Triangle

Course overview

This course is designed for students who wish to pursue a career in psychology, who do not have a first degree in the subject. It will give you the breadth of knowledge you need, while enabling you to explore your interests in greater depth.   

In the School of Psychology, we are transforming lives and shaping the future with our teaching and research. Our work has real-world impact. For example, our research is contributing to better treatment of autistic people in the criminal justice system, and greater understanding of why drivers often fail to see motorcyclists at junctions.

One of our greatest strengths is the breadth of topics we specialise in. This is reflected in our research areas, which include:

This means we are able to offer a wide range of modules and research projects, giving you the opportunity to focus on your unique interests.

A distance learning version of this course is also available.

Why choose this course?

Accredited

by the British Psychological Society

Top 10

The School of Psychology is ranked in the top 10 in the UK for research power

Research Excellence Framework 2021

Gain eligibility

for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership from the British Psychological Society

Research project

in a wide range of fascinating topics

More than £1 million

annual research income

from research councils, the EU, Government, charities and companies.

Excellent facilities

including a driving simulator, eye-tracking suite, and EEG suites

Course content

MSc

This course is offered on a full-time basis only, over 12 months following the academic year from September to September.

Modules

Core modules

Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology 10 credits

You’ll learn about the scientific, historical, and philosophical underpinnings of psychology as a discipline, which will demonstrate the inherent variability and diversity in the theoretical approaches to psychology.

By the end of the module, you will have a good knowledge and critical understanding of the influences of history on psychological theories.

Personality and Individual Differences 10 credits

You will explore psychological explanations of personality and individual differences. In particular, the major personality theories are considered in detail and the application of these theories to areas such as abnormal psychology, criminal behaviour, and health are discussed. IQ is also covered and the evolutionary bases of traits. Complementary and alternatives to trait approaches are discussed.

 

Neuroscience and Behaviour 20 credits

This module will cover issues in neuroscience and behaviour that are particularly relevant to understanding the biological bases of psychological functions.

Among the topics to be covered are psychopharmacology, psychobiological explanations of mental disorders, dementia, sexual development and behaviour, and methods of studying neuropsychological processes.

You will also examine the effects of brain damage on mental functioning including amnesias, agnosias, and aphasias, among other topics.

 

Social and Developmental Psychology 20 credits

Examine theories and experimental studies of social processes and human development.

Topics relating to social processes will include:

  • social cognition and social thinking
  • conformity and obedience
  • intergroup behaviour
  • theories of attraction and relationships
  • prosocial behaviour and intrinsic motivation
  • self-determination

Human development topics are also explored in depth such as the:

  • development of phonology
  • importance of social referencing in early language acquisition
  • atypical socio-cognitive development in people with autism

 

Empirical Research Project 40 credits

You will undertake an independent research project over the summer of your second year. You will be supervised by a research-active academic. This is your opportunity to further your knowledge in a particular area.

Cognitive Psychology 20 credits

You will examine in greater depth - perception, language, human memory, thinking, and problem-solving.

For each topic, you will explore existing theories and contemporary issues to enable you to take an interdisciplinary perspective.

Research Methods and Analysis 20 credits

This module will cover the basic concepts and assumptions with respect to univariate and multivariate statistics, as well as issues relating to field studies, ethics, the reliability and validity issues as well as basic qualitative techniques. The module will cover ANOVA, post-hoc tests, power, multiple linear regression, factor analysis, the nature of causality and field designs (both experimental and quasi-experimental), ethics, the reliability and validity of measures and field designs, as well as exploring some basic issues in questionnaire design and qualitative methods.

Practical Methods 20 credits

This module supports the development of practical and conceptual skills necessary for running experiments in psychology and interpreting data.

Skills include:

  • experimental design
  • interpretation of summary data
  • analysis of quantitative and qualitative data
  • implementing experiments with the computer-based user-interface PsychoPy
  • writing up appropriate reports
  • working independently as well as in groups.

Optional modules

Clinical Psychology

This module will introduce you to the concept of abnormal psychology and the application of psychology in clinical settings. The module will illustrate how psychological models are developed and how they are applied in developing interventions. The emphasis will be on examining theory and evaluation of interventions for a number of disorders/clinical issues.

Neuropsychology of Action: The Body in the Brain

This module examines the psychological and neural basis for the planning and control of human action. You will be introduced to scientific research through guided exploration of the neuropsychological bases for human action. You will experience the multi-disciplinary nature of research into human behaviour and, by the end of the module, will understand how a single issue can be addressed from multiple perspectives including: experimental psychology, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, neuropsychology, and functional brain-imaging.

Understanding Developmental Disorders

This module explores how psychologists study and understand disorders of cognitive development. The course focuses largely on disorders which include impairments in attention, memory and/or executive function. Disorders covered include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, reading disorders and Down Syndrome. 

