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Psychology and Sociology

Entry requirements


UCAS Tariff

112

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Psychology

Sociology

**Overview**

Studying Psychology and Sociology in combination allows you to gain a deeper understanding of the human psyche and the social complexities that link with it. Your study of sociology will inform your exploration of psychology from a unique perspective, enabling you to go on to unlock specialisms including forensic, clinical, counselling, and business psychology.

The joint honours course utilises research projects and work-based learning – alongside one-to-one tutorials and personalised feedback – to develop your knowledge and confidence. Students graduate with the skills and experience that support a career in relevant fields and industries.

**Key features**

- A curriculum which emphasises a range of distinctive fields, including gender, sexualities, evolution, race and ethnicity, education, and crime.

- Wide choice of specialist modules and types of assessment (including practicals, exams, interviews and mock research).

- Personal and academic tutoring, one-to-one tutorials and personalised feedback based as much on your career prospects as your studies.

- Through the lens of sociological and psychological theories, you will learn about the social and psychological causes and consequences of common human experiences and issues.

**Learn more about the course at our Open Days**

Visiting us is the best way to get a feel for student life at the University of Worcester. You'll find out more about the course and have the opportunity speak to staff, students and recent graduates about what it’s really like to study at Worcester.

Book your place at www.worcester.ac.uk/open-days

**Why the University of Worcester?**

The University of Worcester is a close-knit and high-achieving community where students are supported to succeed at every level.

The University is a truly inclusive place where every person counts as an individual. From designing imaginative facilities to providing practical support and tailored learning, we strive to help people of all backgrounds and abilities to achieve their own rich potential. We work hard to break down barriers and provide opportunities for all.

**Recent University of Worcester achievements**
- Worcester rose to become the number one English university (excluding specialist institutions) for sustained employment, further study, or both, three and five years after graduation in the 2022 Government-published Longitudinal Educational Outcomes survey, having been in the top 10 in 2020 and 2021. 96% of our graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduating (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2022).

- The University of Worcester has been ranked in the top 5 in the UK for Quality Education in the Times Higher Education’s University Impact Rankings every year since its inception in 2019. The University has also been ranked in the top 5 in the UK for Gender Equality in all years of the rankings and currently holds the number one spot (2023).

- Worcester is a leader in sustainability and has been awarded First Class Honours in the People and Planet Green League each and every year since 2009. In 2019, the University was named Sustainability Institution of the Year in the Green Gown Awards and was Highly Commended in the global awards at the UN.

Modules

For a breakdown of the modules you'll study each year visit our course page. You can do this by scrolling to the bottom of this page and selecting 'Visit our course page'.

Assessment methods

For detailed information about assessment, feedback, teaching and contact time visit our course page. You can do this by scrolling to the bottom of this page and selecting 'Visit our course page'.

The Uni


Course location:

University of Worcester

Department:

School of Psychology/School of Humanities

Read full university profile

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.

75%
Psychology
89%
Sociology

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

77%
Staff make the subject interesting
91%
Staff are good at explaining things
83%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
72%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

78%
Library resources
94%
IT resources
92%
Course specific equipment and facilities
68%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

91%
UK students
9%
International students
20%
Male students
80%
Female students
74%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

Sociology

Teaching and learning

94%
Staff make the subject interesting
98%
Staff are good at explaining things
86%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
80%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

83%
Library resources
94%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
85%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

93%
UK students
7%
International students
13%
Male students
87%
Female students
62%
2:1 or above
2%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

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.

£17,000
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
43%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

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.

Sociology

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.

£15,500
low
Average annual salary
95%
med
Employed or in further education
36%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

We have quite a lot of sociology graduates, although numbers fell last year. But graduates still do pretty well. Most sociology graduates go straight into work when they complete their degrees, and a lot of graduates go into jobs in social professions such as recruitment, education, community and youth work, and housing. An important option for a sociology graduate is social work - and we're short of people willing to take this challenging but rewarding career. Sociology is a flexible degree and you can find graduates from the subject in pretty much every reasonable job — obviously, you don't find many doctors or engineers, but you do find them in finance, the media, healthcare, marketing and even IT. Sociology graduates taking further study often branch out into other qualifications, like teaching, law, psychology, HR and even maths, so don’t think a sociology degree restricts you to just one set of options.

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.

£16k

£16k

£21k

£21k

£24k

£24k

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.

Sociology

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

£18k

£24k

£24k

£23k

£23k

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 what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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