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Psychology with Accelerated Foundation Year at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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Birkbeck, University of London has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Course summary

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 choose to study this course full- or part-time. It has a daytime and an evening timetable too. We will contact you nearer to enrolment to confirm your preference of study. Accelerated Foundation Year This 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.

Modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

Assessment method

Assessment methods include coursework and formative exercises, including examinations, in-class work, essays and assignments.

How to apply

29Jan

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:
C801
Institution code:
B24
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Foundation

International applicants

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. We also accept other English language tests.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

We welcome applicants without traditional entry qualifications as we base decisions on our own assessment of qualifications, knowledge and previous work experience. We may waive formal entry requirements based on judgement of academic potential. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Department before applying to ensure that they meet our criteria.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
40%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
80%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £6935 Year 1
Northern Ireland £6935 Year 1
Scotland £6935 Year 1
Wales £6935 Year 1
International £18060 Year 1

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

Year 2: Home students: £9,250 per year International students: £18,060 per year Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing on their course in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases.
Psychology with Accelerated Foundation Year at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS