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What can I do with my A levels - biology, English lit and psychology?

user01906002

I’ve just started y12 and I have no idea what I want to do. I’m doing A level biology, psychology and English lit, and my interests lie mostly in social sciences or anything somewhat creative. Any suggestions as to what I can do? Thanks

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by user01906002

Normally people pick their subjects the other way round i.e. the degree and career first.

If you do biology, you can do a number of degrees in life sciences, but not all of them since you would need chemistry on top for a number of them. It gets messy if you want me to specify which subjects you can do in this area because some degrees would accept you with just biology, but some won't even in the same subject e.g. medicine. Psychology is also considered as a possible science for some degrees in this area, so where the degree requires 2 sciences in any subjects, then you can suitable for some of those degrees; however, that's not the case for all degrees in the same subject.

Psychology degrees generally do not require specific subjects at most unis. Those that do tend to ask for psychology or biology, both of which you have.

You can also go and do a degree in literature at top end unis, since you have literature.

Otherwise, you can apply for degrees that accept 3 A Levels in any subject, including:

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Anything in business expect for financial mathematics and actuarial science (for obvious reasons)

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Law

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Anthropology

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Archaeology

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Sociology and criminology

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Most psychology degrees

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Some degrees in creative writing and English literature

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Nonquantiative economics degrees

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Education

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Theology

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Politics

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Philosophy

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Linguistics

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Agriculture

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Some art and design degrees, including architecture

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Some geography degrees (usually ones with emphasis on human geography)

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Some history degrees

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Film

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Game design

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Hospitality

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Property and urban planning

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Journalism

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Media studies

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Nursing

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Paramedic science

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Social work

I don't know how you would define social science, since the definition can vary (the official definition is a subject that specifically looks into research that involves people on some level). As such, business, anthropology, sociology, criminology, psychology, nonquantitative economics, education, and linguistics would possibly be considered as possible areas to look into.
In terms of a creative subject, you're fine with some degrees in art and design, all English degrees, architecture, creative product design degrees (those that aren't engineering degrees), interior design, UX design, UI design, web design, creative writing. Some of the pickier degrees would require you to have art and design.

TSR also has the following webpage/search engine that help you explore your degree options based on your A Level subjects:
https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/a-level-explorer

So yeah, you do have an array of options. Do note, other than education, psychology, sociology, and architecture, you don't officially need a degree in any of the above subjects to go into their respective industries i.e. if you're not intending to go into education, psychology, etc. and you're picking one of the above subjects, it's only required if you want to go into academia. e.g. I don't need a degree in creative writing to write (not that I would necessarily produce good writing without it, but legally I don't need it).

Reply 2

McGinger

Have a look down these lists of Unis subjects and read the course descriptions for anything that sounds interesting - then check out the required A level subjects - you'll be surprised how many degree subjects you could apply for.
Sussex - https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/
Newcastle - https://www.ncl.ac.uk/undergraduate/subjects/

Good careers site with 100s of job descriptions - https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles