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BSc | Undergraduate

Psychology

Entry year
Academic Year 2025/26
Entry requirements
ABB/AAB
Attendance
3 years (Full-time)
UCAS Code
C800
Placement
Optional

PLEASE NOTE: Our Psychology programme offers all students the opportunity to take a year-long paid professional placement after the second year of study, leading to a four-year BSc Psychology with Professional Placement degree qualification.

Psychology is a core science which studies mind and behaviour. Psychology has a significant impact on all aspects of public life and is at the forefront of helping solve some of the biggest challenges faced in society today in areas of mental health, education, social inequalities, and conflict resolution.

Our degree programmes which are accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) focus on the scientific inquiry of topics from seven key areas in Psychology, to build understanding and critical insight throughout your degree programme. These areas are:

1. Biological Psychology – Biological basis of behaviour: neuroscience, genetics, animal behaviour
2. Cognitive Psychology – Mental processes underlying thinking, memory, language and learning
3. Conceptual & Historical Issues – Considers where the discipline has come from, where it’s going, and the big unanswered questions of Psychology
4. Developmental Psychology – How we grow and develop, from conception to old age
5. Individual Differences – How we differ from one another in terms of traits, abilities and motivations
6. Research Methods – How we collect and analyse data to further understanding of the mind and behaviour
7. Social Psychology – How we perceive ourselves and others, interact as groups and the influences of culture and society

Psychology contributes to a wide range of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), both as a stand- alone discipline and in collaboration with other disciplines. Goals that connect to our existing research in obvious ways include Good Health and Wellbeing, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Reduced Inequalities, Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, but Psychology also has a role to play in any goals that require behaviour change, such as those related to environmental sustainability. Students will learn about the contribution of Psychology to these SDGs through course content embedded throughout the undergraduate curriculum.

Our programme is delivered by a diverse group of research leaders and educational experts with a commitment to both student support and delivering an interactive educational experience. No previous experience of studying Psychology is necessary.

Psychology highlights

Career Development

We offer a year-long paid professional placement or alternatively a placement module in the final year. We support our students to find a placement that works for them through our dedicated Placement and Employability support team who, complementing the wider University careers team, are on hand before, during and after placements. Recent students have secured placements with IBM, PWC, Civil Service, NI Statistics and Research Agency, a range of local schools, Simon Community among many others.

We prioritize student employability with our innovative Psychology At Work programme. This offers a range of work-based experiences and skills opportunities of varying duration so that every student no matter their background or personal circumstances has the opportunity to participate. Through this, we support our students to make informed choices for their future career.

As part of Psychology At Work, we support students to engage in ongoing personal and professional reflection to enable them to identify and plan to obtain the professional skills they need to achieve their own goals. We provide training in CV writing and interview skills, as well as 1-1 career advice drop-in sessions and opportunities to participate in local workplace visits. You will also have the opportunity to complete numerous self-assessment questionnaires to help identify personal strengths and areas for development from your first year of studying on the programme. Our aim is to enable our students to go on to further study or wider graduate employment.
https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/psy/PsychologyatWork/WorkPlacementswithPsychology/

Student Experience

Our commitment to student experience begins before you join us on campus with a series of pre-induction welcome activities. These will provide you with important information about your course as well as an opportunity for you to meet your peers and smooth your transition into University life. You will later participate in a range of on-campus induction events, all aimed at building connections with your peers, academic staff, and the School more widely. During this time, you will meet a number of staff who will be important during your first year including your Year Head, Personal Tutor and Advisor of Studies.

We have a dedicated Psychology Student Support Officer who is available as a single point of contact for help and support and who oversees our popular ‘Psychology Connect’ programme of co-curricular events.

The Psychology Connect programme is active throughout the year, connecting students across all levels of the programme and aims to help students to get to know one another and have some fun alongside studying. We hold a range of social mixer events each year to help students form strong social and peer support networks. Recent examples of events include: on-campus zoo day, staff-student Christmas quiz, 'pizza and paint’ evenings, and a staff-student running club. We encourage and fund a number of student-led social activities and groups including 21+ (for those who have had a break in their studies before coming to University) and our international student buddy scheme. We also run Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS), which provide additional academic and social support to first year students from peers in higher year groups who have completed Level 1.

The student voice is central to the educational experience we provide here at Queen’s and ensures you will have the best student experience possible. We provide numerous opportunities and channels for students to actively participate in working with School staff to co-create a vibrant learning community.
https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/psy/Connect/

Internationally Renowned Experts

The School is proud of its strong ethos of teaching excellence with several staff recipients of university and national teaching awards.

We are also at the forefront of ground breaking research which you’ll find embedded throughout our teaching. We advance research and public understanding of some of the key challenges facing individuals, groups and societies from a psychological perspective.

Our research is grouped around a number of themes including Development and Cognition; Social Psychology; Health Welfare and Clinical Psychology; and Perception and Action. Within these we have a number of research centres focused on Animal Behaviour; Identity and Intergroup relations; Improving Health-related Quality of Life; and Stress, Trauma and Related Conditions. Our research has significant impact on informing policymakers, developing industry partnerships and ultimately touching on the lives of thousands of individuals.
https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/psy/Research/

World Class Facilities

We have invested to enhance facilities for students within the School to include a refurbished teaching and learning space where you will take weekly practical classes in your first two years. These state-of-the-art facilities, which are only available to Psychology students, are designed specifically to facilitate both individual and group work outside class times.

Students can get involved in our research programmes from early on and as such will become familiar with many of our high-tech research facilities such as:

Social interactions and emotion lab - with Virtual Reality (VR), avatar animation, physiological sensors, video and audio recording facilities for dual and multi-party social interactions and their simulation.
Animal Behaviour lab
Brain stimulation (TMS) lab
Science in Motion lab located in the Queens Sport building – with VR and motion-capture technology
Eye-tracking devices
Child development observation lab

We also have student centred spaces within our School which include a Student Common Room equipped with kitchen facilities, a Student Quiet Room for those who need to de-stress between classes, and a Nurturing Room. We also have a newly equipped Student Podcast Recording Studio located in our School to facilitate our student-led communications.

Professional Accreditations

Successful completion of an accredited undergraduate programme confers eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS).

We invest in our students by providing free Student Membership of the BPS throughout their undergraduate degree programme. As such a graduate of Queen's will automatically become a Graduate Member of the BPS with GBC providing the final year thesis module is passed and at least a 2.2 degree classification is achieved. This allows the use of the title MBPsS after your name for as long as you remain a member of the BPS.
https://www.bps.org.uk/

Further Study Opportunities

We offer MSc courses in Applied Developmental Psychology and Clinical Health Psychology. We are jointly running a Postgraduate Certificate (Foundations in Applied Psychological Practice) which is designed to be an entry point to a career in the health service. We also offer Professional Doctorate Programmes in both Educational and Clinical Psychology as well as a vibrant PhD programme.
https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/psy/Study/PostgraduateTaughtCourses/

Student Testimonials

88%of students say teaching staff have supported their learning well.

Data for Psychology (Full time) at Queen's University Belfast

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