Which Uni for Psychology?

[Somuchchoice]

Having combed through all the league tables I would really value suggestions for which are the best Universities for Psychology.
Ideally we are looking for a University which is a great university not only for Psychology but also has a good reputation generally (just in case Psychology isn't pursued as a career after University). Predicted grades of 3 A*. Not interested in Scotland or London.
There are so many great Universities that I would appreciate some help narrowing down those that are perceived as being the best for that subject.

Just make sure it's a BPS accredited course.

What uni for psychology? My current list for one more aspirational choice is:
Loughborough, Birmingham.

Both are good @MichaelT but very different locations/campuses. Might be worthwhile visiting?

I'm a consultant clinical psychologist. Many applicants for jobs as a clinical psychologist have 3A* at A level, a first, a masters. Many have a PhD. The field is level at a very high standard. The name of the university is not actually allowed on the standard NHS job application form! Where candidates stand out is in their work experience, for entry to the nhs doctoral training courses.

So, my recommendation is just to go to a uni with the type of uni life your bright young person is interested in, at a location of your choice! (If interested in clinical).

If you are considering Durham, then it would be daft not to consider Edinburgh, despite being in Scotland - it's only a hop further on the train, there's no wall you have to scale to cross the border, and v highly regarded course.

@IronBorou sorry to use someone else's thread, but do you think it would be worth my dd even considering clinical psychology, if she only gets a 2:1 in the summer? I appreciate work experience is the most important thing, but would a 2:1 mean her chances are almost non-existent? Or would she need to get a masters?

@crazycrofter in the current climate of brilliant young people then a masters likely to help. It's a demanding doctoral course so academic excellence needs to be guaranteed and obvious from qualifications!

As I'm sure you know, no guarantees, even with gold stars all the way. I've met many resident doctors who say they found medicine easier to get into but had actually wanted to be a CP!

Royal Holloway is well rated for Psychology. It's not in London but near the M25. I think with many degrees you can have a years work experience.

I’ve offered assistant psych jobs to people with 2:1s as I’m more interested in experience than grades. However most (all?) clinical doctorates want 2:1 or above. And yes, many applicants have 1sts and Masters and Phds. I’d say well over 50% have a masters and that’s for an assistant post. I imagine for training this is much higher.

The competition is fierce - hundreds of applications within a few days of an assistant post being put out. Or posts being capped and then only out for less than 24 hours. And you usually need a few years of these jobs before being successful in getting on a training course.

I would recommend a course with a year’s placement to kick start gaining some experience.

I would also seriously consider alternative careers too - mental health nursing, medicine, SALT, OT etc. I wish I’d become an Ed Psych if I could go back in time.

Yes, I agree, think it is easier to get on to do medicine than Clin Psy. Get paid much more the other end too (eventually).

This isn’t my thread but I have a third year dd who’s interested in both clinical and educational psychology at the moment but won’t be getting a first. I’m loathe for her to waste money and time on a masters if she’s not going to make it, but don’t want to discourage her.

At the moment she works part time as a carer (going into people’s homes) and she’s about to start a teaching assistant job too. @Calmingvibrations is she unlikely to bag an assistant psychologist role at this point (well, Sept)?

I was wondering whether she should train as an OT or mental health social worker, and then look to apply to a doctorate after a few years in role - would that be looked down on as relevant experience?

@Somuchchoice My DD has just accepted a place on a 4 yr Msci in Psychology and hopes to go on to be either a clinical psychologist or work in neuroscience. For her, making the choice almost entirely came down to the offerings of the course and what options /directions were available to her, what the PhD dept looked like and the further range of directions students could focus on at that point. She had another offer from a place that currently has 14 Phd'ers who are mostly focused on education (13 of them), which is not her particular interest and so that helped swing the vote. I am aware that course content can shift from year to year but if you have a built-in Msci with 4 directions and 6 further areas for PhD then that offers scope. I know that you say your DC may in fact not pursue psychology beyond the undergraduate level, but wanted to share this in case they do want to keep that option open later down the line.

@crazycrofter sorry, not at the stage I can help / advise on your situation just yet. hope you get some answers.

@crazycrofter working in a care home and also teaching assistant sound like great starts. You don’t need to have experience of an assistant psych post to get on training, but plenty of people do. It’s more that you need really to show you have experience and understanding of what the clin psych job entails, and to do that you need to ideally work with one. I’m sure there are exceptions though. And happy to be told I’m wrong by someone who sits on the interview panel.

Would be great as a teaching assistant to get to understand the role of the senco, and issues around safeguarding risk etc. and for care home one can start thinking about capacity, DOLS and issues around health ageing dementia etc.

@crazycrofter she might also consider becoming a family therapist, she would need relevant experience but they no longer require you to already have a healthcare qualification (although I am sure it still helps).

I would say it is still fairly early in yr3 so she does need to ensure that she throws all she has at the degree, consolidates her knowledge and aims for a good 2.i if at all possible.

@crazycrofter your proposal about finishing psychology degree then doing SW or OT and swinging back round to the clinical psychology doctorate sounds very unorthodox and a heck of hard work! I'm also not sure it would really help with the doctoral application. You and your DC should have a look at the questions on there. Relevant experience can be anything but at the same time, several years as a SW could leave you none the wiser about applications of psychological theory in practice nor how clinical psychologists do their business.

@Calmingvibrations @Unexpecteddrivinginstructor @IronBorou thank you, that’s really useful! Perhaps I’ll stop suggesting she trains as a SW or OT then! To be honest that’s partly been about my own doubts that she’s actually got what it takes to be a psychologist! But I need to have more faith in her.

She’s very capable (A star AA at A Level) but has really struggled with the freedom and the self-motivation needed at uni and has just got an ADHD diagnosis which explains a lot. She’s working more consistently this year, but last year’s grades mean it’s almost impossible for her to get a first now.

A first isn't always necessary, but a good 2.i often is so it is good that she is applying herself now.

Newcastle is one that hasn’t been mentioned. Many of the students do a placement year.

Newcastle has a lot going for it, I agree. Fabulous city and lots of strong courses. I think for Psychology though, because it is now so competitive, applicants are really looking at the top 10-20 and it is just outside that frame. #24 for Psychology, #26 overall and in the bottom 5 of the RG generally. Given how competitive it is getting a PhD and then a job in clinical or similar it's not going to be the top of the list.