Psychology: New students
Welcome to Psychology at Exeter
Welcome to the Department of Psychology at the University of Exeter!
You are joining one of the top ten universities in the country, a member of the Russell Group of top research-led universities, with an outstanding record of employability. As a consequence, you can expect our standards to be very high, our teaching to be excellent and your experience to be one of the best available in higher education.
What you will experience here represents a step up from anything you will have experienced prior to this at school or college. You will be taught by people who don't just use textbooks, but write them—researchers who know exactly what it's like to establish a new finding, discover a new effect, or construct a new theory. They will expect you to learn to operate at the same level as them, and eventually to be capable of doing what they do.
You have time to make this journey, but you cannot afford to waste any of that time. The first year is introductory, and as such does not contribute (in terms of assessment) to your final degree (though you must pass the modules to progress). I encourage you, however, to take full advantage of this introduction, to learn to deal with the change in standards that will apply in your subsequent years. So the first year is for you to practise your skills, to discover the areas of your course that you enjoy the most, and to learn how to think and communicate in the context of your subject. Use it well, and above all engage with your tutors, lecturers and other members of staff. Become part of the discipline and attend our seminars and talks and you will feel the full benefit of studying at Exeter.
We look forward to working with you.
Professor Manuela Barreto, Head of Psychology
Congratulations on your achievement of obtaining a place to study Psychology at the University of Exeter. We look forward to welcoming you to Exeter and working with you over the coming few years.
This page contains some useful information about Freshers’ Week activities in Psychology. Please also refer to the new students’ website for information about other non-discipline specific events.
Information about things you'll need to do before arriving at Exeter can be found on our New Students website.
Register with the university
You must register with the university at the start of each academic year. By registering, you agree to observe the University’s rules and regulations, including the payment of tuition fees and other charges by the deadlines. Most students will be asked to register online.
You need to:
- Activate your IT account.
- On or after 4 September 2019, use your IT details to go to the iExeter web portal and log in.
- Follow the ‘Registration’ link.
You must register by 4 October 2019. If you have any problems registering online or your course details are not correct please contact the Student Information Desk on 01392 724724 or email SID@exeter.ac.uk.
Find out more on the registration webpage.
The purpose of Academic Induction is to introduce you to your academic programme, complete any necessary pre-registration tasks, familiarise yourself with your academic buildings, and meet fellow students and the academic staff for your subjects. These sessions form the core part of your Freshers' Week timetable and we expect all students to be present at these compulsory sessions. If you need any advice about issues or clashes within your Freshers' Week timetable please contact psychology@exeter.ac.uk.
Induction timetable
Freshers’ Week runs from Monday 16 September – Sunday 22 September 2019. All students are required to be on campus by Monday 16 September. If you cannot be here by this date for unavoidable reasons, you need to inform us by emailing your details to the Psychology Education team at psychology@exeter.ac.uk. Please include your student number and your programme of study in your email.
Download the full induction schedule for Freshers' Week:
UG Psychology Welcome Schedule 2019 (pdf)
Induction day - Tuesday 17 September
There will be a formal welcome by the Head of Psychology on Tuesday 17 September at 9.00am. This will be followed by various introductory talks, specific to the programme, throughout the day. You will also meet your personal tutor. Attendance is compulsory.
How to Learn Well - Thursday 19 September, 11:30-12:30, Forum Auditorium
If you come to one lecture during your stay at Exeter - come to this one. If you go to all the lectures you can whilst at Exeter - this is the one that will help you make the most of them, not to mention tutorials and practicals as well. This lecture will challenge your assumptions about the best way to study, and potentially double your effectiveness as a student. And it won’t just tell you how to do this, it will tell you why it works. You will see this on your timetables under module code PSY1907.
BSc Psychology with Sport and Exercise Science
BSc Psychology with Sport and Exercise Science students must attend the Psychology induction and not the Sport and Health Sciences induction. However, you will need to make yourself familiar with your Sports and Exercise Science reading lists and any specialized clothing that you will need to purchase - see the Sport and Health Sciences new students page.
Your optional modules
BSc Psychology, BSc Psychology with Sport and Exercise Science, BSc Psychology with Study Abroad and MSci Applied Psychology (Clinical) students have the opportunity to select optional modules. Please look through the fact sheet Selecting your optional modules 2019-20 (.pdf) to see which modules you can choose and how to select them. The deadline for selecting your optional modules is Friday 4 October 2019.
If you would like to take PSY1208 Work Experience instead of PSY1105 Introduction to Behaviour and Evolution or PSY1126 Classic Studies in Psychology, please complete a module change form which is available in hard copy from Washington Singer Reception and online here: Module change form Psychology (.docx)
Your timetable
Your detailed personal timetable will be available on iExeter from Monday 16 September 2019. Further details about how to read this timetable can be found here: How to understand your Personal Timetable (UG) 2019-20 (.pdf). Teaching commences on Monday 23 September 2019.
Basic reading lists for each first year module can be found in the module descriptors. All recommended reading should be available through the university library.
Please do not buy any books before you arrive, as guidance will be given in the first lecture of each module.
Access and wellbeing support
If you have declared a disability on your application form pre-arrival or on a medical form, we would advise you to contact Accessibility and Wellbeing services by logging an enquiry through the SID helpdesk. They will ensure that you get the additional study support you require i.e. extra time in exams, specific software etc.
Support for international students
The Insessional Programme is provided by INTO University of Exeter. It offers a range of courses, workshops and tutorials to international students at the University of Exeter. It is designed to enable students to develop their academic English and provide help and support for studying in English.
Societies
If you are interested in joining any societies, you can look out for the Psychology Society during Freshers’ Week.
Buddy Up Scheme
As you prepare for your first year of university study, you may experience a combination of excitement, anticipation and apprehension. You may even be quite fearful and uncertain, particularly if you are first in your family or community going to university. We want to support you during your arrival and orientation process, which is why we have over 70 students called Buddies waiting to be matched up with new students. To find out more go to the Buddy Up scheme webpage.
Student-Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC)
The SSLC is committed to enabling all students to communicate their views and to receiving suggestions to influence changes to our policies and procedures. To find out how to become a member of this important committee in 2019/20 see the Student-Staff Liaison Committee webpage.
eXfactor
This is one day of interactive graduate development and recruitment activities designed to help you develop, reflect on and articulate the personal and employability skills required for any career path. The eXfactor for all Psychology year 1 students will take place on Thursday 26 September 2019. This will appear on your timetable.
More information
Visit the current students page for module descriptions and other links you may find useful during your studies.
Psychology
Psychology is based in the Washington Singer building on Perry Road. You can take virtual tours, complete with 360º panoramas, to see what the campus really looks like. You can find a list of key contacts below.
If you have any Psychology-specific enquires please email psychology@exeter.ac.uk or telephone +44 (0)1392 724626.
For essential information relating to Psychology please go to our ELE (Exeter Learning Environment) page.
General enquiries
For all general and IT enquiries please contact SID (Student Information Desk) online or via the iExeter app: log on to iExeter, click on the ‘SID Helpdesk’ tab and select the link to ‘log a new enquiry’.
There is a huge range of information available about accessing support at Exeter – please see the student services directory.