Curious about studying Psychology and Counselling - BSc (Hons)at Birmingham City University? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
City Centre Campus (The Curzon Building)
Full Time
Sep 2027
3 Year
The BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling will be of particular interest if you are thinking about a career as a Counselling Psychologist, Psychotherapist or a Counsellor. The course has been carefully developed to enable graduates to gain the required knowledge base, practical skill and emotional awareness and maturity required for these, normally postgraduate professions. Whether or not further study is for you, an in depth exploration of – among other things - human development, mental health and distress and practical listening and relationship building skills will prepare graduates for range of people-focussed roles with adults, young people and children. This course integrates traditional psychology teaching with the theory and practice of counselling and psychotherapy into unified course which enables an early focus on applied practice without any loss of the rigour of a pure psychology degree. The course team consists of chartered psychologists and accredited, practising psychotherapists and counsellors, ensuring the theoretical and practical relevance of your student experience.
Professional Placement YearThis course offers an optional professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, following successful completion of your second year, and is a great way to find out more about your chosen career. Some students even return to the same employers after completing their studies. If you choose to pursue a placement year, you will need to find a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. You will be able to draw on the University’s extensive network of local, regional, and national employers, and the support of our Careers teams. If you are able to secure a placement, you can request to be transferred to the placement version of the course. Please note that fees are payable during your placement year, equivalent to 20% of the total full-time course fee for that year.
This module introduces you to the process of designing and conducting research and understanding ethics in psychology, and how to analyse data and evaluating the findings using quantitative research methods (statistics). We do this by outlining the structured and systematic approach that is needed to explore and explain human and animal behaviour in a scientifically valid way. It will provide a conceptual and practical understanding of how we report of research, what core statistical principles and tests we use and how you should be explaining these. The module provides hands-on experience of conducting an experiment, using statistical software for carrying out analyses and writing up the experiment in practical workshops. We will equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills required to prepare you for future modules (including the final-year psychology research project), future work, training or careers in an applied area of psychology or research and covers Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) competencies for the British Psychological Society (BPS).
This module introduces you to the historical development and evolution of psychology, tracing its roots back to early philosophical thought and examining the significant milestones in the refinement of the discipline. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how psychology has emerged, not only through the contributions of prominent figures but also in response to the broader scientific, cultural, and social movements and influences that have shaped the field throughout history. The module will explore the progression of psychological theory, focusing on key theoretical approaches to the study of behaviour, cognition, learning, and memory, with an emphasis on both animal and human research. You will be introduced to the pioneering experiments and early thought based frameworks that laid the foundation for contemporary psychological inquiry. The content will highlight how psychology evolved from philosophical speculation into an empirical science, engaging with early experimental methods and the philosophical debates that continue to influence the field.
This module begins the process of self-development and self-awareness that is foundational to all counselling and psychotherapy practice, a process that remains key throughout the career of a professional counsellor or psychotherapist. The module will identify some of the key theoretical and philosophical developments which underpin the psychology of self-development, self-awareness and the dynamics of human relationships, which will be explored experientially. This will include an exploration of the informing theory and practice of mindfulness, presence, resilience, self-care, and compassion-based practices. A key competency that will be developed during this module is a greater personal self-awareness, which in turn will support key skills required for counsellors. For example, recognising own values, beliefs and principles and acknowledging that they may differ from others’; listening with an open mind without judgment or opinion; acknowledgment of one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions; ability to communicate empathy; ability to be quietly present with own experience. These are skills that will support learning throughout the course and form a solid basis for the greater refinement of both knowledge and skill.
