Course summary

Our BSc Psychology (including Foundation Year) could be suitable for you if your academic qualifications do not yet meet our entry requirements for a three-year version of our psychology courses and you want a programme that improves your skills to support your academic performance. Open to UK and EU applicants, this four-year course includes a Foundation Year (known as Year Zero) which is delivered by our Essex Pathways Department, followed by a further three years of study in our Department of Psychology. During Year Zero you will study on our Psychology Pathway which will cover topics such as Introduction to Psychology, and Statistics for Psychology. At the end of Year Zero all students who pass the Psychology Pathway will progress onto BSc Psychology. In Year One, you will study modules that address major challenges that society faces today. You will learn psychology from the start, and we will give you the skillset you need to be successful. We embed key skills such as research methods and statistics into topics you'll be interested in. You'll be taught topics one-by-one in blocks which allows you to consolidate your knowledge. You will continue to develop these skills during your second year. In your third year you will specialise in areas that really interest you. This will allow you to excel at studying psychology. You will also have the opportunity to take one or more of our applied modules across your three years with us in the areas of health, global challenges, self improvement, sustainability, the criminal mind and more, developing your knowledge of real-world psychology. You learn from our researchers and can work alongside them via our Research Experience Scheme (RES) which gives you the opportunity to work one-on-one with a psychologist as their research assistant. SHOUT scheme allows you to use your skills and creativity to make our department a better place and promote what we do beyond Essex, through social media, activities and events.