How to choose between 2 degree options?

Hi everyone. I am currently really stressing about degree options. I am locking in my UCAS on the 12th November (very soon, I know) and I cannot decide between 2 degrees: Biology or Psychology. For practically my whole life, I have had an interest in biology and was therefore considering taking it as a degree and even wrote my personal statement on it (I actually wanted to do veterinary medicine before but in Year 12, I dropped chemistry and now I take Biology, Psychology and Maths A Level as I did not want to do it all).
Throughout my time in Year 12, I started having doubts whether I even want to do Biology. Although I do quite enjoy the subject and find it interesting, I am not sure I am that passionate about it anymore to do another 3-4 years on it (and possibly more if I want a job as undergraduate biology isn't enough to get a job) so I started considering Psychology. Psychology is a subject I really do enjoy and like learning about, however I am scared about not being able to get a good job after doing psychology. I am strongly considering going into a job in the police and joining the Detective Graduate Scheme, but I am just afraid that if I don't get in, what job would I find in psychology? I do NOT want to teach at all, nor do research (neither in biology nor in psychology), therapy or councelling. Furthermore, everyone that I have talked to have told me that psychology is saturated with students and that it is very difficult to find a job in psychology and that biology would increase my chances of getting a successful job that pays well.
However, like I mentioned before, I don't want to work in a lab, nor do research. And I have considered going into graduate entry medicine, but that is something I am not passionate about. I have a dream to work in government positions and help people, which is why I am quite passionate about doing policing and detective work. So I really don't know what to do and any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated as I am very rapidly running out of time.
Thank you for your help.

Take a gap year and you'll probably make the best decision as it isn't rushed.

That probably would be the best thing to do, however I am not really fond of the idea as I kind of just want to go straight to Uni and get education over and done with, without wasting any time. Thank you for your reply.

Maybe visit a few unis on their open days and see if anything sparks your interest. The beauty is you don’t have to rush to decide as there’s always clearing.

A degree in Psychology does not make you 'a Psychologist' and its a long hard climb to professional status - Clinical psychologist job profile | Prospects.ac.uk This is why most Psych graduates are working in other areas.
However, this is true for many other degree disciplines - most graduates will have a job/career that is not directly related to their degree subject. Employers value the 'higher thinking skills' that all graduates have - a degree in Psychology or in Biology will be useful in a thousand career areas outside those areas.
If you are going to do a degree, do it because that is what you enjoy studying, that is what fills your day with interest and intrigue. It doesn't have to be leading to an obvious career. That can come much later.
A few suggestions to think about :
BSc (Hons) Psychology with Human Biology - University of Plymouth
Psychology with Criminology BSc | Undergraduate study | Loughborough University
BSc Psychology with Neuroscience - 2026/27
Professional Policing, BSc (Hons)
Royal Navy | Joining options

i did the same a levels as you, studying sport and exercise medical sciences at uni purely because enjoy studying sciences, and looking to work in something completely unrelated to my degree (which is more common than you'd think)
in terms of considering university as an option, i'd say apply to the course you think you will enjoy the most, and will be motivated to study intensely for the next 3/4 years. as long as you get a 2.1 from a decent uni and have some experience under your belt you're good.
you mentioned wanting to work in government positions also, so if you're wanting to do this through the university route i'd suggest checking out the internship/grad scheme positions that are open and seeing if they require a specific degree (usually they don't tho)
if you find there's no requirement then i 100% recommend picking what you'll enjoy as the career prospects won't be that different (imo the uni and your experiences/projects matters more than degree choice, but people have mixed opinions on this)
hope this was somewhat useful lol

