Psychology
If you are curious about how the mind works, then psychology is for you. Here at Cardiff University, we offer two undergraduate courses: a three-year Psychology BSc and a four-year Psychology with Professional Placement BSc.
Live sessions
Ask our academics, admissions staff and current students anything you want to know about studying psychology with us.
Why study with us?
Ranked 4th in the UK and 44th in the world
We are ranked highly for psychology in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020.
Accredited by the BPS
This programme meets the high quality standards in education set out by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
Professional experience as part of your degree
We are one of only a few psychology schools who offer the opportunity to gain professional experience on our Psychology with Professional Placement BSc.
Study abroad
We have paired up with the University of Florida and the University of Hong Kong to offer you the opportunity to study abroad for one semester.
Student satisfaction
We score consistently high for overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey (over 90% for the last 5 years).
Research-active staff involved in course design and delivery
Most of our teaching staff are practising researchers and, in many cases, leading experts in their fields.
The course covers a diverse range of topics – giving every student the opportunity to explore their interests. I particularly found the optional Placement year to be beneficial; it helped me view course content from a more applied perspective, as well as giving me the confidence and skills to pursue my chosen career path!
Our talks
Welcome to our Virtual Open Day
Our Director of Admissions, Professor Marc Buehner, gives a brief overview of what to expect from our Virtual Open Day.
Our Open Day talk - What is psychology?
This is our main open day talk which gives an overview of psychology and the different areas that make up the discipline. It also explains what you can expect from studying a psychology degree.
Taster lecture - Decision making
Strawberry or vanilla? Shoes or trainers? We make some choices quickly and automatically, whereas other decisions take us much longer and are often agonised over. Discover the psychology behind decision-making in this taster lecture delivered by Professor Marc Buehner, who teaches a decision-making module on the course.
Taster lecture - Sleep engineering
Sleep is critical for both health and cognition. Our researchers are developing ways to manipulate sleep (sleep engineering) to maximise its beneficial properties including the ability to enhance memory, disarm negative emotions and combat cognitive decline trough sleep. Discover the fascinating world of sleep engineering with Professor Penny Lewis.
Taster lecture - Psychopathy and forensic psychology
Why do criminals commit crimes? What determines whether they will offend again? Why are people violent to one another? Professor Robert Snowden takes you on a path of discovery into this dark yet fascinating area of psychology.
Placement snapshots
From primate cognition research at a wildlife sanctuary to a Research Assistant at Broadmoor Hospital – hear what some of our students did on their placement year as part of our BSc Psychology with Professional Placement course.
Study abroad
We offer the exciting opportunity to study abroad while working towards a your degree. We have paired up with Hong Kong University (HKU) and the University of Florida (UF), two of the world’s highest-ranking universities, to offer you the opportunity to study Psychology for one semester in your second year.
University of Hong Kong/Cardiff University exchange programme
Your career
A psychology degree can provide you with a variety of career options and psychologists are employed on an increasingly wide scale in a variety of sectors. Depending on your interests you may want to go on to become a clinical psychologist, forensic psychologist, health psychologist, occupational psychologist, sports, neuro or educational psychologist, counsellor, researcher or academic.
Some career paths require specific postgraduate training - our postgraduate programmes incorporate a diverse mix of taught modules, research and professional practice, and lead to a variety of career options.
Our School
We are passionate about psychology and our School is long-established, well resourced, and has an excellent international reputation. Along with our outstanding research facilities, we also have dedicated undergraduate facilities to ensure you have the best experience possible including:
- Newly refurbished lecture theatres
- Undergraduate common room with modern and varied study space
- Computing lab
- Undergraduate research rooms adapted for multi-participant studies
- Interactive seminar rooms complete with smart displays
Tower Building is our main psychology hub and is located right in the centre of the Cathays Park campus
Students on our Children's Psychological Disorders MSc
Students outside our Centre for Human Developmental Science
Students studying the psychology behind sound perception
Students carrying out electroencephalography (EEG)
Students working in our Centre for Human Developmental Sciences
Our School has an undergraduate common room with modern and varied study space
Psychology students utilising our wide variety of study space
We have a wide range of advanced brain imaging facilities
Students conducting sound perception experiments
Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC) - one of Europe's leading imaging facilities.
Discover more
Studying psychology at Cardiff has benefited me greatly, even in social situations, because everything we learn is interesting and applicable; and when tutorials are filled with fascinating content and taught with enthusiasm by incredibly knowledgeable lecturers, it is hard not to be inspired!
Explore Cardiff University
Next steps
Do your research
Visit our School website and programme pages to find out more.
Download our School brochure
Learn more about our courses, the School and the wider University.
Get in touch
If you have any questions - big or small - don't hesitate to get in touch. We would love to hear from you.
Follow us on Twitter
For even more news and updates - follow us @PsychCardiffUni.
