September 2024

Psychology and Counselling Studies BSc (Hons)

Honours Degree, Undergraduate, September 2024

Key Details

  • 8C57 Course Code
  • 3 Years
  • 112 Typical UCAS Tariff
british psychological society accredited course

Psychology and Counselling Studies is an ideal combination of subjects if you’d like to move into a career in the helping professions, or to undertake postgraduate training in applied psychology professions.

You’ll gain understanding of all the core domains of psychology – from how we think and how we see other people, to how people develop, how relationships are formed, and how we can help people in distress. Alongside this, you’ll complete carefully curated counselling modules which link theory, research and skills to the therapeutic context and reflective practice.

This enables you to explore professional and ethical issues in psychology and counselling context – which are applicable to many professional contexts where listening, and understanding are important, such as teaching, nursing and social work. And while the course doesn’t provide professional training as a counsellor, it does mean you’re in an excellent position to apply for  training when you graduate.

GBC

This programme is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), such that students gaining at least a Lower Second Class Honours Degree are eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the BPS, which means you will have taken your first step towards becoming a professional psychologist.

Want to do something more counselling-based? Or with Forensics, Children or Criminology? Take a look at our other Psychology courses.

 

**This course is subject to revalidation for September 2024**

  • This programme is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
  • Students on the Psychology and Counselling Studies programme gain knowledge, understanding and skills in all the core domains of psychology, whilst also studying key areas of counselling theory, ethics, and their applications.
  • Due to the wide range of generic skills, and the rigour with which they are taught, training in psychology and  counselling is an excellent foundation that supports entry into a broad range of careers.

During the first year of study (level 4), students are introduced to psychology and counselling studies as related yet distinct disciplines. During this year of the study, students are introduced to the core domains and applications of psychology and learn a range of study skills and research methods that will form the building blocks for their studies at levels 5 (second year) and 6 (final year ). Alongside this, students are introduced to core counselling theories and the associated skills taking under consideration the professional and ethical issues within psychology and counselling context.

In the second year of this programme (level 5), quantitative and qualitative approaches of scientific inquiry are further explored, providing deeper understanding of research methods for students to engage ethically and effectively in supervised work-based projects. During this year of the study, students will deepen their knowledge and understanding of the core domains within psychology: cognition, biological, social, individual differences, and development, and enhance their understanding of counselling theories and application. One of the most exciting features of level 5 is the work placement module. This module enables student experiential learning and offers the opportunity to consolidate and apply psychology and counselling theory and skills within a work-based context.

In the final year (level 6) options are intended to broaden and deepen critical thinking in psychology and counselling studies, preparing students for employment or further study. Students undertake an empirical dissertation in psychology and counselling studies, and the programme is designed to offer choice and progression whilst also addressing issues of critical evaluation and competing perspectives in psychology and counselling studies. An important feature of level 6 modules is the availability of optional modules focusing on areas of applied psychology and topics embedded within counselling studies where students can choose to specialise in areas of particular interest to them.

We pride ourselves on giving academic and individual support to each of our students. Teaching is varied and we use a wide variety of assessment strategies designed to help you develop a range of skills which will be useful in the modern workplace. Assessment methods vary from ‘traditional’ methods such as essays or examinations to less ‘traditional’ assessment approaches such as personal reflective journals, research reports, presentations and posters.

Upon completion of this programme, students will be furnished with an invaluable toolkit of transferable skills that will enable them to pursue a range of career opportunities.

Many graduates aim to enter the various psychological and therapeutic professions through specific postgraduate training, including counselling psychology, counselling, psychotherapy, health, clinical, forensic, occupational, and educational psychology. You may also choose to go on to further professional training in counselling at postgraduate level leading to professional accreditation. You might progress into a variety of other careers, typically in people orientated and helping roles – for example, social work, personnel, marketing, health or rehabilitation. The course is useful preparation for further training in any career in which psychology and counselling skills may be useful, including teaching, nursing, and voluntary sector work.

Newman University is located in Britain’s second city – Birmingham. With one of the youngest city populations in Europe, it is a vibrant and dynamic place to study.

Studying at Newman University, you have the advantage of being near to the city, but living in, or commuting to peaceful and comfortable surroundings on campus.

Dining out

Birmingham has lots of wonderful places to dine out with a range of different cuisines. Places where you can dine out include; Brindley Place, Mailbox and Hagley Road (just 10 minutes’ from Newman).

Entertainment

Whether you like to go to; the theatre, gigs or clubs, or enjoy: sports, shopping visiting art galleries or exhibitions – Birmingham will not disappoint and you will be spoilt for choice!

Location

Getting around Birmingham is easy via train, bus or by car. Birmingham has excellent transport links to the rest of Britain, making it easy for those weekend getaways!

Why not explore the city for yourself by visiting one of our Open Days?

Want to find out more about Birmingham? Then take a look at some Birmingham City Secrets.

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Entry Requirements

You must achieve at least 104 UCAS points including a minimum of CC at A level or equivalent (e.g.MM at BTEC Diploma; MPP at BTEC Extended Diploma) towards the total tariff.

As it is not possible to achieve 104 UCAS points through an Access course, Access Students will need 106 UCAS points. You can reach this with the following combination of Distinction, Merit and/ or Pass grades at level 3 achieved from a completed Access course. 106 UCAS Points: D27-M0-P18; D124-M6-P15; D21-M12-P12; D18-M18-P9; D15-M24-P6; D12-M24-P3; D9-M36-P0.

For applicants who are unsure that they will achieve the above UCAS tariff, Newman University provides a Foundation Year programme in Psychology and Counselling Studies BSc (Hons) – with Foundation Year which enables such applicants to access a university degree via a four year route. Upon successful completion of their foundation year,  students will progress to Year 1 of a named degree. Whilst not a condition of entry onto the Foundation Year, students wishing to follow particular named routes with additional entry requirements, will need to meet these requirements before they make the transition from their foundation year to year 1.

International Students
The University is not licenced by the UK Government to sponsor migrant students under the Student route and is therefore unable to accept applications from international students at present.

Applying Direct Option

You can apply direct to Newman University for this course if you have not previously applied to Newman University through UCAS and you are not applying to any other universities.

Simply click on this Direct Application link to do this.

N.B. will need to enter ‘New User’ account details when first accessing this portal.

Course Fees

The full-time course fee for September 2023 is £9,250 per year.

The University will review tuition fees and increase fees in line with any inflationary uplift as determined by the UK Government, if permitted by law or government policy, in subsequent years of your course. It is anticipated that such increases would be linked to RPI (the Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments).

Additional Costs

During the degree you may wish to purchase core texts (a limited numbers of copies are available in the library and where possible online texts have been purchased). At times throughout your degree, you may need to print or photocopy material. There may also be additional costs associated with data collection depending on the research undertaken for example printing of questionnaires.

Find out more about the other additional costs associated with our undergraduate degrees.