Editorials
Author: Ashley Weinberg (University of Salford)
Keywords: Psychology, University of Salford
How to Cite: Weinberg, A. (2026) “25 years of Psychology at the University of Salford”, SalfordPsych: The Salford Open Journal of Psychology. 1(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.57898/SalfordPsych.427
Time passes. In marking a quarter century of Psychology at Salford, we recognise the contributions of many wonderful colleagues, including those who have been valued members of the team since the turn of the century (and even one who has been here for half a century!). It does not seem so long ago that I was walking our very first cohort of students from the University’s main campus to the Allerton Building on Frederick Road, where they would study for the BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling and BSc (Hons) Psychology and Health Sciences. Only a few months before, I had met our first student recruit who was excited to hear of our ‘brand new’ programme: she went on successfully to become a clinical psychologist and was one of 19 students who comprised our first graduate cohort in the summer of 2003. We held the official opening of our department in November 2003 to celebrate accreditation by the British Psychological Society, with guest of honour Professor Sir Cary Cooper and many supporters from neighbouring universities, as well as family members and delighted students joining our (then) small team of staff. In 2002, we began our single honours programme, followed in 2005 by further joint degrees with criminology and sociology. These have been extended with undergraduate Psychology programmes featuring combinations with English, Human and Animal Behaviour and Sport as well as continuously evolving Masters programmes and innovative international degrees – to the best of our knowledge the BSc (Hons) Psychology delivered by the Open University of Hong Kong was the first outside the UK to gain BPS accreditation and current collaboration with the British University Bahrain is blossoming.
Image . Psychology staff group from 2006: Ashley Weinberg, Margaret Ferrario, Sarah Norgate, Simon Cassidy, Wendy Burke, Peter Eachus, Anne Pearson, Janine Crosbie (holding her older son Aaron) and Lynne Marrow.
The new venture of our Psychology programmes was a mix of anticipation, eagerness, trepidation and not a little grit, as much work was necessary to prepare university paperwork, design new laboratories, write new modules and teaching materials, combat intimidating committees and gather staff and allies around a department that, over the next 25 years, would become a source of employment for over 100 people - including 60 permanent colleagues and dozens of hourly paid and postgraduate lecturers, many of whom went on to join the full-time team. Of those who have moved on, we are proud to retain working relationships and friendships across the UK and beyond, from Liverpool to London, from Cambridge to Sydney.
Psychology at Salford has become a thriving department, helping over three thousand people fulfil their ambition of getting their Psychology degree, whether completing one of our eight undergraduate degrees on offer over the years or graduating with one of our five taught or research Masters degrees or PhDs. Accreditation from the British Psychological Society (BPS) has not only ensured we are fulfilling the guidelines of our professional body, but helped attract resources necessary to ensure the sustainability of the whole enterprise. The BPS ratio of 20 students per member of staff is a cornerstone to building the team we have today – with an additional full-time post each year since 2000 - but more important than the numbers are the talents and commitment of so many enthusiastic and hard-working Psychology staff – in both academic and technical roles - who are recognised by our students and non-Psychology colleagues alike as knowledgeable, approachable and highly supportive.
Image . Psychology staff and student volunteers at an open day in 2026: Rachael Thompson, Kirstie-Jayne Turner, Roisin Moodley, Gabrielle Humphreys, Leidy Gomez (student), Nabil Hasshim, Charley Stratton (student) and Dr Ashley Weinberg.
On setting up the Psychology department, it was a clear ambition that students from every background should succeed and enjoy the support of eager and highly motivated scholars. In achieving this, we are proud to champion students from across the world as well as in our local community of Salford and Greater Manchester. It is wonderful to see this in action, all underpinned by the care colleagues show our students and each other. As Lord Rothschild observed on seeing a young relative graduate with their Psychology degree at Salford, a key factor was that students could feel accepted for who they are and express their individuality. This is the academic tradition that stretches back to the foundation of the oldest university by Fatima Al-Fihri at al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, embracing all faiths and nurturing openness to new ideas.
Nevertheless, in the early Noughties, there were political obstacles to our establishment – Salford was then a university without its own Psychology department and convincing some managers of the importance and relevance of our training and specialty was no easy feat. Indeed, it was a source of much humour in those early days that the University was blessed with prominent non-psychologists who believed (curiously) that ‘Psychology is something in which everyone is expert’. In dispelling this myth, we have demonstrated that Psychology is a social science which plays an integral role in all our lives, informing valuable approaches to human thought and behaviour and proving its strength in many ways. It is a testament to the talent and fortitude of Psychology colleagues – whether joining from Salford, other universities or as the next step in their career – that Psychology has become a success here.
Our community has been built on those hallowed ingredients of mutual trust, friendship, compassion, as well as shared beneficial goals. All have been shaped by a shared sense of values in which caring for our students and each other has been paramount. Of course, much-needed ambition is evident too: on behalf of thousands of students who have put their faith in Psychology at Salford to help shape their futures, careers and wider lives, as well as in backing ourselves as staff to work together and individually, for the common good. The evidence goes beyond the smiles on graduation day, to the innovative contributions of staff to global psychology research and policy-making, changing minds to improve lives.
Growing from a handful of colleagues at the turn of the century to over thirty staff by our 25 th anniversary, the enduring presence of so many from the early 2000s and since, is a testament to the commitment of the team, our ability to adapt and survive, whilst retaining what really matters: professionalism, dedication to science and capacity to care. Needless to say, we’ve all learned a lot over this time and our endurance as a department where colleagues work for each other is all the more commendable in challenging times for the funding and standing of higher education in the UK.
As Ebbinghaus wrote, ‘Psychology has a long past, but a short history’ and the need to sustain and enhance the systematic study of human thought and behaviour remains crucial to our endeavours not only here at Salford, but in the wider world. It is said that the view from the Psychology department at the top of the Allerton Building gives us a unique vantage point for our studies, and in seeing this up close, as its first Director of Psychology and then as a ‘backbencher’, it has been my privilege to serve alongside and as part of this wonderful team. Thank you to all my colleagues for all that you do and have yet to do.
I would also like to thank Anne Pearson and Dr Janine Crosbie for their helpful suggestions and editorial assistance with this article.
Dr Ashley Weinberg
Senior Lecturer in Psychology
University of Salford