Psychology MRes

Join a course where you can develop your psychology or cognate knowledge and skills for studying Psychology at an advanced level. The course involves the necessary training, skills, and experience to enable you to evaluate and produce original research. You may want to continue onto a PhD and a research career, or develop research skills to contribute to professional development.

Your learning will have a strong focus on rigorous research practices and careful consideration of the key dilemmas researchers face when planning and conducting high-quality research. This includes topics such as:

• Understanding varied epistemological approaches
• Sound research design
• Open science practices
• Ethical issues and processes

It will be necessary for you to conduct your own original research. Support and guidance will be provided by academic research supervisors with subject and methodological expertise that spans different areas of psychology (e.g. cognitive, developmental, social). You will be required to engage with psychology research groups, the Research Seminar series and will have access to university research events.

Working as part of a research community with associated research groups ensures increased opportunities for your professional development. On this course, our ambition is for you to develop your thesis into a published article.

How you will study

This course is full time. You will study:

• 2 30 credit compulsory modules
• 1 120 credit compulsory modules

Modules

Teaching and learning

This course has been designed for you to develop advanced research skills and knowledge with taught sessions, supervisory meetings and research-based assessments.

The course content will be delivered with small group workshops and seminars. There will be opportunities to engage in research seminars, research groups and broader research activity. You'll be taught by experienced academic staff with expertise in relevant methodologies and advanced topics in psychology.

You'll experience a range of assessment strategies so you can develop core academic and transferable skills such as understanding of contemporary issues in areas such as:

• Psychology
• Research ethics
• Open science
• Data collection
• Analysis
• Dissemination

The two core taught modules in semester one will provide a solid basis for you to understand methods, analyses and current trends in psychology. Both 30-credit modules must be passed in order to progress to the Thesis in Psychology module.

Assessment

Our assessment methods will evaluate both your theoretical knowledge and practical research skills. You will participate in critiques of published work in the style of peer-review. Your final assessment is your thesis that will report the findings of your research.

Qualifications

You must meet the University’s general entry criteria for postgraduate study. In addition, you must have:

A 2:1 in Psychology or a closely-related discipline.

If your first degree is not in Psychology applicants will be accepted on a case-by-case basis to ensure you have covered sufficient levels of psychology and research methods during their first degree.

If your first language is not English you should have IELTS at grade 6.5 or above (including a minimum of 6.5 in the writing component) or another acceptable English Language qualification.

Research proposal

You will be required to submit this outline research proposal in line with an advertised project area. To be accepted onto the course, your proposed thesis supervisor must accept the proposal.

Your research proposal should

• Be up to 1500 words
• Identify who your project supervisor would be
• Identify the research question you would like to examine
• Briefly outline the theoretical background to your proposed research
• Outline the methods you may draw on

This is a non-binding research proposal and changes to your approach and the specifics of your topic will be possible.

You will be required to submit this outline research proposal in line with an advertised project area. In order to be accepted onto the course this outline application must be acceptable to the proposed thesis supervisor.

Interview

After applying and submitting your proposal, you will be invited to an interview with a panel of academic staff in Psychology. 

UK 2025 - 2026 entry

The tuition fee for 2025 entry to the Psychology MRes is:

• £7,000 for full time study

These costs apply to all UK, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man students.

Postgraduate loans are available to help you pay for your master’s course. Find out more about funding your postgraduate studies.

Funding opportunities

International 2025 - 2026 entry

The tuition fee for 2025 entry to the Psychology MRes is:

• £11,800 for full time study

These costs apply to all students living outside the UK.

Due to immigration laws, if you are an international student on a student visa, you must study full time. For more information about visa requirements and short-term study visas, please visit the International Visa and Immigration pages.

Find out more about funding your postgraduate studies.

International Fees and Funding

Tuition fees

Alumni Scholarships

If you are alumni of York St John University we have scholarships available to help you continue your studies.

Scholarships for alumni

Additional costs and financial support

Course-related costs

While studying for your degree, there may be additional costs related to your course. This may include purchasing personal equipment and stationery, books and optional field trips.

Accommodation and living costs

View our accommodation pages for detailed information on accommodation and living costs.

Where could Psychology MRes take you?

This course will provide you with the knowledge and transferable skills you will need to progress in the world of psychology, whether in to senior leadership roles or further research.

You'll gain valuable skills and knowledge that can make you a desired candidate for jobs within academia, psychological practice and a range of other industries.

Stand out from the crowd with postgraduate study.

Far fewer people have postgraduate degrees than undergraduate qualifications. This gives you something extra to set yourself apart in a competitive graduate job market. Those with a postgraduate qualification will earn an average of £6,500 a year more than those with only an undergraduate degree. (Department For Education Graduate Labour Market Report 2022).

Our careers service, LaunchPad, provides career support tailored to your ambitions. Through this service you can access:

• Employer events
• LinkedIn, CV and cover letter sessions
• Workshops on application writing and interview skills
• Work experience and volunteering opportunities
• Personalised career advice

This support does not end when you graduate. You can access our expert career advice for the rest of your life. We will help you gain the experience and confidence you need to succeed.