Economics and Psychology

Economics and psychology is a combination that has grown more coherent, not less, as both disciplines have developed. Behavioural economics, now one of the most influential approaches in both fields, draws directly on psychological research into how people actually make decisions, departing from the classical economic assumption of fully rational agents and replacing it with a richer picture of human judgement under uncertainty, bias, and social influence. The combination also gives you access to the full range of careers that require both an understanding of economic systems and an understanding of people.

At Aberdeen this four-year full-time programme gives you thorough grounding in the global economy and the social and financial factors that influence wealth, alongside in-depth examination of how psychology sheds light on the way people think and behave. Your economics will develop your understanding of markets, policy, and the quantitative methods economists use. Your psychology will develop your understanding of cognition, social behaviour, motivation, and the empirical methods used to study them.

The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study at an international partner institution and encounter both disciplines from a different educational context.

The combination of specialist and transferable skills you develop opens career options across a broad spectrum of sectors and roles involving people, data, and decision-making.

Graduates move into careers in finance, consulting, behavioural research, policy, human resources, market research, healthcare management, and many other fields where both economic and psychological understanding are valuable. Many also continue to postgraduate study in economics, psychology, or behavioural science.