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Are you interested in a career in psychology but are not sure how to get started? Our psychology degree with foundation year has been developed for inquisitive students who want to understand more about the human mind and what drives our behaviour, but need a little extra support before taking on a full university degree course.
Our British Psychological Society accredited BSc (Hons) Psychology degree with Foundation Year will introduce you to a wide range of contemporary research and support you in developing key knowledge, skills, and abilities that are essential in pursuing a career within psychology. The course has been designed with your future career in mind. You’ll have the option to tailor the focus of your degree and specialise in areas that match your career aspirations. This provides you with control over your learning and gives you the opportunity to discover and experience ideas and concepts from a range of different areas within psychology.
With such a wide range of areas in psychology to choose from, this course gives you the time and flexibility to decide where you want to focus. Studying this new undergraduate psychology course with Arden will provide you with multiple future career and study options, and you’ll have access to modern, digital learning tools as you study. You’ll also have full support from our dedicated academic team, who are internationally respected industry practitioners, published authors, and PhD holders in the psychology field.
Arden's foundation year modules have been designed to give you a tailored and fully supportive introduction to university study. This first year of study will prepare you for success in higher education by introducing you to the academic skills and subject-specific knowledge required to excel in your chosen degree subject.
On the course you’ll study a variety of interesting and stimulating subject modules that have been designed to engage you in fascinating topics within psychology, enabling you to develop sought after and career focused skills. Your studies will culminate with choosing an area of psychology on which to focus and produce your own research project at the end of your final year. By the time you graduate, you’ll have the confidence and ability to apply your knowledge of psychology to a range of exciting career paths and further learning opportunities.
Throughout the course you’ll have one-to-one support from your lecturers and academic skills tutors, as well as frequent invitations to online coffee mornings with your fellow students and staff and personal academic tutor support sessions. Above all, our academic team, who come from a range of professional and cultural backgrounds, will help you learn through real-world context, helping you understand how your new skills are best applied in practice.
On this course, you'll be taught by a range of psychology experts. Many of our academics are research active and have published in academic journals, presented at national and international conferences, and authored book chapters on applied psychology. We also have former and continuing practitioners within the team whose expertise centres on the application of psychology in real-life contexts, such as organisational, educational, prison, health care, and clinical settings. As a whole, the team is highly active in the professional psychology community by running workshops and taking part in charitable events for organisations such as MIND.
Arden is for winners. Nobody will beg you to sit down and start working on your career, if you don’t do it yourself! At Arden, if you have an honest interest for what you learn and you want to reach out for more, you will be welcomed, helped, and advised. But to do that, you must be determined.
You have between 4 to 12 years to complete this course, which means you can take up to 3 years to complete each level. Most of our students, however, aim to complete the course within 4 to 6 years.
Please note that our elective modules will run subject to sufficient demand and resources. That means if necessary, we may need to cap numbers or change or discontinue modules to account for this.
Unlike on more traditional degree courses, you don’t need to sit through exams on the BSc (Hons) Psychology with Foundation Year degree. Your assessments have been designed to help you apply your learning to real-word scenarios. This means you’ll be better prepared to apply the skills you’ve gained on the course to your professional role after graduation.
As you work through your course modules you’ll have the chance to compete a range of useful assessment methods such as individual reports, case study analyses, role play, group presentations, and reflective and personal independent assignments devised in consultation with your course module leader. You’ll only sit one exam on this course, to fulfil your research methods requirements; all other assessments have been designed to give you the tools and skills you’ll need in your career.
Role play sessions on this course have been designed to give you the unique opportunity to practice real life professional situations in a safe environment. You’ll learn how to provide feedback on psychometrics, run a counselling session, provide mental health interventions and more, all guided by your course lecturer.
This course is available to study through Arden’s blended learning study mode at our study centres in London Tower Hill, London Holborn, Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds.
