MSc Psychology of Education

The MSc Psychology of Education provides a Master's-level grounding in psychology, paying particular attention to its implications for education and other professional practice. It is available on a full-time or a part-time basis. After successfully completing the programme, you will be eligible to apply to the British Psychological Society (BPS) for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership, and for the further professional training accredited by the BPS.

Many students go on to careers in educational psychology, clinical psychology or neuropsychology, or engage in doctoral-level research. Entry to all of these is very competitive, but our MSc graduates have historically been very successful applying for EdD, DEdPsych, PhD and DClinPsy courses.

After completing the MSc programme, you will typically spend at least a year building up relevant experience, for example working with special needs pupils or with vulnerable clients, before making a successful application to a professional training programme. 

Programme structure

Core units required for BPS accreditation

• Brain, Mind and Education
• Cognition and Learning
• The Psychology of Individual Differences
• Developmental Psychology
• Introduction to Educational Inquiry
• Social and Socio-Cultural Psychology
• Statistics in Education

Optional units

For students seeking BPS accreditation there is only one optional unit, which must be taken from one of the following:

• Collaboration Across Professional Contexts in Special and Inclusive Education
• Controversial Issues in Special and Inclusive Education
• Counselling Young People and Families
• Developing Thinking
• Inclusive Education and Working with Parents/Carers
• Issues in Neuroscience and Education
• Multivariate Statistical Methods in Education

Dissertation

You will also complete a 15,000-word dissertation.