Psychosocial Studies

Psychosocial studies is an interdisciplinary field that brings psychological and social perspectives into dialogue, asking how individual experience, emotion, and subjectivity are shaped by and shape the social world. It draws on psychoanalytic theory, social psychology, sociology, and cultural studies to examine questions that neither discipline alone can fully address: how do social structures get under the skin, how do unconscious processes influence social behaviour, and what does it mean to take seriously both the inner life of the person and the outer structures of society that constrain and enable it?

At Birkbeck College, this three-year degree reflects the institution's distinctive ethos of making rigorous academic study accessible to students who may be working alongside their studies, though the programme is taught in full-time mode. You will engage with psychoanalytic theory from Freud and Klein onwards, with sociological traditions ranging from interactionism to critical theory, and with qualitative research methods that allow both psychological and social dimensions to be studied together. The degree asks you to think carefully about how people make sense of their lives, how identities are formed and contested, and how social inequalities are experienced at the level of the individual.

Birkbeck's particular strength in psychosocial studies reflects a long tradition of critical and interdisciplinary social science in the institution.

Psychosocial studies graduates move into careers in the caring professions, including counselling, social work, mental health support, and community work, where an understanding of the relationship between psychological and social dimensions of experience is directly applicable. Research roles in social science, public health, and policy organisations draw those with strong analytical and methodological skills. Advocacy work, therapeutic practice with further training, and roles in organisations focused on wellbeing, inequality, and social justice are further pathways.

Many graduates continue to postgraduate study, including counselling, psychotherapy, social work qualifications, or academic research in psychology, sociology, or related disciplines.