Psychology

Please note that due to the popularity of our BPS accredited courses we urge you to apply early to avoid disappointment as places are limited.

Course Highlights

• A long-established online British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited Psychology degree with excellent student satisfaction
• One-year free student membership of the BPS giving you access to their network, resources and discounted events
• Choice of optional modules allowing you to tailor your studies to your personal interests
• A research-informed programme design featuring research-led teaching
• Options to engage regularly your academics and wider support teams

Our online BSc (Hons) Psychology degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and has been successfully running online for more than ten years. It is one of our most popular and established online degrees.

Completing an accredited Psychology degree is an essential first step to becoming a qualified psychologist in the UK and will enable you to gain Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC). If your interests lay outside a career as a qualified psychologist, you will find that our programme provides knowledge and transferable skills that will aide you in your current workplace, or in pursuit of alternative career pathways, such as the health and social care and education sectors.

Why study psychology online with Derby?

Our online courses are designed with the online learner in mind. With over ten years' experience teaching psychology online, we are aware of the unique benefits and challenges an online learner may face. We’ve developed systems to support you from the moment you apply to the programme, to the day you celebrate your graduation.

We’ve spent years investing in our online resources including our online library with a comprehensive range of digital and electronic resources, texts and journals, and specialist psychology software accessible to students on our psychology courses.

Our students are at the heart of our programmes and you will become part of a psychology community. As a BSc (Hons) Psychology student, you’ll be invited to attend online social events and guest lectures, and you’ll have access to a large and experienced academic team to ask questions throughout your studies.

The programme design is research informed and our teaching is research led. You’ll have access to academic staff with expertise in a wide range of psychological research including positive psychology, health psychology, compassion-focused therapies, nature connectedness and developmental psychology.

If you want to study an online programme, be part of an active student community, and have the option to engage in contemporary modules and live online sessions with your peers and academic staff, then this may be the programme for you.

Attendance at live virtual sessions is optional and all sessions will be recorded and available for you to access in your own time.

A high-quality programme with excellent student satisfaction

The student voice is at the heart of our programme, we welcome feedback from students via student representatives and regular communication with the programme team. We use this to continuously improve our programme and enhance the student experience.

Follow your own interests and tailor your studies with optional modules

The programme is designed to cover the core curriculum as recommended by the BPS. However, you can also choose from a range of optional modules in your second and final year (or equivalent depending on pace of study) allowing you to follow your own interests. These may be in areas such as Psychology of Education, Psychology of Pain, Autism and ADHD and Psychology of Gender and Sexuality.

With start dates in September and January, and interactive online learning materials, you have the flexibility to study at the most convenient time and place for you. Programme modules operate within a fixed term time, so you’ll have clear and consistent start and end dates for your study, each term. You can also choose to study during the day, in the evenings or at the weekend rather than having to attend fixed lectures.

Free student membership of the British Psychological Society

Students on this BPS accredited BSc (Hons) Psychology degree will be eligible for 12-months free BPS student membership. Once you are accepted and enrol onto the course, you will be invited to join the BPS as a student member giving you access to a wide range of student member benefits including professional development, networking, publications and more.

After the one-year free membership, you will be eligible to continue your membership by renewing it directly with the BPS.

Please note: Free BPS membership is not available to students in receipt of Ministry of Defence Enhanced Learning Credit Scheme (ELC).

To complete Stage 1

You will need to complete all six core modules (120 credits) before you can progress onto Stage 2. We will confirm your study pattern once your application has been accepted.

To complete Stage 2

You must complete six modules (120 credits) before you can progress onto Stage 3; four core modules, and two optional modules.

To complete Stage 3

You will need to complete four optional modules plus your independent psychology research project.

Our team will advise you of the optional modules available to you prior to each academic year to ensure you have the best fit for your future career goals, and your preferred study pattern.

You can view the study plan for this online course.

Please note: Optional modules are subject to availability and study patterns.

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

Pace of study

The academic year is made up of three 10-week terms, known as trimesters. We recommend 20 hours of study per week to complete one 20-credit module over a 10-week trimester. This is what we call the standard rate of study, and we’d recommend this rate of study for any students who are also working full-time or have other commitments.

You can choose to study two modules per term, this is what we call our accelerated rate of study. For this rate of study, we’d recommend 40 hours a week, and so it is best suited to those who are not currently in full-time work.

We know that sometimes life happens, and our team will be here to support you to consider which study rate may be best for you depending on your life circumstances.

We recommend studying one module at the standard rate of study before deciding, with support from our team to consider whether to then increase to the accelerated rate of study.

As a BPS accredited programme, some of our modules involve working in a group. Where this is applicable, we will support you to develop these skills and help you to conduct this in a suitable online setting that suits all our learners.

There will be 1/2 virtual classrooms over the 10 week trimester and if you are unable to attend you will be able to download the session to view in your own time.

Assessment method

This course is assessed through 100% coursework with a range of methods, such as essays, research reports, presentations, group work and practical reports. Our assessment is designed to be authentic and help our students develop psychology specific and transferable skills that will be useful with their future career goals.

Student support and guidance

Whilst we encourage our students to become independent, life-long learners, we also recognise that offering the right support and guidance will help you to achieve your goals. There is a wealth of support available to you at the University, from your dedicated Personal Tutor and Online Learner Advisor, through to our:

• Psychology Technicians
• Library
• Health and Wellbeing Centre
• Careers and Employability Service
• IT Support
• Union of Students

All these services, and more, are available to you as an online student at the University of Derby.

Don't just take our word for it...

Graduate Kelly Davies talks about her time as a student with University of Derby Online Learning.

