Psychoanalytic Studies MA

Birkbeck, University of London

The MA Psychoanalytic Studies allows you to study the origins of psychoanalysis, its history over its first 120 years of life, its main ideas and their applications, both within and outside the therapeutic context, and in particular how it has been taken up and contested in different social and cultural situations.

Taught by leading academics, the course explores how psychoanalytic thought has been used to illuminate pressing social and political concerns, and examines the controversies that have always surrounded it. It focuses on the interface between psychoanalysis as an evolving clinical practice, as a form of social knowledge, and as a mode of critique. The course examines key psychoanalytic concepts in detail and places those concepts in context. It will enable you to closely study the numerous modern developments within psychoanalysis, from Freud through to contemporary psychoanalytic theory and practice. You will also explore the methodological, epistemological and ethical issues that have resulted from diverse elaboration and extension of psychoanalytic ideas, not only in a clinical setting, but also in social and cultural inquiries, and in the interpretation of the historical past.

The course asks how far modern thought on war and other forms of violent conflict, fascism, terrorism, racism and xenophobia has had an influence on the way we think about the unconscious mind, and vice versa. It also investigates how psychoanalytic accounts of inter-personal and intra-psychic relationships have shaped - or been shaped by - wider cultural attitudes to love, intimacy and destructiveness, and about the place of these accounts in discussions of gender and sexuality, racism and postcolonialism.

This course links with the British Psychoanalytical Society through events, teaching staff and also through the Society's Foundation Course in Psychoanalysis, which you may apply to take as an option module on the MA. For those with strong clinical interests and the necessary experience, this arrangement provides an exceptional opportunity to be taught psychoanalytic theory by some of the most senior and eminent psychoanalysts in the country.

This course is part of our new Birkbeck Flexible Master’s UK, which gives you the choice of how you want to study - on campus, online or via flexible learning, which combines both.

Highlights

• Birkbeck has established a formal link with the University of São Paulo, Brazil. This link enables on-campus students on this course with Portuguese language skills to undertake an option module at the university as part of their programme of study at Birkbeck.
• As well as the core course staff, lectures on our summer programme are given by internationally renowned Birkbeck associates.

Careers and employability

Graduates can pursue career paths in psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, counselling, research, education, journalism and politics. Possible professions include:

• psychoanalyst
• psychotherapist
• counsellor
• clinical psychologist.

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.