Pre-arrival information for new undergraduate students
Welcome to the University of Sheffield! Congratulations on securing your place to study with us in the School of Psychology - we can’t wait to meet you! On this page you’ll find lots of useful information and tasks to complete to make your transition to university as smooth as possible.
We know it’s a busy and exciting time for you, and we want to make preparing for starting your degree as straightforward as possible.
You’ll be receiving lots of information about how to register as a student at Sheffield, and all the exciting university-wide activities that all students can get involved with once you arrive.
This pre-arrival page is just for new psychology students where you’ll find information and tasks to complete, specific to you and your course.
Your checklist
Complete your registration
The first thing you need to do is complete your registration.
Choose your modules
From 1st September 2025
Your first year (level 1) at Sheffield is made up of a number of modules. Some are compulsory (or core), and some you can choose (optional) from a specific list.
Psychology students study 100 compulsory credits. The remaining 20 credits are for optional modules of your choice. This could be two modules that are worth 10 credits, or one module that's worth 20 credits.
At the beginning of September, you’ll receive an email asking you to select your optional modules using online module selection as part of your pre-registration tasks. A link to the Online Module Choice system will also appear within the pre-registration system.
Don’t worry if you’re undecided about what modules you want to take as you can change your optional modules at any time during the first two weeks of each semester. The important thing is that you’re enrolled with 120 credits of modules - this will enable you to complete your registration.
You can explore your available optional modules on the Programme Regulations Finder, these are in section 1b titled "Approved units". Click on the module codes (e.g. PSY1001) to read a brief description about each module.
Explore your modules via programme regulations
We've also written a handy guide about modules. Please note that you won't be able to access this until you’ve completed registration and signed in with your University of Sheffield account.
Explore guided optional modules in level 1
Welcome week timetable
There are lots of events taking place across the University during Welcome Week. Here’s a list of the events that are specifically for Psychology students. These are compulsory and will ensure you get the best start to your time at Sheffield.
Please note that this timetable might change before you arrive so make sure you keep checking back!
- Monday 22 September 2025
Level 1 Introduction Talk
Time: 1pm to 2pm
Location: Lecture Theatre 1, The Diamond
Get directions via Google Maps / Apple MapsIn this talk, you’ll be given key information that you’ll need to navigate your first few weeks of university. We’ll introduce you to key departmental contacts including the Head of School (Dr Chris Martin), the Director of Undergraduate Programmes (Dr Tim Riley), and the Senior Tutor (Dr Merve Mollaahmetoglu). We’ll introduce you to what studying at Sheffield is like, give you an overview of our undergraduate psychology course, and discuss key support services that are available to students.
- Tuesday 23 September 2025
Academic Tutor System, Student Voice, Q&A
Time: 1pm to 2pm
Location: Students' Union, Nelson Mandela Auditorium
Get directions via Google Maps / Apple MapsAt this event we’ll introduce you to our academic tutoring system. Your academic tutor will be your main point of contact over the next three years. You’ll also be introduced to our Student Voice Coordinator (Dr Rhianan Ellis) who’ll explain how you can make your voice heard during your time at Sheffield. A Q&A will follow this session, so please bring along any questions that you may have!
- Thursday 25 September 2025
Employability and Placements Information
Time: 1pm to 2pm
Location: Lecture Theatre 1, The Diamond
Get directions via Google Maps / Apple MapsGraduation might seem like a long way off, but it’s never too early to start thinking about your future! In our final Welcome Week event we’ll give you an overview of employability initiatives and events that are taking place this year, and share key information on how to apply for a placement. This talk will be given by our Employability Lead (Dr Emma Morgan) and our Placements Coordinator (Dr Harriet Smith).
We strongly recommend that you attend these sessions, but if you’re unable to make one for any reason, these talks will be recorded and available online later.
Useful information
- Your course handbook
View your Psychology Handbook here
Your course handbook is packed with information about your undergraduate course and is the place where you’ll be able to find answers to most of the questions you have.
We recommend that you spend some time having a read through the handbook before you start your course. This is a live document and we do update this from time to time, but we’ll always alert you to any significant changes.
Please note that you won't be able to access this until you’ve completed registration and signed in with your University of Sheffield account.
- Recommended reading
You’ll find our list of recommended texts in your undergraduate handbook, here.
We appreciate the financial pressures on new students and most of these texts are available as paper copies and ebooks through the University’s libraries so you won’t need to buy them.
However, if you want your own copy of key textbooks, many students buy them second-hand from level three students or charity shops in Sheffield.
- Your transition to university life
We’ve put together a handy guide to support your transition to University life and study. It highlights some of the key differences between study expectations at A Level (or equivalent) and University.
- Student guide to understanding university terminology
When you start university, you’ll discover that we sometimes use certain terminology and have ways of working that might be unfamiliar to you. To help with this, we recommend you read through the ‘Student Guide to the Hidden Curriculum’. This has been developed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education to help inform new students and demystify lots of things about how universities operate, the systems we use, who does what, and the particular terminology that you’ll come across.
Contact us
If you have any problems working through these pre-arrival tasks or you know that you’ll be arriving late to Sheffield in September, please let us know.
Email our team: psyug@sheffield.ac.uk
Please include your name, programme of study and registration number (if you know it).
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