University College London (UCL)

Psychological Sciences MSc

Teaching and learning

Our strategy is to ensure in-depth coverage of the key areas of psychological science and research methods.

We use a wide range of delivery methods:

• Statistics, qualitative data analysis and experimental methods are taught in practical classes.
• The core areas of psychology – biological, cognitive, developmental, social and individual differences - are taught in lectures and seminars.
• The above are also supported, where appropriate, by online learning.

Learning

• Students are expected to both take responsibility for their own learning from the start and to collaborate with others.
• Students work in small groups to devise and run empirical projects.
• Seminars provide an opportunity to explore and to integrate ideas. We propose to explore ways to support and encourage this activity.
• A major goal of our programme is to develop our students’ capacity to carry out a fully-fledged research project from initial research and planning to execution and report.

Intellectual, Academic and Research Skills

• Seminars model relevant skills in presenting ideas and provide an opportunity for students to present and discuss ideas with feedback from experienced staff and peers.
• Students write essays on psychological theories and research in the core areas of psychology, which are commented on by staff members in terms of the quality of the argumentation. The dissertation includes an in-depth literature review.
• The empirical projects, classes, and research projects provide an opportunity to generate and test hypotheses and to integrate findings with the existing literature.
• The dissertation will bring these skills together for students to demonstrate their research, writing and critical thinking skills in a research project.

Practical and Transferable Skills

• Skills in critically appraising research literature and psychological theories are taught through lectures, seminars and practice of doing so is gained in writing essays with detailed feedback.
• Skills in planning, conducting, and analysing experiments are taught via laboratory classes.
• Students initially work in small groups to design their own experiments under guidance. Later, they work with a single supervisor in an apprenticeship-style relationship.
• Statistical skills are taught in weekly practical classes using relevant psychological problems that students are required to solve.
• Qualitative and computational skills are taught via seminars and practised through projects.
• Empirical projects are taught in weekly lectures and seminars and are practised under staff guidance throughout the year.
• Library and IT resources are available to facilitate independent study.
• The student handbook and seminar leaders act as sources of guidance for effective study.
• Psychological argumentation and scientific thinking are modelled and taught throughout the programme.
• Weekly seminars facilitate the acquisition of interpersonal skills. In laboratory classes, students are required to work in small groups in order to achieve their experimental goals. Seminars also facilitate the development of effective verbal communication skills.
• Students are encouraged to reflect on their learning via the seminars and in personal tutorials and are required to learn to manage their time effectively by numerous deadlines for different kinds of work (e.g., essays, laboratory reports, seminar presentations, project proposals and reports, unseen examinations.

On this programme, you will undertake a wide variety of formative and summative assessments.

The programme is delivered through a combination of blended learning approaches, lectures, seminars, class exercises, project work, training workshops, journal clubs and hands-on computer-based teaching on statistical analysis techniques.

For full-time students, typical contact hours are around 12 hours per week. Outside of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, full-time students typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using their remaining time for self-directed study and completing coursework assignments.

In terms one and two, full-time students can typically expect between 10 and 12 contact hours per teaching week through a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, crits and tutorials. In term three and the summer period, students will be completing their own dissertation research, keeping regular contact with their dissertation supervisors.

Modules

Full-time

You will undertake eight compulsory taught modules covering topics such as empirical projects, developmental psychology, biological psychology, cognitive psychology, individual differences, statistics, qualitative data analysis and social psychology. In addition to these modules, you will also undertake a dissertation.

Part-time

Part-time students take the programme over two years, and the suggested structure of each year is below. There is some flexibility with which modules you take in each year, but this must be discussed with the Programme Director.

Each taught module is worth 15 credits (150 learning hours inclusive of lectures, assessments and independent learning), with the dissertation worth 60 credits (600 learning hours).

Year 1

• PSYC0223: Introduction to Statistics in Psychology
• PSYC0155: Empirical Projects
• PSYC0241: Overview of Developmental Psychology
• PSYC0243: Cognitive Psychology
• PSYC0010: Social Psychology

Year 2

• PSYC0242: Biological Psychology
• PSYC0244: Individual Differences
• PSYC0158: Generic Research Skills (Qualitative Analysis)
• PSYC0159: Main Project

Compulsory modules

• Biological Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Empirical Projects
• Generic Research Skills (Qualitative Analysis)
• Individual Differences
• Introduction to Statistics in Psychology
• Main Project
• Overview of Developmental Psychology
• Social Psychology

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment, and module content and availability are subject to change.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Psychological Sciences.

What this course will give you

The Division of Psychology and Language Sciences undertakes world-leading research and teaching in mind, behaviour, and language. UCL is the top-ranked university in Europe and fourth in the world for psychology (Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2024). We are ranked first for research power in Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience by the UK’s most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), with more than two-thirds of our research in these areas rated as world-leading (4*).

Our work attracts staff and students from around the world. Together they create an outstanding and vibrant environment, taking advantage of cutting-edge resources such as a behavioural neuroscience laboratory, a centre for brain imaging, and extensive laboratories for research in speech and language, perception, and cognition.

Opportunities for graduate students to work with world-renowned researchers exist in all areas of investigation, from basic processes to applied research. The division offers a supportive environment including numerous specialist seminars, workshops, and guest lectures.

The foundation of your career

Your knowledge of all areas of the subject makes you eligible for entry into any field normally open to psychology graduates, or for further graduate training (which is required for graduates wishing to work as a chartered professional psychologist in the areas of health, forensic, clinical, educational and occupational psychology).

While many UCL psychology graduates have gone on to become professional psychologists in UK public and private healthcare spaces, in education, government and industry, it is important to bear in mind that psychology provides a very useful basis for a wide range of other careers. For further information on careers, please visit the website of the British Psychological Society. 100% of our graduates were either in full-time work or further study within 15 months of completing their studies (most recent Graduate Outcomes Survey 2022–2023).

Employability

By the end of the programme, you will have acquired practical research skills and knowledge of the core areas in the discipline of psychology, allowing you to progress to research in psychology or the study of applied areas of psychology.

Graduation from the Psychological Sciences MSc provides you with the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS), which is required in the UK for many careers that you may pursue with a psychology degree, as well as for advanced professional training in psychology.

In addition to subject-specific knowledge, psychology graduates gain transferable skills such as numeracy, IT literacy, data management, time management, independent research, team working, report writing, presentation skills, communication and literacy skills, and the ability to work ethically and professionally with people. These abilities are all highly valued in a range of employment fields.

Networking

There will be opportunities to network within the dedicated programme seminars, extracurricular talks such as the Experimental Psychology Seminars, Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology seminars, and in many of the interdepartmental seminars that are arranged throughout the year.

Accreditation

The Psychological Sciences MSc is designed to confer Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS). GBC is the form of professional accreditation that is required for many careers that you may pursue with a psychology degree, as well as for advanced professional training in psychology. This is a conversion course.