Psychology - Theory and History of Psychology

Theory and History of Psychology studies psychology as a science, a discipline, and a profession. It's the only programme of its kind in Europe.

Our aim is to understand why psychology became the way it is, how it has been understood, how it negotiates its boundaries with other allied sciences, and how it could be improved. We focus on the social, methodological, philosophical, and conceptual issues that underlie contemporary psychology. For this reason, our programme will appeal particularly to students who wonder why things are the way they are, dare to question established truths, and dream about how they could be different.

This is a programme for those who want to explore beyond statistical analyses of quantitative data and to learn about the various historical, cultural, and qualitative alternatives to the standard set of approaches in contemporary scientific psychology. Gaining access to a broader range of concepts, literature, and research methods will help you to identify and ask the most exciting and urgent questions, and discover new ways to consider their answers by looking at history, philosophy, public understanding, and sociology of science.

Together with faculty and fellow students, you will set to work by reading deeply in both primary and secondary sources, examining popularizations, writing your own texts, presenting your own ideas, reconsidering your reasoning, and debating the consequences. This active learning process will help you to think flexibly and well in various different contexts, conduct independent research unconstrained by current fashion, and communicate in an understandable and attractive way about ideas that have not yet been popularized elsewhere.