Study.eu
Your gateway to universities in Europe

Top 10 Best UK Universities for Psychology in 2023

Photo
  1. Study.eu
  2. Top 10 Best UK Universities for Psychology in 2023

Top 10 Best UK Universities for Psychology in 2023

Author: Claudia Civinini — Last update: 15 August 2022

Whether you wish to study human behaviour or become a therapist, Psychology is a fascinating subject to choose for your degree. A Psychology degree also provides you with a wide range of specialisations, from Education to Criminal Psychology. In the UK, there are several universities offering top-notch psychology education and conducting cutting-edge research. One note: Remember that a degree in psychology is a science degree, so expect some statistics to be part of the course!

Study Psychology in the UK

Rankings can be an important tool in choosing a university, but you need to consider that there are no rankings that can take into account every single characteristic you value in a university, or the goals you have for your education. Different rankings use different methodologies to gather and evaluate their data. While some universities score highly in all rankings, others only do in some. That is why it’s good to consult a variety of rankings while you are deciding your next step in your education.

Best UK universities for Psychology 2023 (The Guardian)

Let’s consult a local ranking first, the one conducted by the British newspaper the Guardian. This popular ranking includes student satisfaction, measured by the national student survey, in its methodology.

According to the Guardian, these are the 10 best universities where you can study Psychology in the UK:

Rank University Score
1 University of Cambridge 100
2 University of Bath 93.8
3 University of Oxford 93.7
4 University of St Andrews 93
5 University College London 90.9
6 King’s College London 89.5
7 Cardiff University 88.7
8 University of York 86.4
9 University of Edinburgh 86.2
10 University of Warwick 86.1

Best UK universities for Psychology 2023 (Global rankings)

Let’s now look at the global rankings. It is difficult to find a comprehensive ranking that accounts for everything a student is looking for. There are many factors that play a role in a university’s position in a ranking, for example the impact of published research, the employment rates of graduates, student-to-teacher ratio, student satisfaction, and others. It’s always good to keep in mind other rankings to gain a good picture, and it could be interesting to compare how different institutions fare in different rankings.

Other generally trusted Psychology rankings include, for example, the Shanghai Rankings, QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and U.S. News.

Several universities show up high in more than one of these international rankings. And we are not talking just about Oxbridge: University College London (UCL) and King’s College (KCL) score high, as do Edinburgh, Cardiff and Warwick:

Rank Shanghai THE QS
1 University College London University of Cambridge University of Oxford
2 University of Oxford University College London University of Cambridge
3 King's College London King's College London University College London
4 University of Cambridge University of Edinburgh King's College London
5 Cardiff University London School of Economics and Political Science London School of Economics and Political Science
6 University of Edinburgh University of Kent University of Edinburgh
7 University of Warwick Cardiff University University of Manchester
8 Exeter University University of St Andrews Cardiff University
9 University of Sussex University of Warwick University of Warwick
10 University of York University of Glasgow University of Bristol

The REF (Research Excellence Framework)

If you are particularly interested in how strong a university is in its research output, the UK offers another resource that is helpful when choosing your future university. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is an assessment undertaken by higher education funding bodies on the research output of the individual departments at British universities. It examines three areas:

  1. the quality of the output
  2. its impact beyond academia and
  3. the environment which supports research.

Looking at the most recent REF results, some names crop up in the top 10 best-rated universities that don’t appear in other rankings.

Among those with a high share of top-rated research, you’ll find Birkbeck College (University of London), Imperial College, and Royal Holloway and Bedford New College.

It’s not always just called “Psychology”

So, you decided you would like to study human behaviour. Not all degrees are named Psychology, and Psychology also has a lot of specialisations to choose from, for example:

  • Behavioural Science
  • Business Psychology
  • Counselling
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Organisational Psychology
  • Psychology and Neuroscience
  • Educational Psychology
  • Cognitive Science

You can sometimes choose a specialisation already at the Bachelor’s level. Or you can first get a more generalised Psychology Bachelor and then specialise with your Master’s degree.

However, if you have your eyes set on a specific profession such as psychologist or psychotherapist, it is important to understand the requirements you will have to fulfil in order to obtain professional accreditation. These requirements vary from country to country! If you plan to go back home after getting your Psychology degree in the UK, or move to yet another country, you will need to ensure that your qualification is recognised.

In the United Kingdom, to become a psychotherapist recognised by the UK Council for Psychotherapy you will have to

  • complete a degree in Psychology or a related discipline,
  • complete an accredited postgraduate qualification,
  • and then show 450 hours of practice.

You will need to choose a course accredited either by the UK Council for Psychotherapy, the British Psychoanalytic Council or the Association of Child Psychotherapists. In order to become a chartered psychologist, you will need to complete a course accredited by the British Psychological Society.

Typical tuition fees for international students

Undergraduate degrees will typically last three years full time, while postgraduate degrees (Master’s courses) will take one year. For international students, the fees will be quite high at top institutions.

For a BSc Psychology, fees for most universities will be around £18,000 to £26,000 per year, but fees can rise up to around £35,000 for world-leading universities such as King’s College, Oxford and Cambridge.

Meanwhile, Postgraduate degrees will typically cost between around £20,000 - £35,000.

English requirements at the best Psychology universities in the UK

English language requirements vary by university and course, but since graduates of Psychology degrees tend to need to speak to patients, the required level of English is also often higher. You will most likely need an IELTS score between 6.5 and 7.5 to enrol in a Psychology degree in the UK.

17192 Programmes in Europe
Claudia Civinini
Author: Claudia Civinini

Claudia has many years of experience as a reporter and writer on international education and student mobility. Originally from Italy, she holds a BA in Communication and Media Studies from the University of Genova; a Graduate Diploma in Education, Secondary Education and Teaching from the Australian Catholic University; and a joint MSc in Educational Neuroscience from UCL and Birkbeck, University of London. Claudia has previously worked as Chief Reporter for the English Language Gazette, as Senior Reporter for the PIE News (Professionals in International Education), and as Reporter for Tes.

Featured universities:
University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki
Helsinki, Finland
73 study programmes
EU Business School
EU Business School
Geneva, Switzerland
46 study programmes
Aarhus University
Aarhus University
Aarhus, Denmark
37 study programmes
KU Leuven
KU Leuven
Leuven, Belgium
105 study programmes
University of Derby
University of Derby
Derby, United Kingdom
298 study programmes

You might be interested in this:

Study in Europe for free (or low tuition fees)
Study in Europe for free (or low tuition fees)
5 reasons why you should study in Falmouth, England
5 reasons why you should study in Falmouth, England
The safest countries to study abroad in Europe
The safest countries to study abroad in Europe

Copyright © 2023 Study.eu



Imprint · Privacy Policy · About Study.eu · Jobs
Press

Universities:
Advertise on Study.eu
Study in Europe:
Austria
Belgium
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Recent articles:

Doing an Internship Abroad: All you need to know

Denmark: Tuition fees & cost of living

6 Reasons to Study in Poland

Study Plant & Crop Sciences: All you need to know

7 Reasons to Study in Croatia

Study.eu has been mentioned in numerous news publications worldwide, such as:
L'Étudiant (France)
Frankfurter Allgemeine (Germany)
The Standard (Hong Kong)
The Independent (UK)
Al-Masry Al-Youm (Egypt)
Le Monde (France)
The Local (Europe)
Forbes (USA)
Cookies & analytics help us deliver our services. Privacy policy