Psychology: Mental Health Sciences MSc

Mental illness places a huge burden on individuals, their families and society more widely. Be part of the uncovering of its causes, so we can better treat it. This course will provide you with interdisciplinary training integrating social, developmental, neuroscientific and genetic approaches to understanding mental health and will include hands-on training in a range of advanced methods for studying the causes and consequences of mental illness.


• Suitable for students who want to learn more about the causes and consequences of mental illnesses using an interdisciplinary approach.



• Excellent employment prospects progressing onto research PhDs or clinical training



• Get hands-on training in cutting-edge research techniques, contemporary approaches and practical skills used by researchers



• Conduct a research project to develop the skills needed for further academic or applied research



• A chance to contribute to published papers



• Access to state-of-the-art research facilities such as the Electroencephalography (EEG) lab



What you'll study

Our MSc Psychology: Mental Health Sciences programme places special emphasis on developing key skills in experimental design and statistics as well as advanced hands-on training in many of the specialist methodologies applied to mental health research.

In the first semester, you will be introduced to mental health conditions which typically emerge during childhood and adolescence to understand the underlying developmental pathways and precursors; and you will explore key topics in mental health, from both historical and contemporary contexts, including analyses of current issues in the field. Alongside this, you will develop the skills required to conduct interdisciplinary research in mental health working with experts within the Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology.

In the second semester, you will learn more about each of these perspectives in three methods modules exploring the social, developmental, neuroscientific and genetic aspects of mental health and the complex interplay between these factors. You will get the opportunity to learn advanced methods in mental health including interviews, Electroencephalography (EEG), psychophysiology, behavioural genetics and genomics and cognitive and behavioural neuroscience.

In the third and final semester, you will use what you have learned to develop and conduct an empirical research project. This is an integral part of this programme as it will help you develop the skills required to progress onto further academic or applied research. During the research project, you will be supervised by one of our academics.