Honour School of Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics

Differences from 2020/21 to 2021/22

A

  • 1. The branches of the Honour School of Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics shall be Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics. Candidates must offer two or three branches.

  • 2. No candidate shall be admitted to the examination in this school unless he or she has either passed or been exempted from the First Public Examination.

  • 3. For candidates offering Psychology, the examination shall consist of two parts. Part I shall consist of the one subject area, Psychology. Part II shall consist of two or three subject areas: Psychology, and one or both of Philosophy and Linguistics. For candidates not taking Psychology Parts I and II, the examination shall consist only of papers in Philosophy and Linguistics.

  • 4. No candidate who offers Psychology shall be admitted for the Part II examination in this school unless

    • (a) he or she has passed the Part I examination specified for this school; and

    • (b) he or she has satisfied the Moderators for the Preliminary Examination for Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics, in the subject Introduction to Probability Theory and Statistics or has passed the Qualifying Examination in Statistics for this school.

  • The Head of the Department of Experimental Psychology or deputy may dispense a candidate from the Qualifying Examination in Statistics in cases where it is clear that the candidate has reached an adequate standard in Statistics by virtue of previous study and qualification.

  • 5. Candidates offering Psychology shall be examined by such of the Public Examiners in the Honour School of Experimental Psychology as may be required; candidates offering Philosophy shall be examined by such examiners as are nominated by a committee of which the two elected members shall be appointed by the Board of the Faculty of Philosophy; and candidates offering Linguistics shall be examined by such examiners as are nominated by the Board of the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics.

  • 6. The examinations in this school shall be under the joint supervision of the Medical Sciences Board and the Faculty Boards of Philosophy and of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics, which shall make regulations concerning them subject always to the preceding clauses of this sub-section.

B

Candidates may offer either Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics or Psychology and Philosophy or Psychology and Linguistics or Philosophy and Linguistics.

For candidates offering Psychology, the examination shall consist of two parts. The four papers for Psychology Part I shall count as two papers for the Final Honour School. Part II will consist of six papers covering two or three subject areas; Psychology, and one or both of Philosophy and Linguistics.

For candidates not offering Psychology, the examination shall consist of eight papers in Philosophy and Linguistics.

No candidate who offers Psychology shall be admitted for the Part II examination in this school unless he or she has passed the Part I examination specified for this school.

The examination for Psychology Part I shall be taken during Weeks 0 and 1 of Trinity Term of the candidate's second year. The examination for Psychology Part II and for Philosophy and Linguistics shall be held during Trinity Term of the candidate's third year. The dates of submission for assessed work are those prescribed in sections 1-3 below.

The subjects in Psychology shall be those specified in 1. Psychology below; in Philosophy those listed in the Special Regulations for Philosophy in all Honour Schools including Philosophy, and in Linguistics those specified in the Special Regulations for Linguistics in all Honour Schools including Linguistics.

Subject to the restrictions set out below, candidates may offer not more than two of the following:

  • (a) a research project in Psychology 

  • (b) a library dissertation in Psychology 

  • (c) a thesis in Philosophy 

  • (d) a thesis in Linguistics 

  • (e) a project in Linguistics. 

Candidates may not offer both a research project in Psychology and a project in Linguistics.

There are further restrictions on the choice of subjects and requirements to be satisfied within each branch, which are set out below. These include restrictions related to projects, dissertations and theses.

The highest honours can be obtained by excellence in any of the branches offered, provided that the candidate has taken sufficient subjects in the branch and that adequate knowledge is shown in the other branch(es) of examination.

Every candidate shall give notice to the Registrar of all papers being offered not later than Friday in Week 8 of Michaelmas Full Term preceding the examination.

1. PSYCHOLOGY

PART I

The four written papers as specified for Part I of the Honour School of Experimental Psychology will be set:

  • Paper I Multiple Choice Questions on each of the six components of Paper II and III below.
  •  
  • Paper II Biological and Cognitive Psychology.
  • Components: (i) Behavioural Neuroscience, (ii) Perception; (iii) Cognition.
  •  
  • Paper III Social, Developmental and Individual Differences.
  • Components: (i) Social Psychology, (ii) Developmental Science, (iii) Individual Differences and Clinical Psychology.
  •  
  • Paper IV Experimental Design and Methods. 

Candidates will be required to answer essays in three of the six components of Papers II–III. Candidates will be required to answer multiple choice questions in the same three corresponding components of Paper I, as a computer-based assessment. All candidates are required to offer Paper IV (Part A).

Candidates who wish to be deemed eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society (BPS) must ensure that the components they select provide coverage of all five of the areas defined in the GBC curriculum. In order to achieve this, candidates must offer a total of three full examined assessments (i.e. both MCQ and essay questions for each component) and two core laboratory assignments in the areas prescribed below:

  • 1. Behavioural Neuroscience

  • 2. Developmental Science

  • 3. Social Psychology

  • 4. Individual Differences and Clinical Psychology

  • 5. An examined assessment (i.e., MCQs and essay questions) or core laboratory assignment in either Perception or Cognition

The other requirements for BPS Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership are set out in Part II below.

Qualifying Examination in Statistics

Any candidate who has not satisfied the Moderators for the Preliminary Examination for Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics in the subject Introduction to Probability Theory and Statistics must pass a Qualifying Examination in Statistics before being admitted for examination in the Honour School. The Head of the Department of Experimental Psychology or deputy shall have the capacity to dispense a candidate from the examination in cases where it is clear that an individual has reached an adequate standard by virtue of previous study and qualification.

The syllabus and paper set for the examination shall be that for the subject Introduction to Probability Theory and Statistics in the Preliminary Examination in Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics.

For all papers in Psychology and for the Qualifying Examination in Statistics, the examiners will permit the use of any hand-held pocket calculator subject to the conditions set out under the heading ‘Use of calculators’ in the Regulations for the Conduct of University Examinations.

Practical work

Candidates will be required to undertake practical work, as specified by the Head of the Department of Experimental Psychology or deputy, and this will constitute a part of the examination. In exceptional circumstances the Proctors may dispense a candidate from the specified requirements on the recommendation of the Head of Department or deputy.

Reports of practical work completed during the course of study for Part I and submitted for marking shall constitute a portfolio which shall be available to examiners as part of the examination. All such assignments must be uploaded to the University approved online assessment platform by the times and dates specified at the start of the practical course. Each submission must be accompanied by a declaration indicating that it is the candidate's own work. Where the work submitted has been produced in collaboration the candidates shall indicate the extent of their own contributions. Reports of practical work previously submitted for the Honour School of Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics may be resubmitted, but reports will not be accepted if they have already been submitted, wholly or substantially, for another Honour School or degree of this University, or for a degree of any other institution. The Head of Department or deputy shall inform the examiners by the end of Week 0 of the Trinity Term in which the Part I examination is to be held as to which candidates have (a) failed to satisfy the requirement to undertake practical work or (b) failed to submit a portfolio. Candidates in category (a) will be deemed to have failed Paper IV. Candidates in category (b) will be deemed to have failed the entire Part I examination. The Head of Department or deputy shall also make available to the examiners records showing the extent to which each candidate has adequately pursued a course of practical work. The examiners shall take this evidence into consideration along with evidence of unsatisfactory or distinguished performance in each portfolio of practical work.

A candidate who fails the Part I examination may retake the examination once only, in Trinity Term in the next academic year. The highest mark that can be awarded to a candidate retaking the examination is a Third.

PART II

Candidates must offer six papers for Part II. At least one and at most three of the papers must be in Psychology, the others to be chosen from those available in Philosophy and/or Linguistics below. Candidates taking two or three papers in Psychology may offer a Research Project or a Library Dissertation in place of one of the Psychology papers.

In order to be deemed eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society, candidates must take at least two subjects in Part II Psychology.

Written papers

The written papers will be of three hours each and will be selected from the list of at least 12 options approved by the Medical Sciences Division and published at the Department of Experimental Psychology. A list of options will be posted in the Department of Experimental Psychology not later than noon on Friday of Week 5 of Hilary Term in the year preceding that in which the examination is taken.

The library dissertation and the research project must not overlap, meaning that they must not draw on substantially the same literature. Candidates are warned that they should avoid repetition in examination papers of materials used in the research project or library dissertation and that substantial repetition may be penalized.

Research Project

As specified for the Honour School of Experimental Psychology.

Library Dissertation

As specified for the Honour School of Experimental Psychology.

Reports of practical work completed during the course of study for Part II and submitted for marking shall constitute a portfolio which shall be available to examiners as part of the examination. All such assignments must be uploaded to the University approved online assessment platformby the times and dates specified at the start of the practical course. Each submission must be accompanied by a declaration indicating that it is the candidate's own work. Reports of practical work previously submitted for the Honour School of Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics may be resubmitted but reports will not be accepted if they have been submitted, wholly or substantially, for another Honour School or degree of this University, or for a degree of any other institution. The Head of Department or deputy shall inform the examiners by the end of Week 0 of the Trinity Term in which the Part II examination is to be held as to which candidates have failed to satisfy the requirement to undertake practical work. Failure to satisfy the requirement to undertake practical work will result in the candidate’s final degree classification being lowered by one class. Candidates who fail to submit a portfolio will be deemed to have failed the entire Part II examination. The Head of Department, or deputy, shall make available to the examiners records showing the extent to which candidates have adequately pursued a course of practical work. The examiners shall take this evidence into consideration along with evidence of unsatisfactory or distinguished performance in each portfolio of practical work.

2. PHILOSOPHY

Candidates must satisfy both the General Regulations, and those relating specifically to Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics in the Special Regulations for Philosophy in all Honour Schools including Philosophy.

3. LINGUISTICS

Candidates must satisfy both the General Regulations, and those relating specifically to Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics in the Special Regulations for Linguistics in all Honour Schools including Linguistics.