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Psychology with a Foundation Year

  • BSc (Hons)
  • 4 Years
  • Full-time
  • September 2026
  • Undergraduate
Curzon Building
More about Birmingham City University

Course options

2026-20272027-2028
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Course summary

Looking for a foundation course in psychology in Birmingham? Our BSc (Hons) Psychology with a Foundation Year degree has lower entry requirements and can lead to a full undergraduate qualification.

This course has been specifically designed to allow home and EU students, who do not initially meet the Birmingham City University entry requirements for our standard Psychology degree, to undertake additional level 3 study designed to ensure they are successful on their chosen degree course.

The foundation year itself will equip you with the required knowledge and skills to proceed on to any of our undergraduate Psychology degree courses offered at BCU.

You will gain a deep understanding of how the core and specialised areas in psychology contribute to our understanding of contemporary issues, as well as looking at the role of brain function across multiple psychological perspectives. You’ll apply scientific reasoning and evaluate patterns of behaviour, gaining key transferable skills in communication, teamwork and problem-solving. You’ll also adopt a variety of perspectives ensuring you get the big picture.

Foundation Year

The foundation year is designed to give you the opportunity to develop your academic and interpersonal skills while developing your subject knowledge further to support you to success on your academic path. By studying a foundation year, your first year will be spent learning a wide range of broad subject areas which then open up opportunities for you to specialise further in your next year – which would be the first year of a full degree programme.

Professional bodies

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

  • British Psychological Society
This course is subject to validation. You can still apply for this course while it is being approved.

Ways to study this course

Campuses

  • Curzon Building

Study options

  • BSc (Hons) • Full-time • 4 Years

Start dates

  • September 2026

Apply by
14 January

This is the equal consideration deadline. You can still apply after this date, but your application may not receive guaranteed consideration.

Application codes

Course code:
C80F
Institution code:
B25
Campus name:
Curzon Building
Campus Code:
F
Points of Entry:
Foundation

Birmingham City University has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

See why these ratings were awarded
What does this TEF outcome mean?

How to apply

Apply by
14 January

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
C80F
Institution code:
B25
Campus name:
Curzon Building
Campus Code:
F

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Foundation

Open days

Entry requirements

UCAS Tariff
80 points

A level
CDD

A Level: 80 UCAS tariff points / CDD (or equivalent). AS Level: Must be in a different subject to A Levels. A maximum of four subjects will be considered.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

80 UCAS tariff points. Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications. Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

Access to HE Diploma

Pass with 60 credits, 45 credits at level 3.

Scottish Higher

80 UCAS tariff points from three Advanced Highers (DDD) or two Advanced Highers (DD) plus two Highers (DD)

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

80 UCAS tariff points. Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications. Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)

80 UCAS tariff points. Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications. Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

Scottish Advanced Higher

80 UCAS tariff points from three Advanced Highers (DDD) or two Advanced Highers (DD) plus two Highers (DD)

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
24 points

Obtain a minimum of 24 points overall.
For students who do not already hold a GCSE in Mathematics at grade C/4 or above, grade 5 in Maths (Standard level) from the IB Diploma will be accepted.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

Minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points, achieved in five Higher level subjects

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE Maths at grade C/4 or above. If you do not have this or are not undertaking it, we accept other level 2 equivalents, or we may ask you to pass BCU's GCSE equivalency tests.

T Level
Pass (C and above)

Pass overall (C or above on the core). All subjects considered

Welsh Baccalaureate: 80 UCAS tariff points. Considered with three A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

OCR Cambridge Technical qualifications: 80 UCAS tariff points.

NCFE CACHE Level 3 qualifications: 80 UCAS tariff points.

WJEC Level 3 qualifications: 80 UCAS tariff points. Considered with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s).

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6overall with no less than 5.5 in each band.
If you do not meet the required IELTS score, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English courses. Please note that you must have a Secure English Language Test (SELT) to study on the pre-sessional English course.

Historical entry grades data

This section shows the range of grades that students who received offers were previously accepted on to this course with (learn more).

It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place.

Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.

Not enough data available

We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

Per year tuition fees

LocationFeeYear

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.

Additional fee information

*The Government is proposing to increase the cap on full-time regulated tuition fees to £9,790 for 2026/27 and the University is planning on increasing fees to that maximum level once legislation is enacted. Part-time fees are charged pro-rata, where applicable.

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