Psychology  BSc (Hons)

Overview

 

City's BPS-accredited Psychology BSc is ranked 2nd in London, behind only UCL (The Complete University Guide 2012).

The course is taught by enthusiastic experts who dedicate their time to your development: academic, personal and professional. We are committed to giving you a high quality service, and are always happy to meet you after class and at weekly drop-ins.

Our academics are actively researching fields as diverse as cognitive neuroscience, autism, health, occupational and coaching psychology. Many of the final year applied topics are taught by practicing chartered psychologists, giving you career inspiration and insight into the skills of psychology professionals.

85 per cent of our 2010 graduates found employment and/or further study within six months (UniStats), working in schools, charities, the NHS, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the banking sector. Those continuing their studies are taking Masters courses and PGCEs at institutions including Kings College London, UCL, Goldsmiths, and City.

Presentation by Psychology BSc admissions tutor

Hear the presentation given by Dr Elliot Freeman at a recent undergraduate open day. He talks in detail about the course content and structure, how to submit a good application, and what you can do with a Psychology degree.

(Click the image below to open the presentation in a new window)

Hear Elliot Freeman's presentation about the BSc in Psychology 

 

British Psychological Society

The programme is accredited and confers eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), provided you graduate with at least a 2.1 honours degree. This is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.

Entry Requirements:

Minimum 360 UCAS tariff points, preferably AAA at A-level or equivalent (or AAB at A-level plus extra AS-level at C or above).

More...

Course Fees:

  • Full-time EU: £9,000
  • Full-time Non EU: £11,000

Start Date:

24 September 2012

UCAS code:

C800

How to Apply

Entry Requirements

Tariff Points

 

UK

A-level

  • Minimum 360 UCAS tariff points, preferably AAA at A-level or equivalent (or AAB at A-level plus extra AS-level at C or above)
  • A-level General Studies and A-level Critical Studies are not accepted.

GCSE pre-requisites

Grade B or equivalent in English Language and Maths or Statistics

Access to Higher Education

We welcome Access course applicants from 'mature' students. These applicants will be considered on the basis of their own merits.

A typical offer for an Access applicant would be: Pass 60 credits, 45 of which at Level 3. These Level 3 credits must include at least 27 at distinction and 18 at merit.

It is essential the Access course qualification is supplemented by at least a grade B in Maths and English Language at GCSE.

Please be aware that Access students are often asked for further information to supplement their application, this is normally in the form of a questionnaire.

Other UK qualifications accepted include:

  • BTEC National Diploma (DDD required, plus B in Maths and English at GCSE)
  • Cambridge Pre-U Principal Subjects
  • Advanced Diploma (plus appropriate A-levels)
  • Scottish Advanced Highers
  • Welsh Diploma (plus appropriate A-levels)

Second-year transfer applicants

If you wish to apply for second-year entry please be aware that you must:

  • have achieved grades equal to the entry requirements for first-year entry (A Levels, foundation years, access courses, etc.)
  • have covered sufficiently similar content to that covered by our first-year students
  • be gaining or have gained at least a 2:1 in every module in your current first year. You must provide official documentation of this as evidence (e.g. university transcript).

If you feel you meet these requirements then please apply through UCAS as early as possible (transfer students normally apply when their first semester exam results are published) and we can then assess your eligibility.

Please note: For direct second-year entrants the overall degree classification will be based on the marks obtained at City University London only, with the weighting of 33/67 between the second and third year. Marks previously obtained will not be used in the degree classification.

On your application please include:

  • the exact name of the degree you are studying towards
  • the institution at which you are studying
  • the modules you have taken
  • any scores you have achieved.

This information will enable us to make a more informed decision as to whether the content that you have studied is to an appropriate level for level-two entry.

Please be aware that you must meet all of the above requirements, otherwise your application is unlikely to be successful.

International

International Baccalaureate (IB)

35 points (no specific subjects required)

European Baccalaureate

80%

International Foundation Programme

The entry requirements for applicants applying having completed such programmes varies in relation to the specific programme completed. Typically, we would ask for applicants to have achieved at least 65% in a programme verified by the university, for an applicant to be made an offer.

International qualifications

Please be aware you can apply for a course here before you sit your school leaving qualifications. Any offer we decide to make you will be conditional on you achieving the appropriate score in your school leaving qualifications, in conjunction with your English language qualification. This can be done from September the year before the programme to which you are applying.

Accepted qualifications include:

  • Australian school leaving certificates. (Offer typically made on the basis of a score of 90%)
  • Bulgarian Diploma za Sredno Obrazovanie (Offer typically made on the basis of a score of at least 5.8)
  • Canadian school leaving certificates. (Offer typically made on the basis of a score between 80-90%)
  • Cypriot Apolytirion (Require a score of at least 19. Combined with two relevant A-levels)
  • French Baccalauréat (Offer typically around 14.5/20)
  • German Abitur (Offer typically around 1.8)
  • Greek Apolytirion (Require a score of at least 19. Combined with two relevant A-levels)
  • Hong Kong Advanced Level (AAB)
  • Indian HSC/ISC/SSC grade XII (Offer typically made on the basis of a score of 90% average, including 90% in mathematics)
  • Italian Esame di Stato (Offer typically made on the basis of an overall score of 90% with a grade of 8/10 in mathematics)
  • Israeli Bagrut (Offer typically made on the basis of a score between 85-90%)
  • Lithuanian Brandos Atestatas (Offer typically made on the basis of an average score of 9/10 from all A and B subjects)
  • Malaysian Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan (STPM AAA)
  • Norwegian Vitnemål  (Offer typically made on the basis of a score of at least 5.0)
  • Polish Matura (Offer typically made on the basis of an applicant achieving an average of 85% across three extended level subjects)
  • Singapore/Cambridge GCE Advanced Level (AAA at Higher 2)
  • Spanish Título de Bachillerato (Offer typically made on the basis of the applicant achieving between 8-9/10)
  • USA Advanced Placement (Offer typically made on the basis of an applicant achieving at least 15 (5,5,5) from three approved subjects).

