Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Psychology (with a foundation year)

Entry requirements


A level

A,E

AS

A,E

Pass Access to HE Diploma with 48 UCAS points

Extended Project

A*-E

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H5,H6,H6,H6,H6

OCR Cambridge Technical Certificate

D*-P

OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma

D*D*-PP

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate

D*-P

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

PPP

OCR Cambridge Technical Foundation Diploma

D*D*,PP

OCR Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma

D*-P

OCR Cambridge Technical Subsidiary Diploma

D*D*,PP

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

D*-P

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

D*D*-PP

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

D*-P

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

PPP

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

D*-P

UCAS Tariff

48

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time including foundation year | 2024

Subject

Psychology

Why do we think and behave the way we do? Human behaviour influences every facet of our everyday life, from the decisions we make, to how we respond to our environment and those around us. Our Psychology degree will help you to apply scientific knowledge of the mind to recognise people's behaviour and to understand why they act in the way they do.

You'll develop useful and transferable skills in problem solving, communication, critical thinking and evaluation. By the end of the course, you will be equipped with all of the necessary skills and knowledge to design and create your very own investigations and experiments. You will also be encouraged, where possible, to contribute new findings and theory to existing knowledge in your specialist area. There are lots of options to choose from in your final year, so you can follow your interests in different areas of psychology. A variety of teaching and learning methods are used to deliver the course and these include case studies, essays, reports, presentations and examinations.

The Foundation Year (Year 0, the first year of this course) is taught at Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College and prepares you for subsequent study at Staffordshire University (Years 1-3) on the BSc (Hons) Psychology degree. Following completion of the foundation year, you can stay on the Psychology degree, or transfer to one of our other Undergraduate Psychology degrees. We have a long history (25+ years) of running British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited courses. We have recently refreshed and improved our courses and as a result of this we are currently awaiting the accreditation of our new courses being delivered from September 2022.

Modules

Level 3: The Science of Human Behaviour, Typical and Atypical Behaviour and Humans: Nature and Nurture.

Level 4: Adventures in Psychology 1, Becoming a Researcher 1, Growing and Changing, Pathways in Psychology, Adventures in Psychology 2, Becoming a Researcher 2, Steps to Success 1.

Level 5: Developmental and Biological Psychology Across the Lifespan, Theory and Application of Qualitative Research Methods, Exploring Difference: A Quantitative Approach, Contemporary Issues in Psychology, Steps to Success 2 and 1 optional module (see below)

Level 6: Psychology project/dissertation, Society and the Mind, Applying Psychology in the Contemporary World, Personalised Psychology Portfolio, Steps to Success 3 and 1 optional module (see below).

Level 5 Options (all 20 credits):
People Behaving Badly (What makes people, organisations and systems behave in antisocial and atypical ways?) Psychological Interventions (how psychology can help with problems- families, counselling, health, in the workplace) Psychology Research Assistantship (gain valuable work experience by working with a member of staff on their research projects) Psychology of Social Perception (learn about how we make judgements about ourselves and others)

Level 6 Options (all 20 credits):
Advanced Quantitative Research Methods (learn how to make the very most of research, using expert techniques) Behavioural Medicine (the relationships between behavioural, physiological and psychosocial processes in well-being) Children and Pictures (children’s representation of pictures and the cultural, cognitive and clinical relevance of their art) Health Psychology (learn what healthy behaviour is and how can psychologists promote and manage that healthy behaviour) Neuropsychological Disorders (some of the neuropsychological problems experienced and how psychology can help) Parapsychology and Anomalous Experience (ghosts, possessions, out of body experiences through the psychologist’s lens). Psychology of Oppression and Empowerment (contemporary socio-political issues including mental health, poverty, gender/sexuality, war, politics)

Assessment methods

Formal essays, class tests, coursework, presentations and examinations.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£5,950
per year
England
£5,950
per year
Northern Ireland
£5,950
per year
Scotland
£5,950
per year
Wales
£5,950
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Sixth Form College, Stoke on Trent

Department:

Health, Science and Wellbeing

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.

81%
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.

Psychology (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

85%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
87%
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

73%
Library resources
71%
IT resources
84%
Course specific equipment and facilities
66%
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?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
22%
Male students
78%
Female students
64%
2:1 or above
12%
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.

£16,848
low
Average annual salary
95%
med
Employed or in further education
49%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

33%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
12%
Teaching and educational professionals
6%
Public services and other associate professionals

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.

£17k

£17k

£20k

£20k

£21k

£21k

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
Staffordshire University | Stoke-on-Trent
Psychology and Child Development
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 112-120
Lower entry requirements
University of Plymouth | Plymouth
Psychology with Integrated Foundation Year
BSc (Hons) 4 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 32-48
Nearby University
University of Wolverhampton | Wolverhampton
Psychology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 96
Same University
Staffordshire University | Stoke-on-Trent
Psychology and Counselling
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 112-120

Share this page

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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