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Open University

UCAS Code: Not applicable | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)

Entry requirements

Sorry, no information to show

About this course

Course option

3years

Distance learning | 2025

Subject

Psychology

What makes us who we are? Why do we feel, think and act in certain ways? Investigate answers to these big questions and more in our flexible British Psychological Society-accredited psychology degree that you can tailor to your career goals. You’ll develop the mindset, skills, and knowledge a psychologist needs to make sense of the world, conduct your own research, and delve into the areas of psychology that interest you most. Whether you’re fascinated by forensics or family dynamics, get ready to discover how psychology touches every area of modern life.

**Key features of the course**
- Take your first step to becoming a psychologist with a BPS-accredited degree

- Explore key psychology concepts, theories, methods and debates, and their real-life applications

- Tailor your studies to focus on child, forensic, social or sports psychology, or counselling and mental health

- Develop in-demand problem-solving and analytical skills, while conducting your own research with expert support

Modules

This degree has three stages.
At Stage 1, you'll choose between an introduction to psychology and counselling, the social sciences or childhood studies. You’ll follow this with your first core psychology module.

At Stage 2, you’ll have a choice of optional modules covering a range of applied psychology topics relevant to specific real-world issues and problems. You'll complete this stage with a second core psychology module which covers key psychological knowledge and both research and practical skills.

At Stage 3, you can specialise in sports psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, or forensic and counselling psychology. Your final core psychology module will include an independent research project.

You can complete this qualification in three years by completing one stage per year or in six years by completing each stage in two years.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£24,552
for the whole course
England
£23,352
for the whole course
EU
£24,552
for the whole course
International
£24,552
for the whole course
Northern Ireland
£7,440
for the whole course
Republic of Ireland
£21,996
for the whole course
Scotland
£7,632
for the whole course
Wales
£7,872
for the whole course

The Uni

Course location:

Distance Learning

Department:

The Open University

Read full university profile

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.

88%
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

78%
Staff make the subject interesting
81%
Staff are good at explaining things
85%
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

84%
Library resources
87%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
79%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

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.

£26,500
high
Average annual salary
81%
low
Employed or in further education
59%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

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.

£16k

£16k

£23k

£23k

£25k

£25k

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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