The course is also available to students via online learning. This gives you the convenience of being able to study from anywhere in the UK or worldwide, providing you with the same high standards of teaching but with lower tuition fees.
As a working mum, I needed a course that would fit my busy life. My degree in Psychology complemented my role as a therapeutic counsellor beautifully and although I’ve just finished, it has already impacted my life greatly!
When you choose our full-time blended learning study mode, you’ll have eight hours of timetabled classes spread over two days at the Arden study centre of your choice. This is combined with around 25 hours of independent study, which takes place through ilearn, our university campus in the cloud. ilearn contains all the resources you need to study successfully. As a blended learning student you’ll also have access to our Library Portal, an extensive digital library with thousands of journal titles, eBooks, and a range of academic and industry databases that you can use to research and gain in-depth information on your area of study. At Arden, all of your course materials are provided free of charge, removing the need for you to buy expensive textbooks to study your degree successfully.
Blended learning is the best option for students who prefer the structure of regular face-to-face classes with their tutor and fellow classmates, and is particularly suited to students who live within commuting or driving distance of one of our UK study centres.
If you're a student from England who is enrolling on a blended learning course with Arden (based in one of our UK study centres) then you can apply for a Living Cost Loan to help pay for your living expenses. You can find more information on our fees and funding page. If you're a student from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland you can find information on Living Cost Loans from your student finance body.
Studying the BSc (Hons) Psychology with Foundation Year online gives you the ultimate in convenience. You can enrol with Arden from anywhere in the world and study your degree from the comfort of home, without the requirement to attend classes in a physical location.
Our online students study their degree through iLearn, Arden’s university campus in the cloud. iLearn provides everything you need to study at University. It offers an integrated virtual learning experience, including your virtual classroom, lecture theatre, and access to our Library Portal. The portal includes an extensive digital library including thousands of journal titles, eBooks, and academic and industry databases which you can use to research your assignments and projects. All of these materials are provided to you free of charge, and contain all the research information you’ll need to complete your degree with us.
iLearn is also integrated with Zoom, making it easier to chat with your course tutor during your scheduled seminar sessions. You can even integrate our study materials into your Kindle, making it possible to study wherever you have you Kindle handy.
Studying online doesn’t mean studying alone. As well as receiving regular feedback and guidance from your course tutor, you’ll be studying with likeminded students who you can meet with through our Unitu community, and you’ll have access to community message boards to discuss your course and the topics being raised within it. We’ve even set up community boards embedded into each of the course modules so you can have discussions with your tutor and classmates on the topics you’re currently learning.
Online learning students resident in the UK can apply for a Maintenance Loan if they cannot attend their course in person because of a disability. Please find more information on our fees and funding page. If you're a student from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland you can find information on Living Cost Loans from your student finance body.
Once you’ve enrolled on your psychology degree with Arden you’ll get access to your Digital Backpack, a toolkit of digital resources we’ve put together to help you succeed during your time studying with us.
Here are some of the digital resources you’ll have available throughout your course:
At Arden University we consider applications on a case by case basis. If you have significant work experience, have qualifications you have gained elsewhere, or a degree or qualification that isn't a clear pathway to this degree - we are more than happy to discuss your application.
Our aim is to make learning as accessible as possible by ensuring that you can study your degree in a flexible and convenient way. That's why we keep our requirements simple. All you need is a laptop or desktop PC (we recommend one running the latest version of Windows), and a good internet connection. Please note that if you’re using a Chromebook, only those released in 2020 onwards support SPSS and Jamovi, which are essential requirements for the statistical elements of the course. Through ilearn, our online university campus in the cloud, you'll be able to access your course calendar, support services, learning materials, and our online library containing almost half a million texts, as well as creating assignments, keeping notes, and collaborating with other students on your course.
To be able to study this course, we need to see that you have:
Candidates are required to submit a personal statement (of between 350-550 words) or attend an interview demonstrating an ability to study for the programme. This statement should include:
We also offer an internal English test for applicants who are unable to provide the above evidence of English proficiency. More information can be found here.
