Application deadline
Thursday 7 August 2025
Applicants should apply as early as possible to be eligible for certain scholarships.
Entry requirements
- A 2.1 Honours undergraduate degree in Psychology or a related discipline. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.
- English language proficiency. See English language tests and qualifications.
The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry. Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.
Application requirements
- CV or résumé
- personal statement (500 words)
- sample of your own, single-authored academic written work (2,000 words)
- two original signed academic references
- academic transcripts and degree certificates.
For more guidance, see supporting documents and references for postgraduate taught programmes.
English language proficiency
If English is not your first language, you may need to provide an English language test score to evidence your English language ability. See approved English language tests and scores for this course.
Course details
The MSc in Research Methods in Psychology is a full-time taught postgraduate programme run by the School of Psychology and Neuroscience. The course is based on an initiative to provide interdisciplinary training in the social sciences plus advanced research training in psychology.
Highlights
- The course provides interdisciplinary training in the social sciences plus advanced research training in psychology.
- Students will complete an independent research project in psychology, which can involve working in the school’s laboratories in neurophysiology, psychopharmacology, psychophysics, animal learning and cognition, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology or social psychology.
- The MSc is recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as an accredited course.
Modules
The modules published below are examples of what has been taught in previous academic years and may be subject to change before you start your course. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the module catalogue.
- Generic Research and Professional Skills in Psychology and Neuroscience: introduces students to the various skills and issues that are important to academic psychologists and neuroscientists irrespective of their particular area of research.
- Methods of Data Analysis in Psychology: offers advanced training in research design, statistical analyses, and qualitative methods.
- Philosophy and Methodology of the Social Sciences: introduces students to the basic theoretical approaches in the social sciences, covering the methodological and epistemological issues involved in conducting social scientific research.
- Qualitative Methods in Social Research: offers both a theoretical and practical introduction to the collection, analysis, and writing of qualitative social science research.
- Quantitative Research in Social Science: provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts of quantitative analysis - underlying principles, research design, sampling strategies, uncertainty and missing data, and some statistical approaches to data analysis.
- Psychology Masters Research Project: provides an opportunity to perform an empirical research project under the guidance of a member of staff to gain experience in the planning, implementation, data analysis, and interpretation of psychological research.
Students must choose two optional modules.
- Animal Models in Neuroscience and Psychology: focuses on the animals frequently used in psychology and neuroscience research; discussing key physiological and behavioural characteristics of the animals, why these characteristics make them good or bad models for given areas of research, and how these behavioural and physiological characteristics must be accounted for when designing experiments.
- Data Science for Psychology and Neuroscience: introduces modern data science methods such as machine learning and data mining, with emphasis on the practical utilisation of these methods in the context of psychology and neuroscience.
- Research Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience: explores the technology that allows us to observe the brain in action and to understand the physical bases of behaviour.
- The Narratives that Shape Psychology and Neuroscience: critically explores the narratives that shape Psychology and Neuroscience, while examining alternative narratives that broaden the canon.
- Psychology and Neuroscience Colloquium: involves engagement with a lecture series that is interdisciplinary and international by design, featuring research from cells to minds and groups while covering different theories and methods.
Optional modules are subject to change each year and require a minimum number of participants to be offered; some may only allow limited numbers of students (see the University's position on curriculum development).
Student dissertations will be supervised by members of the teaching staff who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation of not more than 15,000 words must be submitted by a date specified in August.
Teaching
Over two semesters, students will take five compulsory modules, a research project module and two optional modules.
These are taught through lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials.
On average, class sizes range up to 80 students for lectures and 20 students for seminars.
The final three months of your course will be dedicated to a 15,000-word research project dissertation.
Assessment comprises entirely of coursework; there are no exams.
Events
The School of Psychology and Neuroscience hosts a weekly seminar programme typically held in the Old Library of the Psychology Building.
These seminars include public lectures, open School discussions and papers presented by a variety of guest lecturers from the UK and abroad. Following the seminar, a reception is typically held in the departmental common room.
The School also hosts an annual Jeeves Lecture as part of its seminar programme. The lectures are given by eminent psychologists and neuroscientists. Staff, students and members of the public are welcome at this lecture.
Fees
Home
£12,030
Overseas
£29,990
Application fee
Before we can begin processing your application, a payment of an application fee of £50 is required. In some instances, you may be eligible for an application fee waiver. Details of this, along with information on our tuition fees, can be found on the postgraduate fees and funding page.
Funding and scholarships
The University of St Andrews is committed to attracting the very best students, regardless of financial circumstances.
15% Recent Graduate Discount
If you have graduated from the University within the last three academic years, you may be eligible for a 15% discount on postgraduate taught tuition fees. Terms and conditions apply.
After your degree
Careers
Many students progress from the MSc to PhD study, and some graduates have been successful in applying for EPSRC PhD studentships.
Others have successfully applied for research assistantships to initiate their research careers.
Some graduates have applied for positions in government, health care, and management services.
The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.
Further study
Many graduates continue their education by enrolling in PhD programmes at St Andrews or elsewhere.
The MSc in Research Methods in Psychology is accredited for the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) 1+3 PhD studentship programme.
Postgraduate researchWhat to do next
Information sessions
Meet our staff, learn more, and ask questions about how our courses can work for you.
Contact us
- Phone
- +44 (0)1334 46 2157
- psyneuropg@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Address
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience
St Mary's Quad
South Street
St Andrews
KY16 9JP