BSc (Hons) Psychology
BPP University College's BSc Psychology honours degree (C800) is primarily for those intending to become practising psychologists. It provides you with a sound foundation in all the key areas of psychology and specialist fields including cognitive, biological, developmental, social, clinical and health, organisational, forensic and neuroscience.
The programme is designed with a focus on theory and empirical research and with the view to cover the field of psychology as widely as possible. The overarching aim of the programme is to provide you with knowledge and understanding of the core areas of psychology to more advanced specialist fields and application.
On successful completion of the BSc (Hons) Psychology, you will be eligible for Graduate Membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and have the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), provided the minimum standard of a Lower Second Class Honours is achieved. This is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.
The BSc (Hons) Psychology is awarded by BPP University College and accredited by the British Psychological Society.
Programme Details
| Location* | |||
| London Waterloo | |||
| Study Options | UCAS Code | Start date | Fees (per year) |
| 3 years full time or part time | C800 (3 year) C801 (2 year) | September and January | 2012-13 from £5,000 2013-14 from £6,000 |
| Delivery Mode | Duration | School | Subject Area |
| Classroom | 2-6 years | School of Health | Health |
| Exemptions | Funding Available | Scholarships | Pathway |
| N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| *Programmes run subject to demand. | |||
Key Information
- Provides you with an education of the highest quality
- Develops intellectual, methodological and practical skills
- Develops knowledge in specialist areas of psychology
- Provides you with an in-depth grounding in theory and contemporary psychology
- Prepares you for employment, future study or training
- Provides eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society
*from a UK landline.
Your degree
In the first two stages of the programme, you will be exposed to all core areas of psychology in order to shape your knowledge and understanding. This will enable you to make an informed decision about a specialist route in the final year and for your future studies, as well as giving you the opportunity to explore different possibilities within particular fields.
The final stage of the programme offers you a choice of specialist routes in some of the most popular areas in psychology including clinical, health and neuroscience, organisational and forensic. Our BSc (Hons) programme will also prepare you for a wide range of career possibilities by enabling you to develop professional skills transferable to many different vocational settings.
More details about the programme can be found in the programme specification handbook.
How the BSc (Hons) Psychology is taught
The BPP BSc Psychology programme is taught by research-active staff through a mix of tutor-led presentations, student-led sessions and discussions, work in small groups and student presentations, as well as independent learning and project work.
The programme is supported by a wide range of online facilities based on an interactive e-learning environment that uses computer assisted technology to enhance the learning process. This is accomplished through an on-campus and online learning environment, allowing you to express new ideas, practise new skills, and engage in cooperative and supportive interactions with lecturers, tutors and other students. Lectures are delivered online and are followed by a 2 hour classroom-based seminar.
Our teaching will benefit you both personally and professionally by being relevant and applicable in real world settings.
Please note - If at any point during your programme you switch from full-time/part-time to mixed-mode or online study, you may no longer be eligible for government funding. Also if you change the speed of your part-time study, you will be required to notify the Student Loan Company as changing modes or the speed at which you complete your studies will have fee or student funding implications.
Lectures and seminar
Your weekly lectures will be delivered by way of pre-recorded lectures, presentations, or podcasts that can be accessed 24 hours a day seven days a week via the virtual learning environment in preparation for weekly classroom-based seminars. Lectures are accessible in a variety of formats making them available via computer, Smartphone (e.g. iPhone), mp3 player and so on.
Lectures last for one hour and cover the core information relevant to each week of study.
Small group seminars
Each lecture will be accompanied by a two-hour weekly classroom-based seminar in small groups, where you will discuss the content of the lecture and will take part in various tasks which will enable you to reflect on advanced topics covered in the lecture and apply knowledge to real-world settings.
Teaching hours
Throughout your programme there are 12 contact hours a week, including online lectures, and you are expected to do additional work to prepare for and consolidate each session by way of independent study.
Participation and student interaction
At BPP there is an emphasis on participation and student interaction. Your lecturer is a learning facilitator and students are expected to contribute questions and ideas, and even lead parts of seminar sessions. In this way, ideas can best be examined, defended, justified and reflected upon.
Career-oriented skills
The BSc (Hons) Psychology programme will enable you to develop career-oriented skills such as:
- collecting, analysing and presenting information
- working with other people
- quantitative application
- research methodology
- critical thinking
- problem solving
In addition to acquiring in-depth knowledge and understanding of all the main fields in psychology, you will also be encouraged to apply this knowledge to real-world settings and scenarios through seminar tasks, written work and groups projects.
