Course description
The School of Psychology at the University of Wales, Bangor is one of the top seven 5*A departments in UK Psychology and offers modern degree programmes, which are fully BPS accredited. The School has achieved the highest possible ratings in terms of both research and teaching performance and has invested extensively in a modern teaching, learning and research environment, including brain imaging (MRI) technology. Students have access to state-of-the-art research and computing facilities and the opportunity to study under world-renowned academic staff. The School also boasts a number of prestigious research centres including the Wolfson Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, The Centre for Experimental Consumer Psychology and the Bangor Centre for Developmental Disabilities which, as well as being in the vanguard of academic research in these fields, offer students unique opportunities for project work covering important theoretical and practical elements.
Course Description
Our MSc in Psychological Research is exceptional for its dual emphasis on basic psychological science and applied issues. The course is designed to provide students with a wide range of practical research skills, advanced studies in modern psychology, and an opportunity to learn how this knowledge is applied in either industrial or clinical settings. It has been recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as providing the transferable skills essential to social science research.
Students who take this course will get a comprehensive research experience working with international calibre researchers, and an exceptional opportunity to see how modern psychology can be put into practice. It is especially recommended to graduates who want to:
* give their CV an additional boost
* find a job in a research environment
* “get a feel” for research, before embarking on a PhD
* continue on to do a PhD*
* specialise in a particular area of Psychology.
*Students who intend to continue on to the PhD should apply for both MSc and PhD at the same time.
Structure
The course consists of two parts. Part One comprises taught modules over two semesters. You are required to take three ‘content’ modules, each designed to provide knowledge and promote understanding in a specific core area of psychology. You also take three ‘skills’ modules designed to help you acquire research skills. In addition you take two tutorial modules with your supervisor wherein you develop a research proposal for your thesis. On successful completion of Part One, you’ll proceed to Part Two (in the third semester). At this time you complete and write your thesis.
Content
Students have the option to take a general MSc in Psychological Research or to specialise in one of the areas listed below:
* Bilingualism
* Cognitive Science
* Cognitive Neuroscience of Language
* Clinical and Health Psychology
* Clinical Neuroscience
* Experimental Consumer Psychology
Details of each area and the modules you will take for each are shown below.
Teaching, Learning and Assessment
Teaching occurs via lectures, seminars and tutorials given by research experts in the School. All teachers are actively engaged in research programmes. Assessment methods include written exams, essays, oral presentations and a research thesis.
Research Thesis
The thesis is the “heart” of the MSc and is an intensive research experience conducted in collaboration with your supervisor that allows you to put your specialist knowledge and skills into practice. In conducting your thesis project, you will develop new skills such as planning, co-operative working, and the academic skills essential to understanding and reporting findings to others.
MSc in Psychological Research - The details
You can choose to focus your course in one of six specialist research areas by choosing one of the routes described below. Or you can refrain from specialising and take any combination of three content modules approved by your supervisor. Whichever route you choose, in Semester One you’ll concentrate on content modules. In Semester Two all students take three skills modules - Advanced Statistics, Issues in Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis, and Communicating Research in Psychology. In both Semesters One and Two, you take a tutorial style module called Advanced Research Methods and Proposal I/II in which you develop your research thesis project with your supervisor.
with Cognitive Science
The course is designed for students interested in basic and applied issues in human perception, attention, memory, language, learning, emotion, or development. It is also suited to those interested in the neuroscience of these areas.
Thesis projects can be on topics in vision, language, attention, emotion, memory, motor behaviour, language development, bilingualism and other. Behavioural and neuroscience techniques (including fMRI, ERPs, and TMS) may be used.
The research skills learned in this course will be broadly applicable and valuable for research assistantships, further PhD studies, and a range of academic, government, industrial, or health-related settings. This course is suitable for those considering careers in research-oriented environments or academic psychology.
Modules – Semester One
* Advanced Research Methods and Proposal I
* Cognition, Language and Brain
Plus choose two from:
* Biological Bases of Psychological Disorders
* Clinical Neuropsychology
* Psychological Research in Consumer Science
with Clinical Neuroscience
The course provides a foundation for understanding the pathophysiology of neurological diseases that can lead to neuropsychological disabilities. Students will learn about neuropsychological disorders through case studies and specialist modules.
