Biology and Psychology

[LadyLazarus40]

Just wondering if anyone has come across any degrees which combine biology and psychology.

Dd is studying A levels in Biology, Chemistry and Psychology- she had always thought she’d do Biology at Uni but is really enjoying the two so would like to combine them.

UCL has a human sciences course which looks good and KCL has neuroscience and psychology. Are there any other courses anyone has come across? (For context her GCSES are 8’s and 9’s)

Yes Newcastle is on the list. She doesn’t like St A or Notts but does like Glasgow (but that was when looking at just Biology)

Why would she not like Nottingham? Bristol has some great Psychology courses too. It’s interesting to see so few universities offering this combination. Maybe Biology is too broad to be successfully linked with Psychology? Lots of unis have neuroscience as a complimentary subject - so building on Biology but leaving out the unnecessary bits.

It’s hard to explain the problem with Nottingham- it’s a great Uni but an awful lot of people from her school go there (far more then anywhere else) and for many they just stick together when they start- whilst this is great for many (and dd has a brilliant friendship group) she doesn’t want Uni to just be a continuation of school iyswim.

@LadyLazarus40

It’s hard to explain the problem with Nottingham- it’s a great Uni but an awful lot of people from her school go there (far more then anywhere else) and for many they just stick together when they start- whilst this is great for many (and dd has a brilliant friendship group) she doesn’t want Uni to just be a continuation of school iyswim.

I think that's a good reason, to be fair. DD did her first degree at Nottingham Trent and loved the city – she's a city girl too, did her post-grad in London – but she didn't know anyone in Nottingham when she went so it was all new to her. Your DD sounds sensible to want to make new friends as well as keep her old ones.

Also just reiterating what Clary said, the son of a great friend of mine went to Durham on a BTech (no A levels). They obviously saw something in him – and they must have been right as he went on to get a First.

If they advertise BTechs as qualifying qualifications, they must consider students with them. It’s not hugely unusual and sometimes it’s the best qualification as they are focussed on skills. Often universities might require an A level too. Eg maths for Engineering degrees.

If she is happy to not do general biology then neuroscience with psychology courses like this might be an option for her

www.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/2022/neuroscience/msci-psychology-and-neuroscience/
This is also accredited for psychology.
Or as she has probably seen at UCL in the the natural sciences options
www.ucl.ac.uk/natural-sciences/core-streams/life-sciences/neuro-psy

My DD did biology, psychology and eng lit at A level. She applied for Human Sciences at UCL and Exeter, War Studies at KCL and Genetics (BSc and MSci) at Sussex.

She ended up doing the MSci Genetics and that has combined biology and psychology. She is very into homosapiens etc and this course is covering that and evolution and much more. She loves it.

You definitely do not need all 9s at GCSE for Oxford - for a start they count 8s and 9s as the same.

Ah sorry should have said she wants a city

Lancaster IS a city! (Outraged Lancastrian here).
But I know what you mean

There is something to be said for her to think about the degree programme before the place but if she’s adamant, then she needs to look at the big civics- Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol. Particularly as she’s looking at a fairly generalist degree.

You might look at universities which allow a system of “modules outside the main degree” - I used to work at one where students had to take at least 1 module outside of their degree programme.

And Lancaster operates a Part 1 and Part 2 system. In Part 1 (1st year) all students take at least 2 and sometimes 3 subjects and they can switch degree programmes going into Part 2. There’s a lot to be said for this and Lancaster is an excellent university

My youngest DD is doing biology psychology and geography and wants to do zoology/animal behaviour.

And eldest DD studies at Lancaster. Lancaster is a city and has an excellent uni

Ok apologies to all in Lancaster. Yes I know it’s a city - poor choice of words. What I mean is she is looking for a large urban environment such as London, Manchester et al.

I grew up in Winchester which is a similar size to Lancaster and whilst it is a city has very much a small town feel and I couldn’t wait to leave to go to Uni. This doesn’t mean that Winchester (or Lancaster) are not fantastic places.

We currently live in a v small village (no shops, public transport etc) and dd (like her older brother) wants to go somewhere big and buzzy where she can see gigs, go to clubs and all that sort of stuff.

I know Lancaster is a great city and the Uni is a fab Uni - it’s just not what she is looking for. Whilst Uni is obv about studying it’s also about stretching your wings and experiencing new things and for this she would like somewhere large and metropolitan.

Most psychology courses will have aspects of biology. I'm pretty sure mine had units which were things like "biological psychology".

@LadyLazarus40
www1.chester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/biology-and-psychology

Chester does bio and psychology together. I have been to Chester on open day with the youngest DD, and its bigger than Lancaster, but not as big at Manchester. Id say its about the same size as Leeds/Nottingham. The youngest loves Chester, its a really pretty city.

Id say its about the same size as Leeds/Nottingham

Chester - more like Leeds ?? I'm assuming you know neither Chester nor Leeds. Chester is a lovely little city, but is far far smaller than Leeds!!! Much more comparable in size to Lancaster, although the university is nowhere near so good as Lancaster (U of Chester is a former teacher-training college, with a pretty funding situation - they keep having to make staff redundant).

With a generalist degree such as the one @LadyLazarus40's DD is looking at, you need to go for the highest ranking - that is a research-led university. A big civic (Leeds, Birmingham et al) is far more what she should be looking at.

"pretty precarious funding situation"

Thanks all. Her top 2 are UCL and a Birmingham. She’s also considering Glasgow, Bristol, Manchester and Newcastlejust a question of looking in detail at the different course options. UCL is out and out favourite.

Great choices! Good luck for her applications.