University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2021/22 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Arts > Centre for Innovation > Psychology with Innovation (MSci) > Specification
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Programme code | 1INOV011U |
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Programme type | Single Honours |
Programme director(s) |
Brian Stollery (Psychology contact)
Daniella Jenkins Programme Director (Innovation) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
School/department | Centre for Innovation |
Second School/department | School of Psychological Science |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Accrediting types: |
Accredited against the requirements for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society (BPS). (http://www.bps.org.uk/) |
Relevant QAA subject benchmark groups | Psychology (2023) (benchmark statement) |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 4 years (full time) |
The digital and creative innovators of the 21st Century will bring together arts and humanities, design, science, engineering and enterprise to deliver new products, services and ways of working and living. This degree combines an in-depth subject specialism in Psychology with interdisciplinary breadth, creative teamwork and entrepreneurial skills. Students undertaking this course will spend half their time studying Psychology to gain a solid discipline strength whilst spending the other half of their time applying that knowledge to innovate and translate their ideas into plans for digital and creative enterprises, both social and commercial. The psychology and understanding of ‘being human’ applied to digital and creative innovation can unlock truly innovative products and services and make sure that these innovations actually meet the human need. Psychology with Innovation students will recognise that human diversity holds multiple problems as well as creative solutions. In light of this, designing is not just for the next generations in industrialised nations – where the key legal, social, and political implications of a generation ‘born digital’ will be important – but design must be for (and from) the rest of the world – those who are not ‘digital natives’.
The Bristol Psychology degree is renowned for its robustness and integrity in providing students with a thorough understanding of science with regard to the testing of hypotheses through an experimental research paradigm. It also provides students with a number of transferable skills which cover both literacy and numeracy as well as presentations, independent and group working. A natural progression of this is to extend the degree programme to encapsulate innovation. Psychology is all about understanding human behaviour, and thus is appropriately placed to allow students to develop their skills in terms of designing for people.
The programme aims to develop the student’s interest in and knowledge and understanding of the mind, brain, behaviour and experience whilst applying that specialism knowledge to innovate. Multiple perspectives are presented enabling students to develop a critical evaluation of the complex interactions between different areas of psychology.
The knowledge and techniques developed will lead to an ability to appreciate and evaluate theory, research findings, and their function in understanding theoretical ideas and the real life applications of psychology whilst applying that specialism knowledge to innovate. The wide range of transferable skills acquired is highly valued by employers and provides an excellent preparation for a number of careers, including creating their own enterprise and further postgraduate study in psychology.
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Lectures, group seminars, and individual presentations of students. Tutorials across years, laboratory work in small groups in Years 1 and 2, major projects in Year 3 and 4. Acquisition of knowledge and understanding for innovation, design and entrepreneurship occurs through lectures, workshops, seminars and tutorials (9, 10, 11 & 12). Workshops and demonstration to develop student practical innovation skills acquisition (9 & 12). Innovation challenges to develop students' skills in practical innovation and entrepreneurship (9, 10 & 12). Innovation project supervision and design challenge mentoring meetings to provide formative feedback.(9, 10 & 12). |
Methods of Assessment | |
Testing of the knowledge base is through a combination of unseen examinations (1-4, 6, 8), assessed coursework (1-4, 6, 8), experimental write-ups (5, 7, 8) and a Year 3 and Year 4 empirical project (2-8). Although 7 is not formally assessed in isolation, it forms a component in the assessment of experimental and project work (5). Individual and group innovation coursework portfolios (including rapid prototyping and proof of concepts) and presentations (9, 10, 11 & 12). Reflective and critical accounts of practical work and learning (9, 10, 11 & 12). Iterative and agile practice based innovation and entrepreneurship challenges (9, 10 & 12). |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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|
Lectures, group seminars, and individual presentations of students. Tutorials across years, laboratory work in small groups in Year 1 and 2, major projects in Year 3 and 4. Acquisition of skills to innovate, design and create enterprises occurs through lectures, workshops, seminars and tutorials (11- 14) Workshops and demonstration to develop student practical innovation skills acquisition (11 - 14) Innovation challenges to develop students’ skills in practical innovation and entrepreneurship (11 - 14) Innovation project supervision and design challenge mentoring meetings to provide formative feedback (11 - 14) |
Methods of Assessment | |
Testing of the knowledge base is through a combination of unseen examinations (1-3, 6, 10), assessed coursework (1-4, 6, 8-10), experimental write-ups (5, 7, 10) and a Year 3 and Year 4 empirical project (2-7, 10). Individual and group innovation coursework portfolios (including rapid prototyping and proof of concepts) and presentations (11 - 14) Reflective and critical accounts of practical work and learning (11 - 14) Iterative and agile practice based innovation and entrepreneurship challenges (11 - 14) |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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|
