Psychology

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 Foundation Year 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.