Why study Psychology at Christ's?
Students are hugely positive about their experiences studying this subject at Christ’s, not just because of our College’s friendly community feel, but because we offer excellent tutorial and cross-college support.
PBS graduates to date have gone on to study for further degrees, or to work as research or care assistants with a view to training as clinical psychologists. Information about becoming a psychologist is available on the British Psychological Society website.
Course content and structure
The PBS course (or ‘tripos’) is a three-year degree. Please visit the University website for full details of the Psychological and Behavioural Sciences degree page You will also find information on the PBS Tripos course structure page.
Teaching
You attend lectures at the Department of Psychology, just a short walk away from Christ’s (see map). You also have weekly ‘supervisions’ here in College. These small-group (or one-to-one) tutorial sessions are arranged by your Director of Studies and give you the advantage of personally-tailored guidance and tuition from an experienced supervisor. And our modern library is designed to ensure you get the peace you need without feeling isolated when you’re studying independently.
Christ's currently has a number of academics in Psychological and Behavioural Sciences. Dr Camilla Nord is the Director of Studies, Dr Marcella Montagnese is a Junior Research Fellow and Professor Dame Theresa Marteau is a bye-fellow and Director of the University's Behaviour and Health Research Unit in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care as well as Associate Fellow of the Centre for Science and Policy. Professor Deborah Prentice also joined Christ's in July 2024.
What do our students think?
Read about the experiences of Christ's Psychological and Behavioural Sciences students
If you’d like to hear from other Christ's students, please watch the Christ's student Q&A film, and visit our Student Profiles page.
"Out of all of my papers this year, I thought that the most interesting essay I got to work on was either one on social norms, or another on non-traditional families, as I enjoyed being able to explore ongoing research."
How to Apply
Visit How to Apply for full details and a timeline of the application process. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and school types, all over the world. If you're applying from outside the UK, please read our international students section.
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Subject requirements
Applicants for Psychological and Behavioural Sciences must be taking (or have taken) Biology or Mathematics amongst their A-level, IB Higher, Scottish Advanced Higher or equivalent subjects.
- Students taking the International Baccalaureate must take Biology or Maths: Analysis and Approaches as one of their Higher Level subjects.
- Students taking USA Advanced Placements should take five subjects including Biology or Calculus BC.
Although most applicants also take Psychology at school, this is not a requirement and we are happy to consider students who have taken other subjects.
We encourage students to attend one of our regular Subject Matters webinars for help with choosing Post-16 subjects for competitive university applications. This webinar is pitched for students aged 14-16 though it is also possible to attend when you have started sixth form.
Interviews
If we invite you for interviews, these usually take place in early December. At Christ's we do all of our interviews online. You can have your interviews either at home (most applicants do this) or at school (if easier). Those invited for Cambridge interviews are normally interviewed for 35-50 minutes in total. At Christ’s, we usually split the time into two interviews with academics in Psychological and Behavioural Sciences. During one of these, we may ask you to interpret a graph, solve a problem or comment on an essay question.
Further, more general information about interviews (including two useful films) is available in the Cambridge interviews section, and it's worth also having a look at supervisions (short film here), as interviews are similar to what you do every week as a Cambridge student.
There is no written assessment for Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at Christ's College.
Offers
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. However, our aim is to make around three offers each year for PBS.
We assess the terms of each offer individually but our typical conditional offer for PBS is:
- A*, A*, A at A level
- 42 points overall in the International Baccalaureate with 7,7,6 in relevant Higher Level subjects
- A1, A1, A2 in three Scottish Advanced Highers
If you're taking another qualification, we expect you to be working at or close to the top of the mark range i.e.
- Baccalauréat français international (BFI): 17 (mention très bien) out of 20 overall, with a minimum of 17 in individual subjects
- European Baccalaureate: at least 85% overall, with 9/10 in relevant subjects
You can look up other qualifications in the offer levels for other exam systems and international entry requirements, and if you are applying from outside the UK please read the Christ's international students section for further information and check the country pages.
If you will have finished school when you apply, please also read about post-qualification applications, taking a gap year, and, if relevant, applying from a university.
Helpful Resources
| Psychology at Cambridge | Short film |
| Reading suggestions | Books you might enjoy reading that provide a general background to Psychological and Behavioural Sciences. |
| Theresa Marteau on The Life Scientific | Theresa Marteau discusses how to change behaviour (a BBC Sounds registration needed to access this recording). |
| Psychology A-Z | Exploring the range of Cambridge Psychology research |
| History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge | Film about one of the possible second year options (see routes into History & Philosophy of Science) |
| Advanced Mathematics Support | Resources for students taking A-level Mathematics (or equivalent) |
| Gresham College Psychology lectures | Free online lectures. You can search for terms such as Psychology, Biology, or Neuroscience. |
| The Psychologist | The British Psychological Society magazine. You may also like to explore articles on Psychology in science publications such as Nature and New Scientist. |
| BPS Research Digest | Blog. You can even sign up to get a weekly email with summaries and links |
| Nuffield Research Placements | Year 12 opportunity to work on a summer research project. Strict eligibility criteria apply. |
| HE+ Psychology | Website for secondary school students who would like to explore Psychology |
| CamGuides | Introducing the academic and information skills that you will need during your studies, as well as how and where you would be working. |
"Both the best and the hardest thing about PBS is that it combines humanities and the sciences."
Come to an open day or online event
Our open days and events page advertises regular online opportunities as well as events you can attend in Cambridge. If you can, sign up for a College Open Day (our October, February and September events normally include a meeting with a subject specialist). Between February and August we run regular webinars:
- Subject Matters: The importance of post-16 subject choices (this one is also run Sept - Nov)
- Cambridge for Beginners
- Christ's College: A look at the Grounds and Facilities
- Personal Statements and preparing for an application
Further subject-specific opportunities you might wish to consider include Subject Masterclasses organised by Cambridge Admissions Office, and subject-specific talks in the July Cambridge Open Days. If you are a UK student from a background where there is little tradition of entry to Higher Education, you can apply to attend a Sutton Trust Summer School in Psychological and Behavioural Sciences or to shadow a current undergraduate studying PBS via the Cambridge SU Shadowing Scheme (do be aware that there's a high proportion of applicants to places for both of these last two opportunities so please don't be discouraged if you don't get a place).
Need more information?
For a full picture of what the course involves, take a look at Undergraduate Psychological and Behavioural Sciences admissions on the University website and read the PBS course overview for prospective students too.
If you have any queries at all, please contact us at admissions@christs.cam.ac.uk. We’ll be happy to advise.
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