BSc Psychology with Economics

Overview

Why do people get into debt? How do interest rates, tax and government spending affect us? How does human psychology guide people to make economic decisions? At Essex you understand how and why individuals make economic decisions and errors.

You study both psychology and economics, developing parallel methods of analysing decision making and cognition. Blending insights of psychology and economics provides valuable knowledge as to why individuals are not always behaving in their own best interests. Understanding this and the frameworks of behavioural economics can help policymakers create environments that nudge people towards making wiser decisions and healthier lives. Over the past 20 years, economics has developed a rich literature on human behaviour.

On our BSc Psychology with Economics, you will cover core areas of psychology and economics, including:

Personality and individual differences
Behavioural economics
Brain and behaviour
Social psychology
The science behind human behaviour

We provide one of the most immersive and exciting experiences of studying the human mind in the UK. Learn from our researchers and work together in the same space via our Research Experience Scheme (RES) which gives you the opportunity to work one-on-one with a psychologist as their researching assistant.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course.

Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.

If you spend a full year abroad you’ll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won’t pay any tuition fees to your host university.

Placement year

You can also undertake a placement year in which you gain relevant work experience with a business, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and our Employability and Careers Centre.

If you complete a placement year you’ll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.

Our expert staff

Our psychology lecturers include award-winning teachers and prize-winning researchers who are international experts in their own research areas.

We have specialists within our three main research groups: the Cognitive and Developmental Psychology Group; the Social and Health Psychology Group; and the Cognitive and Sensory Neuroscience Group.

Our economics researchers are at the forefront of their field and have even received MBEs. Our department is a richly diverse home to staff and students from all over the world who have a strong sense of belonging and want to think, learn and change the world together.

Specialist facilities

Our Department of Psychology gives you access to state-of-the-art facilities in higher education, housed entirely within our purpose-build psychology building on our Colchester Campus:

Dedicated laboratories including a virtual reality suite and an observation suite
Specialist areas to study visual and auditory perception, developmental psychology and social psychology
Study the development of perceptual and cognitive abilities in infants in our Babylab
Our multimillion pound Centre for Brain Science (CBS) allows staff to investigate brain activity, and to measure eye movements and other physiological responses

You will also benefit from the extensive learning resources within the Department of Economics:

Extensive software for quantitative analysis, available in all computer labs across the university
Access to a variety of economics databases and multiple copies of textbooks and e-books in the Albert Sloman Library

Your future

Psychology now influences an increasing range of fields, from working with clinical disorders, to managing education and training. Today, it is widely used in industry, economics and employment to improve performance, as well as affecting legal and health matters.

Our students go on to follow diverse career paths. Many graduates pursue successful careers further afield, working in areas like management, human resources, financial services, the media, information technology and market research.

For example, some of our recent psychology graduates have gone on to work for a wide range of high-profile companies, including:

East of England Strategic Health Authority
The Crown Prosecution Service
M&G Investments
NHS Suffolk
Accenture
BBC

We also work with our University’s Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.

Why we’re great

You have unparalleled access to research equipment such as EEG, TMS and eye tracking.
We are Top 5 in the UK for research excellence in economics – learn from some of the best researchers (REF 2014, mainstream universities, THE 2014).
We have a vibrant Psychology Society offering student-led social events and activities.

Structure

Course structure

We offer a flexible course structure with a mixture of core/compulsory modules, and optional modules chosen from lists.

Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field, therefore all modules listed as subject to change. To view the compulsory modules and full list of optional modules currently on offer, please view the programme specification via the link below.

Teaching and learning disclaimer

Following the impact of the pandemic, we made changes to our teaching and assessment to ensure our current students could continue with their studies uninterrupted and safely. These changes included courses being taught through blended delivery, normally including some face-to-face teaching, online provision, or a combination of both across the year.

The teaching and assessment methods listed show what is currently approved for 2022 entry; changes may be necessary if, by the beginning of this course, we need to adapt the way we’re delivering them due to the external environment, and to allow you to continue to receive the best education possible safely and seamlessly.

Placement

On a placement year you gain relevant work experience within an external business or organisation, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.

Year abroad

On your year abroad, you have the opportunity to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.

Teaching

A typical timetable includes around eight to fourteen one-hour lectures per week with associated classes or laboratories
We combine small and large-group teaching with regular laboratory-based research exercises