Year 3 - Key Information

Advanced Modules

Complete listings of advanced modules, with associated course details are available via the table below.

Literature Surveys

Everything you need to know about Literature Surveys, from initial planning through to final submission can be found on the Literature Surveys - Key Information page.

A list of potential literature survey supervisors is provided in the table below:

Projects

A great deal of extremely useful information on carrying out a project, and subsequent writeup can be found via the Projects - Key Information page. This section includes information on obtaining ethical approval which is an important part of preparing for your project. 

To identify potential project supervisors and available timeslots to meet (or email addresses - see righthand column), go to the appropriate page in the table below to browse supervisors' interests:

Y3 and Beyond talk

The slides from the "Planning your third year and beyond" talk (which was given in Week 5 of the Spring term 2019) can be downloaded from the Talks section on the Year 2 Research Methods course page on the VLE.

Timetables

Allocation procedures for Year 3 courses

How are BSc students allocated to Project supervisors?

All Project supervisors have a quota allocation for Projects they can supervise. Potential supervisors are informed of all students who have made them their first choice. They then decide which of these students they are able to take. If a supervisor is oversubscribed with first choices, these decisions are at the supervisor's discretion and will depend on factors such as the fit between student's and supervisor's interests, the availability of suitable facilities and previous experience.

After this first pass with first choices, students who could not be given their first choice supervisor are allocated to the most highly preferred supervisor who is still available by working down the ranked list outlined above, assigning to each student their most preferred supervisor who still has places within their quota.

Although not everyone gets their first choice, we are confident that all students will receive excellent supervision, regardless of whether or not they get their first choice.

How are students allocated to Literature Survey supervisors?

All Literature Survey supervisors have a quota allocation for Literature Surveys they can supervise. Students are allocated Literature Survey supervisors using the following steps. First, all students who did not receive their first choice of Project supervisor or advanced modules are assigned to a Literature Survey supervisor, using the ranked list outlined above. This ensures as far as possible that all students are awarded their first choice of either Project, Advanced Module or Literature Survey supervisor. Second, all remaining students are then allocated a Literature Supervisor by working through the rest of the ranked list, assigning to each student their most preferred supervisor who still has places within their quota.

How are students selected for the two clinical Advanced Modules?

Two Advanced Modules in clinical psychology run each year - one in the Autumn term and one in the Spring term. Because of the particular teaching demands of these modules, numbers of students have to be capped at 30 for each module, with the same students taking both modules. There is a separate application procedure, and decisions on which students to accept are taken by the clinical course team based on a combination of Year 1 marks and the applicant's relevant experience and understanding of clinical psychology. The demand for places can vary from year to year, so it is difficult to give definite guidance on the level of Year 1 marks required. In 2014, 60 students applied for the 30 available places and the mean Year 1 mark for students accepted on the clinical modules was 70, with SD 4 and range 65-79.

Students who are successful in their application to take the two clinical modules are automatically assigned to these modules as their first choices for Advanced Modules in the Autumn and Spring Terms. MSci students take one advanced module per term in their third year and so no further steps may be necessary if they are successful in their application to take the two clinical modules. BSc students take two advanced modules per term however, and so their second Advanced Module for each term is allocated using the procedure common to all BSc students, as described below.

An important point to bear in mind is that although the places on the clinical modules are limited, lack of success in gaining a place on these modules does not preclude a career in clinical psychology. Students who do not take the clinical Advanced Modules can still apply for assistant psychologist and comparable posts following graduation, and advice on potential ways to become a clinical psychologist will be given to all Year 3 students by members of the clinical course team.

How are students allocated to other Advanced Modules?

The Department uses an automatic module selection/allocation system developed by IT services, called Optional Modules App (OMA) which has been used widely across the University. Students first submit their module preferences online. Using a mathematical algorithm (Gurobi Optimizer algorithm), OMA will allocate students to each module based on their preferences in a way so that it will maximize the overall happiness of students (i.e., allocate as many students as possible to their first choice, while avoiding allocating them to less preferred module whenever possible).

Where to find further information

If you have questions about the third year that are not covered in these pages consult the following:

Advanced modules

Each advanced module is organised by a different member of staff who is should be the first point of contact if you have specific queries that aren't covered in these pages or on the VLE.

Project and Literature Survey

Once you have begun your project or literature survey, your allocated supervisor will provide you with specific guidance. 

Other Enquiries 

For anything not covered by the above advice, please contact the Paul Bishop (paul.bishop@york.ac.uk)