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Universities for psychology

what are the top best universities in the UK for psychology?
The same as the top universities for most courses: oxbridge, UCL, KCL, St. Andrews, Edinburgh etc.

I can vouch for UCL psychology course. It's also meant to be the best psych department in Europe.
Original post by JimberZoilo
what are the top best universities in the UK for psychology?


Hello,

I would suggest checking the UCAS website or doing some research for student polls into the best courses for this subject.

Also from personal experience as a person that visits many many universities I would say that every university offers different types of psychology/ university courses with different specialisms and units so sometimes its not always as simple as comparing league tables.

Is there a particular type of psychology you are interested in? Criminal? Media?

Let me know if I can help you further, I have many friends studying this course.

Dom
Reply 3
google it. it’ll come right up
Original post by Noodlzzz
The same as the top universities for most courses: oxbridge, UCL, KCL, St. Andrews, Edinburgh etc.

I can vouch for UCL psychology course. It's also meant to be the best psych department in Europe.


If u were to chose between St A and EDI which one would u go for ?
Reply 5
i heard St A is amazing for psychology - very high ranked for psychology. i havent done my research on EDI yet. so far i'd choose ST A
Original post by HeadsToes
If u were to chose between St A and EDI which one would u go for ?
Original post by JimberZoilo
i heard St A is amazing for psychology - very high ranked for psychology. i havent done my research on EDI yet. so far i'd choose ST A


Would you think this is the same case regardless whether studying undergrad and postgrad?
Reply 7
im not sure
Original post by HeadsToes
Would you think this is the same case regardless whether studying undergrad and postgrad?
Original post by JimberZoilo
what are the top best universities in the UK for psychology?


Hi
Coming back to what was mentioned previously, it really depends what you are most interested in within Psychology.

Although League tables are extremely valuable, these may not cover some areas which may be useful in selecting which you think is the Top University for you. This can include:

- Area of Specialism (Clinical, Neuroscience, Stats, Educational, Occupational, Sports, Media etc)
- Clinics and Facilities on site (Labs, Equipment (fMRI/MRI/EEG/ECG), Condition specific clinics)
- Researcher Specialism (Important for looking again at your interests and further progression in Psychology).
As well as other things they can offer (Joint Specialisms, External Modules).

I would strongly advise, that since all courses which are accredited by the BPS will cover the same core areas. Thereby it will be the individual specialism in each year which will help indicate which is the best Uni for you. So look into which area you are most interested in, and use this to fuel your research into which University is best for you!

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Tom :smile:
Third Year Psychology and Student Ambassador.
Reply 9
Hi , I am more interested in psychology that works on the different approaches such as psychodynamic, biological, behaviourist, cognitive and the positive
. Do you know what good universities work best on focusing on these approaches the most? I’m not really into work such as neuroscience or such
Original post by UniofReading
Hi
Coming back to what was mentioned previously, it really depends what you are most interested in within Psychology.

Although League tables are extremely valuable, these may not cover some areas which may be useful in selecting which you think is the Top University for you. This can include:

- Area of Specialism (Clinical, Neuroscience, Stats, Educational, Occupational, Sports, Media etc)
- Clinics and Facilities on site (Labs, Equipment (fMRI/MRI/EEG/ECG), Condition specific clinics)
- Researcher Specialism (Important for looking again at your interests and further progression in Psychology).
As well as other things they can offer (Joint Specialisms, External Modules).

I would strongly advise, that since all courses which are accredited by the BPS will cover the same core areas. Thereby it will be the individual specialism in each year which will help indicate which is the best Uni for you. So look into which area you are most interested in, and use this to fuel your research into which University is best for you!

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Tom :smile:
Third Year Psychology and Student Ambassador.
Original post by JimberZoilo
Hi , I am more interested in psychology that works on the different approaches such as psychodynamic, biological, behaviourist, cognitive and the positive
. Do you know what good universities work best on focusing on these approaches the most? I’m not really into work such as neuroscience or such


Hi,
So within psychology at university it is required that five main areas are covered Biological (Neuroscience being one aspect of this), Cognitive, Social, Research and Developmental as a result your main areas of interest are likely to fall into this.

In terms of what you have listed there I would advise looking at what research is being produced for those core areas you are interested within, and seeing where that literature is being produced and seeing whether this filters down into the courses they provide at that university.
For example; here at Reading we have the Centre for Autism, the research done with this team feeds directly into work we look into at Part 2 and 3 (second and third year) of Undergraduate psychology.

This can be done through simply Google Scholar-ing these areas and looking at the most up-to-date research and seeing where this is produced. I will be honest, this may take a while to hone down your choices, however this should assist in helping you make the most informed decision about which University is right for you!

