BSc (Hons) Psychology

• 112 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications.
• Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3.
• You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent), including English and Mathematics.
• You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
• If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
• Please note that this course is subject to the University of Bolton's Fitness to Practise procedure.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

The University of Bolton's BSc (Hons) Psychology degree develops knowledge of human behaviour and research, statistics, and writing skills. It can provide a foundation for many careers. Psychology graduates excel in roles that involve working with a range of complex issues and have the skills to develop a strong understanding of new areas relatively quickly.

As a psychology graduate, you'll possess key employability skills such as high-order analysis, problem-solving, communication, interpersonal awareness, IT and data handling, teamwork, and research skills. You'll also have the ability to develop arguments supported by relevant evidence.

What can I do with this qualification?

Numerous career paths are available to psychology graduates with British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation. The more traditional routes include clinical, forensic, occupational, educational, health, sport and exercise psychology, counselling, and teaching and research.

In addition, there are broader career options such as personnel management, research, sport and exercise, advice work, social work, law enforcement and healthcare. Many of our graduates have been successful in these fields of work.

Psychology graduates can also progress to graduate schemes which are long-term employment contracts, usually with a large corporate company offering advanced training packages.

Postgraduate training and study is a requirement to become a Chartered Psychologist. Due to course entry requirements, many psychology graduates spend a year or more getting work experience before embarking on postgraduate study. Postgraduate study is available in areas such as clinical, counselling, educational, occupational, sport and exercise, or forensic psychology.

Alternative career options

Although some psychology graduates become professional psychologists, many others use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. These alternative roles may be advisory, research-led, treatment-led or therapeutic. Some of these roles may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Possible careers include the following:

• Probation work
• Prison work
• Careers advice
• Social work
• Counselling
• Family mediation and support
• Teaching and education
• Nursing
• Human resources
• Police service
• Market research
• Play therapy
• Advice work
• Media and advertising
• Communications
• Sport and recreation
• Brand consultancy

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2020-2021 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

For 2020-2021 entry, the maximum government approved undergraduate tuition fee for UK students is £9,250 per year. The University is able to charge this fee subject to an approved Access and Participation Plan for 2020-2021 and its current rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.

Our teaching and learning strategy is student-centred. We use a blended approach, so you'll have face-to-face sessions, sometimes one-to-one, and participate in online learning. During the degree, you can expect a mix of seminars, lectures and tutorials, practical workshop demonstrations, critiques, study visits, self-directed study, IT and library sessions, and guided study. The University's e-learning portal Moodle will support your online learning. We'll also encourage you to use the internet for research.

Guest lectures and presentations by visiting speakers from relevant employment areas offer you the chance to develop your knowledge and understanding further.

The assessment strategy aims to help you organise and develop your learning and evaluate your achievement. Over the course of the degree, you can expect time-constrained exams and coursework, such as essays, reports, presentations, and portfolios. These contribute to your final marks and allow you to demonstrate that you've met the learning outcomes for the course. Much of your assessed work is submitted online via Moodle, with feedback also given through this route. You can also use Moodle to communicate with fellow students studying the same modules.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

• Academic Language and Skills 5
• Understanding the Person
• Contemporary Issues in Psychology
• Application of Psychology
• Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology
• Cognitive and Biopsychological Perspectives
• Exploring Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Biopsychology
• Social and Critical Psychology
• Research Methods in Psychology
• Personality and Developmental Psychology
• The Honours Project
• Psychology of Loss and Trauma
• The Therapeutic Process
• Cyber Psychology and New Media
• Social Neuroscience
• Assessment in Psychology
• Applied Experience
• Psychology of Mental Health
• Psychology of Sport and Exercise
• Psychological Wellbeing in the Workplace
• Young Life and the Mind

Assessment methods

Learning activities

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.