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Psychology facilities

Psychology is located within the Murray Library on City Campus. Our facilities provide you with the equipment you need to test your theories and support your hypothesis. Find out what we have to offer.

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Psychology in Murray Health

Psychology is based on Level 2 of the Murray Library on city campus. We are proud to have been part of an £8 million project to create a centre of health excellence. Watch our video to see more of Murray Health.

The new psychology area provides a 60-person IT Skills Lab, digital 1-2-1 spaces, Silent Study zones, 30-person seminar rooms, and student breakout spaces.

three psychology students sitting at desks during a seminar in murray health

Specialist facilities

We have several simulation and behavioural observation suites that can be used in research and in teaching. In our simulation suites, you can create a specific environment, whether this is a crowded pub when studying addiction, or a beautiful mountain landscape when studying mindfulness. We can also incorporate scents to make your simulation as realistic as possible.

Other available spaces include:

Soundproof booths
Eye tracking laboratory
Visual psychophysics laboratory
SkillsLab, a 30-seater IT suite
Multimedia and games research room

three psychology students working together in the ICT skills lab in murray health looking at a computer together

Equipment and software

We have a range of specialist equipment available, used for teaching, research and conducting experiments. These include:

Powerlab psychophysiological measurement equipment, which allows us to collect a range of physiological measures, like galvanic skin response, heart rate and respiration rate
A transcranial direct-current brain stimulation machine (tDCS)
Specialist data analysis and experiment building software

The Immersive Suite

The Living Lab boasts a unique immersive simulation room, so you can experience a range of simulated scenarios in a safe environment.

The space is designed to make scenarios feel as close to reality as possible, to allow you to practise your skills safely. An adjacent debrief room allows groups to observe the scenario in the immersive suite through a live stream (projected onto TV screens) and provide peer feedback and group discussion following the completion of the scenario.

The Mental Health Ward

As part of our dedication to preparing you for entering the world of employment, we run several simulations using our equipment to give our students practice of applying their skills in a real-world situation.

One of the ways we do this is through our Mental Health Ward, which is designed to replicate a working environment. The ward includes bedrooms, a day room, a seclusion room and a treatment room, allowing for a range of mental health scenarios to be conducted by students, with supervision from staff.

Practising in safe scenarios such as this can keep you informed about the type of job roles you can pursue after you graduate.

An external view of Murray Library on a sunny day

The University library

There are over 430,000 books within our University Library, with more titles available through the inter-library loan services. There are a range of resources for Psychology, including:

PsycARTICLES, from the American Psychological Association (APA) database containing full-text articles from over 50 peer-reviewed Psychology journals covering 1985 to the present
Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, which is a database that provides nearly 575 full text publications and covers topics such as emotional and behavioural characteristics, psychiatry and psychology, mental processes, counselling, and observational and experimental methods
Science Direct, which provides some full text access to scientific and technical peer-reviewed journals, with coverage is all aspects of science, including Psychology and Counselling
Web of Knowledge, which provides access to ISI Web of Science, a multidisciplinary database of journal abstracts and citations from 1981 to date

As well as reading resources, the University library can also offer you further support services, such as one-to-one study skills sessions, accessibility and disability support, laptops available to borrow, bookable study rooms and more.

Explore

Five reasons to study psychology

Dr Helen Driscoll is a Principal Lecturer in Psychology and Team Leader for the undergraduate Psychology courses at the University of Sunderland. Her areas of specialism are evolutionary psychology, individual differences and quantitative research. Here, Helen shares her five reasons why you should study Psychology at Sunderland.

What careers can a degree in psychology lead to?

A psychology degree develops important skills that could help you land your dream job. We talked to Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Employability Coordinator, Carole Carter, about the wide range of careers you can have as a psychology graduate.

All about Forensic Psychology

Being a forensic psychologist can be challenging, but rewarding at the same time. You could be working with prisoners, or giving evidence in court as an expert witness. It's safe to say that no two days will be the same. We spoke with BSc (Hons) Forensic Psychology Programme Leader Dr Laura Farrugia about being a forensic psychologist and why Sunderland's course is unique.

Which Psychology course is right for me?

If you know you’re passionate about psychology, but you’re unsure which course is right for you, we’re breaking down our specialist Psychology courses to help you choose the right pathway. All our undergraduate Psychology programmes are accredited by the British Psychological Society.