Level 3

Introduction

Building upon the foundations laid during the first two Levels, Level 3 is designed to further develop independent, critical and creative work in Psychology at an advanced standard. Level 3 includes two core Psychology modules:

Research Project (PSY346) - 40 credits

This involves carrying out empirical work, which is subsequently written up as a dissertation. The research project is intended to give students an opportunity to conduct an in-depth investigation of a topic of particular interest to them, it carries a substantial weight of the average grade for Level 3 (120 credits in total).

Extended Essay (PSY331) - 20 credits

In this module you will have the opportunity to write critically about a topic that interests you, in considerably more depth than is possible in a tutorial essay.

IMPORTANT: The research project (PSY346) and the extended essay (PSY331) should be drawn from two different topics in Psychology (and should not share any references), though they can come from the same broad field in psychology (e.g. both in social psychology). If in doubt over potential overlap, consult Dr Harriet Baird (PSY346) or Dr Nicola Dimelow (PSY331)

An Introduction to Level 3 lecture takes place for Level 3 students at the beginning of the academic year. The Director of Undergraduate Programmes will provide a full introduction to the administrative arrangements applying to Level 3, and an outline of these core modules.

Lectures, Tutorials, Seminars, and Laboratory Classes

Classes for your optional modules will be held in various locations across campus. Details will be accessible via your online timetable.
Tutorials for core modules PSY346 and PSY331 are not automatically scheduled in your timetable! The weeks in which you will have tutorials can be found in the handbooks for these modules in the relevant Blackboard sites - the exact dates and times in those weeks that you have a tutorial will be decided by your supervisor (taking into account your class schedule).

Attendance at tutorials and seminars is a module requirement.

Assessments

Assessment at Level 3 is based on coursework, end of semester examinations, the research project and an extended essay.
The assessment method(s) for each module are detailed on the relevant Blackboard site.
Examinations will be held at the end of each Semester (January/February and May/June). For exams, the exact exam format (i.e. seen or unseen exam, length of exam) will vary from module to module.

What happens if I fail a module in Level 3?

Level 3 students may carry up to 30 credits of fails in unrestricted modules from Levels 2 and 3 and still graduate with Honours.
A student who fails a module or modules during their final year of study and who has not been recommended for the award of a degree (eg. failed more than 30 credits) may be reassessed on one further occasion, subject to time limits, either in the following year or during August of the year of failure, as determined by the relevant School.
Resits at Level 3 would result in a pass degree without honours and therefore most students at this level would normally carry a fail instead.
If a core Level 3 module (i.e., PSY346 or PSY331) is failed then the student will fail their degree outright.

Who do I go to for help?

There are a number of people that you can approach for help in Level 3, depending on what you want help with. If you’re unsure who to contact from the list below, ask the Level 3 Student Support Officer.

Pastoral matters affecting your academic work

Your Academic Tutor (AT) should be the first person you approach if there are matters that may affect or are affecting your academic work at Level 3.
You will meet your AT at scheduled times twice a semester, but you can contact them to request a meeting at any time throughout the year. Please see their student contact hours here
Your AT can advise on which University or external services you may find helpful with any issues you experience.
Please remember that as adults, you are responsible for being pro-active in seeking help, should you need it.
If you experience any issues that affect your class attendance or assessments, you will need to mark yourself as absent via the iSheffield app or by submitting an extenuating circumstances form if this affects assessments. However, it is also a good idea to make your Academic Tutor aware of any circumstances that affect your work (whether chronic or acute).

Specific topics/modules

Please make sure you check the relevant Blackboard sites, handbook and other sources of information about modules or topics before you contact the relevant person- we love getting questions that show you are thinking about your work, but become despondent at questions about content that is clearly outlined in the documentation associated with a module. Most Blackboard sites have dedicated Q&A areas.

Careers

Your Academic Tutor can support you in figuring out your career aspirations and have a general understanding of career paths and requirements within Psychology. However, please don't expect them to be expert career advisers.
The Careers Service can provide more general advice and support

General Level 3 issues

If you have questions about the way that Level 3 operates, or other questions that aren’t module specific, contact the Level 3 Student Support Officer

General university queries

If you have queries about anything that isn’t specific to the School of Psychology (e.g., how to get confirmation that you are studying at the university, print outs of academic records, advice about financial matters etc.), your first port of call should be the Student Services Information Desk (SSiD) based on level 3 of the Student's Union.

