BA or BSc Psychology

Hi,
I am an A Level student taking a gap year and thinking of applying for a Psychology degree in 2024.
I am undecided between doing a BA in Psychology or BSc in Psychology.
I understand there is a difference in the structure of the course and modules taken.

I was wondering, by doing a Bachelors of Art in Psychology, would I be anyway disadvantaged after my degree? For example, could I still apply for a Masters in Psychology after doing the BA?

Any help would be greatly appreciated :smile:

)

Reply 1

Scotland Yard

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Universities Forum Helper

20

It makes absolutely no difference whether if you get a BA or a BSc. You ought to be looking for is for BPS (British Psychological Society) accreditation if you intend to do a Masters in psychology and/or practice as a psychologist, as lacking BPS accreditation will prevent you from going forwards with psychology! Hope this helps.

Reply 2

gstudent12345

OP

9

Original post by Scotland Yard

It makes absolutely no difference whether if you get a BA or a BSc. You ought to be looking for is for BPS (British Psychological Society) accreditation if you intend to do a Masters in psychology and/or practice as a psychologist, as lacking BPS accreditation will prevent you from going forwards with psychology! Hope this helps.

Wow thank you so much for replying, that helps a lot!!
So for example, if I were to apply to a MSc in Clinical Psychology, as long as I had the BPS Accredited degree, it wouldn't matter if it was BA or BSc?

I would be more inclined towards the Bachelors of Arts, because I would be less maths and statistics inclined. I prefer the research and the theories (I studies it at AS). However I am considering Clinical Psychology for after University, and I don't want to be disadvantaged in any way...

Also, which would you recommend doing... Does the BA still cover the research studies? Thanks :smile:

Reply 3

Scotland Yard

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Universities Forum Helper

20

Original post by gstudent12345

Wow thank you so much for replying, that helps a lot!!
So for example, if I were to apply to a MSc in Clinical Psychology, as long as I had the BPS Accredited degree, it wouldn't matter if it was BA or BSc?

I would be more inclined towards the Bachelors of Arts, because I would be less maths and statistics inclined. I prefer the research and the theories (I studies it at AS). However I am considering Clinical Psychology for after University, and I don't want to be disadvantaged in any way...

Also, which would you recommend doing... Does the BA still cover the research studies? Thanks :smile:

That's right, it doesn't matter if it's a BA or a BSc.

And in terms of differences between a BA and BSc... there aren't any. Some universities label their psychology course as a BA and others as a BSc because psychology is in many ways both a science and a humanities subject, so it's up the university to see it as one or the other, but it will make very little difference to the course, you'll cover the same things in either - you'll do a lot of maths and statistics in either, I'm afraid, but you'll cover research and theory no matter what you choose! There will be differences in modules and approaches, but that's due to the university, not what type of Bachelor it is, so that's how I'd base my decision of, which course structure you like the best rather than whether if one is a BA or a BSc!.

This is all probably a moot point anyway as you'll find that most places offer a BSc instead of a BA, and as I said, it makes no real difference in terms of structure or future prospects, so don't let that distinction affect your decision! Just apply to places you like that are BPS accredited and you'll be good to go. Hope this helped :smile:

Reply 4

bones-mccoy

19

As above, double check the degree is BPS accredited beforehand. A BSc is more likely to be accredited than a BA due to the maths/science content.

Reply 5

Nerol

21

Original post by gstudent12345

Hi,
I am an A Level student taking a gap year and thinking of applying for a Psychology degree in 2024.
I am undecided between doing a BA in Psychology or BSc in Psychology.
I understand there is a difference in the structure of the course and modules taken.

I was wondering, by doing a Bachelors of Art in Psychology, would I be anyway disadvantaged after my degree? For example, could I still apply for a Masters in Psychology after doing the BA?

Any help would be greatly appreciated :smile:

)

There are more BPS-accredited BSc courses than BA courses. If you are interested in a career in psychology, you need that accreditation at undergraduate level (or if not, you would need to complete an MSc Psychology Conversion course).

Reply 6

Arden University

17

@gstudent12345
The key thing is the accreditation with the BPS. Pretty much everyone I have met working in education that did psychology over the last 10 years have a BSc in it (or an MSc)

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador

BA or BSc Psychology

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