Entry requirements
A level
Specific subjects excluded for entry: General Studies and Critical Thinking. Information: Applicants taking Science A-levels that include a practical component will be required to take and pass this as a condition of entry. This refers only to English A Levels.
Access to HE Diploma
We require 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3 (or equivalent). Applicants may be required to meet additional subject-specific requirements for particular courses at Durham.
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
General information on subjects/grades required for entry: Eighteen points (6, 6, 6) from Higher Level subjects required. We accept Maths Analysis & Approaches and Maths Applications & Interpretation.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Advanced Higher
Scottish Higher
Departments will normally make offers based on Advanced Highers. In the absence of 3 Advanced Highers, where these are not offered by the applicant’s school, offers comprising of Advanced Highers and Highers or a number of Highers may be made on a case by case basis.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
The BSc (Hons) in Behavioural Science combines a broad-based, BPS accredited education in psychology with a specialisation in cutting-edge behavioural science. Behavioural Science is a relatively new discipline that focuses on the application of psychological principles to challenges faced by organisations in the public, private, and third sector.
While Psychology puts an emphasis on internal mental processes that underlie behaviour, Behavioural Science emphasises behavioural outcomes, and the design and evaluation of interventions to encourage behaviour change.
As a student enrolled on the BSc (Hons) in Behavioural Science you will be taught state-of-the-art research methods, along with classic and cutting-edge theory and research in psychology, following the BPS guidelines. You will also learn how to apply this knowledge to provide novel and transformative insights for business, management, and public policy. Over the course of the degree, you will be taught by academics who publish at the forefront of their fields and who are also actively engaged in providing behavioural science consultancy, helping organisations to apply behavioural science principles and influencing public policy. As such, the degree combines cutting edge research with practical illustrations from the instructors’ own experience, supplemented by talks and seminars led by invited speakers from different sectors.
The degree incorporates a range of modules that will allow you to graduate with a deep and comprehensive understanding of the field of psychology, but you will also develop additional insights into the application of psychological science in the behavioural arena. The degree provides opportunities for the development of transferable skills, supplementing the opportunities afforded by Durham University colleges and the wider student experience. You will take modules to the value of 120 credits each year.
Modules
Year 1
In the first year, you will take three core modules in Psychology:
Introduction to Psychology 1: Cognitive and Biological Psychology (20 credits)
Introduction to Psychology 2: Developmental and Social Psychology (20 credits)
Introduction to Psychological Research (40 credits).
In addition, you will take the following compulsory tutorial-based module:
Classic Papers: A Tutorial Introduction to Psychological Science (20 credits).
The above compulsory Psychology modules count for 100 of your 120 credits (three single modules, plus the double module), so in addition, you may choose:
A module to the value of 20 credits (including modules from other departments and the University’s Centre for Foreign Language Study).
For modules taken from another University department, you must meet their entry requirements and must be able to timetable your additional subjects to fit in with your compulsory modules.
Year 2
In the second year, you will build upon your first year and complete 120 credits of compulsory modules:
Modules in the core areas of Psychology: Abnormal Psychology, Biological, Cognitive, Developmental, Individual Differences, and Social Psychology (6 x 10 credits)
A tutorial-based module on Contemporary & Conceptual Issues in Behavioural Science (20 credits)
Research Methods in Psychology (20 credits)
Statistics for Psychology (20 credits).
Year 3
In your final year, you will take modules to the value of 40 credits covering selected topics in Behavioural Science. You will also take modules to the value of 40 credits covering different areas in Psychology. Alternatively, you may choose modules up to the value of 20 credits from a list of Psychology modules plus modules up to the value of 20 credits from another board of studies (including appropriate credit-bearing language modules offered by the University’s Centre for Foreign Language Study).
In addition to your chosen modules to the value of 80 credits, you will carry out and write up your own Research Project (Behavioural Science Dissertation), supervised by a member of staff. The range of possible topics is very wide and research can take place in settings such as schools or private sector organisations, as well as in research laboratories in the Department of Psychology. The Dissertation is a core double module (40 credits).
The following provides a list of potential Behavioural Science options. The list is for illustrative purposes only; the precise choice of modules may vary year-on-year:
Business and Economic Psychology
Behaviour Change
Professional Skills Development
Evaluating Evidence.
The list of final-year Psychology option modules can also vary from year to year, but has included in the past:
Learning and Animal Cognition (20 credits)
Social Perception (20 credits)
Clinical Neuropsychology (20 credits)
Psychology in the Workplace (20 credits)
Psychopathy (10 credits)
Forensic Psychology (10 credits)
Psychological Practice (10 credits)
Psychology and Health Promotion (10 credits)
The Psychology of Illness (10 credits)
Sport and Exercise Psychology (10 credits)
Reward and Addiction (10 credits)
Mind, Brain and Consciousness (10 credits)
Vision and Visual Neuroscience (10 credits)
Neuropsychology of Amnesia (10 credits)
Cognitive Neuropsychology (10 credits)
Child Health in a Social Context (10 credits)
Fetal Development (10 credits)
The Multisensory Body (10 credits)
Human Evolutionary Psychology (10 credits)
Atypical Development (10 credits)
Cognitive Development (10 credits).
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Collingwood College
Grey College
Trevelyan College
St Aidan's College
St John's College
South College
Josephine Butler College
Stephenson College
John Snow College
St Cuthbert's Society
Van Mildert College
Hatfield College
St Mary's College
University College
No college preference
St Chad's College
College of St Hild and St Bede
Psychology
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
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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
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
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
£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.
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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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