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Psychology

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B

Offers will be made in the range of BBB to BBC or 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of the equivalent of 2 full A-levels

Access to HE Diploma

D:6,M:39

We can only accept QAA approved Access to HE Diplomas

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

29-30

"Or three Higher Level certificates with 555-554. We are happy to consider a combination of separate IB Diploma Programmes at both Higher and Standard Level. Exact offer levels will vary depending on the range of subjects being taken at higher and standard level, and the course applied for. Please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for more information."

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

DMM

Offers will be made in the range of DDM to DMM or 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of the equivalent of 2 full A-levels Entry requirements for students studying BTEC qualifications are dependent on subjects studied. Advice can be provided on an individual basis.

UCAS Tariff

112-120

Offers will be made from a minimum of the equivalent of 2 full A-levels

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Psychology

How do we understand relationships and interpret the behaviour of others? What drives people to act, respond, remember and recognise things in the way they do? Is it possible to predict with complete certainty how someone will behave? At Essex you can satisfy your curiosity about how our mind works and what drives human behaviour.

Psychologists undertake scientific study to try to explain and predict how people work. It is the study of our mind and body, our thoughts and behaviour, feelings and perceptions. We conduct experiments in order to investigate how people develop throughout childhood, the way in which they acquire language, and the behavioural changes that can occur as a result of brain injury, disease, or life experience.

On our course you experiment, explore and research why we think, feel and act the way we do. You cover core areas of psychology including:

- Sensation and perception

- Learning and memory

- Clinical psychology

- Personality and individual differences

- Social and health psychology

We provide one of the most immersive and exciting experience of studying the human mind in the UK. You learn from our researchers and can work together in the same space via our Research Experience Scheme (RES) which gives you the opportunity to work one-on-one with a psychologist as their research assistant.

Modules

Many of our courses offer a choice of optional modules to tailor your learning experience. More information about these can be found on the University of Essex website.

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
£22,100
per year
International
£22,100
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Colchester Campus

Department:

Psychology

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.

87%
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

87%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
83%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
70%
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

81%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
83%
Course specific equipment and facilities
80%
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?

82%
UK students
18%
International students
25%
Male students
75%
Female students
85%
2:1 or above
14%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
D

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.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
98%
med
Employed or in further education
56%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

14%
Childcare and related personal services
10%
Public services and other associate professionals
9%
Business, finance and related 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.

£18k

£18k

£26k

£26k

£29k

£29k

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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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