Psychology in Education, Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University

A unique degree

The Psychology in Education degree is a unique degree which will give you the opportunity to study Psychology in the exciting and varied field of Education. You will learn how to apply psychological theories and ideas in a real-life context and gain valuable skills which will prepare you for a wide range of careers.

The Psychology in Education (BSc Hons) degree has full British Psychological Society accreditation.

Course Outline

Year 1

Introduction to Psychology in Education covers:

where, how, and why children learn

theories and models of development, memory, motivation, perception and learning

methods for studying children and adults in controlled and applied settings

a real-life application of psychology in education: what social, cognitive developmental and biological psychology can tell us about bullying and why it happens

In Year 1 you also take any two further subjects. The first year at Lancaster helps you to keep your options open for a little longer as you don't have to make a final commitment to your majors subject until the end of your first year. You can choose to study subjects you have already studied at school/college or completely new subjects. Staff are available to advise you about the options open to you.

Year 2

You will study units covering core areas of psychology in education:

developmental psychology - topics include children's identities and friendships at school, language and school, learning arithmetic, disruptive behaviour, school failure

social psychology - topics include motivation at school, person perception, attitude development and change, the impact of drug education

cognitive psychology - topics include memory and perception, learning to read, the development of expertise, learning to learn

understanding personality and intelligence - topics include intelligence and intelligence testing, personality, psychological type, anger

designing and analysing research and data - topics include experimental design, interviewing and questionnaires, using statistics and qualitative analysis techniques

Year 3

The key feature of this year is your own independent research project. Under the guidance of a personal tutor you design, carry out and analyse your own unique study on a topic of your choice. You also undertake a module on the biological bases of psychology in education. These elements of the degree together with the 2nd year range of modules provide you with the necessary basics for British Psychology Society (BPS) accreditation. Then in this final year of your degree you also have a broader range of modules including some that specifically help you look ahead to future employment. For example, you take a module based on a voluntary placement in an educational setting such as a school, nursery or youth club, and a module that helps you apply educational theory to the development of teachers' classroom practice. There is also a module on special educational needs, a module entitled 'Learning in a Digital Age' that considers formal and informal learning practices based on digital technologies, and one that considers links between gender and education.

Invitation to Apply

Watch a video of Dr Jo Warin, our Programme Director talking about this degree

Jennifer Waite

A career as an Educational Psychologist

Watch a video of Jennifer one of our former students talking about her career as an Educational Psychologist