Guidance on UK Graduate Studies in Psychology/Criminology

Hi,
I have a BSc in Criminology from Nigeria and want to study in the UK, focusing on a blend of criminology, psychology, and counselling/psychotherapy.
I’m looking for advice on:
Recommended courses/programs study path
Work placements or internships
Costs and funding options
Schools around Manchester, Birmingham or London
Any tips or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Reply 1

University of Salford Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post

by gleamingSpark42

Hi!

I will explain a little bit, link some useful resources and can give you an idea of a few courses out there if this may be helpful for you. I currently study BSc Psychology and Criminology and have also recently been exploring my options for further study in these subject areas 😊 I study at the University of Salford which is located just outside of Manchester city centre.

As you already have an undergraduate degree I assume you'll be looking at postgraduate study options. What you could do depends on your grade for your BSc Criminology degree as many postgraduate courses require a 2:2, 2:1 or above. It also could depend on what you have covered in your undergraduate degree as to whether you would be eligible for certain programmes so I'd advise speaking to any university/course providers directly to discuss this, most likely the admissions department or an enquiry team for the course. Most course pages have some contact information for further questions so look out for this.

What you really want to do, your interests and what career paths you are interested in is of course important too!

🧠 For psychology, the first step of most careers is often an undergraduate degree in psychology, or you can potentially complete a conversion course if you have a degree in a different subject - like BSc Criminology.

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The Prospects website has some really useful info about psychology conversion courses, linked here.

There are also some psychology-related masters courses out there which accept undergraduate degrees in other subjects so have a good search. For example, in the area of mental health if this interests you.

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Searching for "psychology" in most postgraduate course search engines should bring up some options. The Prospects website or UCAS can be really helpful.

You can then progress further down the psychology career ladder towards doctoral programmes. The British Psychological Society (BPS) are the main representative body for psychology/psychologists in the UK, I recommend checking out their website to get a good understanding of who they are as psychology careers specifically will adhere to their guidelines. There are of course other career options out there which value the skills/knowledge of psychology (and criminology), but for the psychology-specific career paths then the BPS are the organisation to get an understanding of.

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The BPS website.

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Understanding career options and career pathways - I really like the Careers Guide and career maps.

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Have a good explore of the whole website as there is loads of advice and guidance!

⚖️ For criminology, there are lots of postgraduate courses related to this subject which may interest you. Here are some of the ones we have at the University of Salford:

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Criminal Justice: People and Processes

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Applied Social Research Methods

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Enabling Social Change

There are of course lots of options out there in this subject area so have a good search again using the postgraduate course search engines I linked before (Prospects, UCAS). It really depends on your personal interests!

🗨️ For counselling and psychotherapy there are a few different options out there again. Entry requirements for postgraduate courses in this area may need work experience specifically related to this area, such as counselling, wellbeing, teaching, healthcare, and/or working with vulnerable people. There may also be an expectation of skills related to counselling/psychotherapy and some courses may ask for a certificate in Counselling Skills at a Level 3 or above. Additionally, some course providers would expect an undergraduate degree in psychology or a health-related subject, others may not. It can really differ depending on the course for this subject area so have a good search of them all using the postgraduate search engines.

The work experience you need would depend on the course/area you choose, but any work with people is always useful. Research experience is often helpful too at postgraduate level depending on what you'd like to do. Prospects (again 😅) has lots of useful info and a search engine which may help, both linked.

Funding information should be included on all course pages for international students. For more information on this I really recommend contacting any course providers directly as they will be able to provide more specific information on your personal situation, contact details for phone lines/email should also be on the course pages. Additionally, UCAS have lots of information relevant to studying as an international student in the UK, including financial information, so having a look at this could be helpful - linked here.

Hopefully that gives you a bit of insight and I've not overloaded you with website links! I find if I'm struggling to find an answer to a question they are usually quite helpful, I'm happy to answer any further questions I can too 😊

All the best,

Becky
University of Salford Student Rep