Psychology, BSc (Hons)

Accredited by The British Psychological Society

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Ranked 2nd in the UK for Graduate Prospects

Times and Sunday Times University League Tables 2019

Key Course Details

UK/EU
International

3 Year Full Time

- UCAS Code C800
- Mode of Study Campus Based
- Start Date September
- Typical Offer (view equivalents) AAB-ABB
- Location Singleton Park Campus
- Tuition Fees Per Year £ 9,000

3 Year Full Time

- UCAS Code C800
- Mode of Study Campus Based
- Start Date September
- Typical Offer AAB-ABB - More Information
- Location Singleton Park Campus
- Tuition Fees Per Year £ 15,850

Accredited by The British Psychological Society

Course Overview

Studying a BSc in Psychology will give you expert scientific training in the relationship between the mind, brain, and behaviour.

You will study the psychological and neuro-scientific processes that underpin activities such as thinking, reasoning, memory and language, learn about the effects of brain injury, and explore ways to improve health-related behaviour.

You will develop excellent research, written, and critical analysis skills, as well as a high degree of numeracy and ICT ability.

Our approach to teaching, which includes lectures, personal tutorials, academic seminars, workshops, and practical research classes, encourages effective team-working and high-quality oral communication skills.

Why Psychology at Swansea University?

Our Psychology department has an outstanding reputation both in the UK and internationally. According to the Research Excellence Framework 2014: we are one of only four psychology departments in the UK to achieve a 100% 4* rating (maximum score possible) for the reach and significance of our work.

We are also ranked 2nd in the UK for Graduate Prospects by The Times and Sunday Times University League Tables 2019.

The course is validated by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and, providing you achieve at least a 2:2 in your degree, you will be eligible for Graduate Membership of the BPS and for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), the first step to becoming a Chartered Psychologist.

You will be joining a university that is in the UK top 10 for overall student satisfaction (NSS 2019) and the UK top 10 for graduate prospects (DLHE 2018).

Your Psychology experience

Our flexible degree structure with an extensive range of final year optional modules gives you the scope to tailor your studies to your particular interests, career goals, or ambitions for postgraduate study.

You have the option of transferring to our four-year BSc Psychology with a Year Abroad courseand spend your third year broadening your skills and experience at one of our partner universities in Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, and the United States.

Psychology Careers

As this BPS accredited degree is the first step towards pursuing a professional career in Psychology, many of our graduates have gone on to further study or work in specialist psychology fields.

The typical starting salary for an NHS trainee clinical psychologist is £25,783. As your career progresses you could earn between £47,088 and £81,000 or higher. Salaries in private practice vary.

The experience and skills you will gain on this course will also equip you well for careers in other areas of health and social care, as well as sectors as varied as management, research, and marketing.

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Welsh Medium Study

Modules

Your first two years will cover key principles of biological, social, and developmental psychology, together with statistics, research, and experimental methods.

In your final year, you can choose from an extensive range of options alongside compulsory core modules.

Year 1 (Level 4)

FHEQ 4 Undergraduate / HECert

Compulsory Modules

Module Code	Semester	Credits	Module Name
PS-100	Period September-June	10	Academic and Professional Development
PS-117	Period September-June	30	Statistics and Research Methods
PSY111	Period September-January	20	Cognition I: Basic Processes
PSY112	Period January-June	20	Social and Developmental Psychology
PSY113	Period January-June	20	Biological Psychology
PSY114	Period September-January	20	Individual and Abnormal Psychology

Year 2 (Level 5)

FHEQ 5 Undergraduate / HEDip

Compulsory Modules

Module Code	Semester	Credits	Module Name
PSY211	Period September-January	20	Cognition II: Higher Level Processes
PSY212	Period January-June	20	Development Across the Lifespan
PSY213	Period September-January	20	Brain and Behaviour
PSY214	Period September-January	20	From Individuals to Society
PSY237	Period September-January	20	Research and Experimental Methods I
PSY238	Period January-June	20	Research and Experimental Methods II

Year 3 (Level 6)

FHEQ 6 Undergraduate / Honours

Students choose 120 credits from the following:

