Want to understand the human mind, behaviour and motivation? Our Psychology degree offers you the chance to learn in a supportive environment with excellent teaching and laboratory facilities. Our experienced and highly qualified staff will guide and support you, providing a focus on employability throughout your studies.

Key information

Award:

BSc (Hons)

Mode of Study:

Part-time

Duration:

4.5 years

Location:

The University of Bolton

UCAS points:

112

Start date:

25/01/2021, 20/09/2021

Course Details

Bolton was one of the first institutions in the UK to offer a degree in this exciting subject and studying in our well-respected, vibrant learning and research culture offers you an excellent start to your career. Whilst working towards a BSc (Hons) in Psychology here at the University of Bolton, you’ll have the opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of the subject in terms of the science and theories of psychology, and their application in everyday life.

You’ll explore a range of core modules that provide a strong grounding in study and research methods, as well as a deep understanding of the science of psychology. There’s also the option to choose specialised modules according to your areas of interest, or that relate to a particular career path you wish to follow after graduation.

As a psychology graduate you may use your qualification as the basis for a career as a professional psychologist or to enter a wide range of other careers, including teaching, human resource management, the police, the armed forces and social work.

Highlights

Our psychology courses are ranked top in the UK for teaching quality by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020, as well as top in the UK for student satisfaction by The Complete University Guide 2020.
You’ll have an opportunity to carry out a work placement module in an approved professional setting.
There is a strong focus on employability skills as well as academic success. Modules focusing on applied psychology and applied experience introduce these skills and a range of career options.
You’ll also have support throughout your degree from your personal tutor, part of our team of helpful and approachable psychology staff who possess a diverse range of research interests.
We work hard to create a learning environment that offers innovative methods of teaching and assessment, and access to high-specification facilities such as our observation and psychophysiology laboratories, Neuroscan software and hardware, and Stim2 software.
The course provides opportunities to achieve the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society, as well as additional qualifications (e.g. Test user certificate in occupational (ability) assessment).

Key Features

The BSc (Hons) in Psychology at Bolton is one of the most well-established psychology courses in the UK. It’s accredited by the British Psychological Society, so offers opportunities to progress to further professional qualifications and employment as a professional psychologist when you graduate at the required standard.
You’ll be guided to explore the theories and concepts of psychology that apply to a wide range of human behaviour, including the philosophical, historical and social issues that have influenced the study and practice of psychology.
You’ll have the chance to examine the relevance of psychology across the spectrum of human activity, including criminal behaviour, the psychology of cyberspace, therapeutic practices, and group and individual behaviours.
We’ll explain the methods of psychological research, including collecting and analysing data, and encourage you to explore key skills such as accessing and evaluating information and effective communication skills.
Throughout the course, you’ll be encouraged to devise, implement and write up research projects that focus on psychological phenomena.
Personal supervision from staff throughout the course ensure you have the best possible opportunity to achieve your true potential. The course team is also committed to maximising your opportunities for future graduate-level employability.

Professional recognition

Successful completion of the degree course is approved as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society, provided the minimum standard of qualification of second class honours is achieved.

The British Psychological Society is the professional body of psychologists.

112 UCAS points. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points.
Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3.
You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics.
You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
If English isn’t your first language you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.

Want some reassurance or advice? Speak to one of our advisors. Email us at admissions@bolton.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0)1204 903 394.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

A psychology degree develops knowledge of human behaviour, as well as research, statistics, and writing skills. It can provide a foundation for many careers. Psychology graduates excel in roles that involve working with a range of complex issues, and have the skills to develop a strong understanding of areas that are new to them relatively quickly.

As a psychology graduate, you can expect to have gained the following key employability skills: high order analysis, research skills, problem solving, interpersonal awareness, communication skills, and the ability to develop arguments supported by relevant evidence, team work, and IT and data handling skills.

What can I do with this qualification?

There are numerous career paths available to psychology graduates with British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation. The more traditional routes include clinical, forensic, occupational, educational, health, sport and exercise psychology and counselling, as well as teaching and research.

In addition, there are broader career options including personnel management, research, sport and exercise, teaching, advice work, social work, law enforcement and healthcare. Many of our graduates have been successful in these fields of work.

