PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
Programme title:
MBBS with Psychology
Final award (BSc, MA etc):
Integrated BSc
(where stopping off points exist they should be
detailed here and defined later in the document)
UCAS code:
C80A
(where applicable)
Cohort(s) to which this programme
specification is applicable:
2008 onwards
(e.g. from 2015 intake onwards)
Awarding institution/body:
University College London
Teaching institution:
University College London
Faculty:
Parent Department:
Brain Sciences
Division of Psychology and Language Sciences
(the department responsible for the administration of
the programme)
Departmental web page address:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychlangsci/
(if applicable)
Method of study:
Full-time
Full-time/Part-time/Other
Criteria for admission to the
programme:
Length of the programme:
3 As at A-level or equivalent and have passed the 1 st and 2nd years of their
medical programme.
1 year
(please note any periods spent away from UCL, such
as study abroad or placements in industry)
Level on Framework for Higher
Education Qualifications (FHEQ)
(see Guidance notes)
Relevant subject benchmark statement
(SBS)
Advanced Level (Level 6)
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Pag
es/Subject-benchmark-statement-Psychology.aspx
(see Guidance notes)
Brief outline of the structure of the
programme
and
its
assessment
methods:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychlangsci/students/prospective/UG/ps
ychology-intercalating-medics
(see guidance notes)
Board of Examiners:
Name of Board of Examiners:
Board of Examiners in Psychology
Professional body accreditation
(if applicable):
The Integrated degree is not accredited by the
BPS
Date of next scheduled
accreditation visit: N/A
EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME:
 Educate students in systematic, scientific thinking about behaviour and the mind
 Develop the ability and readiness to critically evaluate claims, theories and evidence in the behavioural
sciences
 Provide teaching that benefits from our position as a leading research department
 Select our students, provide them with guidance, and assess their work, fairly and with care, so that they will
make the best of their academic potential
 Give students an understanding of what psychological science can contribute to the theory and practice of
medicine.
PROGRAMME OUTCOMES:
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding,
qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:
A: Knowledge and understanding
Knowledge and understanding of:

Biological, cognitive-behavioural and
social approaches to psychology,
their achievements, limitations and
interrelationships

Key conceptual issues,
methodological approaches and
significant findings in scientific
psychology

