Psychology

Message from Head of the Department

Associate Prof. Dr. Saher Alsabbah

The field of psychology offers an exhilarating academic path that fosters a deeper understanding of human behavior, both within oneself and among others. Our psychology program encompasses a broad range of subjects and is delivered in intimate classroom settings by passionate and committed educators. We are proud to offer a variety of opportunities for students to become involved in research projects or develop their clinical skills. Our students have the opportunity to gain hands-on clinical experience in a variety of settings, including psychology statistics lab, students club, local community mental health organizations, nearby schools, and rehabilitation clinics.

In our psychology program, students have a unique opportunity to actively engage in and take the lead in various initiatives and activities within the college through the Students Psychology Club. Many of our students collaborate closely with faculty members on research projects spanning diverse areas such as sleep patterns, social media affect on personality, the interplay between physical activity and cognitive function, eyewitness memory, and the impact of stress on cognition.

I encourage you to explore our website, where you can discover the wide-ranging expertise of our faculty members, as well as the wealth of opportunities awaiting you in our psychology program.

Photo Gallery

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List of Programs and Local Accreditation Status

BSc Psychology

In 2019, the Psychology department at FCHS secured its initial accreditation from the CAA. Currently, the department is leading its first group of students through the rigorous four-year program. The program currently has 50 enrolled students, maintaining an impressive staff-to-student ratio of around 10:1. This Psychology program has been carefully crafted to provide students with the essential skills needed to attain a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology (BSc), empowering them to pursue a wide range of science and research-focused career opportunities at the undergraduate level. It also prepares them for further advanced studies in the field of human behavior.

Furthermore, the psychology program offers students a diverse range of extracurricular activities, including workshops, event participation, community engagement initiatives, poster presentations, statistical and data analysis training, and much more.

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
SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY & CRITICAL THINKING
  • 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
ETHICAL & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN A DIVERSE WORLD
  • 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
COMMUNICATION
  • Demonstrate effective writing for different purposes
  • Exhibit effective presentation skills for different purposes
  • Interact effectively with others
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
  • 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.

 

Course Code

Course Title
Credit Hours
GRD 271Islamic Studies
3
GRD 101Biology
3
GRD 102Biology Lab
1
GRD 171Introduction to Psychology
3
GRD 161Academic Writing 1
2
GRD 251Introduction to Research & Biostatistics
3
GRD 133Foundations of Health
3
GRD 301Innovation and Entrepreneurship
3
Total
21

The courses mentioned below are mandatory for all FCHS students:

 

Course Code

Course Title
Credit Hours
GRD 100First Year Seminar
0
GRD 111Anatomy and Physiology A
3
GRD 112Anatomy and Physiology A Lab
1
GRD 261Academic Writing 2
2
GRD 121Anatomy and Physiology B
3
GRD 122Anatomy and Physiology B Lab
1
GRD 361Research Methodology
2
Total
12

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.

Course Code

Course Title
Credit Hours
CER XXXXCollege Elective Course*
3
Total
3

Students must complete all courses mentioned in this table:

 

Course Code

Course Title
Credit Hours
PSY 111Psychology in Everyday Life
3
PSY 122Lifespan Developmental Psychology
3
PSY 133Introduction to Social Psychology
3
PSY 211Introduction to Counselling
3
PSY 212Health & Wellbeing Psychology 1
3
PSY 213Cultural Psychology
3
PSY 224Cognitive Psychology
3
PSY 225Educational Psychology
3
PSY 226Health & Wellbeing Psychology 2
3
PSY 227Psychology of Special Needs Education
3
PSY 238Behavioural Neuroscience
3
PSY 311Counselling Psychology in Context
3
PSY 312Statistics for Psychology 1
3
PSY 313Abnormal Psychology
3
PSY 324Statistics for Psychology 2
3
PSY 325Clinical Psychology
3
PSY 326Emotions & Motivations
3
PSY 327Sensation & Perception
3
PSY 411Internship*
5
PSY 412Research Project 1
3
PSY 423Clinical Neuropsychology
3
PSY 424Research Project 2
3
Total
68

 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:

 

Course Code

Course Title
Credit Hours
PEC 501Psychometric Assessments
3
PEC 502Cyberpsychology
3
PEC 503Psychology of Language & Vision
3
PEC 504Forensic Psychology
3
PEC 505Applied Behavioural Analysis
3
PEC 506Critical Social Psychology
3
PEC 507Abnormal Child Psychology
3
PEC 508Occupational Psychology
3
Total
30

Study / Guidance Plan
Course Description

Cost of Studying the Program

Staff
TitleCampusDegreeSpecializationEmail
Dr. Saher Al SabbahHead and Associate ProfessorAbu DhabiPhDsaher.alsabbah@fchs.ac.ae
Dr. Dina JoksimovicSenior InstructorAbu DhabiPhDClinical Psychologydina.joksimovic@fchs.ac.ae
Dr. Nida KhanInstructorAbu DhabiPhDCounselling in Psychologynida.khan@fchs.ac.ae
Dr. Amani DawlishInstructorAbu DhabiPh.DInclusive and Special Educationamani.darwish@fchs.ac.ae
Dr. Afreen FaizaLab SpecialistAbu DhabiPhDPsychologyafreen.faiza@fchs.ac.ae
Ms. Reem Ali Ahmed Ali AlharthiTeaching AssistantAbu DhabiBScPsychologyreem.alharthi@fchs.ac.ae