English Language and Psychology

English

English Language is a new and innovative programme which aims to provide you with a theoretical knowledge and understanding of the English language, how it works in society and its role in the world today. It will also help you to develop your own communication skills.

Psychology

Psychology as ae formal scientific discipline emerged in Europe about 130 years ago as the science of mind and behaviour. The focus of psychology is people what and how they think and feel and how they relate to others. Psychology is a research discipline and uses the experimental methods of traditional science as well as an increasingly wide range of other research methods.

Our programme investigates theories of psychology and their applications in contemporary society. We emphasise human rather than animal behaviour, and the applications of psychology. The degree programme integrates theoretical psychology, techniques of psychological investigation and the major areas of applied psychology. Our programme will provide you with a thorough grounding in theory, research and practice in contemporary psychology, a high-level practical and research experience, specialist professional skills and expertise, and a broad intellectual training.

Key benefits

English

At Aston, you can study English Language as a half-programme in combination with a range of other subjects, such as a foreign language (French, German, Spanish), International Relations, Politics or Sociology, or one of an approved range of subjects from within the Combined Honours portfolio.

The School of Languages & Social Sciences (LSS) at Aston is recognised as a leader in the integrated study of national cultures and societies in Europe. The School's outstanding reputation for teaching quality was confirmed by our score of 22 out of a possible 24 in the last Teaching Quality Assessment exercise. The international quality research undertaken by members of staff was confirmed by a Grade 5 out of 5 in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise in 2001. The School also boasts innovative IT facilities which contribute to the quality of student learning.

Psychology

The Human Psychology degree has been taught at Aston University since 1972 and is highly regarded. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) awarded Aston's Psychology programmes a score of 22 to of 24 in the most recent round of assessments, which places us in the excellent category. Aston is also outstandingly successful in graduate employment. In 2003, 88% of Aston graduates entered employment and in Psychology 75% entered employment compared with 72% nationally.

Teaching and assessment

English

You will experience a wide variety of learning and teaching methods, including:

• lectures, tutorials and seminars

• english exercises and case studies

• group and individual project work

• use of our extensive computing facilities

• corporate investigation and analysis

Students will be assessed in individual modules by end-of-semester (January & May/June) examinations and by assignments conducted and submitted

Psychology

You will experience a wide variety of learning and teaching methods, including:

• lectures, tutorials and seminars

• exercises and case studies

• group and individual project work

• use of our extensive computing facilities

• corporate investigation and analysis

Students will be assessed in individual modules by end-of-semester (January & May/June) examinations and by assignments conducted and submitted

Personal development

English

The Placement Year at Aston has an enviable reputation. This year provides the opportunity to develop professional skills by spending a year in paid employment.

Students will be strongly encouraged to seek a placement, although this is not compulsory. We have a full-time placements officer who will assist you in finding a suitable placement. In recent years student have had placements in the European Parliament as assistants to MEP's and with various European business organisations, as well as in UK based institutions. English language placements can be taken up either abroad or in the UK.

When English Language is combined with French and/or German, a year abroad must be spent in a French or German speaking country to develop language based skills. Students may choose to work in a well known and established company, as a teaching assistant in a school abroad or follow a university programme at one of our prestigious ERASMUS partner institutions.

Aston University has one of the best records for graduate employment in the UK. The course ensures that students will gain academic knowledge as well as developing a wide range of skills that are valued by employers.

English Language in combination with other Combined Honours subjects provides a good basis for a wide variety of work.

Psychology

You can choose between a 3 year, full time and a 4 year sandwich Combined Honours degree with Human Psychology. You will have the option to set your studies in context by taking a psychology or related professional placement. The placement year is one of the key factors in Aston's employment success and its educational value was highly praised by the QAA inspectors. Recent psychology placement employers include North Birmingham Mental Health Trust, Birmingham Childrens Hospital, and the Defence Evaluation Research Agency (DERA).

Many students also take business placements, often in human resource management, where a psychology degree is highly valued. A years work will improve your employment prospects and prepare you for your future career. A placement year can also transform your academic progress, as you return to study refreshed from seeing the practical relevance of psychology in action.

Our emphasis on applied and Human Psychology provides an excellent springboard for careers in diverse professions. The decline in manufacturing and the growth of the service sector puts psychology graduates at a premium-they have insight into motivation and behaviour and know about people, relationships and group dynamics, have excellent communication and teamwork skills, are trained the critical and analytic and can design, conduct and analyse and evaluate research, all of which are valued by employers.

Combined Honours Psychology Graduates go on to pursue a very wide range of career paths. Graduates can enter business and commercial careers, caring and social careers, teaching and local government careers and many others. Progression rate to a first job is very high for Aston students and career prospects are good.

Career prospects

English

Potential careers for English Language graduates include: publishing, linguistic computing, journalism, law, the Civil Service, the media (including advertising marketing and public relations) and information technology (including library work), as well as teaching (at home or abroad).

Psychology

Combined Honours Psychology Graduates go on to pursue a very wide range of career paths. Graduates can enter business and commercial careers, caring and social careers, teaching and local government careers and many others. Progression rate to a first job is very high for Aston students and career prospects are good. For example, employment destinations for Combined Honours Psychology students in 2003 included Lloyds TSB, NHS, Xerox UK Ltd and Vodafone.

Objectives

Our Aims

Why study English Language?

• English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world today. Not only is it the first language of millions of people in such widely spread parts of the world as the UK, the USA and Australia, but it is also chosen as the first foreign language to be taught by many education systems, and there are over 1.4 billion people living in countries where English has official status. It is the main language of international diplomacy, commerce and trade, as well as of academic conferences, of pop music and of advertising - not forgetting of course the great body of literature, classical and modern, which is written in English.

• Studying English Language gives you an insight into how it came to occupy this dominant role. It helps you to understand how language is connected with other aspects of society, including power, culture and the economy. It also teaches you about the details of, and variations in, the way English is used in speech and writing for a wide variety of purposes.

• A qualification in English language equips graduates with relevant skills and competences to succeed in careers where communicating and mediating communication are key. Career prospects are wide-ranging, including such areas as publishing, linguistic computing, journalism, teaching (at home or abroad), the Civil Service, the media (including advertising, marketing and public relations), politics and information technology (including library work).