Neuropsychology and Applied Neuroimaging

You will examine the deficits seen in individuals who have suffered brain damage. You will learn about the impairments to language, memory, perception, attention, motor control, executive control, and emotion.

This module evaluates both the clinical and theoretical aspects of these syndromes. In particular, you will evaluate the implications regarding how the healthy brain functions.

Cognitive Development and Autism

This module will cover modern versions of nativist and empiricist theories of cognitive development. It will also give an overview of current theories which have been proposed to explain Autism Spectrum Disorder. It will provide an evaluation of these theories using behavioural, clinical and neurophysiological evidence from a range of domains including: Sensory and visual processing; drawing and musical skills (savant skills); social and emotional processing; imitation.

Forensic and Mental Health

The area of forensic mental health is extremely pertinent in both the criminal justice system and mental health services, as well as the integration of the two. It is a growing area of research in psychology and it is a popular area of work for many psychology graduates.

The module will concentrate on offending behaviours, typical categorisation of those who commit crimes or harm themselves, standard interventions for offenders and the neuroscience of offending. It will also cover the current research on specific offending behaviours, and examine the role of the criminal justice system and health service in dealing with individuals who offend.

Educational Psychology

This module provides an introduction to the contexts in which educational psychologists operate by examining the historical development of this profession within a set of major legislative and policy contexts, such as the recent drive to increase social inclusion. In particular, successes in, and barriers to, establishing a role as scientist-practitioners in educational settings will be explored.

The module will concentrate on assessment and intervention work with specific populations such as young people who display challenging behaviour in schools, vulnerable adolescents, and bilingual learners. Additionally, it will examine psychological approaches to group work with teachers and pupils as well as the application of system theory in helping transform aspects of schools and other organisations.

Altruism, Cooperation and Helping

The course will cover theories and models of altruism, cooperation and helping form the perspective of psychology, economics and evolutionary biology. Among the theories examined will be reputation-based, strong-reciprocity, warm-glow and crowding and altruistic punishment from economics; kin selection, reciprocity, coercion, mutualism, cooperative breeding from biology; and empathy, personality, sexual selection and situational constraints from psychology.

You will consider why people sometimes don't help and actively try to benefit from others and apply these models to anti-social behaviour, and how we cooperate to inflict injury on other groups. It will also examine not just models of helping others, but also why people ask for help. You will finally look at how charities implement some of these principles and if they are successful.

The Visual Brain: Evolution, Development, Learning and Adaptation
The central theme of this module is to explore how the architecture and function of the visual brain has been designed and shaped by experiences over a range of timescales. The innate properties of the eye and visual brain that are present at birth have been designed over millions of years of evolution. The brain continues to physically change it structure and function within a lifetime  a property termed brain plasticity. Over the years of development, brain plasticity is the driving force for the maturation of different visual brain functions. Even well into adulthood, plasticity is retained in the form of learning, which can optimise performance for certain visual tasks and be exploited for therapeutic uses. Another prominent form of plasticity in the visual brain is that caused by adaptation effects of visual experience over the preceding tens of milliseconds to minutes. The module will examine the consequences of evolution, development, learning and adaptation for visual brain function and perception. 
Mechanisms of Learning and Psychopathology

Supported by lectures, seminars and tutorials, this module aims to provide you with an understanding of the mechanisms of learning and memory in human and non-human animals, and an analysis of pathological conditions involving these systems.

You’ll study topics that include:

  • perceptual learning
  • the contextual and attentional modulation of learning and behaviour
  • neuroscience-focused topics such as the role of the hippocampus in memory

Clinical topics include:

  • the acquisition of phobias
  • memory discords
  • the psychological side effects of cancer treatment
  • depression
The above is a sample of the typical modules we offer but is not intended to be construed and/or relied upon as a definitive list of the modules that will be available in any given year. Modules (including methods of assessment) may change or be updated, or modules may be cancelled, over the duration of the course due to a number of reasons such as curriculum developments or staffing changes. Please refer to the module catalogue for information on available modules. This content was last updated on Thursday 19 September 2024.

Due to timetabling availability, there may be restrictions on some module combinations.

Learning and assessment

How you will learn

  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Lab sessions

Most core modules are taught through lectures with students from our undergraduate psychology courses. There will be around 200 students in these lectures, and you will typically have 5 lectures per week.

You will also develop practical skills through lab sessions and take seminars with other postgraduates on the conversion course. These are taught in smaller groups of up to 35 students.

Teaching is provided by academic staff, with additional support in labs and practical classes from PhD students and post-doctoral researchers.

You will attend a selection of lecture-based modules to cover the British Psychological Society core areas, and a limited number of more specialised elective modules.

