Psychosocial Studies with Foundation Year

Psychosocial studies is a discipline that takes seriously both the inner life of individuals and the social structures and relationships that shape it. Rather than treating psychology and sociology as separate domains, it examines the ways in which personal experience, emotion, and identity are formed in and through social relations, culture, and history. The field draws on psychoanalytic thought, social theory, and qualitative research methods to ask questions about how people make sense of their lives, how trauma and inequality are experienced and managed, and how social change affects individuals and communities.

At Birkbeck College, this four-year programme includes a foundation year that provides a supported introduction to the ideas, concepts, and academic skills that underpin the main degree. Birkbeck has a distinctive identity as a university committed to widening access to higher education, and the foundation year reflects that commitment, offering a thorough academic preparation for students who want to study at degree level but may be returning to education after a break or building on non-traditional routes into higher education. From the main programme onwards, you will engage with the theoretical traditions of psychosocial studies, including psychoanalytic theory, social psychology, and critical social theory.

You will develop strong skills in qualitative research, reflective writing, and critical analysis, learning to bring multiple frameworks to bear on complex questions about human experience and social life.

This full-time programme is studied over four years in London, and Birkbeck's urban location and diverse student body make for a rich and stimulating intellectual environment. Graduates from psychosocial studies programmes go on to careers in counselling and psychotherapy, social work, youth work, community development, education, health services, research, and the voluntary sector. The programme is also a strong foundation for postgraduate study in psychotherapy, counselling, social research, and related disciplines.

It is particularly well suited to students who want to bring depth of understanding to work with people and communities.