Lectures, group seminars, and individual presentations of students. Tutorials across years, laboratory work in small groups in Year 1 and 2, major projects in Year 3 and 4. Acquisition of skills to innovate, design and create enterprises occurs through lectures, workshops, seminars and tutorials (12 - 18) Workshops and demonstration to develop student practical innovation skills acquisition (13 - 18) Innovation challenges to develop students’ skills in practical innovation and entrepreneurship (12 - 18) Innovation project supervision and design challenge mentoring meetings to provide formative feedback (12 - 18) |
Methods of Assessment | |
Testing of the knowledge base is through a combination of unseen examinations (1-3, 5-6, 11), assessed coursework (1-6, 11), experiment write-ups (2, 5, 8-10) and a Year 3 and Year 4 empirical project (2- 10). Individual and group innovation coursework portfolios (including rapid prototyping and proof of concepts) and presentations (12 - 18) Reflective and critical accounts of practical work and learning (12 - 18) Iterative and agile practice based innovation and entrepreneurship challenges (12 - 18) |
Statement of expectations from the students at each level of the programme as it/they develop year on year.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
There are 80 credits of mandatory Psychology units at Level 4 that are designed to enable the student to acquire, and be conversant with, core aspects of research methods, research skills, conducting psychological experiments, theories and perspectives in biological, cognitive, developmental and social psychology. Students are initially provided with clear guidance on how to identify, locate and use materials from a wide range of sources. Comprehensive references are provided for each unit at the outset, as are guidelines for the production of written work. Oral communication skills are developed primarily within tutorials and laboratory related work. Students are expected to understand and demonstrate the scientific underpinnings of psychology, its historical origins, development and limitations and an awareness of the ethical context of psychological research. Students are also expected to demonstrate good communication skills by written, oral and visual means. An integral component of work at this level is basic statistical competence and the integration of this with the report of laboratory experiments. They will also have gained an understanding of how design and systems thinking can be applied to problems to innovate and unearth novel and creative solutions that may have been missed from undertaking a purely analytical approach whilst gaining experience in working in multidisciplinary teams. |
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Level I/5 - Intermediate |
80 credits are mandatory Psychology units and are designed to continue the development of a more in-depth knowledge in all the above areas where students are expected to take a more critical stance to the theories, findings and approaches to the discipline. There is a progression from initially supported and guided study to more active forms of self-learning. They are expected to be able to reason scientifically and demonstrate the relationship between theory and evidence and adopt multiple perspectives. Students are expected to demonstrate a shift from knowledge to conceptual understanding, competence in research skills and a broad range of statistical methods through practical laboratory activities, and be able to work effectively individually and in groups. Student will be expected to critically reflect on past and present case studies and develop further their transdisciplinary working to real world digital and creative client problems. Students will be encouraged to broaden their perspective beyond the subject provisions in Psychology with Innovation and take either an open unit or a unit from the Bristol Futures programme. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
60 credits are taken in Psychology Units. There is a mandatory 40 credit unit (independent research project) and another 20 credit optional unit. The emphasis on independent active learning and self-directed study in the acquisition of both generic and specific skills reaches its conclusion. Students are expected to have acquired detailed and extensive knowledge of several specialised areas and applications of psychology, some of which are at the cutting-edge of the discipline, research paradigms, research methods and measurement techniques (including statistical analysis) and be aware of their limitations. They are also expected to be able to analyse systematically the relationships between multiple perspectives in the light of theory and evidence, show incisive critical evaluation, an impressive grasp of theory and creative insight. These skills are expected to be demonstrated in well-presented and structured discussion of topics in all assessed work. Within the transdisciplinary group project the students will be expected to innovate for their own chosen problem by exploring the potential of new technologies to enable disruptive innovation to change the way people work and live. They will be supported by mentors and coaches to explore how their proposed solutions may be turned into an enterprise. |
Level M/7 - Masters |
At level M, students are expected to pull together all that they have learnt in prior years to create an enterprise; this may focus on an innovative digital and creative product or service, or a social innovation. Students will be required to assess the market, feasibility, IP, sustainability, finance and desirability of the proposition and create a proof of concept prototype to test with real world users. 40 credits are taken in Psychology with one mandatory 40 credit unit (Research Project). Students are expected to initiate, design, conduct, and report an empirically based project under appropriate supervision by an individual member of academic staff. Demonstration of ethical issues in connection with project work and applied units is also expected. |
The intended learning outcome mapping document shows which mandatory units contribute towards each programme intended learning outcome.
For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the undergraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
UG Workload Statement
Success as an undergraduate student depends on you being able to make the transition to self-motivated, independent learning. Programmes are designed to assist you in this development, in many cases by starting with units in which timetabled teaching, such as lectures and practical classes, provides the foundations of knowledge and skills in a subject, moving on to individual research-based work. Over time you will be expected to take increasing responsibility for your own learning, guided by the feedback on your work that you will receive. At the heart of your studies at every level there must be regular and disciplined individual reading, reflection and writing and it is this skill of independent studies, above all others, that will serve you best when you leave the University.
Most programmes use credits and a 20 credit unit broadly equates to about 200 hours of student input. This includes all activities related to the teaching, learning and assessment of taught units.
A component of this is the time that you spend in class, in contact with the teaching staff, which includes activities such as lectures, laboratories, tutorials and fieldwork. Some of this activity may be online and could consist of activity that is synchronous (using real-time environments such as Blackboard Collaborate) or asynchronous (using tools such as tutor moderated discussion forums, blogs or wikis).
In some programmes there are field courses and/or placements that will take place in concentrated periods of time.
Outside scheduled activities you are expected to pursue your own independent learning to build your knowledge and understanding of the subjects you are studying. Such independent activities include, reviewing lecture material, reading textbooks, working on examples sheets, completing coursework, writing up laboratory notes, preparing for in-class progress tests and revising for examinations.
We recognise that many students undertake paid employment. To achieve a sensible balance between work and study, you are advised to undertake paid work for no more than 15 hours per week in term-time.
Professional Programmes
Many undergraduates in the Faculty of Health Sciences will be following the professional programmes of:
For these professional programmes, full time attendance is compulsory unless absence is formally approved. Academic activities are timetabled throughout the 5-day week and student workload is around 40 hours per week on average. Where possible, students in the early years are permitted Wednesday afternoons for sport and extra-curriculum activities. This may not be available in later years of professional programmes as when a student progresses through the curricula there is an increasing exposure to clinical and professional activities. Students in clinic or on placements may need to stay later than core times of 08.00 – 18.00 or even overnight to observe out-of-hours activities. This increasing exposure to clinical activities means that students on these professional programmes often have longer term dates than the University standard. Individual years within programmes are likely to vary in length (for example because of the timings of placements) and further information on this will be found in individual programme regulations. Another important point to note is that many of the assessments sit outside of the standard University examination timetable and are likely to be more frequent meaning that students will more oftentimes be engaged in revision activities and self-directed learning.
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty Assessment and Feedback Statement for Undergraduate Students. University of Bristol access only.
Students studying across the different specialisms on the innovation degrees come together as a cohort to learn and apply design and systems thinking for digital and creative innovation and put it into practice their working in transdisciplinary project teams. Students in their second year expand on their understanding of how to design to meet real human needs, learning from past and present success and failure case studies to help them think about future opportunities. The transdisciplinary project work in the second year works with real world clients where students develop empathy for the people they are designing for, explore solutions, iterating to develop an unexpected range of possibilities, and create prototypes to take back to the client to test with real customers or users. In their third year students explore innovative and disruptive ideas, potentially designing things that people don’t yet know they want by exploring the potential of new technologies to enable disruptive innovation, changing the way people live and work. Students will learn about different ways to generate ideas, ranging from brainstorming to crowd-sourcing, exploring project opportunities and creating prototypes to test with real people. Alongside this students will learn about different kinds of enterprise that can be used to take forward their ideas supported by mentors and coaches. Students develop an advanced understanding of the role of empirical evidence in the formation of theory and how theory guides the collection and interpretation of empirical data. This is achieved by acquiring a range of research skills and methods for investigating psychological topics that culminates in the conduct of a major independent research project in Year 4. The final year also pulls together all the students have learnt to create an enterprise which may be an innovative digital and creative product, service or social innovation.
This integrated Masters programme has been designated as type III: Professional or Practice Masters in accordance with the QAA Degree Characteristics Statement. Please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes for further information on this type of programme.
Minimum requirement of pass mark 40% in each unit
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Foundations of Psychology | PSYC10004 | 40 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Psychological Research Methods | PSYC10010 | 40 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Design and Systems Thinking for Innovation | INOV10001 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Transdisciplinary Group Project 1: Being Human | INOV10002 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Certificate of Higher Education | 120 |
This integrated Masters programme has been designated as type III: Professional or Practice Masters in accordance with the QAA Degree Characteristics Statement. Please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes for further information on this type of programme.
Students must achieve a year mark of 50 or more out of a hundred at the end of the second year to be able to progress on to the four year programme.
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Individual and Social Cognition | PSYC20008 | 40 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Brain and Cognition | PSYC20007 | 40 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
Transdisciplinary Group Project 2: Solving Someone's Problem | INOV20002 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Innovation at Work | INOV20004 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Diploma of Higher Education | 120 |
This integrated Masters programme has been designated as type III: Professional or Practice Masters in accordance with the QAA Degree Characteristics Statement. Please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes for further information on this type of programme.
Please note that the BSc Life Sciences (Psychology with Innovation) is not accredited.
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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New Creative Ventures | INOV30006 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
Making Ideas Happen | INOV30007 | 20 | Mandatory | D | TB-2 |
Ideation for Innovation | INOV30008 | 20 | Mandatory | A | TB-1 |
Further Psychological Research Methods | PSYC30024 | 40 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Select 20CP from the following Teaching Block 1 options: | |||||
Drug Use and Addiction | PSYC30020 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Nutrition and Behaviour | PSYC31052 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Evolutionary Psychology | PSYC30001 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Developmental Science | PSYC30025 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
BSc Life Sciences (Psychology with Innovation) | 120 |
This integrated Masters programme has been designated as type III: Professional or Practice Masters in accordance with the QAA Degree Characteristics Statement. Please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes for further information on this type of programme.
INVOM0026 is a must pass unit. For the definition of must pass units please see the Glossary of Terms from Annex 1 to the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/esu/assessment/annex/glossary.html
Minimum requirement of pass mark 50% in each unit
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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In the Wild | INOVM0001 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Enterprise Case | INOVM0014 | 20 | Mandatory | A,D | TB-1 |
Transdisciplinary Project 4: Going Wild | INOVM0026 | 40 | Mandatory | A | TB-2 |
Research Project | PSYCM0055 | 40 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Psychology with Innovation (MSci) | 120 |
Unit Pass Mark for Undergraduate Programmes:
For details on the weightings for classifying undergraduate degrees, please see the Agreed Weightings, by Faculty, to be applied for the Purposes of Calculating the Final Programme Mark and Degree Classification in Undergraduate Programmes.
For detailed rules on progression please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes and the relevant faculty handbook.
Please refer to the specific progression/award requirements for programmes with a preliminary year of study, the Gateway programmes and International Foundation programmes.
All undergraduate degree programmes allow the opportunity for a student to exit from a programme with a Diploma or Certificate of Higher Education.
Integrated Master's degrees may also allow the opportunity for a student to exit from the programme with an equivalent Bachelor's degree where a student has achieved 360 credit points, of which 90 must be at level 6, and has successfully met any additional criteria as described in the programme specification.
The opportunities for a student to exit from one of the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry with an Award is outlined in the relevant Programme Regulations (which are available as an annex in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes).
An Ordinary degree can be awarded if a student has successfully completed at least 300 credits with a minimum of 60 credits at Level 6.
The pass mark for the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine and Dentistry is 50 out of 100. The classification of a degree in the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry is provided in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
The alternative classified honours degree of Arts (Psychology with Innovation) (MSci) may be awarded on this programme. For further details please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes
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.
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