心理学是一门研究人类的心理现象、精神功能和行为的科学，既是一门理论学科，也是一门应用学科。包括基础心理学与应用心理学两大领域。
心理学研究涉及知觉、认知、情绪、人格、行为、人际关系、社会关系等许多领域，也与日常生活的许多领域——家庭、教育、健康、社会等发生关联。心理学一方面 尝试用大脑运作来解释个体基本的行为与心理机能，同时，心理学也尝试解释个体心理机能在社会行为与社会动力中的角色；同时它也与神经科学、医学、生物学等 科学有关，因为这些科学所探讨的生理作用会影响个体的心智。
心理学家从事基础研究的目的是描述、解释、预测和影响行为。应用心理学家还有第五个目的——提高人类生活的质量。这些目标构成了心理学事业的基础。
国内发展
心理学，这三个字对于大多数中国人来说还有一些神秘。人们往往会跟“读心术”、“心理控制术”、“催眠”这些词语以及由此而派生出来的感觉联系到一起。实际上，这些理解仅仅反映了心理学的一个侧面而已。
在我国，自1917年陈大齐教授在北京大学建立第一个心理学实验室以来，虽几经起落，但从70年代后期开始也进入空前未有的繁荣时期。已形成从全国性到地方 性的各级心理科学研究所、学会网络，每年有近十份心理学专业刊物、几百份教育类刊物和大学学报上发表上千篇心理学文献。各种心理学书籍更如雨后春笋，不断 涌现。不仅在所有师范大学和一些综合性大学开设各种心理学课程、在一些重点师范大学和一些重点综合性大学设立心理学系，培养本科生、硕士生和博士生，而且 各种心理学培训班已从学校扩散到社会，从课堂教学发展到电视教学。
国家教育部于1995年第一次成立我国高等学校（理科）心理学教学指导委员会，还在北京师范大学、杭州大学、华东师范大学建立了我国心理学理科基地，并决定 在所有理工科和综合性大学开设面向全体大学生的公共课心理学。1999年，国家科技部将心理学确定为18个优先发展的基础学科之一。2000年，心理学被 国务院学位委员会确定为国家一级学科。这表明心理学被正式列入我国主要学科建设体系。从而在点和面上都有力地提高了心理科学在我国的教育和研究水平，并促 进了心理学在社会各界的迅速普及。
心理学源于西方 中国起步较晚
心理学作为一门科学和技术，诞生在100年前的西方世界。经过100年的发展和完善，心理学的理论和技术已经非常发达，并且影响到政治、经济、文化、艺术、宗教、企业管理、市场营销，等等各个方面。
然而心理学在中国的发展历史却很短，上世纪七、八十年代，虽然也有一些学者在研究心理学，但离老百姓的生活还很远。
英国留学心理学专业是国内心理学专业学生的一个很好选择，而英国留学心理学的专业设置和国内差不多，基本上氛围应用心理学和教育心理学两个比较大的专业分支，但国内心理学专业的发展时间比较晚，在研究实力和教学实例上，英国留学心理学专业都有着很多优势。
心理学是一门研究人的思想和行为的学科，它具有很强的学术性和实践性。心理学家通过观察和测试人类的行为并根据试验获得的数据，用科学的解释来揭开人类产生各种行为和情感的原因。正是由于这种极强的科学性和研究性，在英国心理学的学习又可分为教育心理学和应用心理学。
其中，心理学研究强调运用统计、测试、试验和其他科学办法，去解释人类的心理和行为并总结其规律。而这些由实验心理学家们经反复研究和论证所得到的成果，将被各类临床心理学工作者运用到心理疾病患者的实际治疗或咨询中去。
英国学校涉及的心理学课程包括
1. University College London（伦敦大学学院）
Developmental and Educational Psychology（发展与教育心理学）
入学要求
A minimum of a second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, either in psychology or a related subject, that has been accredited by the British Psychological Society.
