Psychology and Sociology

Psychology and sociology both seek to understand human behaviour, but they approach it from different angles and with different methods. Psychology examines the individual: how people perceive, think, feel, learn, and develop, and what happens when mental processes go wrong. Sociology zooms out to ask how social structures, institutions, inequalities, and cultural norms shape what individuals think and do.

Studying the two together creates a powerful intellectual framework for understanding the relationship between the personal and the social, a question that lies at the heart of much of what happens in families, workplaces, health systems, and political life.

At the University of Edinburgh, this four-year programme includes a year abroad, which gives you the opportunity to study within a different academic and cultural environment and to experience the ways in which the social world looks different from another vantage point. Throughout the programme, you will learn to design and carry out empirical research using both quantitative and qualitative methods, to interpret data critically, and to engage with theoretical debates that have shaped both disciplines. You will study topics ranging from social inequality, crime, and health to memory, perception, and personality, developing an understanding of how these levels of analysis interact.

Edinburgh is an excellent place to study these subjects, with strong research traditions in both psychology and sociology and access to data and research contexts relevant to contemporary Scottish and international society.

Graduates of combined psychology and sociology programmes work in mental health services, social work, human resources, education, research, journalism, policy analysis, and the charity sector. The research skills and analytical frameworks the degree develops are valued in any role that requires understanding people and the social contexts in which they live. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in psychology, sociology, social research, or related professional training routes.