Comparative, Evolutionary and Developmental Psychology: Origins of Mind (MSc) 2025 entry

This MSc provides advanced research training in a range of intellectual and practical skills associated with evolutionary, comparative and developmental approaches to the study of the mind.

The programme explores the evolution and development of behaviour and cognition in human beings and non-human animals and provides students with the academic knowledge and practical skills required to study the origins of mind, using a broad range of theoretical perspectives and empirical approaches. 

Start date
September 2025
End date
September 2026
Duration
One year full time
School
School of Psychology and Neuroscience
Chimp and baby lab split image

Application deadline

Thursday 7 August 2025

Please note that the limited number of places may be filled before the deadline, so early application is strongly encouraged.

Applicants should apply as early as possible to be eligible for certain scholarships.

Entry requirements

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 that includes your personal details with a history of your education and employment to date 
  • 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 Comparative, Evolutionary and Developmental Psychology is a one-year taught postgraduate programme run by the School of Psychology and Neuroscience.

The modules are taught by renowned researchers, and students normally have the opportunity to conduct a research project that is supervised by world-leading experts. 

Highlights 

  • The core curriculum provides a broad understanding of the evolution and development of behaviour and cognition, supplemented with options that allow students to explore specialist topics at an advanced level. 
  • Students gain a range of valuable transferable skills that are highly relevant for pursuing a postgraduate research degree or other research-related careers. 
  • Students have the opportunity, subject to availability, to conduct an independent research project, supervised by our academic staff. These projects often include field- or zoo-based animal studies, or studies on children and adult humans. 
  • The course is mainly taught by members of the Origins of Mind Research Group, with additional contributions from other members of the School of Psychology and Neuroscience and the wider Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution

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.

  • Empirical Approaches to the Evolution of Communication: explores the evolution of human language and animal communication through the comparative study of communication in humans and other animals. 
  • Methods of Data Analysis in Psychology: offers advanced training in research design, statistical analyses and qualitative methods. 
  • Origins of Human Cognition: links together the evolution and development of different human cognitive abilities with a focus on empirical comparative research.  
  • Principal Approaches to the Origins of Mind: introduces distinct ways of studying the origins of mind within a comparative Tinbergian framework, emphasising both functional and mechanistic accounts. 

Students also choose two optional modules. 

Here is a sample of optional modules that may be offered: 

  • Animal Models in Neuroscience and Psychology: focuses on the animals frequently used in psychology and neuroscience research and why these characteristics make them good or bad models for given areas of research.
  • Topics in Social Cognition: Developmental and Comparative Perspectives: focuses in depth on a key aspect of social cognition each year, tracing the evolution and development of aspects of social intelligence such as imitation and culture, or joint attention and joint action. 
  • Evolution of Human Behaviour and Culture:  focuses on four modern evolutionary approaches to the study of human behaviour: human behavioural ecology, evolutionary psychology, cultural evolution, and gene-culture co-evolution. 
  • 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. 
  • Mechanisms of Behaviour: Integrating Psychological and Neuroscience Perspectives: explores many physiological and neural systems that modulate patterns of behaviour in a range of species, including humans.
  • Methodologies for Psychology and Neuroscience: provides practical experience in a number of laboratory techniques and research methodologies as employed by some of the principal investigators in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience. 
  • Theory of Mind in development, evolution and autism: offers a comparative approach to the emergence of the ability to understand mental states in children and non-human primates, and its alteration in autism. 
  • The Impact of Science: invites students to develop evidence-based evaluation of the impact of research findings on science and society, while offering advanced writing training. 

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. Read more about curriculum development at the University of St Andrews.

Students will undertake a significant piece of independent research as part of their final assessment. In the past, students have had the opportunity to conduct research on humans and other animals at: 

In past years, research projects have included topics such as: 

  • Conceptual thought and causal knowledge in primates and children 
  • Development of social cognition, for example, imitation, joint attention, pre-verbal communication, prosocial behaviour and group membership in children 
  • Evolution of communication, for example, gesture and multimodal communication in primates 
  • Evolutionary and psychological origins of cooperation in primates, rats and children 
  • Intentionality in primates and human infants 
  • Moral reasoning and inequity aversion, for example, cross-cultural studies in children 
  • Sex differences in behavioural development in rodents and primates 
  • Sex differences in human social behaviour, for example, aggression, impulsivity, confidence and conformity 
  • Social and physical problem solving in children, primates and birds 
  • Theory of mind in primates and children.

The research projects will be supervised by members of the teaching staff, who will advise on the choice of study subject and dissertation topic. In addition, they will provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation of not more than 15,000 words must be submitted by a specific date in mid-August. 

Teaching

The programme consists of two taught semesters followed by an independent research project, which is examined via a 15,000-word dissertation. The research project takes place during the entire year with a particular focus during the last three months (May to August). 

The modules are taught through lectures, seminars, practical classes, and personal supervision, which are designed to support learning, enhance confidence, and promote employability. 

 

The types of assessment might include coursework essays, research proposals, lab reports, oral examinations, statistical analyses,  and written exams, in addition to the research project dissertation. 

The MSc normally admits only a small number of students each year and focuses on research-led teaching and individualised support.

Events

The School of Psychology and Neuroscience hosts a weekly research seminar programme with talks by a variety of guest lecturers from the UK and abroad. 

In addition, the School often engages in interdisciplinary discussion groups and journal clubs, for example, with the School of Biology, that students are very welcome to attend.

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.

Taught postgraduate scholarships    Postgraduate loans

After your degree

Careers

Many postgraduates from this course have gained academic positions in universities across the world while others have pursued careers in academic publishing, management services, and wildlife conservation.

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 of our graduates continue their education by enrolling in PhD programmes at St Andrews or elsewhere. 

Postgraduate research

What 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
Email
psyneuropg@st-andrews.ac.uk
Address
School of Psychology and Neuroscience
St Mary's Quad
South Street
St Andrews
KY16 9JP

School of Psychology and Neuroscience website