It’s good to talk and professional counsellors and psychotherapists are in growing demand in these pressured times. Our British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited Psychology, Psychotherapy and Counselling degree offers core knowledge in these three disciplines, along with the opportunity to gain ABC accredited qualifications in counselling skills.

Key information

Award:

BSc (Hons)

Mode of Study:

Part-time

Duration:

4.5 years

Location:

University of Bolton

UCAS points:

112

Start date:

To be confirmed

Course Details

Psychology is a core component of psychotherapy and counselling and the University of Bolton offers one of the oldest and most established psychology courses in the UK. Our BSc (Hons) Psychology, Psychotherapy and Counselling degree offers you the chance to learn about the interaction between these disciplines, gaining an appreciation of the diversity of perspectives involved, along with an understanding of their therapeutic use.

Our friendly and experienced team will guide you as you develop knowledge of the theories, methods and debates central to the three core elements. We’ll support you as you explore psychology, gain specific counselling skills, and consider broader social issues that impact on the roles of psychotherapist and counsellor, such as assumptions, stereotyping, diversity and prejudice. We’ll also focus on developing your knowledge and skills in the use of psychological research methods, and your appreciation of the ethical issues involved.

Inter-personal and transferable skills are also vital, so we’ll challenge you to develop sought-after communication, problem solving, numerical, analytical, self-management, IT skills, and more. Overall, our dedicated team are focused on helping you gain the skills employers’ value along with a detailed understanding of psychology, counselling and psychotherapy.

Highlights

Our Psychology courses are ranked top 10 in the UK and first in Greater Manchester for student satisfaction for the fourth year running, according to the Complete University Guide 2022.
This course is one of only a few Psychology, Psychotherapy and Counselling degrees in the country accredited by the British Psychological Society. Accredited as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership, this degree is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.
Integrated into this degree are opportunities for you to gain accredited qualifications in counselling skills. Through successful completion of this degree, you’ll also achieve the Level 2 and Level 3 Certificates in Counselling Skills conferred by ABC Awards.
We emphasise inter-personal, transferable and employability skills as well as academic success. After graduation, you may have the opportunity to progress onto professional qualification in applied psychology, such as our Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapies.
We focus strongly on employability skills and the practical application of your studies as well as academic success. Workshops will involve analysis of life events and role playing of various scenarios using case study material. You can also benefit from final year applied sessions in counselling skills.
Your personal tutor will be on hand to support you throughout your degree; one of our team of helpful and approachable psychology staff with a diverse range of research interests and professional experience.
We’ve invested to create a learning environment that offers innovative methods of teaching and assessment using top-class facilities, such as our observation laboratory with video cameras, microphones and video editing equipment.

Key Features

We stress the applied nature of psychology throughout the programme, emphasising learning through experience to help prepare you for further professional qualifications in psychology, counselling or psychotherapy.
We’ll explain the principles and methods of psychological research, including the collection, analysis, reporting and interpretation of data. During your final year you’ll have the opportunity to carry out an individual research study.
Teaching is dynamic and varied using methods that include lectures, small group work, discussion groups, case studies, demonstrations and laboratory workshops. You’ll be encouraged to take responsibility for your own learning with opportunities for you to participate and gain practical experience.
Course content is delivered by our highly-qualified staff who have substantial experience in the field. By offering personal supervision throughout the course, we aim to give you the best possible opportunity to achieve your true potential.

Professional recognition

Successful completion of the degree course is approved as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society, provided the minimum standard of qualification of second class honours is achieved.

The British Psychological Society is the professional body for psychologists.

Through the successful completion of the module "Introduction to Counselling Concepts" (PPC4001) you’ll gain the ABC Accredited Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills. Through the successful completion of the module "Counselling Skills" (PPC5001) you’ll gain the ABC Accredited Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills.

112 UCAS points. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points.
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 Language and Mathematics.
We're more than happy to have an informal chat with you about this course, either over the phone or in person. If you wish to meet in person, please contact the Programme Leader to arrange a mutually convenient time. (While we reserve the right to interview it's not our usual practice for this course.)
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.

Psychology, psychotherapy and counselling is an ideal combination of subjects for those who are seeking a career helping people or those who want to undertake further training in counselling psychology, psychotherapy, or other applied psychology professions.

On completing the course, you’ll be able to demonstrate graduate skills such as problem solving, critical evaluation and independence of thought, deductive reasoning, interpersonal awareness and excellent team work and communication skills.

What can I do with this qualification?

Graduates tend to work in a wide variety of settings, and in recent years, there has been a rapid expansion in the application of counselling skills in all aspects of everyday life. This has led to roles in numerous organisations which include the NHS, police service, prison service, secondary schools, further and higher education, mental health, civil service and social work departments. Employment in these roles often involves working with adults and/or children and young people dealing with issues such as relationship difficulties, anxiety, bereavement and mental health problems.

Some of the more obvious job roles include clinical psychologist, educational psychologist, teacher, mental health worker, social worker, police officer and counsellor. For some of these roles, both relevant experience and postgraduate study is required.

Psychology graduates with British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation will also be able to progress onto professional qualifications in applied psychology.

For those wishing to pursue a career in counselling and psychotherapy, this course will serve as an excellent forerunner to the MSc Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapies course.

Alternative career options

The scientific aspects derived from the psychology element of the course, including problem solving and data analysis, provide useful skills and experiences for careers in healthcare, law enforcement, finance, IT and research. Other careers include roles within:

Coaching and guidance services
Mentoring
Family mediation
Teaching and education
Nursing
Retail management
Human resources
Market research

Course fees

Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £6,000 for the academic year 2022/23.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2021-2022 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 eligibility 2021-2022 policy 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 2021-2022 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 2021-2022 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.

For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:

Call Admissions

Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom

Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom

Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

The overall teaching and learning strategy for Psychology, Psychotherapy and Counselling is student-centred. We use a blended approach meaning you’ll have face-to-face sessions, sometimes one-to-one, and take part in online learning. You can expect a mix of seminars, lectures and tutorials, practical classes, laboratory workshops, videos, self-directed study, IT and library sessions, and guided study. The University’s e-learning portal Moodle will support your online learning and provide a convenient way for you to communicate with fellow students who are studying the same modules. We’ll also encourage you to use the internet for research.

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

Our assessment strategy is designed to help you organise and develop your learning and to evaluate your achievements. You can expect time-constrained exams, as well as coursework, such as essays, practical reports, statistical assignments, seminar and poster presentations, portfolios, and others. These contribute to your final marks and allow you to demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes for the course. Your assessed work is submitted online via Moodle with feedback also given through this portal.

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.

Introduction to Counselling Concepts
Cognitive and Biopsychological Perspectives
Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology
Understanding the Person
Application of Psychology
Contemporary Issues in Psychology
Counselling Skills
Research Methods in Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Biopsychology
Social and Critical Psychology
Personality and Developmental Psychology
The Therapeutic Process
Abnormal Psychology
Psychology of Loss and Trauma
Cyber Psychology and New Media
Social Neuroscience
The Honours Project
Applications of Counselling Skills

Assessment methods

Level	Assesment method
Level one	Coursework 67%, Written exams 33%
Level two	Coursework 50%, Written exams 50%
Level three	Coursework 100%

Learning activities

Level	Learning activity
Level one	Guided independent study 66%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 34%
Level two	Guided independent study 74%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 26%
Level three	Guided independent study 75%, Placement/study abroad 5%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 20%

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.