Category: psych and criminology

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Graduation 2014 – Celebrating the success of our final year students

By Catherine Thompson

Twitter ejpetalGraduation is a very special time of year, when all the hard work finally pays off. As a student you get to breathe a sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that you have completed your degree and never have to look at SPSS again (unless you want to of course!). Walking across the stage to collect your certificate is a defining moment and really does mark the point where your degree journey ends and a new chapter begins, and you can look to the future knowing that you have already achieved so much. As a family member or friend you get the chance to share in the celebrations of your loved one, and you get a sense of just how much effort they have put into their studies and how much it means to have completed a degree. And as a lecturer you get to see how far each student has progressed– from that first tentative meeting in a research methods seminar when the simple mention of the word “median” led to panicked looks, to a group of confident individuals who are relishing the next challenge.

Twitter salfordpsychThis year we had so much to celebrate – including the fact that the sun came out for graduation (although it sure is hot in a cap and gown!). The students graduating in July 2014 were the largest cohort to have studied Psychology, Psychology and Criminology, and Psychology and Counselling at the University of Salford. This year we delivered our widest ever offering of final year modules (logistically challenging but academically rewarding!). We also witnessed some outstanding achievements from our students, both in terms of assessed work (the quality and creativity of student work was commended by our external examiners) and the success of many students in extra-curricular activities (for example taking part in volunteering work, and completing the Salford Advantage Award). All students who have graduated this year have achieved a great deal, and a special mention must go to our prize winners:

  • British Psychological Society prize for Best Student – Rachel Gribbin (Psychology and Criminology)
  • Best Non-Commissioned Student in the School of Health Sciences – Rachel Gribbin (Psychology and Criminology)
  • Best Psychology Student – Carmen-Florentina Ionita
  • Best Psychology and Counselling Student – Zander Claassen
  • The Endeavour Award – Nikki-Ann Cohen (Psychology)

BSc (Hons) Psychology graduate Danielle Butler has also been shortlisted for the Jonathan Sime Award, an award for dissertation research focused on people-environment issues. Good luck Danielle!

On behalf of the Psychology team I would like to wish all our Graduates every success for the future. Your achievements are well deserved and you are a credit to the University of Salford.

Catherine Thompson
Programme Leader for Psychology and Criminology

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Q&A: Catherine Thomas on Curating @salfordpsych

Our @salfordpsych Twitter account has been up and running for a month now.  Last week, BSc (Hons) Psychology and Criminology student Catherine Thomas (a.k.a. @kitty_cat86) took us to a whole new level. She inspired a presentations expert (@viperblueuk) to write a blog post with advice on poster presentations to help Level 5 students with their Social Psychology assignments.  Below, Catherine reflects on what she gained from curating @salfordpsych and how Twitter can be a useful resource for university students.  If you would like to read Catherine’s tweets from the week, they have been archived here on Storify.

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How did you find your week curating the @salfordpsych account?

I loved it – have to admit I was really dreading it at first, mainly because I was worried that if I didn’t do it right I would look like a ‘bad psychology student’. I felt like the spotlight would be on me and didn’t want to look stupid in front of peers and professionals at uni. This was not the case – I was encouraged throughout and loved every minute.

Did previous curator’s tweets shape your approach to tweeting as @salfordpsych?

They gave me an idea of how/what to tweet and reading through their tweets was very encouraging. I think if I had been the first to curate I would have been much more reserved in what I tweeted.

What motivated you to be a part of the initiative?

I was asked to do it, accepted and then the dread arrived 🙂 I knew that anything related to my degree could help me in my studies, and of course I love psychology so that helped.

What did you enjoy about it?

Networking; speaking with other students and professionals. It really helps when you speak with someone who has ‘been there done that’. Up to date studies that were tweeted were great. They help with your studies as well as just being an interesting read.

What surprised me is that in doing this you highlight what areas of psychology you are interested in by what catches your eye and what makes you want to ‘re-tweet’. In my case, looking through my tweets, I tweeted a lot in regards to clinical psychology. It wasn’t until I noticed this that I realised that it must be something that I am really interested in. This made me think further about career paths and further education.