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any further questions
Tom :smile:
Third Year Psychology and Student Ambassador
Ahhh right ,thank you !!
Original post by UniofReading
Hi,
So within psychology at university it is required that five main areas are covered Biological (Neuroscience being one aspect of this), Cognitive, Social, Research and Developmental as a result your main areas of interest are likely to fall into this.

In terms of what you have listed there I would advise looking at what research is being produced for those core areas you are interested within, and seeing where that literature is being produced and seeing whether this filters down into the courses they provide at that university.
For example; here at Reading we have the Centre for Autism, the research done with this team feeds directly into work we look into at Part 2 and 3 (second and third year) of Undergraduate psychology.

This can be done through simply Google Scholar-ing these areas and looking at the most up-to-date research and seeing where this is produced. I will be honest, this may take a while to hone down your choices, however this should assist in helping you make the most informed decision about which University is right for you!

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any further questions
Tom :smile:
Third Year Psychology and Student Ambassador
Reply 12
I would say ignore what league tables say, and look at the modules for third year. Most unis have very similar courses for first and second year, and third is where they vary. I am personally into the more scientific side so a good research department is important to me, hence why I’ve chosen Durham (99% of research is world class or something similar) and Nottingham as insurance - both have very good research facilities. Most unis will cover cognitive and biological psych in first and second year, so you’re pretty much guaranteed that wherever you go. Third year modules are often more niche and conceptual - I’ve seen sleep/amnesia psychology, psychology of illness, psychology of music etc. Have a look on the website of some unis which you like the look of for the psychology course to get an idea.

Some of the unis which come up top year after year are Bath, St Andrews, UCL, Durham, Birmingham which I’m pretty sure you may have considered already. However, there are some very good non-Russel group unis which have great psychology depts which are often overlooked: Kent for example, or surrey which provide a course with a year in work (which is super useful, and the course isn’t any more competitive - you don’t need higher grades)

Hope this helps and good luck in your application!
Thank you so much!! 1 question - what do you mean by you want good RESEARCH department? I know what research is (obviously) but what do you mean by research?
Original post by iplcr4
I would say ignore what league tables say, and look at the modules for third year. Most unis have very similar courses for first and second year, and third is where they vary. I am personally into the more scientific side so a good research department is important to me, hence why I’ve chosen Durham (99% of research is world class or something similar) and Nottingham as insurance - both have very good research facilities. Most unis will cover cognitive and biological psych in first and second year, so you’re pretty much guaranteed that wherever you go. Third year modules are often more niche and conceptual - I’ve seen sleep/amnesia psychology, psychology of illness, psychology of music etc. Have a look on the website of some unis which you like the look of for the psychology course to get an idea.

Some of the unis which come up top year after year are Bath, St Andrews, UCL, Durham, Birmingham which I’m pretty sure you may have considered already. However, there are some very good non-Russel group unis which have great psychology depts which are often overlooked: Kent for example, or surrey which provide a course with a year in work (which is super useful, and the course isn’t any more competitive - you don’t need higher grades)

Hope this helps and good luck in your application!
Reply 14
Original post by JimberZoilo
Thank you so much!! 1 question - what do you mean by you want good RESEARCH department? I know what research is (obviously) but what do you mean by research?


No problem! To me, a good research department is one that has good labs with lots of facilities like MRIs, EEGs, virtual reality simulators. Without these tools, students sometimes travel to nearby unis or hospitals in order to use them which in my opinion, is inconvenient; I want to go to a uni which has these available.

Also, I want the research that the uni carry out to be respected; at open days you can ask if any third year student have had their dissertations published in journals etc (you may not need to ask, lots of professors bring it up as it’s something they’re proud of)

I guess I wanted to go to a uni which is more hands on, so have lots of practical contact hours rather than just lectures. You will do practicals at all unis, but some promote them more than others.

To ME, this is what makes a perfect department :smile: I think the best thing you could do is go to one open day fairly soon (I assume you’re in year 12, so before summer holidays) and suss out what you do/don’t like about it. Then, you can research other unis which have the positive aspects and go to those open days :smile:
so helpful, thank you so much!
Original post by iplcr4
No problem! To me, a good research department is one that has good labs with lots of facilities like MRIs, EEGs, virtual reality simulators. Without these tools, students sometimes travel to nearby unis or hospitals in order to use them which in my opinion, is inconvenient; I want to go to a uni which has these available.

Also, I want the research that the uni carry out to be respected; at open days you can ask if any third year student have had their dissertations published in journals etc (you may not need to ask, lots of professors bring it up as it’s something they’re proud of)

I guess I wanted to go to a uni which is more hands on, so have lots of practical contact hours rather than just lectures. You will do practicals at all unis, but some promote them more than others.

To ME, this is what makes a perfect department :smile: I think the best thing you could do is go to one open day fairly soon (I assume you’re in year 12, so before summer holidays) and suss out what you do/don’t like about it. Then, you can research other unis which have the positive aspects and go to those open days :smile:

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