BSc Psychology

If you want to understand our place in the world, then psychology at Essex is for you. We provide one of the most immersive and exciting experiences of studying human thoughts and behaviours in the UK. Our teaching and research focus on innovative solutions to societal challenges, so that you develop the skills and knowledge to make a difference in our world.

Satisfy your curiosity by learning from world-renowned researchers at the cutting edge of psychological science. At Essex, we take a multi-method approach, working beyond traditional boundaries to combine different expertise and share fascinating techniques and intriguing theories. We answer questions such as:

• Why are social relationships so important – how do we make and break them, and what can we do to improve our relationships?
• How do parenting choices in the earliest weeks of a baby's life impact them for years to come?
• How does our cultural background affect thinking, motivations, personality, interpersonal behaviours and group processes?

At Essex, you learn psychology from the start. In your first year, your modules address major challenges that society faces today. We embed key skills such as research methods and statistics into topics you are interested in. You are taught topics one-by-one to help you consolidate your knowledge.

You continue to develop these skills during your second year, taking a deeper dive into topics such as brain and behaviour and health psychology. In your final year, you specialise in areas that really interest you. You also have the opportunity to take one or more 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.

Additional opportunities

• 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.
• The 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.
• Our Department of Psychology had a unique partnership with the Essex Health, Wellbeing and Care Hub, providing you with short-term, on-campus internships working alongside health and wellbeing practitioners.

Choose between a BSc and a BA

We offer both a BSc Psychology and a BA Psychology.

The only difference is the award you receive when you graduate: you'll receive either a Bachelor of Science (BSc) or a Bachelor of Arts (BA). The modules you take are the same for both degrees, you will be taught by the same lecturers, and have access to the same facilities.

So what should you choose? It comes down to how you would like to present your degree to future employers or postgraduate programmes.

• A BSc can signal a stronger focus on scientific or analytical skills, which may appeal to employers in research, neuroscience, health, or data analysis.
• A BA can highlight a broader, more humanities-based profile, which may appeal to employers in education, media, public policy, or the arts.

Because these courses share modules, you can change your mind about which exit award best suits you and your future career plans – simply let our Professional Services colleagues know and they will update your record.

Professional accreditation

Accredited against the requirements for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course.

Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.

If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university.

Placement year

Alternatively, you can spend your third year on a placement year with an external organisation. This is usually focussed around your course, and enables you to learn about a particular sector, company or job role, apply your academic knowledge in a practical working environment, and receive inspiration for future career pathways.

If you complete a placement year you'll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.

Our expert staff

Our psychology lecturers include award-winning teachers and prize-winning researchers who are international experts in their own research areas.

Our staff carry out research into diverse areas of psychology. Our departmental mission is to 'Understand our place in the world', meaning that all of our research aims to make meaningful contributions to society. At Essex, our research explores how we think about, interact with, and experience the world, offering fresh insights into the human mind and behaviour from every angle.

This dynamic, multi-perspective approach lets you learn to investigate the full spectrum of psychological experience in meaningful, real-world ways. Our holistic approach also helps tie your knowledge together, as the lenses we employ directly feed into our modules, where you can study how we remember things, what captures our attention, how relationships work, what our emotions do with us, or the impact of culture on ourselves and others.

Specialist facilities

We are committed to giving you access to state-of-the-art facilities in higher education, housed entirely within our purpose-built psychology building on our Colchester Campus:

• dedicated laboratories to employ a range of cutting-edge methodologies when carrying out your research projects
• specialist areas to study visual and auditory perception, developmental psychology, and social psychology
• a virtual reality suite and an observation suite
• our Babylab, the leading infant lab in the East of England that explores perceptual, emotional, and cognitive processes in infants
• our multimillion-pound Centre for Brain Science (CBS), which allows staff and students to investigate brain activity (including electrophysiology (EEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)) and houses a range of facilities to measure eye movements and physiological responses (such as heart rate and skin conductance)

Your future

A psychology degree - especially one accredited by the British Psychology Society - provides you with the foundations needed to specialise in diverse areas, including clinical and educational psychology.

Many of our psychology graduates choose careers outside traditional psychology fields. The skills you learn during your degree will open doors to careers in market research, human resources, and people-focused careers such as a high-intensity therapist or special educational needs.

Our psychology graduates have progressed in diverse careers across the public, private and third sectors, including working for:

• Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust
• Prison and Probation Service
• MIND
• BBC
• University of Oxford

We also work with our University's Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.

"I am a trainee psychological wellbeing practitioner, working with people with mild or moderate anxiety and depression by using evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) interventions. I hope to qualify and work towards becoming a CBT therapist or go down the clinical doctorate route. My placement year was one of the most beneficial things I did at Essex. It helped shape my views of mental health services in this country and understand my different options in working in that space. It also helped me understand what life after university would be like. I enjoyed the fact that our lecturers were working on research related to what we were studying. It made the topics more engaging. I particularly enjoyed lectures on relationships, cultural, and positive psychology."

Janelle Chisholm, BSc Psychology, 2020

Clearing entry requirements

We currently have places available in Clearing across a range of our courses with most offers at BBC-CCD (112 – 88 UCAS tariff points) or equivalent. We consider each application individually and requirements may be lower for some of our courses, so please get in touch if your grades are below those outlined here.

English language requirements

English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall, or specified score in another equivalent test that we accept.

Details of English language requirements, including component scores, and the tests we accept for applicants who require a Student visa (excluding Nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries) can be found here

If we accept the English component of an international qualification it will be included in the academic levels listed above for the relevant countries.

English language shelf-life

If you require a Student visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.

Pre-sessional English courses

If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.

Pending English language qualifications

You don’t need to achieve the required level before making your application, but it will be one of the conditions of your offer.

If you cannot find the qualification that you have achieved or are pending, then please email ugquery@essex.ac.uk .

Requirements for second and final year entry

Different requirements apply for second and final year entry, and specified component grades are also required for applicants who require a visa to study in the UK. Details of English language requirements, including UK Visas and Immigration minimum component scores, and the tests we accept for applicants who require a Student visa (excluding Nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries) can be found here

Additional Notes

If you’re an international student, but do not meet the English language or academic requirements for direct admission to this degree, you could prepare and gain entry through a pathway course. Find out more about opportunities available to you at the University of Essex International College

Course structure

Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The following modules are based on the current course structure and may change in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We'll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website and in line with your contract with us. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, we'll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

Placement

On a placement year you gain relevant work experience within an external business or organisation, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.

Year abroad

On your year abroad, you have the opportunity to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.

Teaching

• Undergraduate students in the Department of Psychology typically attend a two-hour lecture per week per module. Some modules have short lectures with additional seminars and/or lab classes, and others use a flipped classroom approach for further discussion.
• We combine small- and large-group teaching with regular laboratory-based research exercises.

Assessment

• Degrees are awarded on the results of your written essays, practical lab reports, and examinations.