Information on PSY346 and PSY331

Supervisors

Your main supervisors will be a members of academic staff. Certain members of the research or technical staff, or PhD students may also be involved in the supervision of research projects, subject to prior agreement.
Supervisors are expected to provide support and guidance to their students, but students should bear in mind that the sort of help appropriate to a project in one area may be rather different from that appropriate to another. For example, work using animals requires strict adherence to Home Office rules and hence closer supervision than in most other areas.
Students sometimes believe that receiving more, as opposed to less, assistance from their project supervisor will result in a lower mark being awarded to the project. This is not in fact the case. A key skill involved in working independently is to know when it is appropriate to seek help, and to put that help to good use in developing your own ideas and interpretations.

Topics

The procedure for choosing a PSY346 research project involves ranking your 'top 10' research projects from a booklet of around 60 available research project topics. Every effort is made to ensure that students are assigned to one of their top 5 projects, although this may not always be possible.
The procedure for choosing a PSY331 essay topic involves ranking three broad areas of psychology (Cognitive and Developmental Psychology; Psychopharmacology, Mental Health and Neuroscience; Applied Social Psychology) in terms of preference, and selecting example topics that interest you, and/or providing keywords or a short description of your areas of interest. Again, every effort is made to ensure that students are assigned to a supervisor that has expertise/interests in the preferred research area and specific topics selected.
Students will then have the opportunity to discuss their projects/essays further when they are informed of their supervisor. We want students to have some freedom in being able to carry out a project and essay within their area of interest, however, this must operate within the confines of staff expertise and workload.

PSY346 Research Project

The Research Project in Psychology module is a core module, taken over two semesters, and worth 40 credits.
The deadline for submitting the project dissertation is in week 9 in semester two.
The research project is intended to involve the student in empirical research in some area of Psychology, providing him/her with an opportunity to carry out research in an area of particular interest under the guidance of a member of staff.
Members of staff provide topics for research projects, but students are also encouraged to develop their own ideas within these, and are expected to carry out the research themselves.
Supervisors may help with formulation of hypotheses; planning the experiment; assembly of the equipment or materials; provision of regular consultations on the progress of the project; recommending data analyses; interpretation of the results.
Supervisors may comment once only on drafts of the Introduction, Method and Results sections of a dissertation if a student wishes, but not on the Discussion.
Many supervisors encourage groups of students to work in collaboration on a single project. This means that students work together up to and including the collection of data. Each student will then work individually on the analysis and interpretation of the data, and will submit their own dissertation, which must be their own work.
Assessment: The completed research project is presented as a typed dissertation. The dissertation should be presented as a research report with a maximum length of 8,000 words. More guidance is available on Blackboard.

PSY331 Extended Essay

The Extended Essay in Psychology takes place in the Autumn Semester, and worth 20 credits.
The deadline for submitting the Extended Essay is around week 8 in semester one.
The extended essay does not involve empirical research on the part of the student. Rather, it is intended to provide an opportunity for each student to write critically about a selected area in considerably more depth than is possible in a tutorial essay.
Supervisors may advise on choice of topic; suitable reference sources; discussion of conceptual issues and organisation of sections of the essay. Supervisors may comment once on an essay plan but will not read a draft. Students should note that the essay question must be agreed by the supervisor.
Assessment: The extended essay has a word limit of 3000 words. More guidance is available on Blackboard.

Marking process of PSY331 & PSY346

Please refer to the relevant PSY331 and PSY346 handbooks which are available on the corresponding Blackboard site.

Extensions of deadlines

Formal extensions of deadlines are granted only if there are extenuating circumstances, and only if approved by the Level 3 Student Support Officer before the submission date.
To apply for an extension, see the Illness, Personal Problems and Assessments page.

PSYCHOLOGY STUDY BUDDY SCHEME

At the start of each semester, all Psychology students are invited to join the Study Buddy Scheme, in which you are matched with one other student in your year or a group of students in your year (depending on your preference).

How it works:

1. You sign up using a 2-minute form indicating some preferences for your study buddy match. The form will be emailed to you at the start of each semester.
2. We match you up with a study buddy or study buddy group and email you to announce the match.
3. You and your buddy arrange your own meetings.

You might decide to meet up and attend lectures together, or to improve your revision (e.g., share lecture notes, summarise key points from readings,
discuss lecture content, or keep each other accountable during a weekly library session), or meet up for moral support and coffee. It’s completely up to you – hopefully you’ll find something that’s beneficial for both of you.
If you prefer, there will also be an option to be matched with other students in a small group.

Over 450 students have been matched since we started this scheme in 2022, and feedback suggested that 19 of 21 study buddies would recommend the scheme to other students.

If you have any questions about this, please reach out to Alicia Forsberg (a.forsberg@sheffield.ac.uk)

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