Psychology and Philosophy
Psychology and philosophy is a pairing with a long shared intellectual history, separated into distinct disciplines relatively recently but still deeply connected by the questions they address. Philosophy asks the foundational questions about mind, consciousness, knowledge, and personal identity using argument and conceptual analysis. Psychology investigates the same terrain empirically, using experiment and systematic observation to understand how perception, cognition, emotion, memory, and behaviour actually work.
Together they offer a richer and more complete engagement with questions about the inner life of human beings than either provides alone.
At the University of Reading this three-year full-time BA Psychology and Philosophy enables you to explore the inner workings of the mind and examine some of our most fundamental ideas about truth, reality, right and wrong. You will develop scientific rigour in research methods, statistical analysis, and psychological theory alongside the philosophical capacities for conceptual analysis, argument construction, and ethical reasoning. The degree integrates both disciplines throughout, ensuring that your psychological understanding is philosophically informed and your philosophical thinking is grounded in what we actually know about the mind.
The typical entry tariff of 136 points reflects the academic standard expected on entry.
You will develop the ability to ask deep questions about mental life from both empirical and conceptual angles, to evaluate evidence and argument critically, and to communicate complex ideas with precision. These capabilities transfer broadly across professional and intellectual contexts.
Graduates pursue careers in research, education, counselling, human resources, policy, public communications, and the civil service. For those with clinical ambitions, postgraduate study is the expected route to practice. Further study in philosophy, cognitive science, ethics, or applied psychology is also a natural continuation.