Compulsory Modules

Module Code	Semester	Credits	Module Name
PSY319	Period September-June	40	Final Year Independent Research Project

Optional Modules

Year 3 Optional Psychology Modules - Group A

Choose Maximum Of 30 credits from the following Modules:

NOTE : Students may select up to 30 credits from the following optional modules (but may choose not to select any modules from this group)

Module Code	Semester	Credits	Module Name	Guidance
PSY310	Period January-June	10	Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress
PSY348	Period September-January	10	Forensic Developmental Psychopathology
PSY352	Period January-June	10	Dimensions of Personality and Sexual Disorder	.
PSY355	Period September-January	10	Psychopathology: Anxiety Disorders
PSY359	Period January-June	10	Understanding and Managing Criminal Behaviour

AND

Year 3 Optional Psychology Modules - Group B

Choose Maximum Of 80 credits from the following Modules:

NOTE : Select between 50 and 80 credits from the following optional modules (to total 80 credits of optional modules selected from Groups A and B) Module PSY311 Psychology Work Placement is by application only. Students will need to be prepared to drop the appropriate optional credit value from the modules listed if their application is accepted. Note that if the Dissertation option is selected, then it is the Dissertation that will need to be dropped.

Module Code	Semester	Credits	Module Name
PSY306	Period January-June	10	Face Perception and Social Cognitive Neuroscience
PSY307	Period January-June	10	Psychosocial factors in chronic disease
PSY316	Period September-January	10	Cognition and Education
PSY317	Period September-January	10	Positive Psychology
PSY320	Stage 1 (Sep-Mar Professional Development)	20	Dissertation
PSY322	Period September-January	10	Psychology of Aesthetics
PSY323	Period January-June	10	Cyberpsychology
PSY326	Period January-June	10	Health and Human Development from Pregnancy to Infancy
PSY345	Period January-June	10	Contemporary Issues in Eating Behaviour Research
PSY347	Period September-January	10	Evolution and Human Behaviour
PSY349	Period September-January	10	The Infant Brain
PSY351	Period January-June	10	Nutrition and Behaviour
PSY353	Period January-June	10	Philosophy of Psychology
PSY354	Period September-January	10	Behaviour Change: Health, Organisations and Advertising
PSY357	Period January-June	10	Sleep and Dreaming
PSY358	Period September-January	10	Psychology of Sport and Exercise
PSY360	Period January-June	10	Work Psychology
PSY362	Period September-January	10	The Ageing Brain

Entry Requirements

Typical A-level Offer

AAB – ABB

If you have one of the following subjects at A-level Psychology, Biology, Chemistry, Maths or Physics. The typical offer will be ABB.

It is not essential to have studied any particular subjects at A level. We do not accept General Studies.

Typical Access to HE Offer

27 Distinctions and 15 Merits

Typical BTEC Offer

DDD - DDM

Typical Welsh BACC Offer

Welsh Baccalaureate requirements are as for A-levels where you can substitute the same non-subject specific graduate for the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Level Core Grade.

International Baccalaureate

33 – 34 points

Irish Leaving Certificate

375 – 390 points

GCSE profiles need to include a minimum of five passes at Grade A* - C/9-4 including Welsh or English language and Mathematics.

If you hold qualifications that may be suitable for entry to Higher Education or alternative qualifications, contact the Admissions Tutor directly in the first instance. Email study@swansea.ac.uk or call +44 (0) 1792 295111

How You're Taught

You will have around 10 hours of scheduled lectures and practical classes each week with additional module related seminars and personal tutorials scheduled throughout each semester.

Independent and self-directed study is an integral part of each module to support your learning and development, you will also learn through lectures, personal tutorials, academic seminars, workshops and practical research classes.

You will also have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of research by participating in a range of exciting research projects.

During your third year, you will work collaboratively with psychology staff on an independent research project. Some of our students even go on to publish their independent research projects in academic peer-reviewed journals and present their findings at national and international research conferences.

You will also select modules from an extensive range of options during your third year giving you the flexibility to tailor your degree to your future career goals and to help you gain practical experience you have the chance to participate in a work placement in a range of organisations.

Each year you will be assessed through a combination of coursework including research reports, poster and oral presentations, blog posts, case formulations and portfolios. Examination methods include multiple choice and short answer questions or essays.

