University College London (UCL)
Social Cognition: Research and Applications MSc
London, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
The MSc in Social Cognition: Research and Applications is designed for people interested in understanding how humans think, feel, and behave in social settings. The program covers key topics like how we form impressions of others, how social judgments are made, and how social processes influence our everyday lives. It combines theoretical knowledge with practical research skills, giving students the tools they need to analyze social behavior and develop applications relevant to real-world issues.
The program emphasizes a research-focused approach, encouraging students to design and conduct their own studies. Students will explore topics such as social perception, communication, and decision-making from various perspectives, including psychology and neuroscience. The course aims to prepare students for careers in academia, research, or applied fields like healthcare, education, or organizational settings. It’s a good choice if you want to deepen your understanding of social influences and develop skills for analyzing complex social phenomena.
UCL Scholarships
There are a number of scholarships available to postgraduate students, including our UCL Masters Bursary for UK students and our UCL Global Masters Scholarship for international students. You can click the link below to search via the scholarships finder for awards that you might be eligible for. Your academic department will also be able to provide you with more information about funding.
External Scholarships
Online aggregators like Postgraduate Studentships, Scholarship Search, Postgraduate Funding and International Financial Aid and College Scholarship Search contain information on a variety of external schemes.
If you have specific circumstances or ethnic or religious background it is worth searching for scholarships/bursaries/grants that relate to those things. Some schemes are very specific.
Funding for disabled students
Master's students who have a disability may be able to get extra funding for additional costs they incur to study.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through lectures, tutorials, practicals and seminars. The Division of Psychology and Language Sciences has advanced technology for the study of socio-cognitive processes, including fMRI, eye-, speech- and motion tracking equipment for dyadic and group settings, as well as a 360º video camera.
Assessment is primarily through coursework, essays, class presentations, and the dissertation.
Each 15 credit module is roughly 150 hours. This time is made up of formal learning and teaching events such as lectures, seminars and tutorials, as well as independent study.
Teaching contact hours can range from 10-14 hours per week. Upon the completion of your degree, overall physical/virtual teaching contact hours can range from 200-240 hours and this may include attending optional non-credit bearing seminars and educational events.
Modules
Full-time
You will undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. The programme consists of six compulsory modules, two optional modules and a research dissertation.
You will select two specialist optional modules from a wide list of options. The options and research project will allow you to tailor the programme with an emphasis in basic and applied social cognition, social judgment and decision making or social neuroscience. In addition, you will profit from UCL’s and London’s vibrant research environment in decision-making, language, cognition and neuroscience, with regular scientific meetings that attract leading international experts.
Part-time
Part-time students will take two years to complete this degree and will be expected to attend a minimum of two days a week for compulsory modules (Monday, Wednesday, and/or Thursday). Term 1 requires attendance up to three days a week. You will also need to attend lectures for your optional module(s) which may mean that you are studying on campus for an additional day or half day. You will also be expected to devote extra time for private study. Please ensure that you have a minimum of two days per week off work for the whole year and not just during term time.
Work on the research project starts in the second year but you are encouraged to start to consider your research interests in your first year.
By the end of two years, you will need to have completed six compulsory modules, two optional modules, and your dissertation.
Year One:
- Term 1 (October-December): TWO compulsory modules (we encourage students to take PALS0049 Intermediate Statistics: Data analysis and visualisation with R in their first year)
- Term 2 (January-March): ONE compulsory module
- Term 3 (April onwards): Dissertation (to be completed in the second year)
We highly recommend that you complete at least ONE optional module in your first year. By the end of Year 1 you will have completed: three compulsory modules and ideally one optional module.
Year Two:
- Term 1: TWO compulsory modules
- Term 2: ONE compulsory module
- Term 3: Work on research project, due in mid-August
By the end of Year Two you will have completed an additional three compulsory modules, TWO optional modules (in total over the two years), and your dissertation project.
Compulsory modules
- Understanding Individuals and Groups
- Social Cognition, Affect and Motivation
- MSc Social Cognition: Dissertation
- Current Issues in Attitude Research
- Social Neuroscience
- Moral Cognition
- Intermediate statistics: Data analysis and visualisation with R
- Advanced statistics: Data analysis and modelling with R
Optional modules
- Social Psychology
- The Social Psychology of Risk
- Applied Decision-making
- Human Learning and Memory
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- The Brain in Action
- Designing and Analysing fMRI experiments
- Principles of Cognition
- Judgment and Decision-Making
- Computational Modelling of Cognition
- Neuroscience of Emotion and Decision-Making
- Computer Programming
- Current Issues in Cognitive Neuroscience: Translational Research
The Division of Psychology and Language Sciences undertakes world-leading research and teaching in mind, behaviour, and language.
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
Due to the transferable skills obtained throughout the course, we anticipate graduates to go into varied positions across research, marketing, teaching, academia, and management consultancy. 100% of our graduates have either gone into highly skilled full-time work or further study within 15 months of completing the course (Graduate Outcomes survey 2021-22).
Employability
On completion of this programme students will have acquired an understanding of the processes involved in the construction of the social reality, in particular how cognitive and affective processes guide social judgement and behaviour, and how these processes are implemented in the brain. Students will have also acquired methodological skills to design and carry out socio-cognitive research which will enable them to address real-world social problems and/or pursue an academic career. In addition, they will have acquired knowledge related to theoretical and philosophical issues underlying psychological research.
Networking
There will be opportunities to network within the dedicated programme seminars, extracurricular talks such as the Experimental Psychology Seminars, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and London Judgment and Decision Making seminars, and in many of the interdepartmental seminars that are arranged throughout the year.