Department of Psychosocial Studies

Birkbeck is at the forefront of the innovative, expanding interdisciplinary field of psychosocial studies, which stretches across, and draws from, the social sciences and the arts and humanities.

Our department is made up of 15 academic staff members and over 30 teaching and scholarship staff, as well as visiting professors, research associates, teaching assistants and professional services staff.

We have a dynamic, enthusiastic and intellectually curious student community and they bring a wealth of life experience to the classroom.

Get in touch with us if you have any queries about studying, researching, working or collaborating with us.

The Department of Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck was founded in 2000 and we investigate a wide range of contemporary social, political and personal concerns.

Find out more about programme handbooks, My Birkbeck for Students, and our online learning environment, Moodle.

Birkbeck has been a centre of excellence in training for counsellors and psychotherapists for over 40 years.

We offer an exciting research environment, with supervisory expertise in a number of areas, including psychology, sociology, philosophy, literature, media and cultural studies, and religion.

Securing funding for your studies will be a key concern and we are committed to providing the advice and support you need.

Birkbeck's research excellence was confirmed in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), with 83% of our research rated world-leading or internationally excellent.

Our academic staff lead innovative research that is regularly reported in the print, broadcast and digital media.

Our Mapping Maternal Subjectivities, Identities and Ethics centre (MaMSIE) creates spaces for interdisciplinary conversations about motherhood and the maternal.

In 2014, we sponsored the foundation of the Association for Psychosocial Studies, which promotes the development of the field.

This research centre is the focal point for social research at Birkbeck and a hub for the dissemination and discussion of social research in London and beyond.

We have a formal link with the Department of Social Psychology and the Psychology Institute at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, which includes staff and student exchanges.