Research Design and Quantitative
Methods
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Our teaching covers the spectrum of psychological ideas with
an emphasis on the experimental, cognitive and neuroscientific
aspects of the discipline.
Our strategy is to introduce integrating students to the key
areas of modern psychology using the core modules:
PSYC1107: Evidence and Enquiry in Psychology (The
course will cover the range of disciplines in psychology, giving
a conceptual, methodological and historical background. The
following topics will be covered: science of mind and
behaviour, including conscious and unconscious mental
processes; development, including interplay of nature and
nurture; cognition, including memory, perception, language;
the brain, including the effects of psychoactive drugs and
mental illnesses; and social and emotional behaviour) and
PSYC1203: The Psychology of Individual Differences (This
module aims to provide students with an understanding of the
dominant theories in intelligence and personality, how these
theories can be investigated scientifically, how these theories
can be used to assess, describe, explain, and predict human
behaviour and the principal influences, genetic, biological and
environmental, that create these differences).
Integrating students must also complete a compulsory
Research Project: PSYC3901: Research Project (1CU). This
is an empirical piece of research on a psychological topic
which may be in an area of their choice.
The remainder of the programme is made up of four optional
modules chosen from a wide range of 3rd year modules. These
allow students to pursue their own particular areas of interest in
psychology at an advanced level.
We use a wide range of delivery methods:
Statistical, computational and experimental methods are taught
in workshops specifically organised for the Integrated students
during the first term.
Formal lectures are supplemented by teaching in small-size
seminar groups. We aim to increase the active learning
component of lectures and to ensure good coverage of
technical detail supported where appropriate by web-based
exercises.
A major site of exploration and integration of ideas is the
weekly seminar. We have excellent procedures in place to
induct and guide new seminar leaders and we propose to
further support seminar leaders in their tasks using a variety of
methods including IT.
Learning:
Our strategy encourages students to assume responsibility for
their own learning from the start and to collaborate with others
in learning. We require students to comment and appraise
other student’s essay work and to appraise their own efforts
against formally defined criteria. Seminars provide an
opportunity to explore and to integrate ideas. We propose to
explore ways to support and encourage this activity.
Our programme requires the students carry out a fully-fledged
research project from initial research and planning to execution
and report. We view the project as a type of apprenticeship in
research.
Assessment:
Formative assessment:
Students write essays as part of their weekly seminar
programme and are provided with structured feedback
on these. Their marks reflect the explicit criteria for each
grade. Students also have the opportunity appraise their
own essay efforts and those of their peers.
We encourage the use of in-course self-assessment.
Termly appraisals with the seminar leader based around
the student profiles also provide an opportunity for
formative assessment and for wider guidance.
Summative assessment:
Our principal summative assessments are yearly
examinations of specific course-units. The majority of
the examinations are essay-based, but some also have
an MCQ element.
For the Integrated year, one-quarter of the marks are
assigned to the project. Outline feedback on first drafts
is provided by supervisors.
B: Skills and other attributes
Intellectual (thinking) skills:
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
able to:
Lecturers model the relevant skills in presenting their
lectures.
1. engage in scientific argumentation
2. generate and appraise psychological
hypotheses
Weekly seminars provide an opportunity for student to
present and to discuss ideas with feedback from
experienced members of staff as well as their own
peers.
3. critically evaluate the psychological
literature both theoretical and
experimental/empirical.
Students are required to write a minimum of three
essays each term and these are commented on by the
member staff in terms of the quality of argumentation.
The project provides an opportunity to generate and test
hypotheses and to integrate findings with the existing
literature, gaining both experimental and analytical skills.
Assessment:
Formative assessment is provided via grades on essays
written for the weekly seminar
Outline formative feedback is also provided on first
drafts on the year 3 project.
Summative assessment is provided by written unseen
examinations (the majority are essay-based, but some
are a combination of essays and MCQs).
C: Skills and other attributes
Practical skills (able to):
Practical skills (able to):
1. Use statistical packages for the
analyses of data
2. Design and carry out a piece of
innovative research
3. Communicate effectively in writing
4. Use electronic resources ( e-journals,
the web), word processing packages
5. Present material orally in a seminar
with or without presentation aids such as
PowerPoint.
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Statistical skills are taught in workshops, organised
specifically for the integrating students, which run in the
first and second terms.
Skills in planning running and analysing experiments are
taught via these workshops and also via the students’
project supervisors.
Effective writing and presentation skills are taught via
the weekly seminars and background work for this
requires the use of electronic media. Essays are
routinely submitted using a word-processing package.
However, students also gain practice of completing
timed written essays to prepare them for their end-ofyear examinations.
6. Find and organise information.
Assessment:
Seminar essays are graded according to a
comprehensive marking scheme and returned promptly
to students. These provide a formative assessment for
unseen written exams held at the end of each year.
Seminar presentations are assessed informally during
the term and students receive additional feedback on
their overall seminar performance in individual meetings
at the end of each term.
The project is assessed in two stages: a project proposal
and a final project report. The student is supported
throughout the execution of their project and can also
receive detailed comments on one draft of their final
report.
D: Skills and other attributes
Transferable skills (able to):
1. Study independently and efficiently
2. Think critically and write effectively
3. Analyse and appraise numerical data
4.Argue from a scientific standpoint:
5.Generate hypotheses and test these
empirically
6.Collaborate with peers and others to
achieve goals
7. Make effective use of IT (e.g., word
processing packages, search engines,
spreadsheets, statistics packages and
other software).
8.Communicate confidently and
effectively to both specialist and nonspecialist audiences
9. Reflect on their own learning and
manage competing demands on their
time.
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
The student handbook and seminar leaders act as
sources of guidance for effective study. Overviews of the
software available are presented by one of the
computing staff during induction week.
Library and IT resources are available to facilitate
independent study.
The weekly seminar provides a key forum for honing
thinking and writing skills. These seminars also facilitate
the acquisition of interpersonal skills and the
development of effective verbal communication skills.
Numeracy skills are formally taught in the statistics
workshops and are applied in research settings.
Psychological argumentation and scientific thinking are
modeled and taught throughout the programme.
Students are encouraged to reflect on their learning via
the seminar and their personal tutorials and are required
to learn to manage their time effectively by numerous
deadlines for different kinds of work (e.g., essays,
seminar presentations, project proposals and reports,
unseen examinations).
Assessment:
Seminar essays and presentations
Project reports
Unseen examinations (Essay format, except PSYC1107
and PSYC3207 have a coursework essay (60% and
40% respectively and an exam worth the remaining
marks).
The following reference points were used in designing the programme:
 the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications:
(http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/Framework-Higher-Education-Qualifications-08.pdf);
 the relevant Subject Benchmark Statements:
(http://www.qaa.ac.uk/assuring-standards-and-quality/the-quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements);
 the programme specifications for UCL degree programmes in relevant subjects (where applicable);
 UCL teaching and learning policies;
 staff research.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the
learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes
full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided. More detailed information on the learning outcomes,
content and teaching, learning and assessment methods of each course unit/module can be found in the
departmental course handbook. The accuracy of the information contained in this document is reviewed annually
by UCL and may be checked by the Quality Assurance Agency.
Programme Organiser(s)
Hugo Spiers
Name(s):
Date of Production:
March 2003
Date of Review:
08/08/14
Date approved by Head of
October 2014
Division:
Date approved by Chair of
October 2014
Programme Teaching
Committee:
Date approved by Faculty
November 2014
Teaching Committee: