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Psychology and Education Studies

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-A,B,B

Access to HE Diploma

D:15,M:24,P:6

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

UCAS Tariff

120-128

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Education studies

Psychology

Accredited by the British Psychological Society*, this exciting new degree brings together the best of Psychology and Education Studies. You’ll be taught by experts conducting influential studies and deepen your understanding of education from early years to lifelong learning.

**KEY FEATURES OF THE COURSE**

Boost your employability

Combining two subjects boosts your employability and gives you the opportunity to develop knowledge and expertise in two subject areas, making you a more versatile graduate.

What you will study

This is an intellectually stimulating course with research at its heart, designed to help you become an effective, skilled and forward-thinking psychologist whilst making you an authority on education and educational equality. You’ll bring together perspectives from history, psychology, sociology and philosophy to explore the role of education in society and examine how moral and social issues shape learning. You'll be taught by expert staff who are conducting influential studies, from mental health and wellbeing to diversity and pastoral care. And you’ll have guest lectures by world-class researchers. You’ll also conduct your own research and be able to contribute to cutting-edge psychological research projects at the University.

Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS)

This course is accredited by the BPS if you choose to major in Psychology and complete the credit-bearing modules. This shows we have met BPS standards for delivering a high-standard of psychology education and student development. This accreditation means you can apply for BPS student membership, offering you networking opportunities, discounts, access to academic journals, events and e-learning.

Specialist facilities

Our Psychology and Education Studies facilities are used for both teaching and research. They include computing labs with specialist software for designing experiments and research. You'll use a range of psychological recording equipment such as the latest eye-tracker equipment for analysing eye movement and our Babylab for ethical research with babies and young children. We also have well-resourced lecture theatres, seminar rooms and social learning spaces. You will have use of our Forest School – a dedicated space that offers children opportunities to develop their confidence through hands-on learning experiences in a natural environment. It promotes a child-centred approach to learning, interweaved with the ever-changing landscape of the natural world.

**HOW YOU’LL LEARN:**

You will learn from lecturers and tutors who have a wealth of knowledge and experience and are carrying out research designed to offer fresh perspectives on issues that are significant at every stage of life and the future of education. You will learn through lectures, seminars, multimedia presentations, online collaboration, guest lectures and class debates. Quality inspectors have commended us for being "at the forefront of technology-enhanced learning" in Psychology.

**YOUR CAREER:**

Psychology and Education Studies opens doors to many different sectors and professions - anywhere an understanding of people is valued - so your career options will be broad. Psychology and Education Studies graduates have gone on to roles in: psychological/scientific/clinical research, mental health support and management, occupational/educational/forensic/clinical psychology, higher-level teaching assistants, welfare child-protection officers, early-years practitioners, care assistants and community-learning facilitators.

**STUDY OPTIONS:**

On the Joint Honours programme, there are different pathways of study available. You can often study both subjects equally or choose to major in a subject. Please view the course page on our website for more information on pathways.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£14,900
per year
International
£14,900
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Derby

Department:

Joint Honours

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.

84%
Education studies
89%
Psychology

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.

Education

Teaching and learning

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
84%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
81%
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

74%
Library resources
83%
IT resources
80%
Course specific equipment and facilities
81%
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?

99%
UK students
1%
International students
16%
Male students
84%
Female students
80%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
D

Psychology (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

86%
Staff make the subject interesting
94%
Staff are good at explaining things
88%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
76%
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

86%
Library resources
87%
IT resources
84%
Course specific equipment and facilities
77%
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?

94%
UK students
6%
International students
19%
Male students
81%
Female students
76%
2:1 or above
22%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
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.

Education

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.

£16,500
med
Average annual salary
100%
med
Employed or in further education
52%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

43%
Childcare and related personal services
13%
Teaching and educational professionals
9%
Welfare and housing associate professionals

When you look at employment stats, bear in mind that a lot of students are already working in education when they take this type of course and are studying to help their career development. This means they already have jobs when they start their course, and a lot of graduates continue to study, whilst working, when they complete their courses. If your course is focused on nursery or early years education, a lot of these graduates go into nursery work or classroom or education assistant jobs; these jobs are not currently classed as 'graduate level' in the stats (although they may well be in the future as classifications catch up with changes in the way we work), and many graduates who enter these roles say that a degree was necessary.

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.

£16,300
low
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
35%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

16%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
11%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
11%
Customer service occupations

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.

Education

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£20k

£20k

£23k

£23k

£26k

£26k

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.

£19k

£19k

£21k

£21k

£22k

£22k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
Swansea University | Swansea
Education and Psychology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120-128
Same University
University of Derby | Derby
Psychology and Law
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 112
Lower entry requirements
Keele University | Keele
Psychology and Education with Foundation Year
BSc (Hons) 3.5 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 56

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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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.

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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