Get a taste of the course content

Our Psychology BSc (Hons) course taster will give you an idea of how online learning works. It includes a selection of content from a course module so you can see what some of our learning material looks like.

You will need to complete a short form to access the course taster.

If you want to become a chartered or practitioner psychologist, you will need to undertake further postgraduate training following this course (for further information refer to the BPS website). Many postgraduate Psychology courses require Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) for entry; you can obtained GBC by completing this online BSc (Hons) Psychology degree.

If you are looking to pursue a career in psychology, but aren’t sure which route to take, the online BSc (Hons) Psychology can offer an introduction to several of the core pathways in psychology including health, forensic, sport and exercise, clinical and educational psychology.

If you’re more interested in psychology as a subject and are not pursuing a career as a psychologist, or you live outside of the UK where the requirements to become a psychologist are slightly different, then this programme can still be valuable due to the development of transferable and psychology specific skills. Upon completing this degree, you may be eligible to apply for psychology-aligned roles such as psychology well-being practitioners and assistant psychologist roles or you may wish to apply your learning to roles in health and social care, education, management or administration and other sectors.

During the course, we regularly feature guest speakers who highlight their experiences working in different settings, such as psychology well-being practitioners, senior cognitive behavioural therapists, practitioner psychologists, data analysts and psychologists in training.

Whatever you choose as a career pathway, and even if you’re not sure yet, as a student on the BSc (Hons) Psychology, you’ll be allocated a Personal Academic Tutor who will support you throughout your time on the course and help you to identify your career choices and next steps.

If you are interested in becoming a registered health psychologist or forensic psychologist you can continue to study with us online, by taking our online MSc Health Psychology or online MSc Forensic Psychology programmes.

Utilise our Careers and Employment Service​

Whilst you are a student at the University of Derby, and for 3 years after you graduate, our Careers and Employment Service can assist you with job search advice, CV creation, workshops and events, as well as one-to-one appointments with employment advisers to help with career planning and interview preparation.

You require:

• A levels (104 UCAS points - excluding General Studies) or equivalent qualifications, such as a BTEC National Diploma, Scottish Highers etc
• GCSE Maths (minimum grade C)
• GCSE English Language (minimum grade C)

We also accept Access qualifications (with a grade of 22 merits or a distinction).

If you do not hold standard entry requirements but have relevant work experience, we’d encourage you to get in touch with our admissions team to seek further information and advice.

Students who have completed the online University Certificate in Psychology will be offered automatic progression to the online Psychology BSc (Hons) programme where they have achieved a final average grade of 50% and have passed all the core shared across the BSc (Hons) Psychology and the University Certificate in Psychology.

For all other students who have completed the online University Certificate in Psychology, progression onto the BSc (Hons) Psychology degree course will be at the discretion of the Programme Leader/Academic Lead.

If you already hold an undergraduate degree in another subject, you may be eligible for our online MSc Psychology conversion course, but don’t worry, if you’re unsure just contact our enquiry team who can advise you.

English language qualifications

If English is not your first language you will need an English language qualification. For this course you will need at least one of the following:

• IELTS (International English Language Testing System) 6.0
• TOEFL 550 (paper based) 213 (computer based) or 80 (internet based)
• Pearson Test of Academic English: 51
• Cambridge Advanced Certificate: Pass
• London Tests of English: we accept level 4 for undergraduate courses
• International GCE O-level English Language: Grade C
• International GCSE English/English as a Second Language: Grade C

Find out more about our English language requirements

^‡2024/25 for new entrants

Starting between September 2024 and August 2025.

2025/26 for new entrants

Starting between September 2025 and August 2026.

About your fees

This figure would be the total cost of this course based on the fee in the current academic year. However, please note that fees normally increase in line with inflation and the University's strategic approach to fees, which is reviewed on an annual basis. The total fee you pay may therefore increase if your course lasts longer than one year.

If you are required to undertake any associate study or additional study as a condition of your offer for the programme, please be aware that the cost for this may be in addition to the programme cost stated above.

Flexible payment plans available

Choose from two payment plan options:

• Pay monthly and only for the modules you are studying

• Pay your full course fees upfront and avoid annual increases

Undergraduate funding options

Depending on where you are from in the UK or EU, and on your pace of study, you may be eligible for an undergraduate student loan. Accessible through Student Finance, this is a non-income based loan to meet the cost of tuition fees.

If you are considering applying for a student loan, please also see our additional guidance on Loans for Online Students.

If you already hold an honours degree, and you are looking to re-skill or up-skill, you may still be eligible for a loan to study this course.

Apply directly to the University.

Apply now

For support with completing your application, view our guide to the application process.

Documents to support your application

In order for your application to be assessed, you will need to provide the following documents when you apply:

• Official photo identification such as a passport or driving licence
• Current CV
• Copies of certificates and transcripts or a letter of testimony for previous qualifications*

*Documents not in English or Welsh must be accompanied by a certified translation by a professional translator/translation company. Each translation must contain:

• Confirmation from the translator that it is an accurate translation of the original document
• The date of the translation
• The full name and signature of the translator, or an authorised official of the company
• The translator’s contact details

A list of approved translators can be found on the UK Government website.

Please note: failure to submit any documentation when requested, may result in your application being withdrawn.

Application deadlines

All of our online courses have set start dates throughout the year. We require time to review your application and get back to you with a response before your course starts. Take a look at information regarding applying for an online course to see full details of deadlines and term dates.

Other courses you might like

• Psychology University Certificate (online)
• Psychology BSc (Hons) (on campus)
• Forensic Psychology BSc (Hons) (online)
• Forensic Psychology BSc (Hons) (on campus)

Contact us

Contact the University of Derby Online Learning: