Stage 1 Induction Letter

Faculty of Health and Human Sciences, School of Psychology

Dear Student,

Welcome to your first year in the School of Psychology at Plymouth University. This year will be the start of a fascinating intellectual journey, during which you will explore many different aspects of our captivating subject. You will need to stay focused and work hard, but should also aim to enjoy your studies and make the most of your years as a member of the School.

You will see that your Induction week is full of activity. This week will give you the opportunity to find out more about psychology and about your course, to meet staff and fellow students, and to become familiar with the University and the city of Plymouth. You will also be allocated a personal tutor. Your personal tutor will be able to help and support you in your academic development throughout your time at University.

New students often ask if there is any work or reading they can do prior to starting their programme of study. You may have heard that the School of Psychology has developed a unique project that provides all new entrants to the first year of our BSc Psychology and BSc Psychology Major programmes with an eBook copy of most of the main recommended texts in our Psychology. You may still wish to buy printed copies of some of these texts, as well as buying some of the supplementary reading suggested during lectures, but you should be aware that we will make these books available to you for free during Induction Week.

I have given details of the first year books that we will provide at the end of this letter. These include a general introductory text, and the main recommended text for all of your core lectures. Core lectures are those that everyone studying psychology as their only subject, or as their major subject takes. The list also covers some of the reading on the non-core lectures; the lectures that those taking ‘straight’ psychology take, but which those taking psychology as a major subject with a minor in another area do not take. You may want to buy books for these non-core lectures eventually, but your lecturers will give more guidance on that at the start of term.

This project is, we believe, unique in British Higher Education, and led to us winning the 2013 Guardian University Award for Teaching Excellence. The list price for printed copies of the books included in the bundle would be over £500, and so it represents a considerable saving to you. But we also hope that having such ready access to high- quality learning support will make your first year at Plymouth even more productive and engaging.

Finally, a useful source of information about psychology in the UK that you could look at before joining us is the web site of the British Psychological Society (www.bps.org.uk). And as a student enrolled on an accredited undergraduate degree, you will be entitled to a substantial discount on the membership fee.

My colleagues and I look forward to meeting you during Induction Week in September, when we will be able to welcome you to the School of Psychology in person.

With best wishes, Dr. Matt Roser Programme Leader, BSc Psychology Programmes

Planned first year BSc Psychology eBook package for September 2015

Topic and Authors ISBN

General Introductory Psychology – Atkinson & Hilgard 9781408089026

Stats (core): Gravetter & Wallnau 9781111839550

Research Methods (core): Gravetter & Forzano 9781305104136

Critical Thinking (core): Cotterell 9780230346154

Social Psychology (core): Baumiester & Bushman 9781133957775

Clinical Psychology (core): Barlow & Durrand 9781285755618

Developmental Psychology (core): Shaffer 9781133492306

Psychology of Learning (core): Powell, Symbaluck, & Honey 9781111835514

Cognitive Psychology (core): Sternberg 9781133313915

Biological Psychology (core): Carlson 9781292023205

Cognitive Psychology (core): Ellis & Young 9781848721944

These eBooks can be read online, or offline using Vitalsource Bookshelf, an app available for Windows, Mac OS X, iOS (iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) and Android devices, though please do check system requirements on their website (www.vitalsource.com). The app is not available for a basic Kindle or other dedicated eReader, though it can be loaded on a Kindle Fire HD. Please see the Vitalsource web site for further information.

It is possible the list of titles could change slightly as planning for teaching develops over the summer, though that is unlikely.