The BSc (Hons) Psychology will also give you the foundation for further postgraduate training in specialist branches of applied psychology including clinical, occupational, forensic and educational psychology, as well as applied research.
An emphasis is placed on personal and professional development enabling you to develop academic, personal and professional skills that will prepare you for employment through a number of career paths. The programme will prepare you for employment through a number of potential career paths including:
- human resources
- communication and the media
- research
- public relations
- industry and management
- marketing
- teaching
- health and social services
- the Probation Service
- the Civil Service
Real-world activities
As the BSc (Hons) Psychology programme is designed to be your first step towards a career as a psychologist, classroom scenarios are based on real-world activities that make your learning directly relevant to practice.
You will participate and work in groups to design psychological research projects as part of your research methods modules. In the last stage of your studies you will work individually to complete an extended psychology research project in a topic of your choice that has the potential to result in original findings that will add to your knowledge and understanding of the topic and which may lead to publication.
During this time you will attend a series of seminars which cover topics that will assist you in completing your final year academic work successfully and to the highest academic standard, which will also provide you with a number of transferable key skills essential to a successful career.
Postgraduate training
Your knowledge of the subject will make you eligible for entry into any field which is normally open to psychology graduates, or for any further postgraduate training you may want to pursue. A number of psychology graduates undertake further post-graduate training in areas of psychology such as educational or occupational psychology, health and clinical psychology and forensic psychology.
How you'll be assessed
Exams take place in the academic environment and you will need to be successful in order to achieve your BSc (Hons) Psychology. A range of assessment methods are used, including:
- written exams
- group presentations
- project reports
The Assessment Strategy for the BSc (Hons) Psychology is designed to provide you with a variety of vocationally-oriented challenges. It provides you with opportunities to:
- work in groups and be assessed informally
- develop group skills and interpersonal skills
- carry out wider reading and research and the development of academic skills
- build a body of knowledge and understanding that can be applied with relevance, confidence and sound judgement to aid analysis and decision-making
- focus on current areas of psychological study and research
You will receive written and verbal feedback throughout your degree to help keep you on track.
Key Information Sets about this programme
Key Information Sets (KIS) are comparable sets of information about full or part time undergraduate courses and are designed to meet the information needs of prospective students. Find out more about KIS.
Modules
In the first and second stage of the programme you will take core modules worth 120 credits per stage in total. At stage three you will have a number of optional modules (which in combination with your core modules will be 120 credits in total).
You will complete modules totalling 360 credits over your period of study. The optional modules have been designed with the aim to give you the opportunity to develop a good understanding of some of the most contemporary specialist fields in psychology.
Stage One
The overall aim of Stage One is to provide you with foundation knowledge of the main areas in psychology and further provide you with a solid foundation in research skills as well as statistical analyses.
- Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology (15 credits)
- Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology (15 credits)
- Introduction to Developmental Psychology (15 credits)
- Introduction to Cognitive Psychology (15 credits)
- Introduction to Social Psychology (15 credits)
- Introduction to Biological Psychology (15 credits)
- Introduction to Statistics in Psychology (15 credits)
- Introduction to the Psychology of Mental Illness (15 credits)
Stage Two
During the second stage you will progress to a more challenging and in-depth reflection on some of the topics you learned in the first year, as well as being introduced to some new topics. You will start to critically assess and reflect on topics that you are most interested in with the aim of identifying a topic which will form your supervised research project in the final stage of your studies.
- Cognitive Psychology II (15 credits)
- Developmental Psychology II (15 credits)
- Qualitative Research Methods (15 credits)
- Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology (30 credits)
- Social Psychology II (15 credits)
- Biological Psychology II (15 credits)
- Introduction to Organisational Psychology (15 credits)
Stage Three
During Stage Three you will undertake a substantial piece of independent research as part of your final psychology project, with appropriate guidance from your supervisor. Stage Three also gives you the opportunity to direct your studies towards those areas of psychology that you are most interested in.
Stage Three consists of:
- Final Pychology Project (45 credits, compulsory module)
- Personality and Individual Differences (15 credits, compulsory module)
- Option modules and/or specialist route (Total 60 credits)
Option Modules and/or specialist routes
The specialist routes available include:
- neuroscience
- health and clinical psychology
- organisational psychology
- educational psychology
- forensic psychology
- develop knowledge in specialist areas of psychology according to your specific interests by choosing one of our specialist routes; or
- gain a good understanding of some of the most contemporary specialist fields in psychology by choosing options from any of these specialist areas in order to find an area for future study or application that you are most interested in.
