Comparative Literature and Psychology

Comparative literature and psychology is an unusual and genuinely illuminating combination, pairing the study of literary texts across languages, cultures, and historical periods with the scientific investigation of human perception, cognition, emotion, and behaviour. At first glance the disciplines might seem to operate in quite different registers, one interpretive and humanistic, the other empirical and experimental. In practice, they share fundamental questions: why do we respond to stories the way we do, how do narrative and metaphor shape understanding, what does literature reveal about the mind, and what does psychology tell us about how we read and create meaning?

At St Andrews this four-year MA (Hons) programme introduces you to the breadth of contemporary psychology, covering perception, cognition, motivation, behaviour, development, and social psychology alongside the theoretical foundations of the discipline. Practical classes and research training are built in from the outset, ensuring you develop the scientific skills that psychology demands. The comparative literature strand takes you across texts from different linguistic and cultural traditions, developing your capacity to read closely and comparatively, to understand how cultural context shapes literary meaning, and to engage with literary theory as an analytical tool.

A year abroad is embedded in the programme, giving you the opportunity to study at an international institution and deepen your engagement with literary traditions in their original cultural environments.

Graduates move into a wide range of careers, including research, clinical and counselling psychology training, education, publishing, journalism, the cultural sector, and any role where the combination of scientific rigour and humanistic insight is an asset. Many go on to postgraduate study in psychology, psychotherapy, literary studies, or cognitive science, while others apply the degree's distinctive skill set in professional contexts that value both analytical precision and cultural understanding.