Psychology
Entry requirements
A level
Overall: ABB Applicants taking the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass. We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers.
Access to HE Diploma
Overall: QAA recognised Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits overall including 30 at Distinction and 15 at Merit.
Extended Project
Applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) will receive our standard A level offer, plus an alternate offer of one A level grade lower, subject to achieving an A grade in the EPQ. The one grade reduction will not apply to any required subjects.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE English Language at Grade C(4) and Mathematics at grade C(4) (or equivalent). Grade B(5) in Mathematics and English Language would be preferable but not essential.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Overall: 33 GCSE or Equivalent: English, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths Studies, SL4.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Overall: DDD
Scottish Advanced Higher
Overall: ABB GCSE or Equivalent: Scottish National 5: English Language - C Scottish National 5: Maths - C
Scottish Higher
Overall: AABBB GCSE or Equivalent: Scottish National 5: English Language - C Scottish National 5: Maths - C
Overall: Pass overall with ABB from a combination of the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate and two A levels. Applicants taking an A level science subject with the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass the practical element.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
**Why choose this course**
-Learn from nurturing lecturers who are active researchers in behavioural, clinical, cognitive, developmental, personality and social psychology, whose work is used by governments, health professionals and industry.
-Take advantage of one of the only psychology degrees in the UK with a Professional Training placement scheme, where you’ll gain valuable work experience in a variety of industries, including healthcare, education, human resources and marketing.
-Conduct your own experiments in our brain imaging suites, extended reality (XR) labs and other state-of-the-art psychology facilities.
-Select from a wide choice of British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited final-year modules where you will explore topics like neurodevelopmental disorders, mental health, brain injury, sustainable behaviour and more.
-Study on a course that’s ranked 12th in the UK by the Complete University Guide 2023 and 14th in the UK by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.
-We have over a 90% satisfaction score for psychology in the National Student Survey 2022.
-Join the 96% of our graduates who go on to employment or further study.*
*Graduate Outcomes survey 2022, HESA
**What you will study**
On this course, you’ll study the scientific evidence of behaviour, mental health and neuropsychological functioning, to understand what makes us who we are, how our minds work, and what influences our decisions and social relationships.
In your first year, you’ll study core areas of psychology and research methods, to develop your foundations of psychological literacy. This will be supported by small group skills tutorials. Our first year uses a "supported transition" approach, so you are specifically taught how to learn effectively at university alongside the psychological material.
In your second year, you’ll learn about contemporary issues that impact every area of psychology. You’ll also complete a module that supports your professional skills development, covering placements, job preparation and career options available in the psychology field.
In your final year, you’ll study an advanced critical thinking module and select four optional modules, to specialise and delve deeper into your areas of interest. You’ll also receive supervision from a staff member to conduct your own scientific research project, critically evaluating protocols, data and literature.
Modules
To see the full range of modules for this course please visit our website – the link is under the Course contact details. You will also find full details of the programme, including programme structure, assessment methods, contact hours and Graduate prospects.
Extra funding
The University of Surrey offers a range of scholarships and bursaries to support our students, please visit https://www.surrey.ac.uk/fees-and-funding/scholarships-and-bursaries for more details.
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
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.
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.
£21k
£26k
£32k
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):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the 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?
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