Psychology

Psychology is the science of human behaviour, asking how and why people think, feel and act as they do. It draws on biology, neuroscience, sociology and philosophy to investigate the full range of human mental processes, from perception, memory and reasoning to personality, emotion, social behaviour and mental health. As an empirical discipline it uses rigorous experimental and statistical methods to test theories and build evidence-based understanding, making it both a scientific subject and one with broad relevance to human welfare and social life.

At the University of East Anglia you will study for three years full-time, exploring how nature and nurture, biology and culture, genes and environment interact to shape human thoughts, feelings and behaviours. You will critically evaluate the latest psychological theories and the research evidence that supports or challenges them, developing your own capacity for independent scientific thinking. The programme covers the core areas of the discipline, including cognitive, developmental, social, biological and clinical psychology, building both theoretical breadth and research skills.

Psychology graduates work across healthcare, education, human resources, marketing, user experience research, social services, the civil service, communications and a wide range of other fields where understanding human behaviour is valuable. Many graduates pursue further professional training to become clinical, educational, forensic or occupational psychologists, routes that require postgraduate study and supervised practice. Others go on to academic research, public health, mental health support roles, counselling training or careers in the growing field of applied behavioural insights.

The British Psychological Society accreditation that most university psychology degrees carry provides the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership, which is the necessary foundation for those who wish to pursue the professional psychology routes.