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Psychology with Counselling

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-C,C,C

The University welcomes undergraduate applications from students studying the Access to Higher Education Diploma, provided that relevant subject content and learning outcomes are met. We are not able to accept Access to Higher Education Diplomas as a general qualification for every undergraduate degree course.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

26-30

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM-MMM

UCAS Tariff

96-120

Aberystwyth University welcomes the Welsh Baccalaureate as a valuable qualification in its own right and considers completion of the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate to be equivalent to an A level grade.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Counselling

Psychology

Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), our BSc Psychology with Counselling degree at Aberystwyth University combines the study of core psychological knowledge with the academic foundations of counselling. On our course, you will be introduced to a range of therapeutic approaches and techniques, including person-centred, cognitive-behavioural and psychodynamic approaches to counselling. As a student on this course, you will take a hands-on, reflective approach to your learning and development. You will develop practical research skills, including qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, and specialist counselling-related skills, which you will develop through practical sessions, role play and one-to-one supervision across the scheme.

Our ethos is to teach in a way which enables you to develop conceptual and theoretical knowledge to solve problems in real-world scenarios. During the three-year course, you will explore and learn about human development and the intricacies of what makes us humans tick and how we navigate the complex internal and external environment as well as the foundations and fundamentals of counselling.

At Aberystwyth, we offer a wide range of modules that allow you to explore the varied aspects of Psychology and counselling. Students on our Psychology and Counselling degree have access to exciting research tools to understand brain and cognitive activity as well as behavioural measurements equipment.

Students on our Psychology and Counselling course will be joining one of the largest departments in the university. The Department of Psychology consistently ranks in the top 10 in the UK (United Kingdom) for student satisfaction and teaching quality. The Department prides itself on the high level of academic and pastoral support led by the academic team which ensures that you succeed in your studies and have the best university experience.

You will cover core areas of psychological knowledge required for BPS accreditation. These include research methods, cognitive, social, biological, developmental and individual differences. You will also complete a counselling-related research project in your third year.

During your first year, you will be introduced to the core concepts, themes and approaches within psychology and counselling which include: individuals, groups, and behaviours; professional development and organisational behaviour; brain, behaviour and cognition; counselling and the counselling relationships; introduction to psychotherapeutic approaches; counselling skills; ethical and reflective practice for counsellors.

During your second and final year you will develop your understanding and use of qualitative and quantitative research methods and analysis techniques; deepen your understanding of core domains in Psychology, including cognitive, neuroscience, developmental psychology, individual differences, and social psychology; situate key psychological knowledge and apply to domains such as clinical and health psychology; critical reflective practice in counselling; integrative approaches to counselling; undertaking an independent counselling-related research project.

Our BSc Psychology with Counselling is an excellent foundation if you are considering a career in the social care or helping professions. The BPS accreditation will enable access to postgraduate and professional training in clinical and counselling psychology.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,000
per year
England
£9,000
per year
EU
£16,520
per year
International
£16,520
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,000
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,000
per year
Scotland
£9,000
per year
Wales
£9,000
per year

Extra funding

Aberystwyth University offers a valuable package of scholarships and bursaries to support students. Our long-established Entrance Examination competition means you could get up to £2,000 a year towards your living and study costs. You can combine that with any or all of our other awards, to make your financial package more valuable. Our awards include Sport and Music Scholarships, Bursaries for Care Leavers/Young Carers/Estranged Students and a range of department specific awards. Please visit our website for full details.

The Uni


Course location:

Main Site (Aberystwyth)

Department:

Department of Psychology

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

91%
Psychology

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Counselling

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

87%
UK students
13%
International students
28%
Male students
72%
Female students
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

Psychology (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
90%
Staff are good at explaining things
89%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
75%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

89%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
91%
Course specific equipment and facilities
82%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

83%
UK students
17%
International students
27%
Male students
73%
Female students
78%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

Psychology (non-specific)

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£16,000
low
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
48%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

14%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
14%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
9%
Natural and social science professionals

20 years ago, this was a specialist degree for would-be psychologists but now it is the model of a modern, flexible degree subject. One of the UK's fastest-growing subject at degree level, and the second most popular subject overall (it recently overtook business studies), one in 23 of all graduates last year had psychology degrees. As you'd expect with figures like that, jobs in psychology itself are incredibly competitive, so to stand a chance of securing one, you need to get a postgraduate qualification (probably a doctorate in most fields, especially clinical psychology) and some relevant work experience. But even though there are so many psychology graduates — far more than there are jobs in psychology, and over 13,800 in total last year — this degree has a lower unemployment rate than average because its grads are so flexible and well-regarded by business and other industries across the economy. Everywhere there are good jobs in the UK economy, you'll find psychology graduates - and it's hardly surprising as the course helps you gain a mix of good people skills and excellent number and data handling skills. A psychology degree ticks most employers' boxes — but we'd suggest you don't drop your maths modules.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

Psychology (non-specific)

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£18k

£18k

£18k

£18k

£22k

£22k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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