Honours in Psychology

Although useful in itself, the Psychology Honours degree also provides an essential bridge between the undergraduate programme and several specialised Masters programmes in the field of Psychology.

Students who wish to pursue a career in Clinical Psychology, Research Psychology or Neuropsychology need an Honours degree in Psychology in order to be eligible to apply for any professional training.

Clinical Psychology training happens at Master’s level through an MA(Clinical Psychology) both at UCT and at most other universities where it is offered. Students who complete a UCT Psychology Honours programme will be well qualified to apply for this training either at UCT or anywhere in the country. Please see the Master's in Clinical Psychology page for more information on this. 

Neuropsychology training happens at Master's level through an MA(Neuropsychology). Currently UCT is the only institution that offers this training in South Africa. Please see the Master's in Neuropsychology page for more information on this. 

Programme Structure

The Honours programme comprises six semester courses and a research project.

Compulsory courses

  • Philosophical & Theoretical Issues in Psychology
  • Research Methods in Psychology
  • Statistics for Psychological Research

Elective courses

The remaining three courses may be selected from the list of electives set out below. Please note that these courses listed below are subject to change due to staff availability and capacity. 

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Psychology and Law
  • Neuropsychology
  • Social Psychology of inequality
  • The Critical Psychology of Gender 
  • Affective Neuroscience
  • Prevention Science
  • Counselling Theory and Practice
  • Neuropsychological Rehabilitation
  • Traumatic Stress: North and South Perspectives
  • Ethics in Social Science Research

For more information see the Faculty of Humanities Postgraduate Handbook here, and read more about the course here.

Honours Programme Application 

Please go to the page How to apply for Honours in Psychology for more details on the application and selection procedure.