Whilst you can read your study materials on your smart phone or tablet, to make the most of your learning experience, you will need access to a laptop or computer (we recommend one running the latest version of Windows), and a good stable internet connection.
Arden’s psychology courses are designed to explore human behaviours across diverse areas of psychology. These courses provide you with a range of transferable skills that are valued by employers from a wide range of industries. I look forward to welcoming you to the Arden University family.
Your course will set you up with a range of universal skills that will allow you to apply your knowledge in a huge variety of sectors. This means that when you graduate you’ll have the confidence to make life-changing decisions about which professional career path is best for you to take.
Employers who have provided input into this course’s development include independent psychology practitioners, counselling psychologists, clinical psychologists, independent consultants, the UK Fire Service, and previous alumni who are now working across many varied professional areas. Because of this input, you’ll find that your course content has been tailored to help you fill current skills gaps in a range of careers and professions worldwide.
With such a wide choice of topics to learn about, and different skills to master, you’ll graduate with knowledge and abilities in diverse academic and professional areas including:
During your Foundation Year, you'll get comprehensive support and preparation for your university journey, including:
Introduction and preparation: our Foundation Year courses introduce you to university-level teaching, learning, and assessment methods. You'll develop essential study skills, research techniques, and critical thinking abilities, laying a strong foundation for your degree studies.
Personalised support: our academic staff will guide you throughout your Foundation Year. They'll ensure a smooth transition into your degree programme, providing the support you need every step of the way.
Direct relevance to your future degree: your programme content is carefully designed to align with Arden's degree courses. Studying a Foundation Year will equip you with subject-specific knowledge and interdisciplinary exploration, establishing a solid base for your chosen degree.
Improved degree outcomes: we prioritise not only your academic preparation but also your success. By boosting your confidence, academic skills, and understanding of the subjects, we empower you to achieve the best possible degree outcomes and expand your career opportunities.
After successfully completing your BSc Psychology with Foundation Year degree, you’ll have acquired a range of skills that will be appealing to employers across almost all industries. Around 15 to 20% of psychology graduates in the UK choose to complete postgraduate training to become professional psychologists. Employers across industries know that successful psychology graduates can write coherent and logical reports, understand statistical forms of evidence and data handling, and have a good understanding of human behaviour in the workplace. The majority of graduates therefore go on to work in careers where these skills developed during an undergraduate degree are highly desirable.
As well as graduating with the possibility of continuing on to further study at master’s degree level or entering training to qualify as a professional psychologist, you’ll also have career options in front of you which could include:
The topics you’ll study on this course have a global focus that is relevant anywhere in the world. Avoiding the Western-centric focus of many undergraduate psychology courses and aligned with the framework of BPS accreditation, which provides a cross-cultural viewpoint, this degree is internationally recognised and will give you experience and knowledge that you can apply in your home country.
The British Psychological Society (BPS) is the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK. The society is responsible for the development, promotion, and application of psychology for the public good.
Arden’s BSc (Hons) Psychology and MSc Psychology (Conversion) courses are accredited by the BPS. This means that students obtaining at least a lower second class honours degree (2:2) will be eligible for the society’s Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership - the prerequisite requirement to go on to further training as a professional psychologist after graduation.
While you’re studying your BPS accredited course with us, we’ll cover the cost of your student membership with the BPS, which gives you access to a large range of useful resources including access to the British Psychological Society Library, the UK’s leading national resource in psychology.
Arden University is a member of the Campaign for Social Science.
The Campaign demonstrates how social science improves public policy, society, and all our lives. It highlights the value of applied social science research and advocates for its greater use in decision-making and in government. It is supported by a coalition of universities, social science societies, and publishers.
As a member, Arden receives access to case studies, research into the value provided by social sciences, and insights into the employability of social science graduates. Through this, you will gain a better understanding of the skills you are learning and their value to employers.
