BSc (Hons) Psychology (Including Foundation Year)
The Foundation Year in Psychology forms part of an integrated four-year degree programme, and is designed for students who do not currently meet the admissions criteria for direct entry onto a degree course in subjects including BSc (Hons) Psychology.
This Psychology course will allow you to explore areas including psychology, sociology and statistics, alongside giving you the skills, knowledge and confidence to progress to continue onto a Degree course and have the opportunity to meet your aspirations.
This course will be taught over three days per week to allow students to manage study around other work and family commitments.
Students will study six modules, which will be assessed via a number of examinations, assignments and presentations.
The study skills module is designed to help you with examinations and revision techniques, as well as skills including note taking, essay writing, referencing and planning assignments.
- Study Skills
- Investigative Project
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Childhood Studies
- Statistics and Mathematics
Teaching
You will learn through lectures and seminars, and actively participate in learning through individual study, and written and oral presentations. You will also gain experience in group work and workshops.
The study skills module will also help you with examination and revision techniques, as well as skills including note taking, essay writing, referencing and planning assignments.
Assessment
Students are assessed via a number of examinations, assignments and presentations.
Facilities
The University offers a wide range of psychological services to the general public through our psychology clinics which include autism, behaviour analysis, health and sport psychology interventions.
We regularly revalidate courses for quality assurance and enhancement
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
The entry criteria below reflect our standard entry requirements for the course for September 2023. However, all applications received by the University are reviewed holistically and individually. Entry criteria for September 2024 is changing and will be published on ucas.com from 8th May 2023. Entry criteria for September 2024 will be updated on our website from the end of October 2023.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions. USW prides itself on it’s a student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university. Here is a link to our Contextual Admissions Policy.
Other qualifications and experience
We can also consider combinations of qualifications and other qualifications not listed here may also be acceptable. We can sometimes consider credits achieved at other universities and your work/life experience through an assessment of prior learning. This may be for year one entry, or advanced entry to year two or three of a course where this is possible.
To find out which qualifications have tariff points, please refer to the UCAS tariff calculator.
If you need more help or information or would like to speak to our friendly admissions team, please contact us here
Typical A-Level Offer
EE to exclude General Studies.
Typical BTEC Offer
BTEC Extended Diploma Pass Pass Pass.
Typical Access to HE Offer
Pass Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 48 UCAS Tariff points
Additional Requirements
GCSEs: The University normally requires a minimum 3 GCSEs including Mathematics and English at Grade C/Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent but consideration is given to individual circumstances.
International Entry Requirements
We also welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications. Please visit the country specific pages on our international website for exact details.
If your current qualifications don't meet the entry requirements for entry onto year 1 of your chosen undergraduate degree, we offer one-year International Foundation Programmes through our pathway partnership with QAHE to help you reach the level required for progression. For more information visit our Pathway website.
English Requirements
In general, international applicants will need to have achieved an overall IELTS grade of 6.0 with a minimum score of 5.5 in each component.
However, if you have previously studied through the medium of English IELTS might not be required, but please visit the country specific page on our international website for exact details. If your country is not featured please contact us.
Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee will remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course.
August 2023 - July 2024 Fees
Full-time UK: £9000
Full-time International: £14400
August 2024 - July 2025 Fees
Full-time UK: TBC
Full-time International: TBC
Student Perks
At the University of South Wales, you’re investing in so much more than a degree. We strive to provide our students with the best possible experience, no matter what you chose to study. Whether it’s access to top of the range mac books and PCs, state-of-the-art facilities packed with industry-leading equipment and software, masterclasses and events led by industry experts, or a wide range of clubs and societies to meet likeminded people, better tomorrows start with extra perks.
Each course also has their own unique student benefits to prepare you for the real word, and details of these can be found on our course pages. From global field trips, integrated work experience and free course-related resources, to funded initiatives, projects working with real employers, and opportunities for extra qualifications and accreditations - at USW your future, is future-proofed.
Click here to learn more about student perks at USW.
Additional Costs
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
* Obligatory
| Item | Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DBS (Optional) | £55.42 | A DBS is not obligatory for the course. It will only be required if a specific placement of dissertation project working with children or vulnerable groups is required. This fee includes £44 for the enhanced DBS certificate, the Post Office Administration fee and the online administration fee. |
| DBS Updating Service | £13 | Whilst optional it is strongly recommended signing up for this service especially if you are likely to have placements each year and wish to persue a career post University where a DBS check is a requirement. Please note the service has to be joined within 19 days of receipt of your enhanced DBS certificate. |
| Other: Travel to Placement * | Cost is dependent on placement location |
Funding
Funding to help pay for (or cover) course tuition fees and living costs
Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).
To learn about course fees, funding options, and to see if you are eligible for financial support, visit our Fees and Funding pages.
UK students
Apply via UCAS if you are a UK residing applicant, applying for year 1 of a full-time undergraduate degree, Foundation Year, Foundation Degree or HND and you have not applied through UCAS before. If you are applying to study part-time, to top up your Foundation Degree or HND, or to transfer to USW from another institution, please apply directly.
International and EU students
Apply directly to the University if you live outside the UK.
Our Careers and Employability Service
As a USW student, you will have access to advice from the Careers and Employability Service throughout your studies and after you graduate.
This includes: one-to-one appointments from faculty based Career Advisers, in person, over the phone or even on Skype and through email via the "Ask a Question" service. We also have extensive online resources for help with considering your career options and presenting yourself well to employers. Resources include psychometric tests, career assessments, a CV builder, interview simulator and application help. Our employer database has over 2,000 registered employers targeting USW students, you can receive weekly email alerts for jobs.
Our Careers service has dedicated teams: A central work experience team to help you find relevant placements; an employability development team which includes an employability programme called Grad Edge; and an Enterprise team focused on new business ideas and entrepreneurship.
The Pontypridd Campus is made up of two sites: Treforest and Glyntaff. Our students love the community atmosphere, as well as living and studying in the same place. It’s quieter than the cities, with green open spaces and views across the valley.
It’s the community and friendships you’ll build that make this place special. Outside your studies you can experience our amazing sport facilities and Students’ Union.
Living in Halls is a great way to meet new people and make friends. We have high quality accommodation in Treforest, Cardiff and Newport.