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Psychology

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B

Access to HE Diploma

D:36,M:9

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

35

with 16 points from the best 3 Higher Level subjects

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

DDD

UCAS Tariff

136

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of how humans think and behave. Studying this programme will develop your ability to understand and support people, preparing you for a wide range of rewarding careers.

This degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) which is essential if you wish to pursue a career in professional psychology in the UK, and follows the main themes of modern psychology:

- Brain and Behaviour: how neural disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease affect behaviour

- Cognitive Psychology: our reactions to colours, smells, speech and music

- Developmental Psychology: the ways in which infants perceive space, patterns, objects and events

- Social Psychology: how our thoughts, emotions and behaviours are shaped by the presence of others

You will learn from passionate academics, all of whom are active researchers and world leaders in their field, which allows you to benefit from their insight, expertise and cutting-edge research.

In the first year, you will gain an in-depth overview of the main study themes through our Understanding Psychology module. You will explore the theories underpinning these areas, learn to evaluate scientific journals and develop your ability to construct formal arguments. Running parallel to this, you will also undertake the Investigating Psychology module, which will equip you with important practical skills for conducting research in psychology, such as data analysis and report writing.

As well as these core modules, you will also take a minor subject, which can be another science or a subject that is selected from a different part of the University, such as a social science or management programme. This gives you the chance to explore another discipline that interests you and experience another part of the University. Sociology, criminology and philosophy are just some of the more popular minor choices among our students.

During the second year of your degree, you revisit the key themes covered in Year 1 in greater detail. You will study a specialist module for each of the key strands; deepening your understanding and testing your knowledge.

In addition to these themes, Research Methods and Statistics modules will be covered this year. These will expand your knowledge of research methods, develop key skills and enable you to gain a detailed understanding of analysis and reporting.

Third year provides you with the freedom to choose from a range of topical modules, as well as conducting your own research project under the supervision of an experienced researcher. This will allow you to shape your study to suit your own interests and career aspirations.

The optional modules available change to reflect the latest developments in psychology research and those listed are indicative content.

During this year, you will also be able to decide if you want to graduate with a BA or a BSc, dependent on the career you wish to pursue. Both degrees are equivalent and accredited by the British Psychological Society, and our academic staff and careers service are on hand to offer guidance and support.

**Structured Work Experience**
Alongside your academic study, you will have the opportunity to gain voluntary work experience through our Psychology Employability Programme, allowing you to develop invaluable skills for either a career in psychology or a graduate programme. You can choose between working part-time in the community with charities and organisations that support vulnerable people, or working alongside staff in the Psychology Department on their ground breaking research projects. Crucially, every placement will provide you with experience and skills that are valuable to both psychology careers and more general graduate level occupations, strengthening your CV and enhancing your employability for life after graduation.

The Uni


Course location:

Lancaster University

Department:

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.

78%
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.

Psychology (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

80%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
83%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
76%
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

80%
Library resources
91%
IT resources
90%
Course specific equipment and facilities
74%
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?

80%
UK students
20%
International students
19%
Male students
81%
Female students
91%
2:1 or above
4%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
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.

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.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education
49%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Business, research and administrative professionals
13%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
11%
Welfare and housing associate 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.

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

£24k

£24k

£26k

£26k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of Southampton | Southampton
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BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 136-144
Nearby University
University of Central Lancashire | Preston
Psychology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104-120

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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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Course location and department:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here