Education and Psychology

Education and psychology are disciplines that illuminate each other in important ways. Education is concerned with how people learn, how schools and other institutions are organised, and how policy shapes the opportunities available to children and young people. Psychology offers the scientific study of mind, behaviour and development, providing frameworks for understanding how individuals grow, think, feel and interact.

Together these fields give you a rich set of tools for understanding human development across the life course, with a particular focus on the years of childhood and adolescence.

At Reading, this three-year full-time programme allows you to develop genuine expertise in both disciplines. You will study educational theory and practice, exploring questions about curriculum, pedagogy, inclusion and the sociology of education, alongside a solid grounding in modern psychology that covers developmental, social, cognitive and clinical perspectives. The combination is particularly well suited to students who want to understand the full picture of how children and young people develop, and who may be considering careers in education, educational psychology, counselling, social work or related fields.

The degree develops your ability to think critically about evidence, to understand research methodology in both educational and psychological traditions, and to apply theoretical ideas to practical contexts. Reading values the close relationship between the two disciplines and the degree is designed to develop a genuinely integrated understanding rather than two sets of knowledge that sit in parallel.

Graduates of education and psychology programmes go on to careers in teaching, educational psychology, child and adolescent mental health, counselling, social care, youth work and policy. Many graduates use the degree as a foundation for postgraduate training, including the Educational Psychology Doctorate, PGCE routes into teaching, or master's study in areas such as educational studies, developmental psychology or clinical psychology.