Psychology with Clinical Psychology with a Foundation Year

Clinical psychology is the applied branch of psychology concerned with understanding and addressing psychological distress, mental health difficulties, and the factors that promote or undermine human wellbeing. It draws on the full breadth of psychological science, including cognitive, developmental, social, and neuroscientific perspectives, to understand what helps people cope, recover, and thrive. Studying it at undergraduate level, combined with a broad grounding in psychology, gives you a foundation in both the scientific discipline and the clinical lens through which it can be applied.

At the University of Kent, this four-year full-time degree, which includes a foundation year, is accredited by the British Psychological Society, meaning it provides the Graduate Basis for Chartership required for progression to postgraduate professional training in psychology. You will study the broad foundations of psychology across cognition, development, personality, social psychology, and neuroscience, while the clinical focus gives you a specific lens through which to understand how mental health and wellbeing are assessed and supported. You will develop research skills that allow you to evaluate evidence critically and engage responsibly with the knowledge base of clinical psychology.

The foundation year provides a supported entry into degree-level study. With a typical entry tariff of 104 UCAS points, the programme is accessible to students from a range of backgrounds.

Graduates from BPS-accredited psychology degrees are eligible to apply for postgraduate professional training in clinical psychology, counselling psychology, and educational psychology, all of which require further study and supervised practice. The undergraduate degree itself also opens doors in mental health support, community care, social services, education, healthcare, research, and human resources. The research training developed during the degree is particularly valuable for roles in applied psychology research and evidence-based practice.