University Website: http://www.pbs.tripos.cam.ac.uk/

Director of Studies: Dr Simone Schnall

Introduction

Psychological and Behavioural Sciences (PBS) is an exciting new undergraduate course for 2013 entry. Over the course of three years PBS covers the full range of psychology, including behavioural and cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, as well as the study of atypical development and adult psychopathology.

A Research-Led, Multi-Disciplinary Course

While there are a small number of compulsory psychology papers, you will have plenty of choice with options such as child development, psychopathology, cognitive psychology, brain mechanisms, family relationships, personality, and social behaviour. Research projects and a dissertation also enable you to study in greater depth the topics that interest you most. Typical projects involve brain and language, communication, visual cognition, memory, emotion, gender, morality, personality, autism, depression and ageing.

Within the course there is also the flexibility to pursue related disciplines such as politics, sociology, archaeology, biological and social anthropology, computer science, philosophy, natural sciences, economics, and education.

International Excellence

You will be taught by researchers of international excellence. Psychology at Cambridge has been ranked second in the world by the Times Higher Education (May 2011) and in 2010 the QS World University Survey rated the Cambridge psychology degree as the most desirable degree for employers. The Department was also given the highest score in the latest Research Assessment Exercise, conducted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in 2008.  

Excellent Career Prospects

Cambridge graduates are highly sought after by employers, due to their capacity for independent thought and rigorous scholarship. The University’s psychology teaching is fully accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). Graduates are therefore eligible for admission to professional courses in clinical, educational, forensic, applied or academic psychology. Numerous past students of psychology at Cambridge have gone on to prominent positions in psychology and related fields throughout the world. Our course also equips students with skills and knowledge applicable in numerous professional sectors. Other recent graduates have entered careers in the media, management, the Civil Service, finance, law and business.

College Facilities

Christ's is distinctive amongst the Cambridge Colleges. It offers strong tutorial support to its students as they pursue their academic work, and is able to offer accommodation for three years to all of its undergraduates. The College also provides a modern library, a theatre, sporting facilities, playing fields, social activities and clubs and societies open to all.

How to Apply

In addition to nominating Cambridge as one of your selected universities on the UCAS application form, it is also desirable to choose a College of preference (the alternative is to submit an Open Application and allow a College preference to be chosen for you by computer). This can appear to add to the complexity of applying to Cambridge, but in reality the option of stating your particular College preference increases the control which you have over your own application. Many criteria can be used for choosing a College of preference, including such factors as location, architecture and accommodation, and academic, musical or sporting reputation. If you are able to visit Cambridge (preferably on a College Open Day) you may get a better idea of the location, atmosphere and facilities of various Colleges.

Christ's College does not have fixed quotas of places for different subjects and the exact numbers admitted in any one year will depend upon the strengths of the fields of applicants in various subjects.

After your application has been received at UCAS, you will be asked to send to the College in advance of interviews two pieces of written work.  The essays should be class essays if possible, written and marked during the normal course of your studies. We recognise that this might be an issue for prospective students who are doing mostly science subjects for which they may not have written essays. In that case it would be fine to write two essays on topics set by your teacher. For examples of essay questions, the Department of Social and Developmental Psychology has been offering an AS Level Essay Competition over the last few year, and the topics are online:

http://www.sdp.cam.ac.uk/news/#ESSAY-PRIZE-12

Applicants are usually interviewed in November or December: normally applicants will have two interviews (about 25 minutes each). During one interview you will be asked to interpret a graph, solve a problem or comment on an essay question. On the same day as your interviews you will also be asked to write an essay on a topic which will not be published in advance.

Entry Requirements

Applicants for PBS need not have studied psychology before. Learning the subject requires intellectual ability and the capacity to analyse and understand theories which have their roots in a broad range of subjects in the humanities and sciences. An education which has developed this intellectual flexibility and a passion for the subject matter is what is required.

Entry requirements are likely to be A*AA at A-level, or comparable grades in other qualifications. A final point worth making is that we only make offers to candidates that we believe they have a realistic chance of achieving. Our aim is to admit the best students regardless of their background.

Information about deadlines and further details can be found here.

Further Information

If you are able to come to a College Open Day, we will be glad to tell you more about the College in person.If you are not able to come to an Open Day, we will be happy to answer any queries you may have that are not covered by the normal literature. Please address any such enquiries to the Admissions Tutor, Christ's College, Cambridge, CB2 3BU, or by e-mail to admissions@christs.cam.ac.uk.