Psychology/Theatre Studies

Psychology and theatre studies is an intellectually rich combination that illuminates both disciplines from an unexpected angle. Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour, concerned with how people think, act, react and interact, and with how this understanding can support individual wellbeing and address wider social challenges. Theatre studies examines performance as an art form and cultural phenomenon, exploring how plays, productions and performance practices create meaning, generate emotion and engage audiences.

The two disciplines share a deep interest in human experience and expression, and each provides tools that enrich the other.

At the University of Glasgow, this four-year full-time degree develops your understanding of psychology across its cognitive, social, developmental and biological dimensions alongside the study of theatre history, dramatic theory, performance practice and the cultural contexts in which theatre is produced and received. Psychology's scientific rigour illuminates the mechanisms of emotion, memory and social influence that performance exploits and depends upon, while theatre studies' focus on the body, space, narrative and audience gives experiential depth to psychological questions about how people express and understand themselves. A year abroad is available, giving you the opportunity to study in another academic and cultural environment.

You will develop research skills, the ability to engage with both empirical and interpretive evidence, and the analytical and communication abilities that both disciplines demand. The combination produces a graduate profile that is unusual and genuinely distinctive.

Graduates move into a wide range of careers including clinical and counselling roles (with further postgraduate training), arts administration, education, research, drama therapy, arts in health, the creative industries, and any field where the combination of psychological understanding and performance sensitivity is relevant. Postgraduate study in psychology, drama therapy, theatre or clinical practice is a well-supported pathway.