Course information

Department

Psychology

Length

1 year full-time or 2 years part-time.

Course overview

This programme trains you in the fundamental aspects of quantitative and qualitative research, including research design, data collection and data analysis, and provides practical, ‘hands-on’ experience.

The programme will appeal to you if you would like to develop your career in experimental research, or to enhance your ability to apply research skills in either the public or the private sector.

The programme will enable you to:

  • gain a thorough knowledge of a range of behavioural and social science methodologies
  • understand the principles of quantitative and qualitative research
  • correctly apply advanced statistical and computing techniques
  • enhance your skills in critical analysis and evaluation of research findings
  • consider philosophical and ethical issues in relation to science in general and to psychological research in particular
  • develop expertise in data collection, handling large data sets and data analysis
  • appropriately plan and design, present and evaluate, effective psychological research studies

You also complete a research project leading to a dissertation, and you participate in general research skills training modules with students from other departments at Goldsmiths.

The programme was amongst the first to be recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as providing the generic and specific research training required by Psychology students in receipt of ESRC studentship awards.

Between 2011 and 2015, the programme was the research methods training masters for the psychology pathway within the Goldsmiths and Queen Mary ESRC-funded Doctoral Training Centre (2011-2015). Since 2017, the programme provides its Psychology research training under the umbrella of the South-East Network for Social Sciences, an ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) between 10 prestigious universities, including Goldsmiths.

Students in receipt of an ESRC 1+3 PhD studentship in the psychology pathway can take this programme as the first year of a 4-year PhD programme; students who have completed the MRes self-funded, are eligible to bid for ESRC funded +3 PhD studentships.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Karina Linnell.

Structure

Structure

The MRes runs for one academic year full-time or two years part-time. Most of the lectures, seminars and workshops on the programme run in the first two terms, but you are expected to pursue your studies beyond formal term times, particularly in respect of your research project.

Lectures, seminars and workshops for the programme are timetabled mainly for Mondays and Tuesdays, but you may occasionally be required to attend other seminars and workshops held by the Department and College. You must take all the modules listed in the syllabus.

The list below provides an overview of the topics covered in each module. All modules include a strong practical component.

Compulsory modules

Module title Credits
Statistical Methods 15 credits
Research Design and Analysis 15 credits
Advanced Quantitative Methods 15 credits
Statistical Data Analysis Project 15 credits

In addition to these modules, you will also complete:

Research Project (60 credits)
You will produce an empirical piece of research leading to a research project, supervised by at least one member of the lecturing staff in the Department. The project provides invaluable, practical ‘hands on’ experience of evaluating a particular research question. You have the opportunity to set your research question, determine and apply the methods to obtain the answers, and present, discuss and interpret the results. You normally start your project in the second term, together with necessary literature reviews and research design. Work on your project will continue full-time following the formal examinations in May up until project submission in mid-September. 

Additional workshops and seminars

You are also required to attend some of the Department’s programme of Invited Speakers’ talks given by distinguished academics in psychology, and to produce a written critique on one of these. You are welcome to attend the Department’s other seminar series, which are hosted by eminent academics and practitioners.

Assessment

Written examinations; coursework; dissertation. 

Option modules

As well as the above compulsory modules, you will also take 60 credits of option module from a list offered by the department. Please note that the optional modules available will change from year to year and not all optional modules listed in the table below will be available in any one year.

Module title Credits
Research Placement 15 credits
Advanced Methods and Techniques 30 credits
Foundations of Neuroscience 15 credits
Critical Analysis 15 credits
Behavioural Genetics 15 credits
Cross-cultural and Individual Differences in Attention and Awareness 15 credits
Psychology of the Arts, Aesthetics and Attraction 15 credits
Introduction to coding with MATLAB 15 credits
Core Qualitative Research Methods 30 credits

Download the programme specification.

Entry requirements

You should have (or expect to be awarded) an undergraduate degree of at least upper second class standard in a relevant subject area. 

You might also be considered for some programmes if you aren’t a graduate or your degree is in an unrelated field, but have relevant experience and can show that you have the ability to work at postgraduate level.

International qualifications

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for postgraduate-level study.

Fees, funding & scholarships

Annual tuition fees

These are the fees for students starting their programme in the 2024/2025 academic year.

  • Home - full-time: £9630
  • Home - part-time: £4815
  • International - full-time: £22640

If your fees are not listed here, please check our postgraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office, who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.

It’s not currently possible for international students to study part-time under a student visa. If you think you might be eligible to study part-time while being on another visa type, please contact our Admissions Team for more information.

If you are looking to pay your fees please see our guide to making a payment.

Additional costs

In addition to your tuition fees, you'll be responsible for any additional costs associated with your course, such as buying stationery and paying for photocopying. You can find out more about what you need to budget for on our study costs page.

There may also be specific additional costs associated with your programme. This can include things like paying for field trips or specialist materials for your assignments. Please check the programme specification for more information.

Funding opportunities

Find out more about postgraduate fees and explore funding opportunities. If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an application deadline.

How to apply

You apply directly to Goldsmiths using our online application system. 

Before submitting your application you'll need to have: 

  • Details of your education history, including the dates of all exams/assessments
  • The email address of your referee who we can request a reference from, or alternatively an electronic copy of your academic reference
  • Contact details of a second referee
  • personal statement – This can either be uploaded as a Word Document or PDF, or completed online

          Please see our guidance on writing a postgraduate statement

  • If available, an electronic copy of your educational transcript (this is particularly important if you have studied outside of the UK, but isn’t mandatory)

You'll be able to save your progress at any point and return to your application by logging in using your username/email and password.

Before you apply for a research programme, we advise you to get in touch with the programme contact, listed above. It may also be possible to arrange an advisory meeting.

Before you start at Goldsmiths, the actual topic of your research has to be agreed with your proposed supervisor, who will be a member of staff active in your general field of research. The choice of topic may be influenced by the current research in the department or the requirements of an external funding body. 

If you wish to study on a part-time basis, you should also indicate how many hours a week you intend to devote to research, whether this will be at evenings or weekends, and for how many hours each day.

When to apply 

We accept applications from October for students wanting to start the following September. 

We encourage you to complete your application as early as possible, even if you haven't finished your current programme of study. It's very common to be offered a place conditional on you achieving a particular qualification. 

If you're applying for external funding from one of the Research Councils, make sure you submit your application by the deadline they've specified. 

Late applications will only be considered if there are spaces available.

Selection process 

Admission to many programmes is by interview, unless you live outside the UK. Occasionally, we'll make candidates an offer of a place on the basis of their application and qualifications alone.

Find out more about applying.

Staff

Academic staff in the Department who will be the main contributors to this programme include:

Find out more about staff in the Department of Psychology.

Careers

Skills

The programme aims to equip you with a sound understanding of methods and skills necessary to conduct high-level research in psychology, using a wide range of approaches and techniques.

Careers

The programme provides the ideal preparation for a research career. Many students go on to do a PhD, or to conduct experimental research in a wide variety of settings.

Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.

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