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Psychology with Placement Year at University of Sheffield - UCAS

Course options

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

Open days

21Jun
University of Sheffield - Undergraduate Open Day
Undergraduate
5Jul
University of Sheffield - Undergraduate Open Day
Undergraduate

Course summary

Cover the breadth of psychology and apply your knowledge and skills with a year-long work placement. Study topics from social, health and clinical psychology, to cognitive and developmental psychology, neuroscience and psychological research methods. Gain the skills and experience to understand human behaviour and the brain processes behind it with this British Psychological Society accredited course. Our four-year Psychology with Placement Year BSc allows you to study across the breadth of the subject before putting your new knowledge into practice during a year-long work placement. From your very first week at Sheffield, you’ll start to cover five key areas:

  • Cognitive psychology
  • Developmental psychology
  • Neuroscience and clinical psychology
  • Social and health psychology
  • Research methods
Within these five areas, you'll get the chance to explore important topics with real world relevance such as addictions, eating disorders and depression. You'll run your own experiments and learn from some of the UK’s top psychology researchers, too. In the first year of your degree, you'll study fundamental psychology topics, including how memory works, how we interact with others and our environment, and the biology behind human behaviour. In second year, you go even deeper into these core subjects. For example, you’ll learn about eating disorders, how children learn, and why people struggle to follow through with their intentions. Your advanced research methods training that runs alongside this will teach you how to use professional statistical analysis software, and how to take ethical considerations into account when designing research projects. This will give you an excellent foundation of subject knowledge and the technical skills you’ll need, ready to specialise in the topics you’re most passionate about in your third year. Alongside your studies, during your second year you’ll embark on your placement hunt. A placement is a great opportunity to test out a career path that you're considering, whether that's within the field of psychology or applying your transferable skills in industry. Our students have previously completed their placements with organisations including the NHS, Prison and Probation Services, and local schools, in roles including assistant psychologist and HR business development. When you return to Sheffield for your final year, you’ll have a huge range of optional modules to choose from. Topics range from criminal psychology and the psychology of sleep, to clinical psychology, the psychology of eating behaviour, and weight management. You can focus on the areas within psychology (and beyond) that interest you the most, to support your career goals. The biggest part of your course is the in-depth research project which students often report to be the best part of their degree. You’ll work with an expert in an area of psychology that you’re interested in and do a genuine piece of research, designing, conducting, and analysing your project over six months. Examples of recent student research projects include:
  • Semi-structured interviews exploring online dating during the Covid pandemic
  • The effect of the framing of alcohol problems on stigma and problem recognition
  • Neurovascular coupling in a preclinical model of Alzheimers disease
This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and makes you eligible for graduate membership. This is the first step to becoming a chartered psychologist. It's necessary for courses in clinical, health and occupational psychology. Why study this course?
  • British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited course: BPS accreditation makes you eligible for graduate membership.
  • Gain practical experience: Spend a full year on a work placement and test out a career path you're considering.
  • Top 20 in the UK for psychology: According to The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.

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:
C803
Institution code:
S18
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

To find out if you're eligible for additional consideration or an alternative offer, visit: ww.sheffield.ac.uk/undergraduate/apply/access-sheffield

Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/undergraduate

English language requirements

You must demonstrate that your English is good enough for you to successfully complete your course. For this course we require: GCSE English Language at grade 4/C; IELTS grade of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each component; or an alternative acceptable English language qualification

English language requirements for undergraduates

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/undergraduate/apply/english-language

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
59%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
87%
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 £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
International £30570 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

The annual fee for your course includes a number of items in addition to your tuition. If an item or activity is classed as a compulsory element for your course, it will normally be included in your tuition fee. There are also other costs which you may need to consider. Further guidance can be found here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/undergraduate/fees-costs
Psychology with Placement Year at University of Sheffield - UCAS