Psychology graduates can also progress to graduate schemes which are long term employment contracts usually with a large corporate company offering advanced training packages.

Postgraduate training and study is a requirement to become a Chartered Psychologist. Due to course entry requirements, many psychology graduates spend a year or more getting work experience before embarking on postgraduate study. Postgraduate study is available in areas such as clinical, counselling, educational, occupational, sport and exercise, or forensic psychology.

Alternative career options

Although some psychology graduates become professional psychologists, many others go on work in related fields. These alternative roles may be advisory, research-led, treatment-led or therapeutic. Some of these jobs where your degree would be useful include:

Probation work
Prison work
Careers advice
Social work
Counselling
Family mediation and support
Teaching and education
Nursing
Human resources
Police service
Market research
Play therapy
Advice work
Media and advertising
Communications
Sport and recreation
Brand consultancy

Course fees

Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £6,000 for the academic year 2020/21.

The fees for a student’s course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

The university is currently awaiting government guidelines as to EU fee charges for students commencing study in 2021/2022.

For 2021/2022 entry, the maximum government approved undergraduate tuition fee for UK students is £9,250 per year. The University is able to charge this fee subject to an approved Access and Participation Plan for 2021/2022 and its current rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton undergraduate students.

For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:

You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen start date from the list below:

You should have to hand:

Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role
Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference

Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.

Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already input.

If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions@bolton.ac.uk

Apply online: University of Bolton BSc(Hons) Psychology - 25 January 2021
Apply online: University of Bolton BSc(Hons) Psychology - 20 September 2021

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

University of Bolton Group Partners

Bolton College
University Technical College
University of Bolton

The University welcomes applications from our group partners and progressing students so we try to make our application process as simple and as fast as possible. By selecting the link for your chosen course from the list shown below you will be taken directly to our online application form. Please read the user guidance before completing this and ensure you upload all supporting documents such as certificates and your personal statement when you apply.

Please ensure when you are asked to add a contact email address you add your college/university email account address as well as your personal address. If you do not add your college address as your contact address we will be unable to identify you as a partner and you will be referred to apply via UCAS, which incurs a cost.

Apply online: University of Bolton BSc(Hons) Psychology - 25 January 2021
Apply online: University of Bolton BSc(Hons) Psychology - 20 September 2021

We look forward to receiving your application and you continuing your academic journey with us!

The overall teaching and learning strategy for Psychology is student-centred. We use a blended approach to teaching and learning – you’ll have face-to-face sessions, sometimes one-to-one, and take part in online learning. You can expect a mix of seminars, lectures and tutorials, practical workshop demonstrations, critiques, study visits, self-directed study, IT and library sessions, guided study, and more. The University’s e-learning portal Moodle will support your online learning. We’ll also encourage you to use the internet for research.

Guest lectures and presentations by a variety of visiting speakers from relevant employment areas offer you the chance to further develop your knowledge and understanding.

The assessment strategy is set up to help you organise and develop your learning and to evaluate your achievement. You can expect time-constrained exams and coursework, such as essays, reports, presentations, portfolios, and others. These contribute to your final marks and allow you to demonstrate that you’ve met the learning outcomes for the course. Much of your assessed work is submitted online via Moodle with feedback also given through this route. You can also use Moodle to communicate with fellow students studying the same modules as you.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology
Cognitive and Biopsychological Perspectives
Understanding the Person
Contemporary Issues in Psychology
Application of Psychology
Exploring Psychology
Research Methods in Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Biopsychology
Social and Critical Psychology
Personality and Developmental Psychology
Psychometrics
The Honours Project
Applied Experience
Abnormal Psychology
Children’s Learning and Development
Psychology of Loss and Trauma
The Therapeutic Process
Social Neuroscience
Cyber Psychology and New Media
Evolutionary Psychology
Psychology in the Workplace

Assessment methods

Level	Assesment method
Level one	Coursework 66%, Written exams 33%
Level two	Coursework 50%, Written exams 50%
Level three	Coursework 83%, Written exams 17%

Learning activities

Level	Learning activity
Level one	Guided independent study 66%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 34%
Level two	Guided independent study 74%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 26%
Level three	Guided independent study 75%, Placement/study abroad 5%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 20%

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.