Or: A minimum of a second-class Bachelor’s degree that contains at least 60 credits (excluding year one) in the five core areas of psychology (Biological Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Personalities and Individual Differences and Social Psychology).
Special. Only the IELTS or a pass to the required standard in the Institute of Education's pre-sessional English (PASHE) course are accepted. If taking IELTS, applicants must obtain an overall grade of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in the reading subtest and 6.0 in the writing subtest.
课程设置
Core Modules
Methodology and Statistics
Qualitative Data Analysis
Options
Development Psychology
Personality and Social Psychology
Cognitive Development and Learning
Social Development
Core Topics in Psychology of Education
Psychology of Education MSc（教育心理学）
入学要求
A minimum of a second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, either in psychology or a related subject, that has been accredited by the British Psychology Society.
Or: A good first degree that contains at least 60 credits (excluding year 1) in the five core areas of psychology (Biological Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Personalities and Individual Differences and Social Psychology).
the English language level for this programme is: Special. Only the IELTS or a pass to the required standard in the Institute of Education's pre-sessional English (PASHE) course are accepted. If taking IELTS, applicants must obtain an overall grade of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in the reading subtest and 6.0 in the writing subtest.
课程设置
Core Modules
Core Topics in the Psychology of Education
Methodology and Statistics
Options
Cognitive Development and Learning or Personality and Social Psychology
Students choose one module from the following:
Atypical Development
Developmental Psychology and Psychobiology
Issues in Educational Neuroscience
Language Development
Literacy Development
Psychological Aspects of Counselling
Reading and Spelling Difficulties
Social Development
2. University of manchester （曼彻斯特大学）
MEd Psychology of Education （教育心理学）
入学要求
A good honours degree (minimum 2:1), or the overseas equivalent, in any discipline is required.
IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.5 in writing and no sub-score below 6.0
课程设置
Course content includes:
Psychology of Human Development
Neurobiology
Cognition
Research Issues in Psychology & Education
Social Psychology of Education
Current Issues in Special Educational Needs
Applied Prevention in Education
Business Psychology(商务心理学）
入学要求
We normally look for a UK bachelor degree with first or upper second class honours or the overseas equivalent in psychology without GBC (Graduate Basis for Chartership), or in related disciplines such as social sciences, human resources or business and management. Knowledge or experience of statistics is desired.
7.0 overall with speaking and writing 6.5 and no other element below 6.0
课程设置
Semester 1
Selection and Assessment in Organisations
Research Methods 1
Test User: Occupational - Ability and Personality (Level A and B)
Training, Support and Development
Semester 2
Work Design, Performance and Well-Being
Managing People and Organisations
Research Methods 2
Relationships at Work
3. University of edinburgh （爱丁堡大学）
Psychological Research（心理学研究）
入学要求
A UK 2:1 degree, or its international equivalent, in psychology or a related discipline. Please contact the Programme Director if you have any other qualifications.
IELTS: total 7.0 (at least 6.5 in each module)
课程设置
Compulsory courses:
Current Topics in Psychological Research
Multivariate Statistics and Methodology using R
Psychological Research Skills
Specialist Techniques in Psychological Research
Univariate Statistics and Methodology using R
Option courses:
Brain Imaging in Neuropsychology
Clinical Neuropsychology
Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology
Critical Social Psychology
Disorders of Language Functions
History of Unorthodox Psychology
Mind, Body and Consciousness
Psychometrics
Working Memory in Healthy and the Damaged Brain
Multisensory Integration
Psychology of Language MSc（语言心理学）
入学要求
A UK 2:1 degree, or its international equivalent, in psychology, linguistics, cognitive science or a related subject.
IELTS: total 7.0 (at least 6.5 in each module)
课程设置
You will take two compulsory courses:
Psychological Research Skills
Univariate Statistics and Methodology using R
You will also choose six from the following:
Dialogue
Discourse Comprehension
Disorders of Language Functions
Language Behaviours, Brains and Cognition: Data and Theories
Language Behaviours, Brains and Cognition: Principles and Approaches
Language Production
Multivariate Statistics and Methodology Using R
Sentence Comprehension
Under exceptional circumstances, alternative courses may be substituted with the permission of the programme director.
