Psychology
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Message from Head of the Department
Professor James Barnes
Psychology is an exciting major that will help you understand the behaviour of yourself and others. Our psychology courses cover a wide variety of topics and are taught in small classroom settings by energetic and dedicated faculty. We provide many opportunities for students to participate in research or gain clinical experience. We place students in a variety of settings to gain clinical experience such as local community mental health organizations, local schools, and rehabilitation clinics.
Students in this psychology program have a unique opportunity to participate in and conduct research. Many students work personally with faculty on research topics such as sleep disturbances, physical activity and cognition, eyewitness memory and the effects of stress on cognition.
I invite you to browse through our web pages to learn about the diverse expertise of our faculty and the opportunities that we offer students. Please contact us if you would like more information.

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List of Programs and Local Accreditation Status
BSc Psychology
The Psychology program in Fatima College of Health Sciences (FCHS) prepares students to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology (BSc) and enables students to pursue a wide range of science and research-related careers at the bachelor’s level or to pursue an advanced level of studying human behaviour. The Psychology program equips students with theoretical and practical knowledge of the core areas of psychology and introduces students to the key theories in the field. As a scientific discipline, the study of psychology requires competence in research methodology and critical thinking, two important skills that will be at the core of the program. FCHS students will also attain a high-quality scientific degree focused on knowledge in the discipline of psychology, integrity in the application of that knowledge, effective program management, and excellent communication skills.
The BSc in Psychology is a four-year, full-time undergraduate program requiring 125 credit hours for completion. The program is designed to meet international standards of academic design, teaching delivery and assessment. FCHS will evaluate and continually improve the program to ensure that courses are delivered at a high standard, and that student learning outcomes are aligned with FCHS outcomes as well as the UAE requirements.
Program Learning Outcomes
Below are the program learning outcomes achieved at graduation from the bachelor’s degree in psychology. At the end of the degree, students will gain expertise in five main areas:
KNOWLEDGE BASE- Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
- Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains
- Describe applications of psychology
- Use scientific reasoning to interpret psychological phenomena
- Be able to demonstrate psychology information literacy
- Engage in innovative and integrative thinking and problem solving
- Interpret, design, and conduct basic psychological research
- Incorporate sociocultural factors in scientific inquiry
- Apply ethical standards to evaluate psychological science and practice
- Build and enhance interpersonal relationships
- Adopt values that build community at local, national, and global levels
- Demonstrate effective writing for different purposes
- Exhibit effective presentation skills for different purposes
- Interact effectively with others
- Apply psychological content and skills to career goals
- Exhibit self-efficacy and self-regulation
- Develop and Refine project-management skills
- Enhance teamwork capacity
- Develop meaningful professional direction for life after graduation
Curriculum Structure, Credit Hours, and Graduation Requirements
To graduate students will need to complete courses with a total of 122 credit hours. A typical study plan is shown in section 5. The psychology program courses are categorized as the following:
Students will take general education courses in sciences and humanities in addition to, other introductory major course to gain an understanding of basic concepts, methods and theories in psychology.
GRD 271 Islamic Studies
GRD 101 Biology
GRD 102 Biology Lab
GRD 171 Introduction to Psychology
GRD 161 Academic Writing 1
GRD 251 Introduction to Research & Biostatistics
GRD 133 Foundations of Health
GRD 301 Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Total
The courses mentioned below are mandatory for all FCHS students:
GRD 100 First Year Seminar
GRD 111 Anatomy and Physiology A
GRD 112 Anatomy and Physiology A Lab
GRD 261 Academic Writing 2
GRD 121 Anatomy and Physiology B
GRD 122 Anatomy and Physiology B Lab
GRD 361 Research Methodology
Total
Students will select one course from another discipline to complete a minimum of 3 credit hours. Students will choose from a variety of College Elective Courses (CER) offered by all the programs at FCHS such as Innovation in Health Sciences, Health Care Management, Epidemiology, Transition to Health Practice amongst other.
CER XXXX | College Elective Course* | |
Total |
Students must complete all courses mentioned in this table:
PSY 111 Psychology in Everyday Life
PSY 122 Lifespan Developmental Psychology
PSY 133 Introduction to Social Psychology
PSY 211 Introduction to Counselling
PSY 212 Health & Wellbeing Psychology 1
PSY 213 Cultural Psychology
PSY 224 Cognitive Psychology
PSY 225 Educational Psychology
PSY 226 Health & Wellbeing Psychology 2
PSY 227 Psychology of Special Needs Education
PSY 238 Behavioural Neuroscience
PSY 311 Counselling Psychology in Context
PSY 312 Statistics for Psychology 1
PSY 313 Abnormal Psychology
PSY 324 Statistics for Psychology 2
PSY 325 Clinical Psychology
PSY 326 Emotions & Motivations
PSY 327 Sensation & Perception
PSY 411 Internship*
PSY 412 Research Project 1
PSY 423 Clinical Neuropsychology
PSY 424 Research Project 2
Total
Internship: Students will have the opportunity to apply for either an undergraduate educational placement for one semester of study at a local institution or an overseas partner institution.
Each student will select 6 courses with a total of 18 credit hours from the major elective courses:
PEC 501 Psychometric Assessments
PEC 502 Cyberpsychology
PEC 503 Psychology of Language & Vision
PEC 504 Forensic Psychology
PEC 505 Applied Behavioural Analysis
PEC 506 Critical Social Psychology
PEC 507 Abnormal Child Psychology
PEC 508 Occupational Psychology
Total
Cost of Studying the Program
Faculty Information
Staff | Title | Degree |
---|---|---|
Dr. Saher Al Sabbah | Associate Professor | PhD |
Dr. Dina Joksimovic | Assistant Professor | PhD |
Dr. Nida Khan | Instructor | PhD |
Dr. Afreen Faiza | Lab Specialist | PhD |
Amani Dawlish | Instructor | |
Reem Ali Ahmed Ali Alharthi | Teaching Assistant |