Everything you need to know...
International: £13,650 per year
Course summary
- Prepare for the degree with an extra foundation year at the start.
- Progress to a degree that is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS)
- Develop your knowledge and scientific understanding of the core areas of psychology.
- Gain experience in real-life settings through work placements.
Fascinated by human behaviour, curious about thoughts and intrigued by feelings? This is the course for you. It examines what drives us, from brain physiology to learning, genes, environment, social groups, and individual differences in personality and motivation.
How you learn
The course is suitable if you don’t meet the entry requirements for our BSc (Hons) Psychology course, or you are returning to study and would like to spend time getting up to speed with the demands of learning before starting degree-level study. You share the foundation year with other Business, Law, Criminology and Psychology foundation students, before moving on to your degree. The foundation year will take place at City Campus in the Sheffield Business School.
You are taught by academics with specialist knowledge and expertise in a range of areas including social psychology, forensic psychology, developmental psychology, health and work psychology.
You learn through
- lectures and seminars
- workshops
- laboratory classes
- individual tutorials
- work placements
In the foundation year, you will study modules in business and social science (including psychology) alongside developing your academic skills.
Your subject interest in psychology as a social science will be established through exploring theory and practice as you learn about professional contexts including the impact of ethical and cultural factors on the client-stakeholder relationship. In addition you will examine a number of contemporary themes and issues relevant to the study of psychology (e.g., conflict, prejudice, relationships and communication).
Throughout the year you will develop your academic skills (e.g. critical analysis, working with a variety of data sources and academic writing) culminating with the planning of a project which provides the capstone of the year and allows you to demonstrate your readiness to progress onto the BSc Psychology.
You will receive face-to-face feedback regularly during your modules in order to prepare you for the completion of the wide range of assessments undertaken. This will be via tasks set for you to undertake in the module seminars or in your independent study time.
Course leaders and tutors

Dr Katie Ward
Senior Lecturer In PsychologyI am a Lecturer in Psychology and Course Leader for the BSc (Hons) Psychology degree
Applied learning
Work placements
You will have the opportunity to arrange a work-placement in your third year of the course. Examples of settings include schools, mental health organisations, police and other legal services.
Organisations currently offering placements include St Anne's Mental Health Service, The Hesley Group autism care provider, Sheffield Children's Hospital (NHS), Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Drug and alcohol service (RDASH), Sheffield MENCAP, City Hearts human trafficking support service and Cavendish Cancer Care.
You also have the opportunity to take a placement abroad, currently in Germany and South Africa.
Study abroad
You can study abroad for one semester in your third year at one of our partner universities. Examples of our current partner institutions include Georgia Southern University in the US, Trent University and Carleton University in Canada, Queensland University of Technology, LaTrobe University and Deakin University in Australia, University of Jyvaskyla in Finland, Tallinn University in Estonia, the University of Warsaw in Poland, and Aahus University in Denmark.
Networking opportunities
You attend lectures from visiting guests such as clinical psychologists, police officers, prison officers, forensic psychologists, health psychologists and speech and language therapists.
We also hold recruitment presentations from psychology-specific employers. Recent guests have included the Cambian Group, Civil Service, Good Days Project and Hesley Group.

Come to an open day
Find out more at our undergraduate open days. Book now for your place.
Future careers
This course prepares you to complete professional training in
- clinical psychology
- educational psychology
- occupational psychology
- health psychology
- forensic psychology
- counselling psychology
It also prepares you for a career in
- teaching
- local government
- civil service
- industry and commerce
- education
- careers and counselling
- legal and advice work
- social work
- social research
- personnel and human resources
- marketing
- management
Where will I study?
You study at Collegiate Campus
Collegiate campus
Collegiate Campus can be found just off Ecclesall Road, a bustling student district.
Collegiate Campus map
Collegiate library
Collegiate Library can be found just off Ecclesall Road. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreEntry requirements
All students
UCAS points
- 64
This must include at least 32 points from one A level or equivalent BTEC National qualifications exluding general studies For example:
- CC at A Level
- MPP in BTEC Extended Diploma.
- A combination of qualifications, which may include AS levels and EPQ.
You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.
GCSE
- English Language at grade C or 4 or equivalent
- Maths at grade C or 4 or equivalent
• Access - at least 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2 from a relevant Open College Network accredited course.
If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills, or equivalent. If your English language skill is currently below IELTS 6.0 we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English score.
Please note the University will only admit students who are aged 18 at the point of enrolment.
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page. You can also watch a video guide on how to apply.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Modules
Module and assessment information for future years is displayed as currently validated and may be liable to change. When selecting electives, your choices will be subject to the core requirements of the course. As a result, selections may be limited to a choice between one of two or more specified electives in some instances.
You can take an optional placement in year three.
Year 1
Module | Credits | Assessment |
---|---|---|
Module: Contemporary Issues | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Introduction To Psychology, Law And Criminology | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Organisation Management And Delivery 1 | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Organisation Management And Delivery 2 | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Self And Stakeholder Management | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: The Practice Of Psychology | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Year 2
Module | Credits |
---|---|
Module: Academic Development And Personal Tuition | Credits: 20 |
Module: Cognitive Processes And Psychobiology | Credits: 20 |
Module: Developmental And Social Psychology | Credits: 20 |
Module: Psychological Research And Design | Credits: 20 |
Module: Psychological Well-Being And Individual Differences | Credits: 20 |
Module: Psychology Practicals And Statistics | Credits: 20 |
Module: Research Participation | Credits: - |
Year 3
Module | Credits | Assessment |
---|---|---|
Module: Applications Of Psychology | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Processes In Psychology | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework Exam |
Module: Research Methods Training | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework Exam |
Module | Credits | Assessment |
---|---|---|
Module: Animal Psychology | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Applying Psychology | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Disorders Of Language And Reading | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Holistic Perception | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Introduction To Counselling And Psychotherapy | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Psychology In Everyday Life | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework Exam |
Module: Witnesses And Victims: Forensic Psychology In Practice | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework Exam |
Module: Work Placement (Psychology) | Credits: 60 |
Assessment:
Coursework Practical |
Final year
Module | Credits |
---|---|
Module: Psychology Research Project And Personal Tuition | Credits: 40 |
Module | Credits |
---|---|
Module: Addictive Behaviours | Credits: 20 |
Module: Atypical Child Development | Credits: 20 |
Module: Clinical Psychology | Credits: 20 |
Module: Counselling And Psychotherapy (Theoretical Perspectives) | Credits: 20 |
Module: Death, Dying And Bereavement | Credits: 20 |
Module: Eating Behaviours | Credits: 20 |
Module: Evolutionary Psychology | Credits: 20 |
Module: Forensic Psychology | Credits: 20 |
Module: Health Psychology | Credits: 20 |
Module: Healthy And Clinical Ageing | Credits: 20 |
Module: Individual Differences And Mental Health | Credits: 20 |
Module: Language And Speech | Credits: 20 |
Module: Language Learning | Credits: 20 |
Module: Neuropsychology | Credits: 20 |
Module: Organisations Work And Psychology | Credits: 20 |
Module: Psychology In Critical Historical Context | Credits: 20 |
Module: Sleep And Circadian Rhythms | Credits: 20 |
Module: Social And Affective Neuroscience (San) | Credits: 20 |
Module: Social Psychology And Qualitative Research Methods | Credits: 20 |
Module: The Psychology Of Education | Credits: 20 |
Module: The Psychology Of Peace And Conflict | Credits: 20 |
Module: The Psychology Of Sexuality And Gender | Credits: 20 |
Module: Weapons Of Influence | Credits: 20 |
Fees and funding
Home/EU students
Our tuition fee for UK/EU students starting full-time undergraduate study in 2020/21 is £9,250 per year.
† If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
Our tuition fee for international students starting full-time study in 2020/21 is £13,650 per year.

Financial support for home/EU students
How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.
Additional course costs
This link allows you to view estimated costs associated with the main activities on specific courses. These are estimates and, as such, are only an indication of additional course costs. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
Additional costs for Psychology courses (PDF)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.
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