Psychology
A comprehensive guide to studying Psychology at university.
- “One can get super passionate about social psychology and differences amongst individuals. It is truly fascinating to look at how we can go from individual to society and how interventions at the societal level can impact the individual.”
- - BSc Psychology, KCL
- “By being a Psychology student, you have the opportunity to study/get work placements abroad! On top of that, you have a lot of autonomy to study what particularly interests you and incorporate this into your work.”
- - BSc Psychology, UCL
- “You get to learn an array of skills useful for many professional careers afterwards”
- - BSc Psychology, KCL
- “Too much Maths, way too much maths and statistics”
- - BSc Psychology, KCL
- “The teaching cohort tends to be very large so there is not much room to get to know your professors on a personal basis. Make sure to email them and attend office hours to seek help and develop relationships with them.”
- - BSc Psychology, UCL
- “A lot of reading, especially scientific papers and journals”
- - BSc Psychology, KCL
Comparing psychology at university to A Level is a completely different experience 😲
You'll review well-known ideas like behavioral psychology, personality tests, and cognitive theories, but with [b]TONS[/b] more research techniques and data 😅 For unprepared pupils, this can come as a big surprise.
Compared to A level Psychology, which is more focused on theories, at degree level, the course is research heavy and requires a lot of critical thinking to do well.
Psychology essays are expected to be written scientifically and you will be required to write many lab reports. You are also given the opportunity to conduct your own psychology experiments. However, this means that there is heavy emphasis on coding (R studio) and statistical analysis, which often comes as a shock to students.
On a daily basis, your prep work for seminars and lectures involves reading research papers. You are encouraged to evaluate the most recent research, and consider limitations to identify gaps in research.
Interesting topics include applied-decision making, human-computer interaction and the psychology of climate change.
Since psychology is such a broad topic and research is always evolving, the variety of module options are broad and applicable to daily life. For example, psychology of climate change is a new module delivered by the geography department which is highly relevant to the present day.
Common stereotypes may relate to whether psychology is a challenging subject, and whether it is female-dominated.
Note: Instead of emphasizing clinical applications, psychology degrees typically place more of an emphasis on theoretical psychology and research.
Psychology graduates have many opportunities based on their wide-ranging knowledge of human behaviour and how the mind works.
A Psychology degree provides graduates with a broad skill set including data analysis, problem solving, scientific and statistical literacy and effective communication.
Psychology graduates are notably flexible in the workplace and go on to succeed in a variety of professions including:
- Further study to become a research, forensic, educational or clinical psychologist.
- Entering the public or private sector.
- Applying their knowledge to a range of roles in the fields of health and social care, education, public administration and defence, marketing and communication, finance and insurance.