Best A-Levels for Studying Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and the human mind and its functions. It is an academic discipline with an incredibly broad and varied scope, and psychology students will learn about a wide range of conscious and unconscious phenomena and the many different fields of psychology. Thanks to the abundance of true crime dramas and documentaries in the mainstream media, psychology is an increasingly popular degree subject with prospective students attracted by the opportunity to learn more about the workings of the human mind. This means that competition for places in psychology degree courses is high.

In 2015, there were more than 75,000 students studying psychology in the UK. Interested in becoming one of them? Then it’s important that you choose the right A-levels and that you secure the best possible grades in those subjects. You will need to ensure that the A-levels you choose line up with the expectations of your university admissions officers. From the subjects you should study, the grades you will need to achieve, and the essential knowledge you need to know, here’s everything you need to know about the best A-levels for studying psychology:

Why Study Psychology?

Psychology is a fascinating area of study and one that is increasingly valued by employers, meaning that a psychology degree can lead to a wide range of possible career opportunities. Around 20% of psychology students go on to become psychologists, whilst the remaining 80% enjoy careers in diverse sectors such as marketing, management and HR, as well as sports, education and healthcare. Psychology is a degree that gives you a huge variety of options and will ensure that you are highly employable at the end of your course.

The reason psychology graduates are so employable, and why such a wide range of careers are open to you, is because a psychology degree will teach you an abundance of transferable skills. Just some of the transferable skills you can expect to learn from your psychology degree include:

• Academic writing and presentation skills.
• Communication skills and the ability to work as part of a team.
• Excellent organisation and the ability to manage your own time effectively.
• The ability to be a leader and earn the respect of a team.
• Abstract reasoning skills.
• Critical thinking and analysis skills.

Other reasons to study psychology include:

• To gain a better understanding of the people around you. Using the knowledge gained through your course, you will have new insights and perspectives on people’s motivations, perceptions and behaviour. This will help you to better understand the ways in which people react to different situations and their motivation for those reactions. You will leave your course with a better understanding of people.
• To gain a better understanding of yourself. Nothing is more important than mental health, and no degree will give you a better understanding of your own mental health than psychology. There is no better subject to understand than yourself: Many students find that as they study the language and emotion of psychology, they become much better communicators. This will only help you in both your personal and professional lives.

The Type of Knowledge Needed for a Psychology Degree

As well as ensuring you pick the right A-levels and secure the best possible grades, if you wish to study for the psychology degree then there is additional knowledge that you will need to enhance your application. It goes without saying that you’ll need a working knowledge of the main methods, theories, and techniques specific to psychology, but you don’t necessarily need a psychology A-level to achieve this: It is possible to research these theories and techniques independently. Other skills that will prove essential include:

• Communication. You will need robust communication skills and should be able to communicate clearly and effectively with individuals from all walks of life. You will need to be able to understand client needs, offer insightful intervention when it is required, and convey complex or technical information to a broader audience, effectively simplifying complex issues so that they are easy to understand.
• Critical thinking. Critical thinking skills are essential for processing new information quickly, which is vital when studying psychology. Whether you’re conducting experiments or formulating hypotheses, your critical thinking skills will help you to interpret technical information and will apply to the clinical part of your psychology degree.
• Problem Solving. You should be able to solve problems in creative ways if you wish to study psychology. You will apply these creative problem-solving skills to both the theoretical and the practical side of psychology. Creative problem-solving is an essential part of scientific discovery, and for the most part, psychology is a science. Whether you’re in the classroom or out in the professional world, creative problem-solving will always be of use in psychology.
• Digital Skills. Finally, it’s also important that you have excellent digital and technical online skills to enable you to complete the reports and research required to complete your psychology degree.

Essential A-Levels for Studying Psychology

If you wish to study for a psychology degree, then a psychology A-level is considered to be desirable but is not a requirement: no university in the UK specifies that its psychology degree applicants have a psychology A-level. This is because psychology is not a widely available A-level and not all schools and colleges in the UK will offer it: If you are unable to study a psychology A-level for this reason, this will not put you at a disadvantage. However, if you are able to study psychology in your school or college then this is a great A-level to choose. It will give you a firm grounding in the subject, which will give you a head start when you start your degree course. It will also help you to make an informed decision about your desire to go on and study psychology at higher education level and demonstrate to university admissions officers that you are committed to studying psychology and understand what this will entail.

Other subjects that will be beneficial for studying psychology are a mixture of science subjects and humanities. Some universities will ask that psychology applicants have one of the following A-level subjects:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Maths

Therefore, it is worth researching the universities that would like to apply to and ensuring that the A-levels you choose fulfil their entry requirements. There are two distinct types of psychology degree: you can study psychology as either a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree or a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. The subjects outlined above are more likely to be requested by universities if you are applying for a BSc in psychology. Both types of degree will cover psychological theory, principle, and practice. But BA psychology focuses on the philosophy involved in psychological theory while BSc psychology takes a more scientific approach to the subject, emphasising the role that biology and chemistry play in human psychology. Understanding each approach is the best way to decide which will suit you best.

If you are interested in studying for a BA psychology degree then there is less need to study biology, chemistry, physics or maths. Instead, you should focus on studying traditional academic subjects from the humanities and so-called ‘essay subjects’. Popular subjects for psychology applicants include sociology, geography, anthropology, economics, politics, philosophy, and history. If you’re unsure about whether a BA or BSc will be the best option for you then you are advised to keep your options open by choosing a combination of both science and humanities subjects. (You can choose either one science and two of the humanities subjects outlined above or two sciences and one of the humanities subjects outlined above).

Other A-Levels for Studying Psychology

If you’re hoping to expand your academic knowledge beyond science and the humanities, then other subjects that may prove useful and enhance your psychology degree application include:

• English Literature. Psychology is considered to be an ‘essay subject’ in its own right, and much of your studies and their assessment will rely on in-depth report writing. Studying English Literature at A-level will help you to hone these long-form writing skills, which can then be directly applied to your psychology degree.
• Maths and/or Statistics. A psychology degree relies on statistical research and analysis in part, and studying an A-level in maths or statistics will help you to fully comprehend the analytical component of your chosen degree.
• Sociology. Sociology is the study of the development and structure of human society, and it is a subject that is not only considered to be very similar to psychology, but when you study psychology you will find that many sociology theories will form an integral part of your course, making it a very useful complementary subject to study.

It’s important to note that whilst some schools and colleges will make A-level general studies or A-level critical thinking mandatory for all of their students, you should not consider this as one of your three A-levels. General studies is usually not considered appropriate for university entry and is not accepted by a large number of universities in the UK. You should, therefore, take three additional A-levels in addition to these mandatory subjects, which you should regard as ‘bonus subjects’ to enhance your application, rather than as useful A-levels in their own right.

Getting the Right A-Levels for Psychology

As outlined above, the right A-levels to study will depend on the university that you wish to attend to study psychology. Each university has its own entry requirements, and for some universities that will include specific subjects of study as well as strict grade requirements. Some examples of universities that offer psychology, their typical grade offers, and any subject requirements are outlined below:

• University of Glasgow. A typical offer range to study here will be between AAA and ABB. You will also be required to have an A-level or AS-level in maths at a grade B or above. If you wish to study for a BSc in psychology here then you will need to study maths, psychology or a science subject (such as biology or chemistry) for two of your A-level subjects.
• University of Bath. The standard offer to study psychology here is A*AA. A-levels in general studies are not accepted as one of your three options and if you choose to study maths then you cannot also study further maths (only one of these two subjects will be accepted if you only study three A-levels, though you can take both if you study four A-levels).
• Brunel University. The standard offer to study psychology here is BB grades in three A-levels.
• Cambridge University. A typical offer to study psychology here is A*AA, although in some colleges you can expect a higher offer of A*A*A. You will also need to submit written work prior to an interview, conduct an interview with an admissions officer, and you may also need to sit an admissions assessment. There are no specific subject requirements for admission.
• Oxford University. A typical offer to study psychology here is A*AA, and you will need to have studied the right subjects too. It is highly recommended by the Oxford University admissions officials for candidates to have studied one or more science subjects (which can include psychology) or mathematics to A-level.