University News Last updated 10 September 2009
Students set to join Birmingham City University's Psychology degree this autumn can look forward to gaining a qualification that is recognised on the national and international academic stage thanks to recent accreditation by two professional bodies.
The three-year BSc (Hons) Psychology programme is a new degree for the University, having taken its first cohort of students last year. Since validation, staff have worked hard to secure acknowledgement of professional credibility by both the British Psychological Society and the Health Professions Council. This has allowed the University to offer a course that is rigorous in the quality measures that are expected of an accredited psychology programme.
Devinder Rana, Programme Director on the BSc Psychology degree, explains: "The accreditation of this degree is fantastic news for the University and our current and future students. Future graduates will gain a qualification that is highly respected by respective psychology professional bodies. Whilst for the undergraduate psychology student this will mean that upon graduation, providing that they gain a second class degree or above, they will also gain GBC (Graduate Basis of Chartered Psychology) which acts as the first stage for any career as a Chartered Psychologist. So we can now have psychology graduates who can compete for post graduate destinations that are open for GBC graduates. The accreditation adds another string to our bow, and makes our course even more attractive for prospective students."
It was a rigorous accreditation process involving providing proof that the University had the adequate physical resources ranging from the library, support staff, academic expertise, quality measures and the learning environment. More close to scrutiny was the psychology programme curriculum itself which had to adhere to the GBC curriculum.