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Psychology of Human and Animal Behaviour

Entry requirements


112-120 UCAS points

112-120 UCAS points

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

112-120 UCAS points

Scottish Higher

B,B,B,C,C

112-120 UCAS points

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

112-120

112-120 UCAS points

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Psychology

Animal behaviour

The aim of the programme is to give students a thorough grounding in the psychology of human behaviour, which they will then be able to use to understand animal behaviour. This is an applied programme and students will be investigating how a better understanding of animal behaviour can contribute to the health and wellbeing of human and animal behaviour. For example, the L6 module dealing with Animal Therapy looks at how psychologist might be involved in the treatment of animals with psychological or behavioural problems. This module will also look at how animals are used in animal assisted therapy for the treatment of human psychological and physical health problems.

Modules

You will study for three years and in each year you will take six, 20 credit modules. In the first year you will study introductory modules in both psychology and animal behaviour. For example in the first semester you will study Introduction to Developmental Psychology and Social Psychology; Introduction to Human and Animal Interaction and Introduction to Research Methods (continues in semester 2). In the second semester of your first year you will take modules in
Introduction to Biological and Cognitive Psychology;
Introduction to Individual Differences; and Introduction to Animal Behaviour.
In the second year your study becomes more specialized and you will study modules in Further Research Methods; Further Biopsychology & Cognition; Animal Welfare; Developmental & Social Psychology; Individual Differences; and Primate Behaviour and Conservation.
In your final year you will take the Dissertation module (40 credits) which is a major piece of research chosen by yourself and supervised by specialist staff. In addition you will choose four modules from a range including Animal Cognition and Social Complexity; Animal Therapy(Assisted and Individual); Occupational Psychology; Brain and Behaviour; Work Placement; Media Psychology; Psychology of Children in Need; Psychology of Global Issues; Psychology and Health; Educational Psychology; Psychology of Mental Health; Evolution, Development and Adaptation.

Assessment methods

Assessment methods include written examinations and a range of coursework assessments such as essays, reports, portfolios, performance, presentations and your final year major project. The grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark.

Percentage of the course assessed by coursework
The balance of assessment by examination and assessment by coursework depends to some extent on the optional modules you choose. The approximate percentage of the course assessed by
coursework is as follows:

Year 1*
50% coursework, 40% written exams, 10% practical exams

Year 2
50% coursework, 40% written exams, 10% practical exams

Year 3
70% coursework, 30% written exams

Feedback
You will receive feedback on all practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. Feedback on examination performance is available upon request from the module leader. Feedback is intended to help you learn and you are encouraged to discuss it with your module tutor.
We aim to provide you with feedback within 10 working days of hand-in (practice assessment) and 20 working days of hand-in (formal coursework assessment).

*You must achieve a pass mark of 50 and above in all Year 1 compulsory modules as a prerequisite, before progression to Year 2 optional modules.

The Uni


Course location:

University of Salford

Department:

School of Health and Society

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What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

52%
Psychology

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Psychology (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

72%
Staff make the subject interesting
75%
Staff are good at explaining things
67%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
61%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

68%
Library resources
81%
IT resources
75%
Course specific equipment and facilities
46%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
20%
Male students
80%
Female students
69%
2:1 or above
15%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
D

Animal behaviour

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Psychology (non-specific)

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£16,484
low
Average annual salary
98%
med
Employed or in further education
41%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

16%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
13%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
10%
Caring personal services

20 years ago, this was a specialist degree for would-be psychologists but now it is the model of a modern, flexible degree subject. One of the UK's fastest-growing subject at degree level, and the second most popular subject overall (it recently overtook business studies), one in 23 of all graduates last year had psychology degrees. As you'd expect with figures like that, jobs in psychology itself are incredibly competitive, so to stand a chance of securing one, you need to get a postgraduate qualification (probably a doctorate in most fields, especially clinical psychology) and some relevant work experience. But even though there are so many psychology graduates — far more than there are jobs in psychology, and over 13,800 in total last year — this degree has a lower unemployment rate than average because its grads are so flexible and well-regarded by business and other industries across the economy. Everywhere there are good jobs in the UK economy, you'll find psychology graduates - and it's hardly surprising as the course helps you gain a mix of good people skills and excellent number and data handling skills. A psychology degree ticks most employers' boxes — but we'd suggest you don't drop your maths modules.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Psychology (non-specific)

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£17k

£17k

£21k

£21k

£23k

£23k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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