This module continues from Doing Psychological Research 1 in Semester 1 and develops your research and analytical skills further in quantitative research methods by introducing you to other inferential statistics, and by introducing you to qualitative research methods. We will go through key ethical considerations and essential processes for designing and conducting qualitative research, and how to analyse data and evaluating the findings from a qualitative perspective. The module provides hands-on experience of conducting research, using statistical software for carrying out analyses, and analysing qualitative data (words) and writing up quantitative and qualitative research in practical workshops. We will equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills required to prepare you for future modules (including the final-year psychology research project), future work, training or careers in an applied area of psychology or research and covers Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) competencies for the British Psychological Society (BPS).
This module provides an overview of the historical and philosophical foundations of key counselling theories, offering students understanding of their origins, development, and conceptual frameworks. Focusing on the Humanistic Approach, Cognitive Behavioural Approach, Psychodynamic Approach and Transpersonal Approach, the module explores how these approaches conceptualise human development, personality, and the nature of psychological change. This module aligns with the programme structure by giving students the foundational knowledge required to apply counselling theories to their own experience and to those of other people at later points in the programme. Through an analysis of the historical context and philosophical underpinnings of each theory, students will uncover how social, cultural, and scientific influences have shaped their evolution. The module also explores how these theories explain key aspects of human growth, such as relationships, emotional regulation, and the interplay between biology and environment.
This module provides a comprehensive exploration of the diverse career opportunities within the field of psychology, including both traditional pathways and non-traditional applications of psychology in various sectors/roles. Students will gain insight into the broad range of career options available, from clinical psychology to the roles where psychology is applied (‘hidden’ psychology professions). In this module, students will explore key employability skills, professional ethics, and the role of the British Psychological Society (BPS), and their application across various professional settings. Through a blended learning approach, students will gain insights into how psychology is applied across diverse professions and career pathways as well as receiving practical advice on work experience, funding, as well as personal and professional development opportunities.
This module aims to support you in developing an in-depth knowledge of social psychological theory and research. You will be supported in utilising this knowledge to explore the society/communities we live in and to explore contemporary social issues. Contemporary social issues might include how we present ourselves online, understanding protests and rioting, engaging people with climate activism, reducing prejudice, and understanding romantic relationships. The scope of this module is to continue to provide the opportunity to advance your knowledge and understanding of social Psychology. In addition, the module will highlight the specific role that social Psychology plays in community and cultural contexts. Throughout the module, you will be introduced to the definition of ‘community’ as well as factors which drive community psychology. Overall, it considers the contextual factors such as social, cultural and political influences which affect the community beyond the individual. This approach allows you to consider the values underpinning community psychology. For instance, collective wellness and sense of community.
This module aims to investigate human development throughout the lifespan focusing on changes to biological, cognitive, social and emotional elements of psychological functioning. The module will provide you with an understanding of the general principles and concepts, different theoretical perspectives, research methodologies, contemporary debates and areas of application of Lifespan Development. This module will enable you to develop skills in critical reading and analysis of theoretical and empirical issues related to Lifespan Development. In the context of contemporary societies and globalisation, the role of social and cultural context of development is explored. Through engagement with the module and the coursework you will think about Lifespan Development from a theoretical perspective, and more importantly from an applied perspective as well. You will be encouraged to consider how your knowledge gained from the lectures, pre and post-session activities and the learning material has informed real life events and how we can explain behaviour observed around us. You will be engaged in a vibrant learning community which will encourage discussions, dialogues, peer conversations alongside learning and teaching activities which will further contribute to exploring different learning and cultural perspectives.
This module supports your developing self-awareness and understanding about the relational needs of humans. This is essential knowledge and experience required for counselling professional practice. Building on your learning in Foundations for Counselling 1, on this module you will engage with, and critique, recent research in counselling, psychology and neurobiology. You will develop an understanding of the impact of relational trauma on the development and management of psychological distress. You will gain coherent understanding of interpersonal relationships and their role in working with distress and psychological change. You will learn about emotion regulation and dysregulation of yourself and begin to consider how you can use this learning to support others. This module will develop your understanding of the need for genuine and attuned relationships between people, both in everyday life and in professional counselling practice. You will learn, through self-experiment and theoretical discovery, the importance of verbal and nonverbal communication between people and different ways to support yourself to attune and relate more confidently with others. You will apply this learning to yourself and to your relationships with others. You will also learn how to begin to describe the impact of relational factors on clients by applying your knowledge to case studies drawn from real world experience.
