BSc Educational Psychology

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• Education
• Psychology

AAB

Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken. Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.

Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

Please check for specific GCSE/IGCSE subject entry requirements below

BBB

Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken. Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.

Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

Please check for specific GCSE/IGCSE subject entry requirements below

Contextual offers are available for applicants who:

• live in the UK and will be under the age of 21 on 1 September of the year they will start their course; and
• live in an area of disadvantage or with low progression into higher education; and
• have attended a UK school or college for their GCSEs or A-levels (or equivalent qualifications) that has performed below the national average over multiple years.

See our contextual admissions page for full details and to check your eligibility.

BBC

Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken. Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.

Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

Please check for specific GCSE/IGCSE subject entry requirements below

UK refugee/care-experienced offers are available for applicants who:

• have been looked after in care for more than three months; or
• have been granted refugee status by the UK government or have been issued a UK visa under one of the Ukrainian schemes (Homes for Ukraine, Ukraine Family Scheme or Ukraine Extension Scheme).

See our contextual admissions page for full details and to check your eligibility.

35 points overall. 6,6,5 in Higher Level subjects

Applicants studying the International Baccalaureate Career Related Programme (IBCP) should contact the admissions team prior to applying so that their academic profile can be considered.

Applicants must demonstrate a broad general education including acceptable levels of Literacy and Numeracy, equivalent to at least Grade 4 or C in GCSE/IGCSE English Language and Mathematics. GCSE/IGCSE English Literature will not be accepted in lieu of GCSE/IGCSE English Language.

Please note that if you hold English as a second language IGCSE qualification, we may also require you to offer one of  our acceptable equivalent English Language qualifications  or achieve a higher grade in your IGCSE than the one stated above. Please contact the admissions team in your academic School/Department for clarification.

All applicants to the University (from the UK and Overseas) are required to show evidence of English Language proficiency. The minimum English Language requirement for this course is either:

GCSE/IGCSE English Language grade C/4, or;

IELTS 6.5 overall, with 6.5 in writing and no other sub-section below 6.0, or;

An acceptable equivalent qualification.

Please note that if you hold English as a second language IGCSE qualification, we may also require you to offer one of  our acceptable equivalent English Language qualifications  or achieve a higher grade in your IGCSE than the one stated above. Please contact the academic School for clarification.

If you need to improve your English language skills to meet the entry requirements for your academic course, the University Centre for Academic English (UCAE) summer pre-sessional courses can help. Check if your academic course offers the option of taking a pre-sessional course on the UCAE page .

The UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requires that every student requiring a visa to study in the UK must show evidence of a minimum level of English Language (common European Framework (CEFR B2 level) to be granted a Student Route visa (previously known as a Tier 4 visa) to study at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

In addition, our academic Schools/Departments may require applicants to demonstrate English proficiency above the B2 level. Further information about our English Language policy, including a list of some of the English Language qualifications we accept, can be found  here .

Fees for entry in 2026 have not yet been set. For entry in 2025 the tuition fees were £9,535 per annum for home students, and are expected to increase slightly for 2026 entry.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We are committed to attracting and supporting the very best students from all backgrounds to study this course.  

You could be eligible for cash bursaries of up to £2,500 to support your studies. 

Find out about our funding opportunities

Mature students are some of our most well-equipped learners, bringing skills and attributes gained from work, family and other life experiences.  Students come from a whole array of backgrounds, study every kind of course, undertake full-time and part-time learning and are motivated by career intentions as well as personal interest.  There is no such thing as a typical mature student at Manchester.

The application process is the same as for other prospective undergraduates.  If you require further clarification about the acceptability of the qualifications you hold please contact the academic School(s) you plan to apply to.  Further information for mature students can be found here ( http://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/mature-students/ )

Interviews are not conducted as part of the recruitment process for this course. However, tutors reserve the right to request an interview.

As work placements are a mandatory element of the course, you will be required to complete a DBS check upon entry.

Applications for deferred entry are considered equally to other applications up to the point of confirmation. Deferred entry is granted on the discretion of admissions staff, and is normally granted for one year only.

We will consider applicants who have re-sat individual modules.

If you have re-sat your final examinations, we will consider your application but may require further information in order to make an informed academic judgement on your application.

If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry. 