Was there anything you didn’t enjoy?

Honestly, not really. I very much enjoyed the whole week and was gutted when the week was over.

Favourite twitter moment of the week?

When I got responses to questions regarding my assignment, people were so helpful.

Least favourite twitter moment of the week?

None

Which accounts would you recommend to other students?

Anything psychology related really – a lot of accounts tweet up to date studies and such which can really help with your own studies.

How can social media play a role in learning?

It can massively play a role in learning. If nothing else, it brings people together with shared interests who can encourage each other to learn together; people who you would not normally come into contact with.

How can we strengthen a sense of community at Psychology at Salford?

This has been a great tool to strengthen the Psychology community at Salford. Doing this has made me realise just how important it is to speak with other students in different levels of study.

Why do you use Twitter?

I signed up to twitter out of curiosity but now I love it. It’s great as it can enhance all things that we encounter in our lives outside of social networking.

Would you recommend being a curator to other students?

Absolutely. I have already 🙂

Any tips for future curators?

Don’t panic (like I did) about making sure you sound like the perfect psychology student. If you are stuck with something, ask while you are the curator, everyone is happy to help.

What role do you think social media will play in your future?

A huge one. It’s going to get bigger and bigger, and I can’t wait.

What would you like to see @salfordpsych do next?

Continue to encourage students to actively participate in the department. It really helps!
Top tweet of the week

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If you would like to curate @salfordpsych for a week, please get in touch with Jenna Condie on j.m.condie@salford.ac.uk or @jennacondie.

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The Findings: Psychology Placement Module Questionnaire

By Lorna Paterson

At Psychology at Salford, we are committed to increasing our students’ employability within the graduate marketplace.  A few months ago, many of you completed a questionnaire asking for your feedback about the possibility of a psychology placement module. All your feedback has been considered, summarised and is presented below. Your feedback has been instrumental in establishing a task group to examine the possibility of introducing a placement module in the near future.  Exactly how this may take shape is currently being explored.

Findings from the placement module questionnaire:

An overwhelming 95.5% of respondents (N = 109) were interested in a psychology placement module.  Over two thirds preferred the idea of a block placement rather than a day release model. In regards to which semester the placement module would run, the preference was not clear as all three options (Semester 1, Semester 2, across both semesters) performed about equally.

The most popular placement sectors were; Health and Clinical (88% showed interest), Mental Health (76% showed interest) and Voluntary (76% showed interest). The least popular placement option was an academic internship (45.8% expressed an interest).

Over half of the respondents (56.9%) expressed an interest in completing a placement module over doing a dissertation. However in order to fulfil the requirements for a BPS Accredited Degree Classification, an independent piece of research must be carried out.

What we still need to clarify is 1) How a placement module could be delivered successfully, 2) Health & Clinical options were the most popular however, health psychology and clinical psychology are distinctly different disciplines. We hope to set up a further survey via this blog , to gain further information about your interest in health and clinical placement options. Watch this space for further developments.  .

Finally, a visual, qualitative representation of your open responses has been included below highlighting why a placement module matters to you.

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If you would like to provide further feedback on the possibility of a psychology placement module, please contact Lorna Paterson on l.paterson@salford.ac.uk or Linda Dubrow-Marshall on l.dubrow-marshall@salford.ac.uk.

 

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Top ratings for joint Psychology programmes with Criminology and Counselling at Salford

By Dr Ashley Weinberg

 

Psychology at Salford’s joint Psychology programmes featured in the UK’s top quartile last year and programme leaders are hoping for a repeat of this success in 2013. The 2012 feedback showed that 100% of students in the final year of the BSc (Hons) Psychology and Criminology and 94% of those studying for the BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling were satisfied with their courses. These represented increases from 2011 and although it would be mathematically tricky to improve further on these positive results, the programme leaders were delighted to see students give such high ratings for the standards of teaching, how most students felt their course had helped their personal development, and that the academic support, organisation and learning resources were highly valued too.

For further details about either of these programmes, please contact admissions tutor Anne Pearson (a.pearson1@salford.ac.uk; tel: 0161 295 0036)