    Please contact the department for further guidance, if required.

All qualifications where the education is not in English will be required to achieve the appropriate IELTS/TOEFL score.

If the qualification you are due to complete is not shown above, please feel free to contact our UG admissions team for advice.

 

Other Suitable Qualifications

INTO Foundation Programmes

If you do not qualify for direct entry, INTO City University London offers academic preparation programmes which focus on the skills you need. Successful completion to the required standard of the International Foundation in Business, Humanities and Social Science at INTO City University London means guaranteed progression to this degree.

Kaplan International College (KIC) London

Additionally, the University works in partnership with KIC London to provide preparatory courses for international students.  Foundation and Pre Masters courses at KIC London offer comprehensive support to students including regular one-to-one tuition. Progression to the University is guaranteed if you complete the KIC London course at the required level.

 

English Requirements

  • Grade B in GCSE (or International GCSE)
  • Cambridge ESOL CPE grade C or above
  • IELTS 6.5
  • TOEFL (internet-based): 100 - 105
  • TOEFL (computer-based): 250
  • TOEFL (paper-based): 600

INTO English Language Programmes

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, INTO City University London offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to this degree. Please click the links below for more information:

 

Visa Requirements

The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course at City, there are different rules for:

  • Students on courses of more than 6 months
  • Students on courses of less than 6 months
  • Students on a pre-sessional English Language course

For more information see our main Visa page.

When and Where

Start Date:
24 September 2012
Duration:
Full-time – three years.

Course Content

The degree offers a wide range of transferable skills which are incorporated into the course to enhance your employment prospects. As a result, the course provides excellent preparation for further training in psychology at postgraduate level and confers GBC (Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership), a requirement for further BPS-accredited postgraduate training.

Course Structure

YEAR 1

Core modules:

Elective modules:

One to be taken from a choice of languages, economics, international politics, media studies and mathematics.

YEAR 2

Core modules: 
  • Research methods in psychology (double module)
  • Cognitive psychology 1 (memory and language)
  • Cognitive psychology 2 (thinking and perception)
  • Biological psychology
  • Developmental psychology
  • Social psychology
  • Personality and differential psychology

YEAR 3

Core module:
  • Research project in psychology

Elective modules include:

  • Approaches to autism
  • Abnormal and clinical psychology
  • Coaching psychology: theory, research and practice
  • Concepts and categorisation
  • Health psychology
  • Judgement and decision-making
  • Memory: trends and issues
  • Neuroscience: brain, mind and body
  • Normal and disordered word processing
  • Organisational psychology
  • Positive psychology
  • Programming tools for psychologists
  • Psychobiology of resilience in adolescence
  • The psychology of time
  • Psychology as philosophy
  • Social and emotional development: the early years
  • Topics in cognitive neuroscience
 

Teaching and Assessment

Teaching

We encourage the development of independent learning skills, requiring you to take responsibility and initiative for your own learning. We use lectures to provide facts, commentary and explanation of key content areas, and lab-based teaching to develop your skills and understanding of research methodology, statistics and report writing. Self-directed tutorials are used for development of general skills in ICT and web-based information use. There will also be a mixture of group project work, student-led seminar presentations and problem-based assessments.

Assessment

Essays, problem-based assessments, presentations, class tests, lab reports, lab classes and end of year exams. In order to achieve the BSc Psychology, students are required to complete and pass a 30 credit empirical psychology project in the third year.

Fees

  • Full-time EU: £9,000
  • Full-time Non EU: £11,000

Please note:

UK/EU students - The fees for UK/EU students rise each year by the rate of the cost of living in the UK and are set by the UK Government.

Non-EU international students - There is a small percentage increase, usually between 3% and 5%, each year on these fees.

 

Funding

For up-to-date information about tuition fees, living costs and financial support, visit Undergraduate Fees and Finance or Postgraduate Fees and Finance.

Scholarships

New for 2012 entrants: Up to £2,000 cash each year for at least three years for students on this course. Read more here to see if you might qualify. 

Career Prospects

A psychology degree is widely recognised as an excellent introduction to many careers, and we work closely with the university's careers service to give you the best possible career start. Key skills are the evaluation of ideas and evidence, written and oral presentation skills, and sophisticated understanding of numerical data.

A significant proportion of our graduates follow further training in professional psychology and students also pursue careers in teaching, social services, industry and management, human resources, marketing and many other professions.  

86 per cent of our 2009 graduates were in employment or further study six months after graduation. 

Here's a sample of what some of our students have been doing in the last year...

  • One of our 3rd year BSc students completed a 6-week summer internship at the cognitive neuroscience research unit at City.
  • Another 3rd year BSc student was the recipient of a Wellcome Trust Vacation Scholarship, which involved running a study throughout summer 2010, looking at memory in adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
 

Psychology

UCAS code: C800


Applications to our undergraduate courses open on 1st September and close on 15th January (30th June for international students). Late applications will still be considered at our discretion. All applications to our undergraduate degree courses, including those from mature students, must be made through UCAS.

You can apply through your school or college using the UCAS online service 'Apply' which enables you to apply directly through the UCAS website (www.ucas.com).

Independent applicants such as mature and international students can also use ucasapply. The institution code for City University is C60.

If you are still at school or college when you make an application, staff there should be able to assist with this process offering you help and advice. If you are outside the UK when you make an application your local British Council Office should be able to provide assistance.

We accept a large number of international students to our undergraduate courses every year, so if your international qualifications do not reflect the grade requirements, then please feel free to contact us.