Psychology with Foundation Year

Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour, one of the most widely studied disciplines in UK higher education because it speaks directly to questions about human experience that most people find genuinely interesting. At the same time, it is a rigorous science that requires careful engagement with research methods, statistics, and theory, and its findings are only as strong as the evidence behind them.

At Goldsmiths, University of London this four-year full-time programme integrates a foundation year at the start. The foundation year is designed to prepare you for degree-level study in psychology, developing your scientific literacy, academic writing, and understanding of the discipline before you move into the main honours degree. Goldsmiths brings a particular critical and creative sensibility to psychology, reflecting the college's broader character as an arts and social sciences institution with a tradition of independent thinking.

You will study the core areas of psychology, including cognitive, biological, developmental, social, and individual differences approaches, as well as research methods and statistics, which are central to the discipline from the outset. The programme encourages you to engage critically with psychological research rather than simply absorbing its conclusions, thinking carefully about what evidence tells us and what it does not.

Graduates go on to a wide range of careers. Those who wish to practise as psychologists typically require postgraduate training in specialist areas such as clinical, educational, or occupational psychology. The degree also prepares you well for careers in human resources, social care, health services, education, marketing, user experience research, and many other fields where understanding human behaviour has practical value.

Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in psychology or allied disciplines.