Neuroscience, Clinical, Health Psychology and Learning Difficulties
- Psychology of Health and Illness (15 credits)
- Psychological Therapies (15 credits)
- Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience (15 credits)
- Learning Difficulties and Educational Psychology (15 credits)
Organisational Psychology
- Psychological Approaches to Organisational Change and Leadership (15 credits)
- Applied Social Psychology at Work (15 credits)
Forensic and Investigative Psychology
- Introduction to Forensic Psychology (15 credits)
- Foundations of Investigative Psychology (15 credits)
Admissions
The BSc (Hons) Psychology programme is available at BPP from September 2012.
General UCAS entry requirements for the full time programmes are 260 points (BCC) for 3 years.
International students
If you're an international student, and English is not your first language, you will need to have an IELTS level 6.5 score (or equivalent) to prove that your English is good enough to take the study programme.
For details of which international qualifications are accepted for this programme, please see our country-specific entry requirements.
Pathway and foundation programmes
If you do not meet the entry requirements for the BSc (Hons) Psychology programme then you may be eligible for our Pathway to Higher Education Certificate in Healthcare programme or the International Foundation Certificate in Healthcare.
Your experience
At BPP University College, your studies are just part of your student experience.
Being highly career-focused and concentrating on practical application as well as academic theories, we want your time at BPP University College to be a great all-round experience.
There are many student-led activities and societies for you to choose from and lots going on off-campus. So as well as giving you the practical and academic knowledge you need to get ahead, we'll help you build the social skills you'll need to thrive in work – and life.
At BPP University College we give you all the skills and advice you need to get ahead. As part of helping you get the best possible start to your working life, we provide a specialist Careers service.
As a student of BPP School of Health, you will have access to BPP activities, student societies and the Student Association and you will have an opportunity to be elected to the Student Staff Liaison Commitee to provide helpful feedback to us on behalf of your fellow students.
BPP University College students are eligible for an NUS card.
BPP University College Students' Association
Founded in 2011 after a year of consultation with and design by students, our new Students' Association is home to thousands of students across all ten BPP University College sites, and studying online.
Every student of BPP University College automatically becomes a member of the Students' Association when they start their programme.
The Association aims to put you – the student – at the heart of everything BPP University College does, giving you:
- an independent voice on student matters.
- information, support and guidance about your academic and personal life.
- academic, cultural, social and professional enrichment through the development of clubs, societies, events and initiatives.
- awareness and enhancement of your employability.
Study locations
You can study the BSc (Hons) Psychology at BPP London Waterloo.
Accommodation
Whether you're looking for long-term, short-term or temporary accommodation, we'll help you find the perfect place to stay while you study. We can offer information on halls of residence, student houses, flat-shares and hotels – as well as advice on any accommodation issues.
If you'd like to know more about mixing events, finding a housemate or discussion boards, or if you just need some general advice, please contact our Accommodation Officer:
- Tel: 0845 075 3506
- Fax: 020 7404 1389
- Email: accommodation@bpp.com
Fees from September 2012
- UK or EU students, three-year degree: £5,000 a year
- UK or EU students, six-year part time degree: £2,500 a year
- UK or EU students, four-year part time degree: £3,000 a year
- International students, three-year degree: £7,000 a year
Fees from September 2013
- UK or EU students, three-year degree: £6,000 a year
- UK or EU students, six-year part time degree: £4,500 a year
- UK or EU students, four-year part time degree: £4,500 a year
- International students, three-year degree: £7,500 a year
The September 2013 fees for the entire programme will be £22,500.
Please note - If at any point during your programme you switch from full-time/part-time to mixed-mode or online study, you may no longer be eligible for government funding. Also if you change from a 2 year degree to a 3 year degree (or vice versa) or change the speed of your part-time study, you will be required to notify the Student Loan Company as changing modes or the speed at which you complete your studies will have fee or student funding implications.
Payment plans
BPP University College's flexible payment plans let you spread the cost of your programme across the duration of your studies:
- Download a full list of fees and payment plans (PDF, 201KB)
Loans and scholarships
All full-time UK/EU students intending to study at BPP are eligible for a student loan and or maintenance grant. These help cover tuition fees and living costs while you are studying. Find out more about scholarships and student loans.