Hi everyone. I am currently really stressing about degree options. I am locking in my UCAS on the 12th November (very soon, I know) and I cannot decide between 2 degrees: Biology or Psychology. For practically my whole life, I have had an interest in biology and was therefore considering taking it as a degree and even wrote my personal statement on it (I actually wanted to do veterinary medicine before but in Year 12, I dropped chemistry and now I take Biology, Psychology and Maths A Level as I did not want to do it all).
Throughout my time in Year 12, I started having doubts whether I even want to do Biology. Although I do quite enjoy the subject and find it interesting, I am not sure I am that passionate about it anymore to do another 3-4 years on it (and possibly more if I want a job as undergraduate biology isn't enough to get a job) so I started considering Psychology. Psychology is a subject I really do enjoy and like learning about, however I am scared about not being able to get a good job after doing psychology. I am strongly considering going into a job in the police and joining the Detective Graduate Scheme, but I am just afraid that if I don't get in, what job would I find in psychology? I do NOT want to teach at all, nor do research (neither in biology nor in psychology), therapy or councelling. Furthermore, everyone that I have talked to have told me that psychology is saturated with students and that it is very difficult to find a job in psychology and that biology would increase my chances of getting a successful job that pays well.
However, like I mentioned before, I don't want to work in a lab, nor do research. And I have considered going into graduate entry medicine, but that is something I am not passionate about. I have a dream to work in government positions and help people, which is why I am quite passionate about doing policing and detective work. So I really don't know what to do and any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated as I am very rapidly running out of time.
Thank you for your help.

Hi @RaccoomQueen17
As others have already said, choosing what you find most enjoyable and interesting will set you up really well on your degree. But if you're still stuck between the two, you could look at where the two degrees overlap. For example, a lot of biology or biological sciences degrees offer modules related to psychology or neuroscience that may interest you, whilst still allowing you the breadth to study other areas in biology.
In terms of career prospects, I wouldn't worry too much about your degree at UG level, lots of people change to doing something completely different after graduating and there is always the option of doing further study later on (e.g. a Master's degree) to switch career. I would consider what sort of degree the Detective Graduate Scheme needs, but in terms of other potential careers, choosing a degree that has a broad range of module options would help you have a wider skillset and set you up well for a variety of jobs.
I hope this is helpful, there are also both biological sciences and psychology degrees at UEA, so I'm happy to try and answer your questions on either/ both of those if you have any! I'm studying ecology and conservation, which is in the school of biological sciences so I share modules with the biological sciences course, so I can provide you with more specific info on those or even just tell you more about what it is like to take a biology degree if you are interested!
UEA Rep Rosie ☺️
BSc Ecology and Conservation

Hi everyone. I am currently really stressing about degree options. I am locking in my UCAS on the 12th November (very soon, I know) and I cannot decide between 2 degrees: Biology or Psychology. For practically my whole life, I have had an interest in biology and was therefore considering taking it as a degree and even wrote my personal statement on it (I actually wanted to do veterinary medicine before but in Year 12, I dropped chemistry and now I take Biology, Psychology and Maths A Level as I did not want to do it all).
Throughout my time in Year 12, I started having doubts whether I even want to do Biology. Although I do quite enjoy the subject and find it interesting, I am not sure I am that passionate about it anymore to do another 3-4 years on it (and possibly more if I want a job as undergraduate biology isn't enough to get a job) so I started considering Psychology. Psychology is a subject I really do enjoy and like learning about, however I am scared about not being able to get a good job after doing psychology. I am strongly considering going into a job in the police and joining the Detective Graduate Scheme, but I am just afraid that if I don't get in, what job would I find in psychology? I do NOT want to teach at all, nor do research (neither in biology nor in psychology), therapy or councelling. Furthermore, everyone that I have talked to have told me that psychology is saturated with students and that it is very difficult to find a job in psychology and that biology would increase my chances of getting a successful job that pays well.
However, like I mentioned before, I don't want to work in a lab, nor do research. And I have considered going into graduate entry medicine, but that is something I am not passionate about. I have a dream to work in government positions and help people, which is why I am quite passionate about doing policing and detective work. So I really don't know what to do and any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated as I am very rapidly running out of time.
Thank you for your help.

Hi there! The Detective Graduate Scheme doesn’t necessarily require a specific degree, although they prefer degrees in psychology, criminology and sociology, it doesn’t matter that much. I would really appreciate it if you do tell me a bit more about what it’s like to take a biology degree! And yes, you are right in saying to choose a degree that had wide range of module options, which is exactly something that a biology degree has.

