Social Psychology with Placement Year

Social psychology examines how people think, feel, and behave in relation to other people and to the social groups and institutions they belong to. It is a discipline that sits between psychology and sociology, asking not just about individual minds but about how those minds are shaped by social context, how attitudes and prejudices form and change, how groups make decisions, how people influence each other, and why people sometimes behave very differently in groups than they do alone. The questions it addresses are fundamental to understanding human life in all its social complexity.

At the University of East Anglia, this four-year full-time programme includes a placement year, giving you an extended period of professional experience in a relevant organisation alongside your academic studies. You will study the core areas of social psychology, including attitude formation and change, group dynamics, social cognition, intergroup relations, persuasion, conformity, and the social psychology of prejudice and discrimination, alongside the research methods and statistical techniques needed to design and evaluate psychological studies. The placement year is a substantial opportunity to apply your knowledge in a real working environment, whether in research, healthcare, education, human resources, or the charitable sector, and it significantly strengthens your CV before graduation.

A typical entry tariff of 136 points reflects the programme's accessibility.

Social psychology graduates work in a wide range of settings including market research, human resources, organisational development, public health, community development, education, and the voluntary sector. Many go on to professional training in clinical or counselling psychology, which requires a postgraduate qualification. Research careers in academic or applied social psychology are also a common destination, particularly for graduates who develop a strong interest in empirical work during their placement year.

The discipline's emphasis on understanding human behaviour in context is valued by employers across virtually every sector.