In addition, dedicated seminars are provided for each core module. You will also (subject to satisfactory progress) undertake an independent research project.

How you will be assessed

  • Exams
  • Coursework
  • Project work

Assessment is by written examination at the end of each semester, by practical and research project reports and written assessments. You will be given a copy of our marking criteria when you start the course and will receive regular feedback from your tutors.

You will need an average mark of 50% to pass the course overall – you won't get the master's qualification if you don't achieve this. You must also pass the research methods & analysis and practical labs modules at 50% or above to progress to the research project, in addition to having a taught stage average of 50%.

Contact time and study hours

This is a full time course with teaching during the day.

The contact hours per week are approximately 15-17 hours a week.

Most core modules are taught through lectures with students from our undergraduate psychology courses. There will be around 200 students in these lectures, and you will typically have 5 lectures per week.

You will also develop practical skills through lab sessions and take seminars with other postgraduates on the conversion course. These are taught in smaller groups of up to 35 students.

Entry requirements

All candidates are considered on an individual basis and we accept a broad range of qualifications. The entrance requirements below apply to 2025 entry.

MSc

Undergraduate degree2:1 (or international equivalent) and a maths qualification equivalent to at least a grade 4 (C) at GCSE. Evidence of these qualifications will be required in your application.

Additional information

This course is not available to applicants who have previously taken any Level 2 Psychology module(s) on an undergraduate course at the University of Nottingham.

The School of Psychology has a policy of not offering Recognition of Other (Certificated and Experiential) Learning for its courses and credit transfer cannot be considered for this programme.

Applying

Our step-by-step guide covers everything you need to know about applying.

How to apply

Fees

Qualification MSc
Home / UK £12,750
International £30,750

Additional information for international students

If you are a student from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you may be asked to complete a fee status questionnaire and your answers will be assessed using guidance issued by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) .

These fees are for full-time study. If you are studying part-time, you will be charged a proportion of this fee each year (subject to inflation).

Additional costs

All students will need at least one device to approve security access requests via Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). We also recommend students have a suitable laptop to work both on and off-campus. For more information, please check the equipment advice.

We do not anticipate any extra significant costs, alongside your tuition fees and living expenses. You should be able to access most of the books you’ll need through our libraries, though you may wish to purchase your own copies which you would need to factor into your budget. Personal laptops are not compulsory as we have computer labs that are open 24 hours a day but you may want to consider one if you wish to work at home.

Due to our commitment to sustainability, we don’t print lecture notes. You are welcome to buy print credits if you need them.

Funding

There are many ways to fund your postgraduate course, from scholarships to government loans.

We also offer a range of international masters scholarships for high-achieving international scholars who can put their Nottingham degree to great use in their careers.

Check our guide to find out more about funding your postgraduate degree.

Postgraduate funding

Careers

We offer individual careers support for all postgraduate students.

Expert staff can help you research career options and job vacancies, build your CV or résumé, develop your interview skills and meet employers.

Each year 1,100 employers advertise graduate jobs and internships through our online vacancy service. We host regular careers fairs, including specialist fairs for different sectors.

International students who complete an eligible degree programme in the UK on a student visa can apply to stay and work in the UK after their course under the Graduate immigration route. Eligible courses at the University of Nottingham include bachelors, masters and research degrees, and PGCE courses.

Graduate destinations

Psychology graduates can find rewarding careers in clinical, health, educational, and occupational psychology, and criminology. Psychologists are also welcome in many other contexts, such as human resources, management and marketing.

Our graduates have gone on to work for organisations such as the UK Government, the NHS, and charities such as Headway and Rethink Mental Illness.

MSc students may also continue onto PhD level.

Career progression

78.9% of postgraduate taught students from the School of Psychology secured graduate level employment or further graduate study within 15 months of graduation. The average annual salary for these graduates was £23,016.*

* HESA Graduate Outcomes 2019/20 data published in 2022. The Graduate Outcomes % is derived using The Guardian University Guide methodology. The average annual salary is based on data from graduates who completed a full-time postgraduate degree with home fee status and are working full-time within the UK.

British Psychological Society

This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). This provides the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership, which is required for entry to many postgraduate professional psychology programmes. 

Two masters graduates proudly holding their certificates
" I am a Cognitive Psychologist and have interests in attention and emotional influences on cognition. I teach predominantly research methods and practicals, and also teach on the seminars for the module Cognitive Psychology. "
Dr Jonathan Stirk, Course Director

Related courses

This content was last updated on Thursday 19 September 2024. Every effort has been made to ensure that this information is accurate, but changes are likely to occur given the interval between the date of publishing and course start date. It is therefore very important to check this website for any updates before you apply.