Hello @RaccoomQueen17,
That’s great to hear you are considering either Biology or Psychology at university, but try not to stress!
Its important to pick something you will enjoy studying, as its likely that you won’t be motivated otherwise.
I am currently studying psychology at the University of Southampton and have loved it. Southampton has a great careers team, with networking events, careers meetings and lots of online resources. We often get emailed with links to apply to different internships and job opportunities within psychology. The uni also offers extra curricular activities which can enhance your CV such as the Student Innovation Project. This is where you work in a group to solve a real life problem that a business has. There is also the opportunity to do a semester abroad in psychology and a year in placement, which are both amazing for gaining experience.
We have a great criminological psychology module at Southampton which I have heard good things about. The course is also very flexible and we are even able to take a module from outside psychology if we wish and if timetabling allows.
There are many pathways you can take in psychology, including educational, occupational and sports psychology - so it doesn’t just have to involve therapy or counselling.
I hope this helped and let me know if you have any more questions!
Poppy, 3rd Year Psychology

Of course I can tell you a bit more!
So I study ecology and conservation, which branches some biology and some environmental sciences modules, but I am a part of the School of Biological Sciences, because my degree fundamentally focuses on living things! Being a science degree, it has relatively high contact hours (which are the number of hours you spend being taught by someone in person and are ~20-25 per week in 1st year), but these reduce in 2nd and 3rd year as you do more independent study. You have lots of lectures, seminars, workshops, lab work, and potentially field work, depending on which modules you take. Modules cover a wide range of disciplines within biology- including ecology, molecular biology, cell biology, human biology, and biochemistry modules. If you take the Biological Sciences degree, you will have a broad first year covering a range of these topics (and more!), and you can pick modules in second and third year according to what you are interested in! The big advantage of taking a broad degree like this is that it doesn't matter if you aren't sure which area of biology you are interested in, because you don't have to narrow yourself into one discipline as early.
I hope that is some helpful insight, please do let me know if there is anything else you are curious about, I'm happy to answer questions about it, and I may well have forgotten something anyway!
UEA Rep Rosie ☺️

What about "Psychology with Human Biology" that is offered by a few universities?

Thank you so so much for your reply Rosie! I am really glad that I have a bit more of an insight into what biology offers coming directly from a student, as I now understand a bit more about this degree than what I got told in open days and by other people. I am quite glad that there is such a broad range of options in the first year, that does make me feel better quite a bit! How many times a week and how many hours would you say are spent working in the lab per week/ per day?

Hi everyone. I am currently really stressing about degree options. I am locking in my UCAS on the 12th November (very soon, I know) and I cannot decide between 2 degrees: Biology or Psychology. For practically my whole life, I have had an interest in biology and was therefore considering taking it as a degree and even wrote my personal statement on it (I actually wanted to do veterinary medicine before but in Year 12, I dropped chemistry and now I take Biology, Psychology and Maths A Level as I did not want to do it all).
Throughout my time in Year 12, I started having doubts whether I even want to do Biology. Although I do quite enjoy the subject and find it interesting, I am not sure I am that passionate about it anymore to do another 3-4 years on it (and possibly more if I want a job as undergraduate biology isn't enough to get a job) so I started considering Psychology. Psychology is a subject I really do enjoy and like learning about, however I am scared about not being able to get a good job after doing psychology. I am strongly considering going into a job in the police and joining the Detective Graduate Scheme, but I am just afraid that if I don't get in, what job would I find in psychology? I do NOT want to teach at all, nor do research (neither in biology nor in psychology), therapy or councelling. Furthermore, everyone that I have talked to have told me that psychology is saturated with students and that it is very difficult to find a job in psychology and that biology would increase my chances of getting a successful job that pays well.
However, like I mentioned before, I don't want to work in a lab, nor do research. And I have considered going into graduate entry medicine, but that is something I am not passionate about. I have a dream to work in government positions and help people, which is why I am quite passionate about doing policing and detective work. So I really don't know what to do and any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated as I am very rapidly running out of time.
Thank you for your help.

It really depends on which modules you take, I had fewer lab hours than the biological sciences degree because I had more fieldwork in first year. I probably had around 2-4 hours of labs per week in first year, but I would imagine the Biological Sciences degree is a bit higher than this, because you take more lab-based modules (e.g. cell biology, molecular biology). In second year I had ~3 hours of labs per week in my first semester, but my modules didn't have lab work in my second semester, they had more fieldwork instead! Basically you're looking at a couple of hours of labs per module per week, which may sound like a lot, but they will be broken down into 2-3 hour chunks, and often won't take you that long to complete, they just allow extra time if something goes wrong or takes longer to do than anticipated! The labs are super fun too, you learn lots very quickly, and you use proper research-style equipment, not like school! At UEA, you get your own lab coat, which is yours to keep, so I felt like a proper scientist!