Psychology
Entry requirements
A level
To include a literate subject Entry into Year 2 with AAB to include Psychology and one from Government & Politics, English, Sociology, History, Chemistry, Biology, Human Biology, Maths or Physics
HNC (BTEC)
Entry into Year with HNC (BTEC) Health & Social Care
HND (BTEC)
Entry into Year 1 with HND (BTEC) Health & Social Care
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
To include a literate subject at S5 or H4 Entry into Year 2 with 34 Points to include Psychology and one from Modern Studies, English, Sociology, History, Chemistry, Biology, Human Biology, Maths or Physics plus one other AH
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
To include a literate subject
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Health & Social Care
Scottish Advanced Higher
Entry into Year 2 to include Psychology and one from Modern Studies, English, Sociology, History, Chemistry, Biology, Human Biology, Maths or Physics
Scottish HNC
Entry into Year 2 with an HNC in one of the following:- Applied Science - Graded Unit B plus Higher Psychology at B Social Science - Graded Unit B Next Gen Social Science - Graded Unit M to include Psychology A and Psychology B Entry into Year 1 with an HNC in one of the following:- Additional Support Needs - Graded Unit B Childhood Practice - Graded Unit B Coaching & Developing Sport - Graded Unit B Counselling - Graded Unit B Legal Services - Graded Unit B Police Studies - Graded Unit B Social Care - Graded Unit B Social Services - Graded Unit B Working with Communities - Graded Unit B
Scottish HND
Entry into Year 2 with HND Social Science - Graded Units BB Entry into Year 1 with an HND in one of the following:- Additional Support Needs - Graded Unit B Counselling - Graded Unit B Legal Services - Graded Units BB
Scottish Higher
To include a literate subject
T Level
Health
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
Psychology is the scientific study of the most complex machine imaginable: the human mind. This fascinating psychology degree gives you a deep insight into the actions, interactions, thoughts and feelings that trigger our behaviour.
Our academic experts will give you a real-world understanding of how psychology impacts everyday life, so you will learn:
How we understand, think and learn about the world around us.
How everyone uses verbal and non-verbal forms of communication.
How biological and social factors influence behaviour.
How mental abilities change as we age.
Psychology is both an experimental and observational science. This means you will observe and measure human behaviour, tackle literature research, and develop, test, and evaluate theories. This culminates in conducting your own supervised research project in your final year, which is one of the corner stones of your degree.
Our leading academic experts aim to help you develop a wide breadth of expertise. This means you’ll use many different types of techniques that demonstrate the links between brain and behaviour as part of the psychology core curriculum.
You can switch to another Psychology pathway if you develop an interest in a particular topic later on. See 'How the course works' below for full details.
This degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and its core areas follow the curriculum set out by the BPS. This accreditation is essential for students who want to become a Chartered Psychologist and means that successful graduates are eligible to apply for further professional psychology training.
Students on this course may have to undertake a PVG check if they choose a specific placement (optional) as part of the course.
This course scored an impressive 95% for Overall Student Satisfaction in the 2020 National Student Survey (NSS). Abertay is widely regarded as THE place to come for high quality teaching. But don't just take our word for it:
Sunday Times UK University of the Year 2021 for Teaching Quality.
Guardian University Guide 2020 Top 10 in the UK for Student Satisfaction with Teaching, Course and Feedback.
National Student Survey 2020 Top 10 UK Universities for Student Satisfaction.
Modules
Year 1 core modules (subject to change over time) - PSY101 Introductory Psychology; PSY104 Comparative Psychology; PSY105 Introduction to Psychological Research Methods; Abertay 101 Being Successful at Abertay.
You will also be required to select two option modules, one in Term 1 and one in Term 2. In Term 2 you must study and pass three MySuccess modules of your choosing. For detailed module information please check our website.
Assessment methods
The programme is a mixture of lectures, practical laboratory classes, seminars/tutorials and independent study. The practical laboratory classes offer the chance to learn relevant scientific techniques first hand, and an opportunity to engage in research by designing experiments and collecting and analysing data. You are assessed using a variety of assessment types. These include examinations and class tests, laboratory reports, essays, presentations (both oral and posters), research projects and writing scientific articles and case studies. Assessment is through a range of methods including exams, tests, practical laboratory reports and student presentations.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Abertay Campus
School of Applied Sciences
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.
£15k
£23k
£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.
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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?
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