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Psychological and Behavioural Sciences

Entry requirements


A level

A*,A*,A

Typical A Level offer: A*A*A Required: No specific subjects required by all Colleges, but applicants would normally be expected to have taken A Level Biology or Mathematics. Where this is not the case, applicants should show evidence of strong performance in the Sciences to GCSE level (or its equivalent, as demonstrated in a high school transcript).

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

40-42

776 at Higher Level Required: No specific subjects required by all Colleges, but applicants would normally be expected to have taken IB Higher Level Biology or Mathematics. Where this is not the case, applicants should show evidence of strong performance in the Sciences to GCSE level (or its equivalent, as demonstrated in a high school transcript). If taking Maths at Higher Level we recommend Analysis and Approaches for the most competitive application, however Applications and Interpretations will also be considered.

UCAS Tariff

160

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About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Psychology

Psychological and Behavioural Sciences (PBS) is an exciting, broad and flexible degree that covers all aspects of psychology. The Cambridge course gives you the opportunity to study cognitive, social, developmental and biological psychology within the broader context of the behavioural sciences. It covers, for example, cognitive psychology, psychopathology, language, brain mechanisms, family relationships and influences, personality, and group social behaviour.

The Uni


Course locations:

Clare

Selwyn

Gonville & Caius

Corpus Christi

Wolfson

Trinity Hall

St Edmund's

Homerton

Newnham

Trinity

Christ's

Murray Edwards

Magdalene

Sidney Sussex

Pembroke

Emmanuel

Jesus

Girton

King's

Open application

St Catharine's

Robinson

Churchill

Queens'

Fitzwilliam

Lucy Cavendish

St John's

Downing

Hughes Hall

Department:

Experimental Psychology

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What students say


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

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?

82%
UK students
18%
International students
20%
Male students
80%
Female students
97%
2:1 or above
1%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A*
A
A*

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.

£22,000
high
Average annual salary
93%
low
Employed or in further education
70%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

17%
Childcare and related personal services
13%
Teaching and educational professionals
13%
Health 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.

£23k

£23k

£26k

£26k

£37k

£37k

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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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