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Student Receiving Psychology Subject Support | UWS | University of the West of Scotland

Overview

If you fancy learning about the inner workings of the mind and human behaviour, the UWS’s BSc Psychology degree is for you.

You’ll study the human mind and associated behaviour and develop key skills in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data – which will allow you to apply your knowledge in research and investigation processes to solve problems in real-world settings.

Professional Accreditation

UWS’s BSc Psychology is accredited by the British Psychological Society, which provides the basis for Graduate Registration.

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Course Highlights

This degree will prepare you for a career as a Chartered Psychologist
You’ll study the human mind and associated behaviour so that you can apply knowledge within real-world environments
You’ll develop key skills in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data to improve your understanding of the research and investigation process
From communication, numeracy and teamwork, to computing, critical thinking and independent working, this degree will equip you with a range of skills employers value

Entry Requirements

What qualifications do you need?

We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.

Don’t worry if your qualifications are not listed here, we take a range of factors into account when assessing your application and are happy to consider other alternative combinations of qualifications and experience.

If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Undergraduate Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.

Year 1

Scottish Highers*:
- Standard Entry Requirements - ABBB (114 UCAS Tariff points)
- Minimum Entry Requirements – BBBB (108 UCAS Tariff points)
A levels: BBC (112 UCAS Tariff points)
Irish Leaving Certificate: H1 H2 H2 H2
International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma: 27 points
SQA HNC / BTEC Level 4 HNC: Additional Support Needs or Applied Science or Counselling or Care & Admin/Healthcare Practice or Coaching & Developing Sport or Early Education & Childcare or Childhood Practice or Legal Services or Police Studies or Social Sciences or Social Studies or Social Care or Social Services or Working with Communities
SQA HND / BTEC Level 5 HND: Legal Services
Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP): Access to Humanities or Access to Humanities, Law & Business or Access to Life Science (Plus SQA Higher English) or Access to Medicine or Access to Primary Education or Access to Education or Access to Chemical & Biological Sciences or Access to Social Sciences (BBB)

* for more information on standard and minimum entry requirements, see our Undgergraduate Entry Requirements webpage

Year 2

SQA Advanced Highers: BCC (128 UCAS Tariff Points)
A-Levels: BBB (120 UCAS Tariff Points)
International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma: 28 points
SQA HNC / BTEC Level 4 HNC: Social Sciences or Social Studies (for SQA HNCs with Grade B in the Graded Unit)
SQA HND / BTEC Level 5 HND*: Social Science

* HNDs will be considered on an individual basis

English Language Requirements

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR MOST COURSES

For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.

General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)

overall score 6.0
no sub-test less than 5.5

Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see section below for more details).

SOCIAL WORK DEGREES

For our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

overall score of 7.0
no sub-test less than 7.0

COMMON EQUIVALENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE QUALIFICATIONS

All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:

CAE (Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English): 176 overall; no sub-test less than 169
CPE (Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English): 176 overall; no sub-test less than 169
Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English: ISEII with the minimum of a Pass in all sub-tests
PTE Pearson Academic English: An overall score of 59 to 64 with no element below 59 (for programmes that require IELTS 6.0 with no element below 5.5). An overall score 65 to 75 with no element below 65 (for programmes that require IELTS 6.5 with no element below 6.0)

IELTS SCORE EXCEPTIONS (RESEARCH DEGREES, BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE DEGREES, NURSING & MIDWIFERY DEGREES WITH NMC REGISTRATION, CERTIFICATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, ETC.)

RESEARCH DEGREES

For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

overall score of 6.5
no sub-test less than 6.0

HEALTH & MIDWIFERY AWARDS

For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to, or require professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council, applicants are required to have an IELTS or Occupational English Test (OET)*.

For such courses, the IELTS score is as follows:

overall score of 7.0
score of at least 7.0 in reading, listening and speaking and no less than 6.5 in writing

* Note that the Occupational English Test (OET) will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse's English Language Competence (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2019).

BIOMEDICAL DEGREES

For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

overall score of 7.0
no sub-test less than 6.5

CERTIFICATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

overall score of 5.0
no sub-test less than 4.5

TOEFL IBT

TOEFL IBT*: 78; no sub-test less than:

Reading: 17;
Listening: 17;
Speaking: 17;
Writing: 17

* Please note that TOEFL is still acceptable for admission to this programme for both home/EU and international students.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use TOEFL to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level courses. We therefore still accept TOEFL tests taken in the last two years for admission to this programme.

WEST AFRICAN SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION (WASSCE)

West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE) including acceptance of WAEC Scratchcard*

C6 or above in English

*UWS will accept a WAEC scratchcard confirming that an applicant has achieved C6 or above as evidence of meeting English language requirement from Nigeria if the student graduated within the last 5 years. After 5 years applicants would be required to provide the WAEC Certificate.

