Psychology is the scientific study of
mind and behaviour and is a very broad discipline.
While we ask questions that you might associate
with biology, such as how the brain works,
we also ask questions that stretch into society
such as how people behave in groups.
Mental health, child development, visual perception,
animal learning, job recruitment, peer pressure,
work stress, language development,
and user interface design
are just some of many areas
that would fall within psychology.
it is quite common for people to think of Freud
or psychoanalysis when they hear of psychology,
however, psychoanalysis is only a very small part,
of one slice, of what makes up psychology as a whole.
People also sometimes think that psychologists
can look into your soul
and analyse your deepest secrets.
While we try to understand how the mind works,
we aren't mind readers.
It is also important to point out that
psychology and psychotherapy are not the same thing.
While some psychologists go on to become
therapists or counsellors, most won't.
if you are curious about what makes people tick,
how our senses work,
what determines whether we remember
or forget someone's name,
why some stuff is easier to learn than other stuff,
whether people are more intelligent than animals,
how and what babies learn from their caregivers,
what we can do to tackle prejudice and stereotypes.
In short, if you are curious about how the mind works,
then psychology is for you.
And psychology offers a number of psychology
specific professions to go into.
Depending on your interests you may want to
go on to become a clinical psychologist,
forensic psychologists, health psychologist,
occupational psychologist, sports, neuro
or educational psychologist,
counsellor, researcher or academic.
It's important to check that your degree
is accredited by the BPS,
the British Psychological Society,
because this will enable you to pursue
these professional routes.
But you are by no means restricted to these paths only.
The breadth of psychology as a discipline
means you will acquire an unusually
broad range of skills, from essay writing
and critical evaluation,
to experimental design and
statistical analysis.
This enables our graduates to find employment
in a diverse range of sectors with past students
going into everything from
marketing, to law enforcement,
consumer research, human resources,
social work, teaching and education,
healthcare, advertising and finance.
All BPS accredited courses will cover
the same core areas of psychology,
with different institutions having
slightly different emphases.
At Cardiff University you will spend your first two years
learning about research design and statistics,
cognition, perception, animal behaviour,
development, neuroscience, social psychology
and abnormal psychology.
We have a heavy emphasis on practical learning
so you will conduct, analyse, and write up
your own research throughout the course.
If you are on the degree with professional placement
you will go on a placement in your third year
before returning to your final year.
We offer placements covering all areas of psychology
with over 150 organisations on our books
and opportunities both in the UK and abroad.
In the final year you can choose modules
depending on your interests.
These currently include the following.
In addition to studying a selection of modules
you will also conduct your own
final year research project.
While many of our applicants
have studied psychology at school,
for example as an A-level,
this is by no means a requirement
and you'll be at no disadvantage
if you haven't studied it before.
Psychology at Cardiff University is taught as a science
which is reflected in our entry requirements.
What many people are less aware of
is that statistics forms a key component of psychology
and we therefore set a minimum grade for maths.
For more information
on our specific entry requirements,
please visit our website.
