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Psychology and Law

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

Law

Psychology

Accredited by the British Psychological Society*, this exciting new degree brings together the best of Psychology and Law. You’ll be taught by experts conducting influential studies and discover real-world law in action.

**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 course has research at its heart, designed to help you become an effective, skilled and forward-thinking psychologist whilst developing all the key skills required to succeed in the legal sector - including drafting, advocacy, interviewing and negotiation.

**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 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. Our Law facilities are based in the heart of Derby’s city centre, featuring a replica Crown Courtroom and Custody Suite.

**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. Your lecturers bring their latest thinking to your studies. And, in some cases, you’ll have opportunities to get involved in research projects yourself. 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. For Law modules, you will engage in real or simulated legal practice and build a range of the key skills required to succeed in the legal sector. You will also develop skills in legal scholarship, with the chance to undertake problem-based research and original academic enquiry.

**YOUR CAREER:**

Psychology and Law opens doors to many different sectors and professions - anywhere an understanding of people is valued - so your career options will be broad. Psychology and Criminology graduates have gone on to roles in: psychological/scientific/clinical research, mental health support and management, and occupational/educational/forensic/clinical psychology. This degree also allows graduates to engage in careers in business, banking and human resources – any profession that welcomes an exposure to studying law. You can go on to study at postgraduate level and achieve an LLM or complete a qualifying Solicitor exam.

**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.

64%
Law
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.

Law

Teaching and learning

73%
Staff make the subject interesting
80%
Staff are good at explaining things
67%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
67%
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

69%
Library resources
80%
IT resources
74%
Course specific equipment and facilities
53%
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?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
29%
Male students
71%
Female students
86%
2:1 or above
23%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
B

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.

Law

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
low
Average annual salary
98%
med
Employed or in further education
45%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

24%
Legal associate professionals
14%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
10%
Public services and other associate professionals

Law graduates tend to go into the legal industry, and they usually take similar routes. Jobs are competitive — often very competitive - but starting salaries are good and high fliers can earn serious money - starting on over £24k in London on average. Be aware though - some careers, especially as barristers, can take a while to get into, and the industry is changing as the Internet, automation and economic change all have an effect, If you want to qualify to practise law, you need to take a professional qualification — many law graduates then go on to law school. If you want to go into work, then a lot of law graduates take trainee or paralegal roles and some do leave the law altogether, often for jobs in management, finance and the police force. A small proportion of law graduates also move into another field for further study. Management, accountancy and teaching are all popular for these career changers, so if you do take a law degree and decide it’s not for you, there are options.

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.

Law

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

£15k

£20k

£20k

£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
University of Southampton | Southampton
Law with Psychology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 144
Lower entry requirements
Bangor University | Bangor (Wales)
Law with Psychology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104-136
Nearby University
Nottingham Trent University | Nottingham
Law with Psychology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 112-120
Same University
University of Derby | Derby
Psychology and Sociology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 112

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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:

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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