Program Overview

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Foundation Year in Psychology

Course Overview

The Foundation Year in Psychology is offered as an entry route to a psychology degree for students who don't yet meet the entry requirements for degree-level study.

Why Choose a Foundation Year in Psychology at Middlesex?

This course is a stepping-stone course into one of our three-year courses in Psychology.

A foundation year might be a good choice for you if you don't have the right qualifications or feel ready for degree-level study. Or perhaps you are returning to study and want to get up to speed before starting a degree.

You will need to enrol on a four-year course, which includes the one-year foundation course. When you complete this year successfully you will progress directly onto one of our three-year degree courses.

We offer:

• BSc Psychology
• BSc Psychology with Counselling Skills
• BSc Psychology with Neuroscience
• BSc Psychology with Criminology

What Will You Gain?

The opportunity to move on to a full three-year degree in psychology or another related subject.

You'll gain lots of transferable skills which are useful for whatever your future goals are. These include how to manage your workload, critical thinking, negotiating deadlines, general study, literature searching, and research skills.

Accreditations

Our course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), so you’ll gain a Graduate Basis of membership when you finish your degree providing that you gain a 2:2 award or above. An essential step for qualifying as a psychologist, our course also equips you with a professional skillset that opens up career doors in areas including health, education, forensics, coaching and business.

About Your Course

Modules

• Introductory Psychology (30 credits) - Optional You will be introduced to selected topics from social psychology, cognition and individual differences. In each of these areas, you will be introduced to contemporary theory and research, and will also have an opportunity to get hands-on experience of the techniques used to investigate these topics.
• SMART (Students Mastering Academic Writing, Research and Technology) (30 credits) - Compulsory This module provides the fundamental written and oral communication skills required to continue studying at degree level. You will develop analytical skills through a problem solving approach, build your confidence working individually and as a member of a team, and gain appreciation of research techniques by using libraries and a range of e-learning resources.
• Foundation Mathematics (30 credits) - Compulsory This module introduces some fundamental mathematical topics and concepts that are required in a range of subjects studied at degree level. In a structured and supportive environment, you will begin to develop an appreciation of the importance of mathematics as an aid to understand and describe abstract ideas.
• Psychology Project (30 credits) - Compulsory This module provides relevant experience in a range of subject-related projects that reinforce understanding of topics taught, and provides opportunities to apply the knowledge gained in other modules.

Teaching and Learning

The foundation year will engage you in all aspects of your learning. You'll gain knowledge, understanding and skills through interactive lectures, interactive activities, guided research, individual projects, and lab classes. You'll receive formative feedback electronically as well as in practical sessions and summative feedback is provided electronically. You'll be taught by an experienced teaching team with a wide range of expertise and professional experience. You will need to complete 120 credits per year, which are broken down into modules of typically 30 credits. You will do two modules per semester.

Typical Weekly Breakdown

• Typical weekly breakdown During your first year, your weekly timetable will typically consist of:
  • A total of 12 hours of teaching sessions per week

Teaching vs Independent Learning

Outside of teaching hours, you’ll learn independently through self-study. This will involve reading journal articles and books, working on reports and assessments, undertaking research, and preparing for assessments including coursework.

Here is a guide as to how you will spend your time.

Year 1

• Percentage | Hours | Typical activity
  • 23% | 276 | Teaching, learning and assessment
  • 77% | 924 | Independent learning

Academic Support

Our excellent teaching and support teams will help you develop your skills from research and practical skills to critical thinking and you will have an academic advisor who will support you as you progress through your degree course. Our Sheppard Library is open from 7am to 11pm Monday to Sunday during term time. And we offer free 24-hour laptop loans with full desktop software, free printing and Wi-Fi to use on or off campus.

Coursework and Assessments

• Assessments This course is based on 100% coursework.
• Feedback To help you achieve the best results, we will provide regular feedback.

Facilities and Support

Facilities

Our Sheppard Library has over 1000 study areas with and 600 computer spaces, with some areas open 24 hours a day

Student Support

We offer lots of support to help you while you're studying including financial advice, wellbeing, mental health, and disability support.

Additional Needs

We'll support you if you have additional needs such as sensory impairment or dyslexia. And if you want to find out whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, get in touch with our Disability and Dyslexia team.

Wellness

Our specialist teams will support your mental health. We have free individual counselling sessions, workshops, support groups and useful guides.

Work While You Study

Our Middlesex Unitemps branch will help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above. Visit the Middlesex Unitemps page.

Financial Support

You can apply for scholarships and bursaries and our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.

We have also reduced the costs of studying with free laptop loans, free learning resources and discounts to save money on everyday things. Check out our guide to student life on a budget.

Entry Requirements

Qualifications

• 56-64 UCAS Points
• Including GCSE: Grade 4/C in English, Mathematics and Science

We accept students with a wide range of qualifications, including combinations of qualifications. Our most common entry qualifications can be found below:

• A Levels - DEE/CD - DDE/CC
• BTEC - MPP
• Access requirements - Overall pass: must include 45 credits at level 3
• Combinations - A combination of A-Level, BTEC and other accepted qualifications that total 56 -64 UCAS Tariff points

Our entry requirements page outlines how we make offers where we have given a range (e.g. BBB – BBC in A levels), and how we’ll make you an offer if you are studying a combination of qualifications (e.g. BTEC and A level).

We'll accept T Levels for entry onto our undergraduate degree courses (including our extended courses with a foundation year) with standard application of science requirements and GCSEs in line with UCAS tariff calculation.

Mature Students (Over 21)

We welcome applications from mature candidates, including those without formal qualifications, provided you can demonstrate relevant experience and ability.

Academic Credit

If you have a qualification such as a foundation degree or HND or have gained credit at another university, you may be able to enter a Middlesex University course in year two or three. Find out how you can transfer courses. If you have relevant qualifications or work experience, we may be able to count this towards your entry requirements.

Interviews

You won't be required to attend an interview for this course.

Fees and Funding

UK Students

• Foundation Year (FY): £5,760
• Full-time: £9,535*
• Part-time: £79 per taught credit

*Depending on the duration of your study, your tuition fees for subsequent academic years may be subject to further inflationary increases (most recently, the UK government has suggested that increases may be linked to the All-Items Retail Prices Index – RPIX) in line with any additional rise in the tuition fee cap set by the UK government. Any annual increase in tuition fees will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.

International Students

• Full-time students: £16,600
• Part-time students: £138 per taught credit

Additional Costs

The following study tools are included in your fees:

• Free laptop loans for a maximum of 24 hours
• Free access to everything on your reading list
• Free specialist software for your course
• Free printing for academic paperwork
• Free online training with LinkedIn Learning
• Audio-visual equipment available for loan, including digital stills cameras, digital video recorders, digital audio recorders

The only additional cost students may incur is for additional texts they may wish to buy.

Scholarships and Bursaries

To help make uni affordable, we do everything we can to support you including our:

• MDX Excellence Scholarship offers grants of up to £2,000 per year for UK students
• Regional or International Merit Awards which reward International students with up to £2,000 towards course fees
• Our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.

Find out more about undergraduate funding and all of our scholarships and bursaries.

Fees Disclaimers

1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase undergraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

Based on the current fee, for a typical three-year degree, the total costs for your studies will be £28,605.

2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.