Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience
UCAS Code: C850
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Including one science subject. Candidates without an A Level in a science subject may be asked to attain AAA A pass in the science practicals element is required. General Studies, Critical Thinking and Global Perspectives are not accepted.
Access to HE Diploma
Please contact the School for further information.
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
Including a Science subject. Candidates without a science subject may be asked for D3, M1, M1 Cambridge Pre-U Certificate (Global Perspectives & Independent Research) Not accepted
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
To include a science subject at higher level, and at least 6,6,5 at higher level. Candidates may be asked to achieve 36 without a science subject. Mathematics pathways 'Analysis and Approaches' and Applications and Interpretation' will both be accepted at Standard or Higher Level
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Including a science subject.
Please contact the School for further information.
Please contact the School for further information.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Please contact the School for further information.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Please contact the School for further information.
Scottish Advanced Higher
Including a science subject and AABBB in Highers.
Scottish Higher
This qualification is only acceptable when combined with Advanced Higher grades AA including a Science subject.
Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (first teaching September 2015)
This qualification is only accepted in combination with A level grades AB if taking a science subject, or AA or equivalent.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
Cognitive neuroscience looks at how our brains support our thoughts, feelings and actions. This specialised degree will develop your expert knowledge and understanding of this field to a more advanced level. You will study core psychology modules with cognitive neuroscience practicals. You'll also explore topics such as brain imaging, behavioural measurement and physiological psychology.
This course is accredited by the British Psychology Society. We offer a wide range of optional modules for you to choose from. You'll be able to tailor your degree to study areas that you are personally interested in, including neuroimaging and neuropsychology.
In your third year, you will undertake your own major research project. This will allow you to explore more advanced areas of psychology such as behavioural to social psychology. You will be supported by staff members who are actively involved in their own research. Some recent projects have been in the fields of dementia research, child development and education, and improving mental health. This is also a good opportunity to align your research project with your own career ambitions.
This course comes with lots of additional opportunities between years two and three. You can choose to study abroad at our partner Universities such as Malaysia, USA, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Studying abroad can be a great life experience and teach you lots of interpersonal skills and enable you to work with different cultures. You can also choose to work on a placement year in industry. This looks great on your CV, builds your experience, and can massively help your employability.
Modules
Your first year will equip you with a foundation of knowledge in core principles of psychology. In your second year, you will study specialised research methods, which introduce you to a range of cognitive neuroscience methods such as event-related electroencephalography and functional magnetic imaging. During the third year, you are offered advanced modules in cognitive neuroscience, covering areas such as motor control and perception. In addition, the practical project and report can be undertaken in a specialised area.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University Park Campus
School of 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.
Others in psychology
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)
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
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
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.
£18k
£25k
£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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Teaching Excellence Framework (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).
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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