psychology

Psychology is one of the fastest-growing degree courses, and the rate of enrolment is showing no signs of slowing down. Better mental health awareness has caused people to care more about brains, and vouch to dedicate their lives to better understanding and helping them.

To read our feature article about mental health, click here.

Psychology is fascinating

The mind is a puzzle waiting to be solved, and psychology holds the key. Psychology is a relatively young discipline, and so the field is constantly changing and shifting, with new theories and methods being implemented regularly. Humans are innately fascinated by the mind, especially ones that do not function properly. Perhaps this is why True Crime documentaries and podcasts are so popular.

Understand yourself

Have you ever wondered why you think, feel, or act the way you do? Why do you have weird phobias, complex family dynamics, or perhaps you have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Studying Psychology can help you to better understand your mind. Sarah Baker, a Psychology student at the University of Miami, says that “studying Psychology has really helped me to better understand my own mental health disorder (bipolar disorder), and get a grasp on all the different techniques to help it; all of their pros and cons.”

Understand others

Do you ever find other people’s actions so unfathomable? Studying Psychology can help you to understand why people think differently from how you do, which in turn can make your relationship better with them. Perhaps they are only needy as they did not get enough attention as a child, perhaps they only say inappropriate things because they are Autistic. Understanding people better, learning empathy, and realising why everyone thinks differently is the key to a happy social life.

Learn a vast range of topics

Psychology covers so much ground, and so there is bound to be at least one topic that really takes your interest. The most typical topics that Universities cover are food/eating disorders, child development, sports psychology, experiment methods, Freud, anxiety and depression, forensic/investigative, and criminal/deviant.

Good career opportunities

Companies are starting to better comprehend the power of Psychology and so the employment rate of Psychology graduates tends to be quite high. Marketing teams need Psychology to help effectively advertise their products, more counsellors are being brought into companies to better the quality of work-life for their staff, and the biggest market for Psychology graduates is sports Psychology. The Sports industry makes big bucks, and bringing in Psychology experts to help their athletes to win is invaluable.

The best universities to study Psychology

According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for Psychology 2022, these are the top universities to study Psychology.

1. University of Oxford (UK)
2. Harvard University (USA)
3. Stanford University (USA)
4. University of Cambridge (UK)
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT (USA)
6. Princeton University (USA)
7. University of California, Berkeley (USA)
8. Yale University (USA)
9. The University of Chicago (USA)
10. Columbia University (USA)