Psychology with International Foundation Year

Psychology is the scientific study of how people think, feel, behave and relate to one another and to the world around them. It is a discipline with strong empirical foundations, requiring careful experimental design, statistical analysis and critical engagement with evidence alongside the theoretical frameworks that help make sense of human experience. At the University of Reading this four-year programme, which includes an international foundation year, provides a supported route into psychology for international students whose academic background or previous study context requires an additional year of preparation before the main degree begins.

The international foundation year develops the English language skills, academic study habits and subject knowledge needed to succeed in a psychology degree at Reading, giving you a robust and well-supported transition into the main programme. Across the following three years you will develop a broad knowledge of psychology's major fields, including cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, biological psychology and abnormal psychology, alongside the research methods and statistical skills that psychological inquiry demands. The programme allows you to tailor your learning to your individual interests as you progress, with increasing options for specialisation in your later years.

Reading's psychology department is research-active, and you will engage with current thinking from academics working across the discipline.

Graduates hold the Graduate Basis for Chartership from the British Psychological Society if the degree is BPS-accredited, which is the starting point for professional training in clinical, educational, forensic, health and occupational psychology. Many graduates go on to postgraduate professional training or research, while others enter careers in HR, healthcare, education, research, public health, social care, market research, the civil service and management, where the understanding of human behaviour that psychology develops is valued across a wide range of roles.