This module contributes to knowledge and understanding in areas of biological and cognitive psychology, a Graduate Basis for Chartership core area with the British Psychological Society. There will be research-led teaching which will explore key debates and methodologies used in biological and cognitive psychology. A holistic approach will be taken to understand the cognitive and neural theories and evidence across a range of areas, including attention, perception and memory. There will be an applied focus during this module and clear links are made to the chartered area of clinical neuropsychology. The focus on methodology for working with humans (Eye-tracking, EEG, fMRI, neuropsychological assessment) will contribute to your understanding and application of research design. Ethics, Individual Differences and application of research are all included. The research-led approach to this module will see you applying advanced psychological theory and methodology to real research questions. This module will continue to develop key transferable skills from level 4 such as group discussion, debate and evidence-based reasoning and will help develop your critical evaluation skills.
This module provides you with an overview of the purpose of designing and conducting research in psychology. This module builds upon and complements research methods modules delivered in Level 4 by providing students with further exploring analysis techniques commonly used in psychology. All sessions are structured to facilitate both conceptual learning and the development of applied research skills. More specifically, this module aims to help you develop skills in research and inquiry and develop academic attributes such as being able to think critically about different methodologies and knowledge claims. Additionally, it will help you develop communication skills by requiring them to communicate their knowledge of various research designs and analytical claims in sessions and as part of their assessment. You will acquire knowledge of the application of research methodologies within various applied areas of psychology. This module will also identify how the skills and knowledge gained during this module are relevant to Graduate Basis Chartership (GBC) competencies and training which are relevant to both future study (i.e. the Dissertation project) and careers in the field of psychology. These employability skills will also be transferrable to other research and analytical domains given the module focus on autonomous application of the competencies learned. The module has been designed to meet the academic knowledge base requirements and competencies for Programme Standards set out by the British Psychological Society (BPS). The module will be supported by face-to-face learning (lectures and workshops), Moodle (VLE) activities and forums, as well as pre and post session practical tasks, readings/activities. Lectures will introduce theoretical aspects of qualitative and quantitative research, with seminars directly supporting learning with practical experience of applying the principles presented in the lectures and workshops offering tutor and peer support for practical aspects for the assessment.
This module is designed to provide you with the opportunity to undertake a credit bearing, 40- week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Undergraduate Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market. Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.
This module builds on the level 4 and 5 counselling modules by supporting the development of practical counselling skills based on an in-depth appreciation of underlying theory and process. This module provides students with the opportunity to apply theory to practice using key counselling skills such as attending and following the client’s track as well as reflecting and paraphrasing the emotional content of speech and nonverbal behaviour. The learning is grounded in a further appreciation of the elements that go to make up human relationships and promotes awareness of the difference between social and therapeutic relationships. The use and appreciation of counselling skills will be considered from Person Centred and attachment perspectives, with a focus on the importance of the counselling relationship as the vehicle for change.
Understanding research issues is an essential skill for psychologists operating in an evidence-based paradigm. The ability to produce an in-depth dissertation and present a logical argument using such research is a crucial skill for a successful psychology graduate. This module builds upon learning at level 4 and level 5 in previous Psychological Research Methods modules. This module will encourage you to plan, execute and write up a research project which adheres to principles of the Psychology Ethics Committee. You should seek out research sources to produce an in-depth dissertation that answers your own identified research question or knowledge gap, making a contribution to the existing literature within your chosen topic area. This will be facilitated through critical evaluation of the sources you have selected and used. You will also be facilitated in using statistical and other specialist software, testing equipment and materials, as well as the use of the Psychology laboratories.
The module aims to provide students with an overview of psychology, from early philosophical influences to the development of psychology as a science. The module will consider contributions of key historical approaches within psychology’s evolution, through to contemporary topics and ongoing debates. This module will demonstrate how psychology is informed by history, society and culture. This will provide an advanced understanding of psychology’s origins, as well as conceptual and historical issues. The module focuses on three key areas. The first area introduces prominent debates within psychology, where the role of the human mind, behaviour, science and its methods have been shaped by different schools of thought and philosophical positions. The second area considers how psychology has been constructed as a scientific subject. This includes discussions of how science is classified, ontology and epistemology within psychology and social dimensions which interact with psychology’s history as a science. The third area introduces the role of ethics within psychology, including ethical issues within research and practice, and the misapplication of “science” as an ethical issue within the history of psychology. These three areas will be combined with contributions from historical and contemporary schools of thought within psychology.
The emphasis of this module is on preparation for and starting placement. You will apply the knowledge and practical skills you developed during year 2 and three of the BSc and begin to develop a critical appreciation of the way in which theory underpins practice. You will integrate and apply your understanding of the ethical principles, establish working contracts with clients, and learn how to use supervision effectively.
This second semester module continues the monitoring of all professional practice components of the course. By the end of the module you will be required to include evidence that you have completed 100 hours of supervised clinical practise and 30 hours of personal therapy as evidenced in your professional practice portfolio, an assessment component of this module. During this module you will be required to apply your theoretical knowledge and understanding to the practice of counselling with clients in a placement setting. You will learn how to assess clients and will be supported through placement and course supervision to make oral case presentations and develop your clinical decision making skills in order to manage the counselling process through all stages from start to finish.
This module integrates the knowledge and understanding gained in PSY5068 Counselling Theories and Concepts, PSY5069 Interpersonal Neurobiology and PSY6113 Integrative Counselling: Skills and practice during years 2 and 3 of the BSc Psychology and Counselling professional pathway. Your personal integrative model for thinking about clients (begun in PSY6113) will be supported and refined in this module and will form the foundation for applying theory to practice through clinical case formulation. You will be supported to develop and apply a model of assimilative integration based on a core of Person Centred theory and integrating a range of elements from neurobiology, research findings and evidence based theory. Outcome studies and wider research papers evaluating the effectiveness of theoretically informed interventions will support this process.
This first semester module develops the groundwork laid down in PSY6112 Counselling Ethics, and explores ethical decision making in greater depth, with specific reference to counselling practice. You will undertake an in depth consideration of the BACP Codes of Ethics and practice and apply these to your own emerging practice. You will explore legislation relevant to counselling practice and identify the practical implications of, among other things, safeguarding, anti-discrimination legislation and data management on their practice. The importance of life-long personal and professional development is a key requirement for counsellors, and this module will support you to develop an understanding of your obligations and responsibilities of in the context of professional counselling practice. Throughout the module the emphasis will be on the application of ethical principles to practice.
This second semester module focuses on the range of mental health difficulties experienced by clients seeking counselling. The learning gained in PSY4034 Introduction to Psychopathology in the first year and in PSY5069 Interpersonal Neurobiology in the second year of the BSc Psychology and Counselling will be brought to together and refined in this module. Understanding of the importance of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma on adult mental health will form a key component of this module enabling you to identify and explore appropriate interventions with clients whilst recognising approaches and interventions that are not indicated for trauma related distress.
This module places the process of individual counselling with a distressed client in a wider social, and cultural context, and explores the potential of this process to make a difference. The knowledge base of this module will draw on the content explored in year 6 of the BSc in PSY6095 Applied Social Psychology and will focus on locating counselling practice in the real world. Societal inequalities and their impact on mental health, as well as cultural help seeking mores will be considered, and you will be supported to gain an insight into the interaction of socio-economic, political and cultural factors on individual well-being.
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