Music and Psychology

Music and psychology is a combination that explores both the creative and the scientific dimensions of human experience, asking how we make and listen to music and what music does to the mind, the body and the relationships between people. Music as an academic subject encompasses performance, composition, analysis, history and theory, developing both practical capability and critical understanding. Psychology brings rigorous scientific method to the study of perception, emotion, cognition and social behaviour, including the specific ways in which music affects these processes.

Together they open onto a rich and still-expanding field of inquiry with real implications for health, education, therapy and the arts.

At Liverpool Hope University this four-year, full-time programme gives you access to a city with an exceptional popular and classical music tradition, providing a stimulating environment in which to develop both your musical practice and your psychological understanding. The programme includes a foundation year, giving you additional preparation before the main degree content begins, as well as a sandwich year, a year abroad and work placements, providing direct professional experience in music, psychology or related settings. You will study music theory, history, performance and composition alongside core psychological topics including cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, research methods and statistics, building a genuinely integrated understanding of both fields.

Graduates of music and psychology programmes pursue careers across both disciplines and their many points of intersection. Music-related careers include performance, teaching, music production, arts management, community music and music therapy with further training. Psychology-related careers include research, human resources, education, health services, marketing and counselling.

The combination is particularly relevant for roles in music education, music therapy, wellbeing and the creative arts therapies. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in music, music therapy, psychology or a related field.