Psychology with Accelerated Foundation Year
Birkbeck, University of London
UCAS Code: C801 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Birkbeck, University of London
UCAS Code: C801 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
GCSE/National 4/National 5
Applicants are usually expected to have GCSE grade C, or grade 4, in mathematics and English.
UCAS Tariff
The UCAS tariff score is applicable to you if you have recently studied a qualification that has a UCAS tariff equivalence. UCAS provides a tariff calculator for you to work out what your qualification is worth within the UCAS tariff. Please note that applicants are expected to pass three subjects at Level 3. A-level in General Studies is not accepted.
About this course
Psychology is an exciting and dynamic field of study concerned with the scientific investigation of how people think, feel and behave as individuals, in groups and in their wider context. Our BSc Psychology is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), and gives you a comprehensive grounding in psychology and specialisms including biological, cognitive, developmental and social psychology. Our rigorous programme introduces you to psychological theories, methods and models to observe, interpret and explain human behaviour.
**Why choose this course?**
- You will study in Birkbeck’s School of Psychological Sciences, a world-leading centre of research excellence, and be taught by research-active academics who bring their cutting-edge expertise into the classroom.
- You can tailor your studies to match your interests and career ambitions, and specialise in psychology with child development, psychology in practice, or psychology with neuroscience.
- This BSc Psychology will enable you to take the first steps towards Chartered Membership of the BPS. This is essential for any further specialist psychology training.
- We welcome students from a wide range of backgrounds. Throughout your learning journey you will be supported by a senior tutor, our learning support team and a full programme of extracurricular enrichment.
**What you will learn**
You will begin by studying in depth research-led topics such as social psychology, individual differences, cognition, neuroscience, developmental psychology, and research methods for psychology, developing academic and transferable skills alongside. Towards the end of the course, you can select from a variety of option modules covering specialist topics directly relevant to contemporary practices in psychology.
**How you will learn**
Teaching on the BSc Psychology typically takes the form of lectures led by our experienced team of academics, and small-group practical classes support the teaching of our research methods modules to bring the topics to life in the lab.
We offer an inclusive environment with a range of pathways, including an accelerated foundation year route for those with non-traditional qualifications. You can study this course full- or part-time. You can also choose your own timetable for the core/compulsory modules **selecting whether to study them in the daytime or in the evening**.
**Accelerated Foundation Year**
This route offers you flexible entry onto this rigorous degree. It will fully prepare you for undergraduate study and is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on this undergraduate degree.
**Highlights**
- According to the National Student Survey 2023, students are very satisfied with our teaching (92.5%), our learning resources (90.9%) and the learning opportunities we provide (85.7%).
- Birkbeck is strongly oriented towards research in psychological sciences and we are home to the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development (including the BabyLab and ToddlerLab), the Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, the Birkbeck-UCL Centre for Neuroimaging and the Centre for Cognition, Computation and Modelling. We also recently became members of the Bloomsbury Centre for Genetic Epidemiology and Statistics.
- We are consistently regarded as one of the top institutions teaching psychological sciences in the UK. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, and for the third time, we were ranked in the top ten universities in the UK.
**Careers and employability**
Graduates can pursue career paths in psychology, human relations, education or marketing. Possible professions include:
- clinical psychologist
- further education lecturer
- human resources officer
- market researcher.
Modules
For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.
Assessment methods
Assessment methods include coursework and formative exercises, including examinations, in-class work, essays and assignments.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Birkbeck, University of London
School of Psychological Sciences
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score 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
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.
£23k
£24k
£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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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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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:
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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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