In your new application, you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.

If you are applying for a place for the same year of entry through UCAS Extra, you should provide additional evidence of your suitability for the course.

If you are applying through clearing, you are required to meet the clearing requirements. In both UCAS Extra and clearing the places will be subject to availability.

Students wishing to transfer from other universities will be considered on merit, providing we have enough places to accommodate them. 

However, transfers from courses not accredited by the BPS are unlikely to be granted, given the requirements for external accreditation.

During Year 1, you will build foundational knowledge of the core areas of psychology in relation to education.

• Development and Childhood critically examines key theory and research in developmental psychology, and critically evaluates applications and extension of developmental psychological theory in relation to education and child development.
• Exploring Psychology in the Classroom is the first fieldwork opportunity designed to familiarise you with the school environment and systems. You will spend time in a local school, observing classes and having the opportunity to meet and interact with key staffing roles (e.g., special educational needs coordinators).
• Foundations of Psychology will introduce you to the study of psychology as a science by examining the social and cultural construction of psychology and its application to `real-world questions' with particular regard to education.
• Social Psychology of Education will take an exploratory case approach by `walking through' the many experiences of an individual in relation to social-psychological processes that impact on teaching and learning.
• Research Issues in Psychology and Education provides a comprehensive grounding in core issues surrounding research in psychology and education, helping you to develop your own understanding and ideas.
• The Brain Goes to School will begin with the fundamentals of basic neurology (e.g., cells, neurotransmitters) and an introduction into experience and learning. It then moves to examining how brain structures and specialisation are currently understood and applied to learning. Each area will be considered from a neurobiological perspective and then applied to learners in classrooms.

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

In Year 2, there will be a greater emphasis on the application of knowledge and psychological theory in specific relation to education.

You will continue to build and deepen your foundational knowledge of the core areas of psychology in relation to education and develop your ability to evaluate and apply your understanding.

Cognition and Learning: Implications for School revisits the areas covered in Year 1's `The Brain Goes to School'. It develops the ideas further by building on the concepts from neuropsychology using information processing theory. This leads to cognitive models explaining Attention; Perception; Learning; Memory; Thinking and meta-cognition; Problem solving and decision-making; and Language. The focus is on understanding how these cognitive processes are used by typical and atypical learners in educational settings.

Counselling and Educational Psychology in the Professional Context offers grounding in the `real world' applications of education and counselling psychology in the professional context, with specific reference to the intersection of research and practice.

Data Analysis in Psychology & Education will build upon foundation skills developed in Year 1, specifically in relation to the analysis and interpretation of different data strands in research. It will develop your critical thinking skills and prepare you for your dissertation project in Year 3.

Risk and Resilience Processes in Human Development will provide you with an introduction to theory and research relating the concepts of risk and resilience, and their application in the study of human development.

Students are free to select optional units to customise their bespoke course of study.  Popular choices have included the Psychology of Learning, Sociology of Education, Teaching and Learning Literacy and Understanding Mental Health.

Please note that the above course unit details may change.

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

In Year 3, you will gain further independence in your learning and will be encouraged to draw links between the different components of the course in your application of learning, especially in relation to your major project and final year placement.

In the third fieldwork unit Intervention in Schools, you will draw upon your prior learning and fieldwork experiences in order to develop and conduct a bespoke intervention in a partner school.

Drawing upon the some of the key work within the department, the Prevention Science and Education unit aims to develop your knowledge and understanding of how theory and research in prevention science can be applied in educational contexts to improve children's social, emotional and behavioural outcomes.

Current Issues in Special Educational Needs (SEN) will explore the relevance of psychological theory for individual learning and assessment (drawing on developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology and social psychology). It will also consider historical and social influences on how SEN is defined as well as critically explore the value and use of diagnostic labels within educational settings (e.g., dyslexia, ASD, ADHD).

With support from a dedicated supervisor, you will conduct your Major Project - a piece of independent research, focusing on your areas of interest, with a focus on what useful knowledge might be gained and applied.

Please note that the above course unit details may change.

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service.

For more information, email dass@manchester.ac.uk .

Graduates are eligible for Graduate Membership, providing they meet BPS criteria (completion and passing of the major project and graduation with a degree classification of at least 2:2).