You will choose further courses that may be taken from the compulsory course list or from option courses in related areas such as philosophy, language sciences and informatics. These include:
Concepts and Categorisation
Eye Movements and Visual Cognition
First Language Acquisition
Introduction to Phonology and Phonetics
Introduction to Semantics
Introduction to Syntax
Origins and Evolution of Language
Second Language Acquisition
Simulating Language
4. University of Bristol（布里斯托大学）
Education (Psychology of Education)（教育（教育心理学）
入学要求
A UK honours degree (Second Class Honours or international equivalent).
Applicants for this programme are required to demonstrate either a substantial academic background (normally, at least 60 credits at undergraduate level) in Psychology, or that they have obtained significant work experience in an area relevant to Psychology.
6.5 overall, minimum 6.0 in all bands
课程设置
Core unit:
Introduction to Educational Inquiry
And 60 credits from:
Brain, Mind and Education
Cognition and Learning
Developmental Psychology
Social and Socio-Cultural Psychology
The Psychology of Individual Differences
5. University of glasgow （格拉斯哥大学）
Psychological Science (conversion) MSc (心理学）
入学要求
Entry requirements for postgraduate taught programmes are a 2:1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification (for example, GPA 3.0 or above) in a Science subject.
overall score 6.5
no sub-test less than 6.0
or equivalent scores in another recognised qualification (see below)
课程设置
Core courses
Cognitive psychology
Human development
Individual differences
Physiological psychology
Research methods
Social psychology
Research project.
6. University of nottingham （诺丁汉大学）
Psychology (Conversion) MSc（心理学）
入学要求
2.1 (Upper 2nd class honours degree or international equivalent).
6.5 (no less than 6.0 in any element)
课程设置
You will study the following core modules:
Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Practical Methods
Statistical Methods
Neuroscience and Behaviour
Personality and Individual Differences
Social and Developmental Psychology
You will also be able to choose 20 credits’ worth of modules from the following options, subject to timetabling constraints and course prerequisites:
Educational Psychology
Cognitive Development and Learning
Neuropsychology and Applied Neuroimaging
Advanced Visual Perception
Psychology of Digital Technology
Understanding Patterns of Action
Mind and Brain
Applied Psychology: Road User Behaviour
Clinical Psychology
Neuropsychology: Dissertation
Developmental Cognitive Neuropsychology
Neuropsychology of action
Altruism, Cooperation and Helping
Developmental Dyslexia
Learning & Technology
Patterns of Action: Dissertation
Applied Psychology: Road User Behaviour
Forensic and Mental Health
Cognition in the Real World
Mechanisms of Learning and Psychopathology
Social Neuroscience Research
7. University of Sheffield（谢菲尔德大学）
Psychology and Education（心理与教育）
入学要求
A good honors degree in a related field.
You'll need to include a personal statement with your application.
Overall IELTS grade of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each component, or equivalent.
课程设置
Core modules
Critical Issues in Education and Educational Research
The Practice of Research
Developmental Psychology
Psychology and Learning Communities
Dissertation
Teaching
Lectures
Seminars
Workshops
Discussion
Active inquiry
Investigations
8. Leeds University（利兹大学）
Organizational Psychology（组织心理学）
入学要求
A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) that is BPS accredited.
IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component
课程设置
Compulsory Modules:
The Psychology of Effective Organizations
Personnel Selection and Training
Design of Complex Human-Technical Systems
Organizational Development and Change
Managing Performance and Developing Careers
Research Design and Analysis
Advanced Behavioral Research Design and Analysis
Commercial and Professional Skills
Dissertation
小编后语：网剧《心理罪》与徐峥的《催眠大师》都是不错的心理学题材的影视作品，有空同学们可以回顾下，可以提高学习兴趣和动力哦(*^__^*)