This course offers some modules taught through the medium of Welsh or bilingually for students who consider themselves to be fluent Welsh speakers. For more details on the provision available see the Welsh Provision expander below.

Welsh Provision

There are opportunities for Welsh speakers to study this subject through the medium of Welsh and our dedicated academy, Academi Hywel Teifi, is here to support you throughout your time at Swansea University. We offer you:

An interview through the medium of Welsh when applying for a place.
The option to receive your personal correspondence in Welsh, English or bilingually - we will then communicate with you in your language of choice.
Access to generous Welsh-language study scholarships or bursaries.
Access to modules taught wholly or partly in Welsh.
The option to write and submit your coursework or exams through the medium of Welsh (even if you have chosen to study in English), and your work will be marked in Welsh.
A Welsh-speaking academic tutor.
One-to-one support to improve your academic Welsh language skills.
An opportunity to gain an additional free qualification that serves as evidence of your Welsh language ability for future employers.

To see further details about the level of provision delivered in Welsh on this particular degree scheme, please see the Welsh-language course page for further information.

Since 2011, there has been a 40% increase in the number of students studying through the medium of Welsh at Swansea University and our TEF* data over the last two years shows that Welsh-medium students are high achievers in regards to employability (*Swansea University TEF return 2017 and 2018).

Professional Body Accreditation

The British Psychological Society (BPS)

Meet Your Lecturers

There are around 40 teaching staff in the Department of Psychology. Visit our Psychology Department pages to see their staff profiles

Tuition Fees

Annual tuition fees for entry in the academic year 2020/21 are as follows:

		UK/EU	International
BSc (Hons)	Full Time	£ 9,000	£ 15,850

Fees for full time Undergraduate UK/EU students may be increased in subsequent years of study by an inflationary amount determined by Welsh Government.

Fees for full time Undergraduate International students will increase by 3% for each subsequent year of study.

You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page.

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page.

Current students: You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page.

Funding and Scholarships

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study.

To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page.

Academi Hywel Teifi at Swansea University and the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol offer a number of generous scholarships and bursaries for students who wish to study through the medium of Welsh or bilingually. For further information about the opportunities available to you, visit the Academi Hywel Teifi Scholarships and Bursaries page.

Additional Costs

You may face additional costs while at university, including (but are not limited to):

Parking and travel to and from campus
Printing, photocopying, stationery and equipment costs (e.g. USB sticks)
Purchase of books or texts
Printing and binding
Gowns for graduation ceremonies

Careers and Employability

Swansea Employability Academy (SEA) will support you at each stage of your career journey helping you build a bright future.

Our career support services include:

Employability workshops, employers’ talks, bespoke events and careers fairs
Individual advice and guidance from professionally qualified Careers Advisers
Help with finding jobs, internships, work placements and volunteering opportunities
Access to information resources on a wide range of career management topics
Advice and guidance on postgraduate study and funding
Funding to support student internship opportunities and Student Society/Club events.

We also provide help and advice for Swansea University Alumni up to two years after you graduate.

Academic Support

As well as subject specific support by college teaching staff and your personal academic mentor, the Centre for Academic Success provides courses, workshops and one-to-one support in areas such as:

Academic writing
Maths and statistics
Critical thinking
Time management
Digital skills
Presentation skills
Note taking
Revision, memory and exam techniques
English language skills (if English is not your first language).

In addition, if you have a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD), disability, mental health or medical condition, the Centre for Academic Success have Specialist Tutors to support your learning, working alongside the Disability Office and Wellbeing Service to support all your needs and requirements whilst studying at Swansea University.

Global Opportunities

Your degree programme may already give you an option to study or work abroad but in addition to this you can also consider an international summer programme.

These programmes are open to all our undergraduate students and include culture and study tours, volunteering programmes and internships across destinations such as China, Zambia, South Korea, Japan, Europe and Canada. Programmes are typically 2 – 6 weeks long and funding is available. See our Summer Programmes for further information.

How to Apply

Apply now – UK, EU and international students.

For further guidance please visit our how to apply pages.

Psychology, BSc (Hons)

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