PRE-SESSIONAL COURSES

Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:

10 week pre-sessional - entry criteria UKVI IELTS 5.0 with no element below 4.5.
5 week pre-sessional - entry criteria UKVI IELTS 5.5 with no element below 5.5.
English Language for University Study - entry criteria UKVI IELTS with score of 4.0 in all elements (10 month course), or 4.5 with no score below 4.0 (7 month course).

Find out more about our English language Courses.

Course details

The BSc (Hons) Psychology at UWS will prepare your career as a Chartered Psychologist. The course carries accreditation by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and provides the basis for Graduate Registration with the BPS.

On this course you will study the human mind and associated behaviour. As a student, you will:

Gain scientific insight into why people act in the way that they do;
Study the mind, brain and behaviour;
Be able to apply this knowledge to real world settings and problems;
You will also develop key skills in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data.

These, in turn, will contribute to an understanding of the research and investigation process.

Year 1

Introduction to key psychology topics and methods of investigation.

Year 2

Develop skills in research design and data analysis;
Explore key topics in developmental and biological psychology, and social and cognitive psychology.

Year 3

You will focus on the key areas of psychology for BPS accreditation:

Developmental psychology
Social psychology
Biological psychology
Cognitive psychology
Personality and individual differences

Year 4

Carry out a research dissertation on a psychology topic of your choice;
Deepen your knowledge of applied psychology through specialist optional modules

Teaching & Assessment

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops, and flipped-classrooms.

There will also be group work and independent learning through inquiry-based learning. This is often coordinated and guided by tutors. You will develop transferable skills such as:

Research;
Presentation;
Communication;
Working as part of a team

Our BSc (Hons) Psychology course uses a variety of assessment methods, including:

Written examinations in a small number of modules from Year 2 onwards;

Coursework including essays, critical review exercises, practical reports, poster and oral presentations, laboratory exercises and digital assessments.

We place greater emphasis on continuous assessment in the early stages of the course. We then introduce you to the necessary skills to underpin the later levels of the degree.

Career prospects

“Without my degree from UWS, the experiences I gained working with the University and the NHS after I graduated, and the connections I’ve made through these activities, my career wouldn’t have developed in the way it has.”

Sharon McGregor, BSc (Hons) Psychology graduate and owner of McGregor Achievement Coaching

Our BSc (Hons) Psychology is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and provides the basis for Graduate Registration (Graduate Basis of Chartership (GBC).

BPS accreditation enables you to pursue a career in psychology once you have specialised through further postgraduate study.

Jobs

Psychology graduates also use their skills and knowledge to enter a wide variety of alternative careers. As well as specific knowledge in psychology you will also gain a range of skills that employers value such as:

Communication
Numeracy
Teamwork
Computing
Critical thinking
Independent thinking

As alternatives to psychology careers, many psychology graduates enter industry or commerce sectors in roles such as:

Market researchers
Personnel managers
Teachers
Civil servants
Researchers
Careers advisors
Charity/non-governmental organisation sector workers

Check the British Psychological Society website for further information on psychology and careers options.

Further study

A wide range of postgraduate courses/study options exist including:

Educational Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Forensic Psychology
Health Psychology
Occupational Psychology
Counselling Psychology

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Tuition Fees 2023-24

Use the Link below to download details of our full-time, part-time tuition fees for Bachelor, Masters, Research, and English Language pre-sessional courses for session 2023-24.

Tuition Fees

Full-time (domestic & EU/EEA)

All UK and EU applicants for undergraduate study, not applying through an agent or partner, should apply through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service)

The on-time application deadline for 2022/23 entry is 25 January 2023, 18:00 (UK time). For some courses it may still be possible to apply beyond this period, subject to suitable vacancies remaining. The final deadline for late applications via UCAS is 30 June 2022, 18:00 (UK time). Beyond this deadline, you may be able to apply via ‘UCAS Clearing’ if the course you are interested in has remaining places.

Please refer to our Undergraduate Application Guide to find more information on when and how to apply to study at UWS.

APPLY ON UCAS

Full-time (non-EU/non-EEA), Part-time & Online (all students), Erasmus & International Exchange

Students from non-EU/non-EEA countries can apply directly to UWS via our dedicated online application system. The latest we can process your application is 6 weeks before the course start date to allow for visa processing times. For more information on when and how to apply to study at UWS please refer to our International Undergraduate Application Guide.

For part-time & online study, you should apply directly to the University through our online application system, not through UCAS. Please select the part-time mode of study when submitting your application. Before you begin your application, it is important to read the part-time application step-by-step guide for a smooth process.

To come to UWS as a visiting student on a study abroad or exchange programme, you must apply entirely through our online system.

APPLY DIRECT TO UWS

An ATAS certificate is not required for overseas students applying for this course.

Get in touch

Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!

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