Philosophy and Psychology
Entry requirements
A level
General Studies and Critical Thinking are not accepted.
Access to HE Diploma
Pass the Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at level 3, distinction in 30 credits at Level 3 and 15 credits at Merit.
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
Extended Project
If you have already achieved your EPQ at Grade A you will automatically be offered one grade lower in a non-mandatory A level subject. If you are still studying for your EPQ you will receive the standard course offer, with a condition of one grade lower in a non-mandatory A level subject if you achieve an A grade in your EPQ.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
Mathematics grade B/5, English (Lang or Lit) grade B/5
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
RQF Level 3 BTEC National Diploma DD plus 1 A Level grade A
RQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Certificate D plus 2 A Levels grades AB
RQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Diploma DDD
Scottish Advanced Higher
including Scottish Highers AABBB.
Scottish Higher
This qualification is only acceptable when combined with Advanced Higher grades AA and above.
Considered alongside A Levels
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
By combining these two unique disciplines you'll gain an understanding of how:
- our minds develop and function
- we think about our lives, relationships and society
**Philosophy**
The first year gives you a solid foundation in the essentials such as ethics, reasoning and logic.
From then on you're free to choose from our unusually wide range of optional topics. You can:
- explore crime and justice, race and gender, politics and religion
- examine emerging areas like environmental and social philosophy
- investigate global philosophical traditions - Western, Indian and Chinese
**Psychology**
Learn about the structure of the brain, as well as the perceptions, thoughts, feelings and actions of people. We'll give you a thorough grounding in key theories and concepts of:
- biological
- cognitive
- developmental
- social psychology
You'll also examine how these apply in settings such as the education, criminal justice and mental health systems.
Please note: this course is **not accredited by the British Psychological Society**.
**Combine with other subjects**
You can also combine Philosophy and Psychology with other subjects in our Liberal Arts BA.
Modules
In year one you'll get a thorough grounding in each subject through a series of compulsory core modules (100 credits). This ensures everyone is familiar with key concepts and practices before you start to specialise in years two and three.
You will also be able to choose 20 credits worth of of optional Philosophy modules.
In year two you have a free choice of modules split equally between the two subjects (60 credits in each). This allows you to build on existing knowledge or explore a new topic.
In year three you will take 120 credits in total but can weight your choices between Philosophy and Psychology depending on the areas you want to specialise in.
There’s the opportunity to carry out an extended piece of work through a Philosophy dissertation or a Psychology research project.
Placement and volunteering opportunities are available in the School of Humanities, as well as via the Nottingham Advantage Award. You may also spend time overseas through the University of Nottingham Study Abroad programme.
Please note this course is not accredited by the British Psychological Society.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University Park Campus
Department of Philosophy
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.
Philosophy
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)
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
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.
Philosophy
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
Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.
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.
Philosophy
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£26k
£30k
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.
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
£27k
£30k
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