Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour, concerned with understanding how people think, feel, perceive, remember, decide and act, both as individuals and in social contexts. It is a discipline that spans an unusually wide range of methods, from controlled laboratory experiments to clinical observation, from neuroimaging to large-scale surveys, and addresses questions ranging from the molecular basis of memory to the social dynamics of group behaviour. Few subjects are as directly relevant to human experience and as demanding of both scientific rigour and interpretive sensitivity.

At Royal Holloway, this three-year BSc programme explores aspects of psychology from perception to social interactions, developing insights into the complexities of human behaviour across the breadth of the discipline. You will study biological and cognitive psychology, developmental and social psychology, individual differences and research methods, learning to think scientifically about psychological questions and to evaluate evidence with care. The programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad and work placement opportunities, giving you multiple routes to develop professional experience and international perspective alongside your academic study.

Research methods and statistics are given serious weight throughout, as BSc psychology requires graduates to demonstrate genuine scientific competence.

British Psychological Society accreditation means that a qualifying degree is the first step toward becoming a Chartered Psychologist. The programme is designed to meet that accreditation standard, ensuring that graduates who wish to pursue professional psychology careers have the academic foundation they need.

Graduates go on to a wide range of careers. Those who want to practise as clinical, educational, occupational or forensic psychologists will need to complete postgraduate professional training, but psychology graduates are also valued across human resources, marketing, research, public policy, healthcare, education and many other fields. The combination of scientific method and human understanding that the degree develops is genuinely versatile.