Why choose the School of Sport, Psychology and Social Science
This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
Specialist units for this course have been developed working with a panel of industry professionals from the NHS, mental health support and other relevant organisations.
In the National Student Survey 2025, our psychology courses scored 80% and over for student satisfaction with teaching (80%), academic support (82%) and learning resources (87%).
About the course
This degree offers a unique approach, blending knowledge and practice from counselling and coaching psychology. You study classic and contemporary theories of counselling and psychotherapy including psychodynamic, person-centred and cognitive behavioural approaches to gain a thorough understanding of the core areas. You then have the opportunity to use and develop your skills in real-life, peer-coaching practice and in voluntary roles within relevant organisations.
Course accreditation
This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). Graduating from a BPS-accredited degree with a 2nd-class Honours or above makes you eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the Society. It also enables you to enrol for Stage 1 postgraduate training.
Facilities and specialist equipment
- Counselling/coaching practice pods to develop counselling and coaching skills
- Two-way mirror observation rooms to assist with counselling/coaching skills development
- Virtual reality software and headsets to support counselling skills development
- Cognitive neuropsychology lab
- Research cubicles
- Eyetrackers
- Physiological data-acquisition system
- EEG
- Podcasting equipment
- Data-analysis software
- Experiment and survey-building software
Industry links
Specialist units for this course have been developed working with a panel of industry professionals from the NHS, mental health support and other relevant organisations to ensure they align with employer needs.
Student experience
Benefit from friendly, approachable staff, small class sizes and easy access to academic support.
Get to know your peers and academics well by taking part in the School’s many social events, which run throughout the academic year.
Benefit from membership of our Student Research Institute, providing opportunities to engage in research; work with staff as an assistant; and attend specialist research conferences.
Learn from a highly experienced academic team who are active in industry and are members of the Research Centre for Applied Psychology.
Our research addresses real-life day-to-day issues including reading development; cognitive function in long COVID; and prevention of gender-based violence.
Take part in roleplay and peer-coaching practice up to pre-practitioner level to help develop your skills as an effective counsellor or therapist.
Bring your learning to life through authentic assessments in areas such as counselling and coaching; case conceptualisation; and coaching or clinical supervision.
Gain insight into psychological practice in the NHS as well as awareness of the career paths offered within the NHS.
Hear from a variety of guest speakers who share their experience and expertise at special events and masterclasses run by the School of Psychology.
Psychology Subject Spotlight
Take a look at our subject spotlight on Psychology! Dr. Joseph Adonu explores if love at first sight actually exists!
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
Studying our Psychology, Counselling and Coaching BSc (Hons) course will equip you with the knowledge and expertise in counselling and psychological interventions. In core areas of study, you will build your understanding of the Foundations to Psychology that include the history and concepts surrounding cognitive and biological psychology. As a fundamental element to the study of psychology, you will also be given an Introduction to Psychological Research Methods and Data Analysis that will equip you with the skills to design, conduct, analyse and write an ethically sound research project. You will build on this further in our Methods of Research in Psychology unit that will expand on your knowledge of research methods to be able to assess personalities and develop methods of psychological assessment. Moreover, you will develop your knowledge of contemporary topics and theory in psychology in the context of everyday behaviours in our Psychology in Everyday Life unit.
In areas of social psychology, you will explore how people change and develop biologically, cognitively and socially across their lifespan in our Social Processes and Lifespan Development unit. By combining areas of Biological and Cognitive Psychology, you will examine the human thought process, perception, language, memory and learning from both perspectives. To equip you with the skills to practice counselling, you will explore the concepts of counselling, psychotherapy, coaching and psychological therapies in our Introduction to Counselling and Psychotherapy unit that will allow you to understand therapeutic interventions into mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. Building on this, our Counselling and Psychotherapy in Context unit will teach you to apply skills in counselling and psychotherapy in different contexts while evaluating current practice in the field.
With a particular focus on children and young people, you will study the causes, symptoms, treatment and issues associated with exceptional children including examining the cognitive and psychosocial aspects of their difficulties in learning, attention and emotional and social development in our Atypical Child and Adolescent Development unit. You will also be able to explore the cultural effects on human psychology in our Culture and Individual Differences unit to understand the contemporary applications of psychological diversity and the links between cultural norms and behaviour. Furthermore, you will develop your understanding of leading models in coaching psychology, its concepts and a range of psychological therapy models in our Psychological Coaching and Therapies unit.
If you are interested in clinical areas of mental health, our Psychology of Mental Health unit will allow you to examine the clinical symptoms of the most common psychological disorders. Finally, you will complete a Psychology, Counselling & Therapies Research Project that will allow you to explore a particular topic of interest to you that is relevant to your field of study while also demonstrating the knowledge and skills you have acquired throughout the course. To prepare you for your career, you will have the opportunity to undertake a Placement Year (Psychology) to develop your employability skills and gain relevant work experience.
You will have the opportunity to take part in empirical studies in the early stages of your degree and to run your own on as part of both your learning and assessment. The assessments include formative and summative assessments to provide feedback to help with your own development and to inform your completion of future assessments.
Careers
Graduates from this course who achieve a Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the BPS are eligible to apply to study a range of postgraduate taught and research degrees such as MSc Forensic Psychology; MSc Health Psychology; or a Degree by Research (MRes). Our MSc degrees are BPS accredited and form stage one of the the training you need to become a chartered psychologist.
Typical employment destinations within six months of graduation include assistant psychologist; psychological wellbeing practitioner; housing and welfare officer; coaching psychologist; primary and nursery education teaching professional; special needs education teaching professional; sports coach; therapist; education advisor; and youth or community worker.
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Virtual Tour
