Psychological Science at Bristol

Psychology at Bristol aspires towards providing outstanding teaching that equips students for a range of futures both within psychology and beyond. Our teaching embraces an experimental framework that focuses largely, but not exclusively, on the importance of hypothesis-driven, testable ideas to understanding mind and behaviour. With this goal in mind, we guide students towards an understanding of the questions that drive contemporary psychological research, rather than towards studying mere historical facts. With units delivered by active researchers, students gain access to the latest thinking in the discipline. Our teaching methods are flexible and offer different experiences and formats to guide student learning and to strengthen our students’ presentation and discourse skills. Committed to providing a positive educational environment for all, the School actively welcomes and supports students from under-represented and minority groups.

Note that Psychology at Bristol sits in the same faculty as Biology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, and there is a strong connection to those disciplines. Accordingly, we focus on teaching psychology as an experimental and biological science, tailored towards students who are familiar with – or keen to explore – the discipline in this way.

Unit structure

The school offers many classes that are based in a single semester, and can therefore accept unit requests from Study Abroad students who want to join Bristol for just the autumn or spring semester.

Unit levels

The school offers units across all undergraduate levels of study: year 1 (level C/4), year 2 (level I/5), and year 3 (level H/6) units. Postgraduate units (level M/7) are not available.

Unit codes

Unit codes in the School of Psychological Science begin with 'PSYC'. This is followed by a number indicating the year (1, 2, 3). For example:

• PSYC10000 = year 1 unit
• PSYC20000 = year 2 unit
• PSYC30000 = year 3 unit.

For more information about each unit, check the University's unit catalogue for 2023/24. Applicants on all study abroad programmes must review the unit details on the catalogue before listing unit choices on their application form. This includes checking the format of assessment for each unit. The unit catalogue for 2023/24 is updated by April 2023.

Your unit choices cannot be guaranteed. Some units may not have capacity to accommodate all of the unit requests we receive. Registration on a unit also depends on whether you meet the pre-requisite conditions through prior study at your home university.

Units available on the study abroad programme in 2023/24

The following units from the School of Psychological Science are open to inbound Study Abroad students.

Application queries

Contact the Centre for Study Abroad inbound team if you have any queries about the application process for the study abroad programmes:

Phone: +44 117 39 40207
Email: cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk