Psychology (with a foundation year)
Entry requirements
A level
AS
Pass Access to HE Diploma with 48 UCAS points
Extended Project
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
OCR Cambridge Technical Certificate
OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
OCR Cambridge Technical Foundation Diploma
OCR Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma
OCR Cambridge Technical Subsidiary Diploma
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
UCAS Tariff
About this course
Why do we think and behave the way we do? Human behaviour influences every facet of our everyday life, from the decisions we make, to how we respond to our environment and those around us. Our Psychology degree will help you to apply scientific knowledge of the mind to recognise people's behaviour and to understand why they act in the way they do.
You'll develop useful and transferable skills in problem solving, communication, critical thinking and evaluation. By the end of the course, you will be equipped with all of the necessary skills and knowledge to design and create your very own investigations and experiments. You will also be encouraged, where possible, to contribute new findings and theory to existing knowledge in your specialist area. There are lots of options to choose from in your final year, so you can follow your interests in different areas of psychology. A variety of teaching and learning methods are used to deliver the course and these include case studies, essays, reports, presentations and examinations.
The Foundation Year (Year 0, the first year of this course) is taught at Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College and prepares you for subsequent study at Staffordshire University (Years 1-3) on the BSc (Hons) Psychology degree. Following completion of the foundation year, you can stay on the Psychology degree, or transfer to one of our other Undergraduate Psychology degrees. We have a long history (25+ years) of running British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited courses. We have recently refreshed and improved our courses and as a result of this we are currently awaiting the accreditation of our new courses being delivered from September 2022.
Modules
Level 3: The Science of Human Behaviour, Typical and Atypical Behaviour and Humans: Nature and Nurture.
Level 4: Adventures in Psychology 1, Becoming a Researcher 1, Growing and Changing, Pathways in Psychology, Adventures in Psychology 2, Becoming a Researcher 2, 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, Contemporary Issues in Psychology, Steps to Success 2 and 1 optional module (see below)
Level 6: Psychology project/dissertation, Society and the Mind, Applying Psychology in the Contemporary World, Personalised Psychology Portfolio, Steps to Success 3 and 1 optional module (see below).
Level 5 Options (all 20 credits):
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 (all 20 credits):
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)
Assessment methods
Formal essays, class tests, coursework, presentations and examinations.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Sixth Form College, Stoke on Trent
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)
After graduation
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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.
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.
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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).
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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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