Psychology and Child Development (with Placement Year)
Entry requirements
A level
Other A Level combinations are possible to achieve 112 points
Pass Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 80 UCAS points.
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Achieve a minimum of 112 tariff points achieved from either five Highers or a combination of two Highers offered with two Advanced Highers. Where only Highers have been taken a minimum of (CCCCC) is required.
T Level
Pass (C and above)
Eligible T Level applications will be asked to achieve a minimum overall grade of P (A*-C) or Higher Pass as a condition of offer.
UCAS Tariff
We welcome a wide range of qualifications and qualification combinations. We assess each application individually, taking in to account any experience and skills you may have in your chosen field. Don't worry if you can't see your specific qualification listed, just contact our team of experts on 01782 294400 or email us at [email protected] for further advice
About this course
In our exciting BSc Hons in Psychology and Child Development you will learn about how psychology shapes who we are and how children behave and mature. To build a deep understanding of the human mind you’ll study social psychology, individual differences, biological psychology, research methods and cognitive psychology. The course is perfect if you are interested in working with children, young people, or those that work with these groups, as alongside the core psychology modules, you will study a series of specialist child development modules. In these you will learn about typical and atypical development, mental wellbeing and education interventions.
You will be taught by an expert teaching team which includes senior academics carrying out world-leading research as well as professional practitioners with industry experience. You will gain an appreciation of the complexity of child development and will develop skills relevant to applying your specialist knowledge to the real world. This will include working with case studies and developing skills in sharing your expert knowledge through advisory briefs, blog posts and podcasts.
As you go through your degree you will also undertake option modules that allow you to personalise your learning journey and give you the freedom to focus on what interests you. We will prepare you for the world of work, with dedicated modules at every year of study that are focused on your personal development, career and life planning. We have recently refreshed and improved our courses and as a result of this we are currently awaiting British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation of our new courses being delivered from September 2022.
The placement year take place between levels 5 and 6 of our undergraduate degrees and last for a period of 9 months, typically from September to June. Placement year students have previously worked in variety of settings and in various roles including, including as an Assistant Children’s Advocate for ‘Change Grow Live’, a Psychology Support Worker for Midlands Psychology and as wellbeing practitioners in local primary and middle schools. While some students carry out their placement in a setting close to the University, students do have the flexibility to look for placement opportunities further afield, including international opportunities, if appropriate.
Modules
Level 4: Adventures in Psychology 1, Becoming a Researcher 1-quantitative methods, Growing and Changing, Pathways in Psychology and Child Development, Adventures in Psychology 2, Becoming a Researcher 2-qualitative methods and Steps to Success 1. Level 5: Developmental and Biological Psychology Across the Lifespan, Theory and Application of Qualitative Research Methods, Exploring Difference: A Quantitative Approach, Childhood Contexts, Steps to Success 2 and 1 optional module (see below). Level 6: Psychology project/dissertation, Society and the Mind, Child Psychology: Theory to Practice, Personalised Psychology Portfolio, Steps to Success 3 and 1 optional module (see below). Level 5 Options: People Behaving Badly (What makes people, organisations and systems behave in antisocial and atypical ways?) Psychological Interventions (how psychology can help with problems- families, counselling, health, in the workplace) Psychology Research Assistantship (gain valuable work experience by working with a member of staff on their research projects) Psychology of Social Perception (learn about how we make judgements about ourselves and others) Level 6 Options: Advanced Quantitative Research Methods (learn how to make the very most of research, using expert techniques) Behavioural Medicine (the relationships between behavioural, physiological and psychosocial processes in well-being) Children and Pictures (children’s representation of pictures and the cultural, cognitive and clinical relevance of their art) Health Psychology (learn what healthy behaviour is and how can psychologists promote and manage that healthy behaviour) Neuropsychological Disorders (some of the neuropsychological problems experienced and how psychology can help) Parapsychology and Anomalous Experience (ghosts, possessions, out of body experiences through the psychologist’s lens). Psychology of Oppression and Empowerment (contemporary socio-political issues including mental health, poverty, gender/sexuality, war, politics)
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Staffordshire University (Stoke Campus)
Health, Science and Wellbeing
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.
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
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Developmental psychology
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
Developmental psychology
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
£17k
£20k
£21k
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.
Developmental psychology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£17k
£20k
£21k
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 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:
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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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