Psychological and Behavioural Science

Psychological and behavioural science examines why people think, feel, and act as they do, drawing on experimental psychology, cognitive science, economics, neuroscience, and sociology to build an evidence-based picture of human behaviour. Where traditional psychology often focuses on the individual mind in isolation, behavioural science is explicitly interested in how context, incentives, social norms, and institutional environments shape the choices people make. This cross-disciplinary approach has become central to policy design, public health, marketing, organisational management, and many other fields.

At the London School of Economics and Political Science, this three-year full-time BSc is shaped by the institution's strengths in social science and its commitment to understanding behaviour in its social and economic context. You will engage with questions about individual decision-making, the influence of the environment on choices, and the ways in which individual behaviour aggregates into social outcomes. The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study these questions in an international academic setting and to develop the cultural and intellectual adaptability that increasingly matters in a global workforce.

Graduates from psychological and behavioural science programmes are well positioned for a wide range of careers. The discipline's practical relevance to policy means that government, public health bodies, and international organisations are common employers, particularly in areas such as behaviour change, health promotion, financial regulation, and public communications. The private sector also recruits strongly from this background, with roles in market research, user experience, organisational consulting, advertising, and financial services.

Further study at postgraduate level in psychology, behavioural economics, public policy, or data science is also a natural route, and the LSE context gives graduates a strong platform for entering competitive research and professional programmes.