Integrated Social and Cognitive Psychology

The first study year is characterized by a broad offer in disciplinary education that builds on and extends the students’ entrance qualification. Further ISCP students select four modules from other study programs of their interest and to pursue a minor.

Students can still change to another major at the beginning of the second year of studies if they have taken the corresponding modules of the study program in the first year of studies.

ISCP students take the following discipline-specific CHOICE Modules in their first year of study:

• CHOICE Module: Essentials of Cognitve Psychology (7.5 CP)
• CHOICE Module: Essentials of Social Psychology (7.5 CP)

The introduction modules establish a general framework of human cognition in which many phenomena of thinking, interaction, and communication can be analyzed and predicted. Attention, perception, learning and memory will be some of your topics in the first semester, as well as intelligence, language, emotion, motivation, and personality. You will use the conceptual and analytical tools from the first semester in your explorations of major fields of psychology in the second semester. In the module component developmental psychology, you will look at how people acquire their capacities, which are learnt (and at what age), and which are innate. In the module component social psychology, you will deal with the influence the actual or perceived presence of others might have on people’s behavior. What can and cannot be inferred from psychological theories, how they relate to models and hypotheses, and what it takes for research findings to be “valid” are some of the topics in the Essentials of Psychological Methodology module component.

In their second year, students take modules with a total of 45 CP from in-depth, discipline-specific CORE modules. These modules aim to extend the students’ critical understanding of the key theories, principles, and methods in their major at the current state of knowledge and best practice.

ISCP students take 30 CP from the following CORE modules:

• CORE Module: Learning and Memory (5 CP)
• CORE Module: Social Psychology (5 CP)
• CORE Module: Organizational Psychology & Communication (5 CP)
• CORE Module: Neurobiology of Behavior (5 CP)
• CORE Module: Neuroscience Methods (5 CP)
• CORE Module: Attention, Sensation, and Perception (5 CP)
• CORE Module: Judgment & Decision Making (5 CP)
• CORE Module: Health Psychology (5 CP)
• CORE Module: Cultural Psychology (5 CP)

The Learning and Memory module is geared toward understanding, how information is stored and retrieved, why we forget, and whether we can improve memory. Students will learn how biopsychologists arrive at their insights by getting to know their methods in the Neuroscience Methods module. In the Attention, Sensation, and Perception module, students will deal with essential processes for humans and other animals to learn about the world.

In the Social Psychology module, students will take an in-depth look – from the lab to the ‘real world’ – at the role of the actual or imagined presence of others as one of the more obvious of those factors. Students will also look at culture as one of the less obvious drivers in the Cultural Psychology module, analyzing why people from different corners of the world perceive the same things in very different manners. In the Organizational Psychology and Communication module, students will adopt a social cognition perspective in the study of behavior in organizations, as well as of fundamental processes of (non-)verbal communication and interaction.

15 CP in CORE modules can be selected in the second year of studies according to interest and/or with the aim to pursue a minor in a second field of studies.

During their third year, students must take the crucial step of preparing for their career post-graduation. To help them in this process, they undertake a mandatory summer internship that provides them with hands-on professional experience and helps them explore their interests and the available career options.

Additionally, the 5th semester allows students to broaden their horizons by participating in study abroad programs. Finally, the 6th semester is dedicated to enhancing students' research skills by engaging them in a comprehensive Bachelor's thesis project.

ISCP students select and complete advanced specialization modules in their major or related fields to deepen their knowledge in their chosen field. These modules are designed to allow students to apply the general psychological concepts they learned during their first two years of study to specific research or professional practice areas. They also help students refine their skills and reflect on their career goals.