The specialism is closely allied to cognitive neuroscience and School staff, comprising clinical neuropsychologists and clinical neurologists, are involved in both domains. These clinical connections provide tremendous opportunities for the study of clinical neuropsychology, as well as for research collaboration within the NHS.
Modules – Semester One
* Advanced Research Methods and Proposal I
* Clinical Neuropsychology
* Biological Bases of Psychological Disorders
* Issues in Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
with Clinical and Health Psychology
This route is appropriate for students interested in basic and applied issues in clinical and health psychology, who want to pursue PhD work in those areas, or who are interested in eventually applying for clinical psychology training and a DClin Psy qualification.
In a unique collaboration with local health authorities we have established joint lectureships in clinical psychology. The staff in these posts cover a range of specialisms (including adult mental illness, child health, drug misuse, mental handicap, ageing and child development). These clinical connections with the NHS provide excellent opportunities for the study of clinical and health psychology, as well as for research collaboration.
Modules – Semester One
* Advanced Research Methods and Proposal I
* Biological Bases of Psychological Disorders
* Clinical Neuropsychology
* Issues in Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
with Experimental Consumer Psychology
This route is designed for students interested in applying knowledge gained from contemporary psychology to business and commercial concerns. It is suited to students wishing to seek employment in advertising, marketing, and small or large companies. It is also suited to those wishing to pursue PhD studies.
The course emphasises the application of modern behavioural neuroscience to industrial and consumer settings, exploring topics in advertising, purchase decisions, preference formation, brands, and product design and innovation. A central part of the course is that students are partnered with a local commercial enterprise and design and conduct a practical consumer research project. This involves fieldwork and provides students with a hands-on, up-close experience of consumer problems facing real companies.
Modules – Semester One
* Advanced Research Methods and Proposal I
* Psychological Research in Consumer Science
* Consumer Psychology in Practice
* Issues in Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
Focus on Bilingualism
For many inhabitants of the UK, bilingualism is an exotic phenomenon mainly found in other countries. However, in Wales there is a substantial indigenous bilingual population, with fully 70% bilingual speakers in Gwynedd, where Bangor Psychology is located.
In this specialism, you will study two main topics related to bilingualism: How individuals choose between the two or more languages they know as they formulate utterances (code-switching) and how children become bilingual in the first place (bilingual acquisition). You will also study the theory underlying psycholinguistic, neuropsychological and neurophysiological approaches to language development.
Your research thesis can involve either analysis of existing code-switching or acquisition data, or a project of your own devising on any aspect of child or adult bilingualism.
Modules - Semester 1
* Advanced Research Methods and Proposal I
* Bilingualism
* Cognition, Language and Brain
Plus choose one from:
* Clinical Neuropsychology
* Psychological Research in Consumer Science
* Biological Bases of Psychological Disorders
* Cognitive Neuroscience of Language
* Possibility of a Linguistics Module - TBC
Focus on Cognitive Neuroscience of Language
This specialism integrates psychological, linguistic, neuropsychological and neurophysiological approaches to language learning and processing in both children and adults.
Current research in the School investigates infant phonetic and phonological development, children's semantic and syntactic development, the development of reading and writing, dyslexia in both children and adults, second-language development, general learning mechanisms, aphasia and other brain disorders associated with language, exploration of semantic memory, and comparisons of verbal and non-verbal processing in the brain. Much of this work involves cross-cultural and cross-linguistic perspectives.
Our research is carried out in a number of specially dedicated laboratories, including an infant speech perception laboratory, an electrophysiology laboratory for the study of neurological bases of language in adults and in infants, a child-friendly experimental testing room and a mobile testing unit for studies involving school-age children.
Modules - Semester 1
* Advanced Research Methods and Proposal I
* Cognition, Language and Brain
Plus choose two from:
* Bilingualism
* A Linguistics Module - TBC
* Biological Bases of Psychological Disorders
* Clinical Neuropsychology
* Psychological Research in Consumer Science
* Cognitive Neuroscience of Languag
