods with particular emphasis on the assumption, collection, analysis and presentation of quantitative data. This module also develops your ability to use, interpret advanced statistical techniques (e.g., ANOVA, multiple regression) and report these to a high standard.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: Research Methods in Psychology 1
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: By studying the module “Social Psychology” you will learn about how we think, feel and understand the social world we live in. This will include; how we communicate, think and make sense of our life, and the people we meet in it, how we make sense of ourselves, the relationships we have, and the values we hold about ourselves and others. Lastly, you will learn about how we may behave and think in the groups we belong to and how we think about and act towards the groups we feel we don’t belong to.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 10
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: The purpose of this module is to explore key principles and concepts of the field of Transpersonal Psychology, including the contributions of major theorists. The concepts are evaluated from a range of different contexts and related to the students’ own experiences. The relationship of Transpersonal Psychology to other disciplines is considered, including other fields of psychology.

• Level: 7
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module encourages critical understanding of brain-behaviour relationships through the evaluation of major theoretical and methodological developments of cognitive psychology whilst also considering insights from cognitive neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience, where appropriate. Students will build on their cognitive psychology knowledge obtained at Level 4 and learn about how core domains of cognition contribute to higher order cognitive functions such as problem solving, executive function and metacognition. Expanding the horizons of cognitive psychology students will also consider the influence of emotional states on cognition and in turn, the role of cognitive biases in the generation of emotion. Throughout the module there will be plenty of opportunity for students to consider the real-world applications of cognitive theory in clinical and educational contexts, as appropriate.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 10
• Pre-requisites: Completion of Level 4
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: This module aims to provide an introduction to institutional racism. This module will be of interest to those who wish to take an anti-racist approach to their work. In particular, the module will focus on the relevance of anti-racism in the following fields: Academia, Applied Psychology (e.g., Educational Psychology, Clinical Psychology and/or Health Psychology), Healthcare and other public institutions.

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: Research Methods in Psychology 3 builds upon the skills and knowledge that students will have already acquired at level 4 in relation to qualitative research methodologies in Psychology. In this module, students will explore in greater depth some of the philosophical, theoretical and epistemological assumptions that underpin qualitative research paradigms. Students will also be introduced to and utilise more advanced methods of qualitative data collection and analysis/interpretation. This will include more creative and contemporary ways of conducting research interviews (e.g. the use of the photo elicitation technique), media text analysis, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis. In addition, in this module, students will be supported in planning and developing a research proposal for their Final Year Project at level 6 (qualitative or quantitative). 

• Level: 5
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: Research Methods in Psychology 1
• Module semester: Semester 2

Module overview: Biopsychology of Stress and Health is an interactive module that supports you in learning and understanding the psychology and physiology of stress, and its impact on health. For example, the effects of stress on the immune system, sleeping behaviours, eating behaviours and cognitive performance will be explored. Various potentially stress-reducing interventions that may be beneficial to health (e.g. nutritional supplementation and diet; exercise; coping) will also be discussed in order to further encourage understanding of the biopsychological pathways linking stress and health.

Throughout the module, students will be encouraged to explore and evaluate relevant theories, methods and research and will also have the opportunity to apply their knowledge by conducting a group research project in the area. This project will allow them to develop their research and team-working skills as well as providing them with the opportunity to use specialised equipment to collect physiological data.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Confirm with Course Administrator

Module overview: This module provides an introduction to both Clinical and Counselling Psychology specialisms. You will develop an understanding of a range of common mental health problems, their key symptoms and underlying theoretical explanations (for example, mood disorders, schizophrenia and related disorders, and eating disorders) and the ability to critically evaluate the major approaches in the psychological therapies, which may be drawn upon in the alleviation of these problems.

You will engage with case studies and consider real-world examples of individuals experiencing a range of mental health issues, in order to synthesise a possible clinical diagnosis with a therapeutic intervention.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Confirm with Course Administrator

Module overview: You will start this module by exploring some central themes within Critical Psychology and some philosophical ideas that have informed critical thinking. These will include debates about whether psychology is/should be ‘scientific’, whether psychology contributes to the oppression or invisibility of certain groups and whether psychology takes sufficient account of context (e.g. cultural, historical, political, ideological, situational etc). You will then move on to consider the ways in which mainstream and critical psychologists have conceptualised and studied things like gender, sexuality, race, social class, disability and psychological distress as well as the limitations and implications of these.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module will help you develop an in-depth knowledge of child psychology within an educational setting. It will focus on content that relates to the roles of educational psychologists and teachers and will provide an initial grounding in the knowledge necessary for educational psychology practice and differentiation in teaching. Skills such as applying psychological theory to intervention and problem solving will be put to the test and creativity will be encouraged. This module will feed your interest in child psychology generally and help you in planning your next step to becoming a chartered educational psychologist, teacher or working in an educational setting.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Confirm with Course Administrator

Module overview: Forensic Psychology can be thought of as the intersection between psychology and the criminal justice system. It typically covers psychology and crime (e.g. theories of crime and offending), and psychology and law (e.g. police investigations and jury processes). Consequently, Forensic Psychologists work in a variety of settings, including prison and probation services, health and social services, the police, universities and private consultancy firms.

This module will introduce you to the main areas, and some specialist areas, within Forensic Psychology. The module also provides varied opportunities for you to apply your knowledge, understanding and critical thinking to fictitious and real-world contexts, and to celebrate your achievements with a wider audience at an end-of-module poster conference.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Confirm with Course Administrator

Module overview: Health Psychologists have expertise in understanding the things that influence people’s health and wellbeing. They explore how people make decisions that might affect their health and in enabling them to make more appropriate health-related decisions. They also use their expertise in psychology to develop interventions to change behaviour. During this module, students will explore different approaches (both theoretical and applied) in health psychology to gain an understanding of why people behave the way they do and how to provide services that will meet individuals’ needs and promote health and wellbeing.

The topics that we cover are designed to give students an overview of this vast area of work. Further, they reflect the expertise of the members of staff who contribute to this module, as these are the areas that we actively research and publish work on.  The teaching team on this module have research expertise in several applied health areas: body image and eating disorders, reproductive health, quality of life, shared decision-making, stress, oncology, and health service interventions.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Confirm with Course Administrator

Module overview: This module aims to provide an introduction to institutional racism. This module will be of interest to those who wish to take an anti-racist approach to their work. In particular, the module will focus on the relevance of anti-racism in the following fields: Academia, Applied Psychology (e.g., Educational Psychology, Clinical Psychology and/or Health Psychology), Healthcare and other public institutions. 

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Semester 1

Module overview: This module introduces the development of human communication throughout the lifespan. With an emphasis on understanding the multi-faceted nature of communication, the module reviews the practical applications of communication theories.

• Level: 6
• Module credit points: 20
• Pre-requisites: None
• Module semester: Confirm with Course Administrator