Bachelor of Science in Psychology

at Durham University United Kingdom

Durham is one of the leading physics and astronomy departments in the UK, enrolling around 170 students each year. The dedication to our teaching and research consistently puts us high up in all the league tables. While studying here you will benefit from the buzz and creative environment of a large research department and join a dynamic and focused intellectual community. Our research ranges from fundamental elementary particle physics and cosmology to more applied topics in which we collaborate closely with industry.

We offer degrees in Physics, Physics and Astronomy, and Theoretical Physics, all of which are accredited by the Institute of Physics. Our course structures have been designed to provide flexibility in your final choice of degree course. The three-year BSc degree is aimed at those mainly interested in a degree in Physics as a preparation for a career, not necessarily in the Physics area.

Our four-year MPhys degrees will suit those looking for professional training, leading to research in physics or a physics-related career. The first year of the BSc and MPhys degree courses in Physics, Physics and Astronomy, and Theoretical Physics is identical and it is possible to select modules in your second year such that you need not make a firm choice of course until the end of the second year.

This dynamic course brings together the rigour of the scientific laboratory and the excitement of fieldwork. It will help you to understand archaeology across the world, drawing on the latest scientific techniques, such as DNA analysis, bone chemistry and the study of archaeological bone and plant remains.

The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) and University Archaeology UK (UAUK) have accreditedthis degree confirming itprovide the skills relevant to a career in the historic environment.

In broad terms, Sociology seeks to understand the relationship between individual people and the wider cultural and institutional contexts within which they live. In doing so, it strives not only to make sense of social and cultural systems but also to bring about transformative social change, drawing upon the systematic study of social issues to challenge inequalities and to inform the development of effective, evidence-based policy and practice..

The curriculum at Durham is informed by our core research themes, including: education and inequality; health and medicine; violence and abuse; and social justice. Alongside these and other substantive topics, you will study sociological theory and its development through to the present day, as well as learn the craft of sociological research and analysis.

As well as gaining detailed knowledge of sociological issues, you will also develop a wide range of transferable skills valued by graduate employers, including how to assemble and evaluate different kinds of evidence, how to turn evidence into an effective argument, and how to design social research and analyse different kinds of data.

The degree is based on a modular structure, you will be required to take the equivalent of six modules (some of which may be ‘double modules’) within each year of study. Over the course of the degree, modules become increasingly focused on specialist topics and issues, with the chance to undertake a sociological research project on a specific topic of substantive interest in the final year of study.

The three-year BSc Mathematics course gives you the opportunity to study a wide range of mathematics topics, with a particularly large choice of modules in your final year. It will prepare you for many graduate jobs as well as for further study including the PGCE and many MSc courses in mathematics or related subjects.

Our degree covers pure, applied, statistics and probability. You will cover the background to all areas in the first year, while in the second year you can begin to specialise if you want, allowing you to choose to fully specialise in one area, or to choose a broader range of modules in the third year. In your final year, you will develop your research and communication skills in the module Project III.

With conflicts becoming either increasingly drawn-out, asymmetric wars of attrition or normalise into states of no peace – no war, our understanding of conflict and conflict intervention is shifting. Conflicts are rarely determined by military victory, diplomacy or long-term development, but require securing populations through a comprehensive approach that sees to their political, and economic, as well as their security-related needs. Their outcome will be determined by how well the different arms of government and civil society, both locally and internationally, can work together and how well they understand each others' perspectives.

This interdisciplinary and custom designed MSc offers the unique opportunity to look at conflict, conflict intervention and post-conflict reconstruction through the lenses of defence, development and diplomacy.

The MSc is designed for graduates with a career in government, the armed forces, inter-governmental organisations, NGOs or academia in mind, and for practitioners looking to enhance their practical skills while placing these within a broader theoretical perspective.

The MA in Research Methods (Education) provides broad learning in research design methodologies. The course is designed for students interested in theoretical and empirical understanding of research in social science and as well as those who plan to pursue doctoral level studies in the field of Education. The course is recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as providing suitable training for this purpose, and the course is one of the named routes on the MA in Research Methods. It is a Social Sciences faculty degree that involves other departments within the University.

This course delivers high-quality research methods for learning in education. The focus is on understanding research designs for conducting and evaluating rigorous research. The course includes training in the use of research tools for analysing and interpreting research data with detailed discussion on formulating research questions, innovative research designs, and developing theoretical understanding of concepts in social science research.

In the first year of Human Geography we introduce the range of our research specialisms and research methods, including fieldwork. The majority of modules in the second and third year focus on human geography’s sub-disciplines and social science methods. The second and third year elective modules progressively lead to material that is at the cutting-edge of research and include optional overseas fieldwork. In the second and third year, you may take integrated modules (with a mixture of human and physical geography) and one module from the Geography BSc list (subject to timetable compatibility).

We operate a modular system where you will study six modules each year. The Biosciences MBiol four year degree is designed to allow you more choice between modules in each year so that you can follow specialised routes within Biological Sciences, or address specific areas of interest, as you progress.

Recommended module combinations (“routes”) allow various themes of specialisation, although these still allow choice at each level, we have specified recommended routes corresponding to the following subject areas:

• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Biomedical Science
• Cell Biology
• Genetics
• Ecology and Environmental Science.

The BEng Engineering degree is a high-quality three-year degree designed to offer you the knowledge and skills necessary to join engineering teams on graduation. It is complementary to the four-year Durham MEng, and transfer is possible between the courses up to the end of the second year.

In the first two years, the BEng covers the same broad base of engineering education as the MEng degree. In the third year, you choose to specialise in civil, electronic or mechanical engineering. The BEng prepares you for an exciting career in modern engineering, with the flexibility to respond to changing technologies.

This course is designed for students with an undergraduate degree in a subject other than anthropology who would like to prepare for research in socio-cultural anthropology or for a career requiring expertise in anthropology.

High profile social anthropologist researchers at Durham, with experience of conducting fieldwork all around the world, introduce you to both classical and contemporary writing and research in the discipline. There is equal emphasis on theoretical and methodological questions, and plenty of opportunities to apply this new knowledge to issues of pressing social concern.

The full-time course consists of two terms of teaching, during which you are introduced to the range of research questions and methods used in social or cultural anthropology, and a dissertation, involving the design, development, and implementation of an independent research project. You will work closely with academic staff from our highly respected Social Anthropology Research Group receiving enhanced levels of support as part of the ‘conversion’ to anthropology, including fortnightly small group meetings with the course tutor, and have the opportunity to become involved in active research projects.