Applied Psychology
Subject | BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Applied Psychology.
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Entry Requirements | 4 GCSEs grade 4 or above including English and Maths
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Exam Board | Pearson/Edexcel | |||||||||||||||
Content relating to the subject qualification | The National Extended Certificate is the equivalent to one A Level qualification and requires the completion of 3 mandatory units and 1 optional unit of work relating to the field of psychology. The mandatory units are as follows;
Units 1 and 3 are externally assessed, written exam papers which are set and marked by Pearson
The optional unit is listed below;
In Year 1 Units 1 and 2 will be completed. In Year 2 Units 3 and 6 will be completed.
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Assessment of the qualification |
There are two units that are externally assessed. Unit 1 – Psychological Approaches and Applications which is assessed through a 90-minute exam. The first opportunity to sit this is in January of Year 12 and students are allowed two re-sit opportunities only. The second externally assessed unit is Unit 3 – Health Psychology which is assessed in a 2-hour exam. The first opportunity to sit this is in January of Year 13 and students are allowed two re-sit opportunities only.
The remaining 2 units are internally assessed may also be required for external verification of marking. Although both remaining units are internally assessed, Unit 2 – Conducting Psychological Research is a synoptic assignment that build upon the knowledge developed from Unit 1 - Psychological Approaches and Applications. Each unit of work will be graded as a Pass, Merit or Distinction and the final grade will be calculated based on the accumulation of these grades. The final grade awarded and it’s A Level equivalent are shown below.
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Career Pathways
Psychology is one of the most versatile subjects and can help in almost every profession. Successful Psychology students will possess sound knowledge of underlying Psychological theories, how to conduct Psychological research and the ability to apply Psychology to other areas, such as mental health and general well-being. Alongside subject knowledge Psychology students will possess the ability to critically analyse a theory or piece of research, weighing up both the strengths and the weaknesses of a particular topic.
Psychology can be combined with several other subjects and can lead to a wide variety of different university courses and careers; for example:
- Occupational Health
- Sport Psychology
- Education and Child Psychology
- Forensic and Criminal Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Occupational Psychology
- Counselling Psychology
- Child and Developmental Psychology
- Law
- Education
Extra-Curricular
There will be a trip offered to go to an academic conference with students from around the UK which will reinforce knowledge through teaching from specialists in other areas of Psychology with the option to ask those present questions about their specific topic of Psychology. This also has a focus on exam preparation.