Introduction
Are you an adult learner looking to study psychology online at a UK university? Whether you’re looking for a career change, a flexible learning path, or an accredited program, this guide will help you find the best university to study Online Psychology Course with in the UK for your career goals.
We’ll cover:
- Top UK psychology universities (ranked by reputation & teaching quality)
- Understanding university rankings and how to use them objectively
- Problems with University Rankings
- Specialised Universities that Teach Psychology Online
- Flexibility and Time to Complete
- Course Content and Learning Experience
Top UK Universities for Psychology (Ranked by Reputation & Teaching Quality)
If you’re looking for a university with a strong academic reputation, here
are the UK universities placed in the top ten for psychology ranked by The Guardian, The Times, and the Complete University Guide (CUG).
Remember: A university ranking is not everything—consider course content, flexibility, entry requirements, costs and accreditation.
| University | Guardian Rank | Times Rank | CUG Rank | Online Options? |
| University of Oxford | #1 | Not Ranked | #4 | ❌ No |
| University of Cambridge | #2 | #1 | #2 | ❌ No |
| University of St Andrews | #3 | #17 | #3 | ❌ No |
| University of Bath | #4 | #16 | #5 | ❌ No |
| University of Glasgow | #5 | #5 | #12 | ✅ Yes |
| University College London | #6 | #2 | #6 | ✅ Yes |
| Ulster University | #7 | #54 | #44 | ✅ Yes |
| Loughborough University | #8 | #32 | #7 | ❌ No |
| University of Exeter | #9 | #21 | #8 | ✅ Yes |
| King’s College London | #9 | #3 | #15 | ✅ Yes |
| University of Edinburgh | #40 | #4 | #16 | ❌ No |
| London School of Economics | Not Ranked | #6 | #1 | ❌ No |
| University of Bristol | #32 | #7 | #14 | ✅ Yes |
| University of York | #11 | #8 | #9 | ❌ No |
| University of Birmingham | #36 | #9 | #22 | ✅ Yes |
| Cardiff University | #16 | #10 | #10 | ❌ No |
Understanding Rankings and How to Use Them Effectively
When choosing a psychology degree, rankings can provide insight into the university’s reputation, research quality, and student satisfaction. However, each ranking uses a different methodology, so it’s important to understand what each ranking measures:
The main rankings in the UK are The Times, The Guardian and the Complete University Guide.
| Ranking System | Focus |
|---|---|
| Complete University Guide (CUG) | Research quality, student satisfaction, entry standards |
| The Guardian University Guide | Teaching quality, student experience, feedback scores |
| The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide | Graduate prospects, academic reputation, research quality |
Problems with University Rankings
Looking at the tables above, you can see that Oxford University is not ranked by The Times for Psychology. Does this mean you should avoid this university? Will potential employers question you about this and ignore your application? These events seem highly unlikely and are an extreme example of how little impact a place in a ranking can have in the real world.
While university rankings are an established way of comparing institutions, they are not perfect or without their critics. First of all, you need to be aware that there may be little actual difference between a university ranking in the top 10 and the top 20. Minor differences can significantly impact a university’s place in a league table but mean very little in the real world.
Dr Jelena Brankovic, a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Sociology, Bielefeld University, has written an excellent article about the absurdity of university rankings and how her university climbed 120 places in one year.
It’s important to remember that there is no definitive way to rank and compare universities. Getting a place on a course at a university with a world-leading research department is impressive, but a course that gives you the skills and knowledge that will have a meaningful impact on your immediate professional progress may be the best available option for you.
Finally, some universities may not even be included in the rankings.There can be many reasons that a university is not included in a ranking. This guide to university rankings has more details about why a university may not be included in a league table.
Specialised Universities that Teach Psychology Online
These universities do not appear in the university rankings, as they are specialist education providers who may not produce all the metrics used to quantify and compare institutions, such as research output or scholarships provided. However, all the universities listed on this page have high academic standards and are recognised bodies with degree-awarding status.
- Arden University
- BBP University
- University of Law
- Open University
- Birkbeck University
Flexibility and Time to Complete
How much time you have to study can impact which courses are an option for you. Most online psychology degrees and Master’s programmes are part-time and have fixed time frames. But some options offer more flexibility. They can be completed full-time or over a longer time frame.
You can use our study time calculator to understand timeframes based on how many hours a week you can dedicate to a course to help focus your study options.
Course Content and Learning Experience
Once you have narrowed down your choice before you submit an application, we recommend contacting the universities and requesting all the information they have about the courses, such as the syllabus, the academics, and the learning platform/ experience. In addition, most universities offer live webinars for prospective students to meet the academics and ask questions about the course.
