Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour. It plays an important role in the world helping to understand complex questions around human behaviour.

Our psychology research at Stirling addresses big questions around fundamental psychological themes:

  • Behaviour and Evolution
  • Health and Behaviour Change
  • Cognition in Complex Environments

Psychology courses at the University of Stirling will allow you to gain an in-depth knowledge of human (and animal) behaviour while developing research and analytical skills that employers highly value. We cover a diverse range of topics including cognition, developmental psychology, social behaviour, health psychology, animal behaviour and clinical psychology. Many of our psychology courses include practical placements.

Psychology courses

Courses labelled are available for online study only.

Undergraduate courses
CourseStart date
BA (Hons) / BSc (Hons) PsychologySeptember 2022, January 2023
BSc (Hons) Sport PsychologySeptember 2022 (We are no longer accepting applications from Scottish applicants for September 2022 entry)
Postgraduate courses
CourseStart date
MSc / MA Human-Animal InteractionSeptember 2022
MSc Autism ResearchSeptember 2022
MSc Health PsychologySeptember 2022
MSc Psychological Research MethodsSeptember 2022
MSc Psychological Therapy in Primary CareJanuary 2023
MSc Psychology (accredited conversion course)September 2022
MSc Psychology of Sport (Accredited)September 2022
Professional Doctorate Health PsychologyJanuary 2023
infographic: Top 5 in Scotland

Top 5 in Scotland

for Psychology

Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022

infographic: 100%

100%

of our Psychology impact studies received the highest-possible rating of "world leading"

Research Excellence Framework 2014

BPS Undergraduate Accredited logo

The British Psychological Society accreditation logo for Health Psychology

The British Psychological Society accreditation logo for Sport Exercise Psychology

Many of our undergraduate and postgraduate Psychology courses are accredited by the British Psychological Society.

Graduate careers in Psychology

The wide range of skills and knowledge gained from a Psychology degree can open up many different career paths to you. Jobs that are directly related include:

  • clinical psychologist
  • health psychologist
  • educational psychologist
  • forensic psychologist
  • sport psychologist
  • academic researcher
  • counsellor
  • psychotherapist

There are also many areas that value Psychology skills including human resources, marketing, emergency services, careers advice and teaching.

Specialist facilities

We have a number of high-end specialist psychology labs for students and researchers that involve:

  • brain imaging
  • action research
  • visual attention
  • health psychology
  • evolutionary psychology
  • animal research
  • virtual and augmented reality

We also have a pre-school kindergarten where students will have the opportunity to study aspects of child development.

Partnerships and industry

Our Psychology Single Honours, and all Psychology Combined Honours degree courses, are accredited with the British Psychological Society (BPS). They confer eligibility for Graduate Basis for Registration, provided the minimum standard of a Second Class Honours is achieved. This is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.

Our MSc Health Psychology meets the British Psychological Society’s requirements for Stage 1 training in Health Psychology.

The MSc Psychology of Sport is accredited by the British Psychological Society. It satisfies Stage 1 training and enables progression onto Stage 2 on route to becoming a sport and exercise psychologist. 

Societies

Psychology Society - a student run society that is for any student interested in the study of Psychology. Meetings consist of talks given by experts in different fields of psychology.

Psychology research

Psychology research at Stirling is of a very high standard. In most recent Research Excellence Framework (2014), 97% of our research outputs were rated as world leading or internationally excellent. Our academic staff have a diverse range of research interests from animal behaviour to social psychology.

We have three core psychology research groups:

Postgraduate research opportunities

We have a collegiate working environment that provides excellent support and mentoring to early career researchers, making Stirling the perfect place to study for a PhD or MPhil in Psychology. See our MPhil, PhD and Doctorate opportunities in the areas of: