We are dedicated to providing outstanding teaching in psychology, informed by our world-leading research, and supported with state-of-the-art facilities.

The School of Psychology within Aston University's College of Health and Life Sciences is a world leading institution for psychological research, with a specialist focus in the areas of health psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and health and development. This wealth of research knowledge is used to develop impactful resources, which can be utilised by health professionals and the wider public, as well as being fed back into our teaching to inform and inspire the next generation of psychology graduates.

Many of our courses are accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), which offers our students clear paths into professional psychology roles. We also place a key emphasis on real-world experiences with work and study placement opportunities, hands-on training with industry standard equipment, and research projects.

Research is embedded at the very heart of our department, and as a School of Psychology, we are unique in our collaboration with the Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN). With a mission to be recognised nationally and internationally as a centre for child brain research, and the education of professionals working in the science-practitioner model, the IHN is home to a range of imaging equipment including MRI, MEG, EEG, TMS, virtual reality, and motion capture.

Research

Research conducted within the School covers two main themes, applied health, and cognition and neuroscience. Members of the School are also part of the Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment.

Our research highlights the broad reach of psychology within our society. From developing neuroimaging procedures with marketing companies, to working with clinicians in NHS trusts across the UK to improve clinical work and promote research led practices.

Rankings

  • Aston is in the top 20 in the UK for graduate prospects (Psychology) (Sunday Times Good University Guide, 2024)
  • Excellent student experience: 90% of our students felt that staff were good at explaining things, and 85% of students felt the course was intellectually stimulating (National Student Survey, 2023)
  • 7th in the UK for Psychology continuation (Complete University Guide, 2024).
  • Top 5 in the UK for Graduate Prospects in Psychology (Complete University Guide, 2024)
  • Top 15 in the UK for career prospects in the UK (Guardian, 2024).

Accreditation

British Psychological Society (BPS)
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The British Psychological Society (BPS) accredits all four of our undergraduate courses. This accreditation confers eligibility for the Graduate Membership (CPsychol), which is vital for students who wish to ultimately train as a professional psychologist (clinical, educational, forensic, occupational etc). It is also the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.

Our MSc Health Psychology masters courses (both online and on campus) are also accredited by the BPS, conferring Stage 1 Training to become a Health Psychologist.

Full details on accreditation can be found on our course pages.

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
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cipd

Our joint honours BSc Psychology and Business course is one of only a few undergraduate degrees in the UK to offer both a professional psychology and business accreditation.

On successful graduation from the course (includes the completion of a work placement, appropriate choice of final year modules, and payment of the appropriate membership fee) students are eligible to become an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and be permitted to use the letters Assoc. CIPD after their name.

Full details on accreditation can be found on our course pages.

 

 

 

 Facilities

Facilities and equipment within the School include:

  • Psychology laboratories
  • Feeding laboratory
  • Observation suite (with covert audio-visual recording)
  • Experiment and testing rooms
  • Larger labs for focus groups and audience-based experiments
  • Neurophysiological equipment (e.g. electroencephalography)
  • Eye-tracking, and face and emotion recognition equipment
  • Electrodermal recording.

We are also closely linked with the Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment and their on campus facilities and clinics.