ISCP students can choose from the following four specialization modules:

• Specialization: Human Neuroscience Advanced Lab (Intersession) (2.5 CP)
• Specialization: Pathophysiology and Psychotherapy of Depression (2.5 CP)
• Specialization: Managing Demographic Change in Organisations (2.5 CP)
• Specialization: Lifespan Behavioral Neuroscience (5 CP)
• Specialization: Psychology of Food (2.5 CP)
• Specialization: The Science of Happiness (2.5CP)
• Specialization: Applying Social Science Research (5 CP)
• Specialization: Organizational Behavior across Cultures (5 CP)

The modules focus on contemporary developments and current issues, considering the students' interests and the specific requirements of each field. The modules may include topics such as:

• The practical application of quantitative theories to individuals, groups, or institutions
• Strategies for bridging the gap between academic theories and practical research
• Defining specific actions based on empirical data
• Effectively communicating high-level research to non-experts
• Stakeholder management when applying research findings.

Overall, the specialization modules aim to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of their chosen field and the necessary skills to succeed in their future careers.

At Constructor University, students are given a unique opportunity to boost their employability through a mandatory two-month internship worth 15 credits. This opportunity usually takes place during the summer between the second and third year of study, providing students with the chance to gain practical experience in a professional setting. Through this internship, students can apply the knowledge and understanding they have gained from their major to real-world contexts, evaluate the significance of their major in the employment sector and society, reflect on their role in employment and society, and make informed career decisions. For students interested in starting their own company, an alternative to the full-time internship is offered as a start-up option, which allows them to focus on developing their business plan.

The CONSTRUCTOR Track is another important feature of Constructor University’s educational model. The Constructor Track runs orthogonal to the disciplinary CHOICE, CORE, and CAREER modules across all study years and is an integral part of all undergraduate study programs. It provides an intellectual tool kit for lifelong learning and encourages the use of diverse methodologies to approach cross-disciplinary problems. The CONSTRUCTOR track contains Methods, New Skills and German Language and Humanities modules.

Methods
Methods and skills such as mathematics, statistics, programming, data handling, presentation skills, academic writing, and scientific and experimental skills are offered to all students as part of the Methods area in their curriculum. The modules that are specifically assigned to each study programs equip students with transferable academic skills. They convey and practice specific methods that are indispensable for each students’ chosen study program. Students are required to take 20 CP in the Methods area. The size of all Methods modules is 5 CP.

To pursue ISCP as a major, the following Methods modules (20 CP) need to be taken as mandatory modules:

• Methods Module: Academic Writing and Academic Skills (m, 5 CP)
• Methods Module: Applied Statistics with R (m, 5 CP)
• Methods Module: Qualitative Research Methods (m, 5 CP)
• Methods Module: Data Collection and Empirical Research Methodologies (m, 5 CP)

New Skills Modules
This part of the curriculum constitutes an intellectual and conceptual tool kit that cultivates the capacity for a particular set of intellectual dispositions including curiosity, imagination, critical thought, and transferability. It nurtures a range of individual and societal capacities, such as self-reflection, argumentation and communication. Finally, it introduces students to the normative aspects of inquiry and research, including the norms governing sourcing, sharing, withholding materials and research results as well as others governing the responsibilities of expertise as well as the professional point of view. Students in this study program are required to take the following modules in their second and third year:

• New Skills Module: Logic (m, 2.5 CP)
• New Skills Module: Causation and Correlation (m, 2.5 CP)
• New Skills Module: Argumentation, Data Visualization and Communication (m, 5 CP)

Furthermore, they must choose either

• New Skills Module: Linear Model/Matrices (me, 5 CP) or
• New Skills Module: Complex Problem Solving (me, 5 CP)

as well one of the following modules:

• New Skills Module: Agency, Leadership and Accountability (me, 5 CP) or
• New Skills Module: Community Impact Project (me, 5 CP).

German Language and Humanities Modules
German language abilities foster students’ intercultural awareness and enhance their employability in their host country. They are also beneficial for securing mandatory internships (between the 2nd and 3rd year) in German companies and academic institutions. Constructor University supports its students in acquiring basic as well as advanced German skills in the first year of the Constructor Track. Non-native speakers of German are encouraged to take 2 German modules (2.5 CP each), but are not obliged to do so. Native speakers and other students not taking advantage of this offering take alternative modules in Humanities in each of the first two semesters.

The curriculum of the study program is outlined in the schematic study plan:

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