6 in Mathematics required
6 in English Language required
6 in any science subject required
Why psychology?
Studying psychology at Woodhouse will provide you with an understanding of human behaviour and mental processes, and allow you to better understand why we think, act and feel the way we do. You’ll learn to think critically and evaluate the various explanations of human behaviour that psychologists have developed. You’ll learn how to handle data and use statistical analysis to draw conclusions about behaviour, while the ability to think logically will develop through activities which involve planning experiments and other forms of research.
Psychologists often go on to work in research or take the applied route as clinical psychologists, sports psychologists, therapists or forensic psychologists. Others are well-equipped for roles in human resource management, advertising, marketing or even working for the government. Our department provides opportunities to listen to distinguished speakers, and various study trips are organised throughout the year.
Course content
In your first year you will study social psychology where you will learn about the explanations of behaviours such as obedience, conformity, defiance of authority and how psychology can be used to bring about social change.
You will study disorders such as OCD, depression and phobias, and how psychologists treat these disorders. You will also learn about how children form attachments with their care-givers and how the quality of these attachments can influence cognitive, emotional and social development.
In year two, topics covered include gender development, forensic psychology and schizophrenia.
Mark scheme
Exam - 2 hours - 33.3%
Introductory topics in psychology - 96 marks
- Multiple-choice, short-answer and
extended-writing questions
Exam - 2 hours - 33.3%
Psychology in context - 96 marks
- Multiple-choice, short-answer and
extended-writing questions
Exam - 2 hours - 33.3%
Issues and options in psychology - 96 marks
- Multiple-choice, short-answer and
extended-writing questions
Please click on the headings below.
What is psychology about?
Psychology is the study of the human mind and behaviour. You will learn about areas of human behaviour such as gender development, criminal behaviour, child development, memory, forgetting, and social behaviours such as obedience, conformity and defiance of authority.
Is there much science in it?
Psychology is a scientific subject. You will learn about how psychologists use the scientific method to investigate human behaviour.
There is some biology in the course because one way in which psychologists explain human behaviour is from a biological perspective. For example, a biological psychologist might explain criminal behaviour by looking for abnormalities in the brain or a person’s gender might be explained via differing hormones between males and females.
About 25% of the course is maths and science.
Is there any coursework?
There is no coursework in psychology.
There are three exams at the end of the course and they are equally weighted. Each exam is 2 hours long and is made up a combination of multiple-choice questions, short answer questions and longer, essay type questions.
What other subjects does psychology go well with?
Psychology is a social science which means that it sits between traditional science subjects and humanities.
We have lots of students who study psychology along with chemistry, biology, physics and maths and we have lots of students who study the subject with English, sociology, business studies etc.
In studying psychology, your critical thinking skills will develop, along with essay writing skills and numeracy. This means that psychology equips you with a broad range of skills that you don’t necessarily get with other subjects.
What can I do with psychology?
Many students study psychology at university and then go on to train as one of the following types of psychologists: Educational psychologist, occupational psychologist, sport and exercise psychologist, and forensic psychologist.
Some psychology graduates go into research and/or teaching and some graduates go into counselling.
Other psychology graduates don’t stay in the field but work in business, marketing, advertising etc.
Some go into the police, others carry on training and go into mental health nursing, medicine or neuroscience.
A degree in psychology allows you to develop a range of skills and it provides a useful foundation for a range of careers. Because of this, psychology graduates are highly employable.