Program 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.