Whether you're an aspiring clinical psychologist, researcher, or intellectually curious, enhance your understanding of the key clinical and professional knowledge and skills that lie at the heart of clinical psychology.
Enhance your knowledge and critical understanding of how we view mental health, delve into the processes involved in psychological assessment, formulation and intervention, and carve out your place in the field by creating your own clinical research.
You will understand relevant supporting and governing bodies and policies in the area of clinical psychology along with the psychological models of clinical disorders. With this knowledge you can begin to learn and practice therapeutic skills to build your toolbox and confidence in working with individuals experiencing difficulties in the future.
Develop a deep understanding of the processes involved in the assessment and treatment of mental health difficulties.
Generate and explore your hypotheses by designing, conducting and analysing a clinically relevant research project. This prepares you for a future research PhD or a clinical psychology doctorate programme (needed to become a qualified clinical psychologist).
As a student within the School of Psychology at Kent, you benefit from our supportive, dynamic and diverse environment for creative research and learning.
All of our taught Master’s (MSc) programmes have been recognised by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as meeting the nationally recognised criteria for preparation training for PhD research.
Conducting both basic and applied research in several areas, Psychology at Kent is highly regarded as a leading European centre for postgraduate research. Our long-established international reputation in social psychology is complemented by our strengths in clinical, cognitive, developmental and forensic psychology. We attract excellent visiting scholars and postgraduate students from both within the UK and overseas.
Some of our PhD students are self-funded, and others are funded by grants or awards either from the School, UK or their countries of origin. Some are also paid to undertake part-time teaching within the School. We have a strong track record of attracting ESRC research studentship funding, which involves partnerships with external organisations such as Age UK and the Equality and Human Rights Commission and collaborative studentships with partners such as People United.
You must hold, or have applied for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership with the British Psychological Society (BPS). Please note that Graduate Membership of the BPS is not accepted.
You will normally have GBC status if you hold a Psychology honours degree accredited by the BPS. Otherwise, you can apply to have your existing degree assessed by the BPS, or take a conversion course. If you are not sure whether you hold GBC status, please contact the BPS directly.
A first or second class honours degree in a relevant subject or equivalent.
All applications are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
An assessed piece of coursework must also be submitted as part of the application for review by the programme director. This piece of work should include the use of statistical analysis (a practical report or dissertation).
This programme includes a one-year statistics sequence which you must normally pass in order to receive your award. The teaching assumes that you are familiar with the following topics:
Therefore, your existing degree transcript should note that you have taken and passed a minimum of one term each in statistics and social science research methods courses (or two terms of a joint statistics and research methods course). A British Psychological Society-accredited degree will likely meet this requirement. Applicants with other degrees may be asked to provide additional evidence of training in statistics.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree. Certain subjects require a higher level.
For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
The modules below are indicative of those offered on this programme. This list is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
This module is an opportunity for you to explore and discover your own style of working in the field of Clinical Psychology, exploring new ways of thinking about mental health difficulties and considering what type of clinician you would like to be. This module will comprise of interactive lectures and talks including from those with lived experience of mental health difficulties to help enhance your understanding of the key clinical and professional skills that lie at the heart of Clinical Psychology. You will have the opportunity to learn and practice core therapeutic skills (e.g. how to do you ensure do you are demonstrating active listening when in a room with a client?), and start to build your own toolbox of techniques you can use later in your career with clients You will gain a deeper understanding of different mental health disorders, and the relevant guidance and policies for working with each of them. The module will provide an opportunity to think about how to work well within a team and how to reflect upon your own experiences.
This module will take you through the journey of psychological intervention from receiving a referral letter, to assessment, to formulation and the beginning of intervention. The module will include the views of individuals with lived experience and case studies that you get to know and follow through as the module progresses. You will learn how appropriate assessments are conducted using a range of methodologies and considering a variety of factors. You will learn about formulation (a collaborative process of building an understanding of an individual’s difficulties) and how this is used to inform psychological interventions. Lastly you will be introduced to key techniques and strategies used in psychological interventions.
This module provides a postgraduate-level orientation to both basic and advanced contemporary statistical and methodological issues in psychology. The methodological issues considered include qualitative research methodologies; experimental, quasi-experimental, and correlational research designs in the laboratory and field; and the fundamental issues in psychological measurement including reliability and validity. The statistical techniques taught include univariate and multivariate descriptive and inferential statistics; basic and advanced topics in ANOVA and ANCOVA; linear and logistic multiple regression; some scaling methods; classical test theory, factor analysis; fundamentals of structural equation modelling (path analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, multiple-group analysis), and some item response theory.
To provide students with an understanding of academic research and an ability to identify and utilise appropriate strategies and techniques for the purpose of individual investigation, research and practice within a subject specific area of their course route. This module will prepare students to undertake the dissertation module in Stage 2 of their course.
All students undertake a supervised empirical research project in an area of psychology relevant to their chosen MSc programme, and submit it as a typed dissertation of approximately 8,000 words. The aim of the dissertation is to test the student's ability to plan, execute, analyse, and report a piece of independent research in the relevant setting. The dissertation requires detailed theoretical knowledge of the discipline, an appreciation of the ways in which that knowledge has been applied in previous research and practice, and the methodological and statistical skills to set up a scientific investigation. Supervision is provided by the principal teaching staff and by other appropriate staff with research interests in a student's chosen area. Students are advised to read the School's Ethics pages for information on submitting applications for ethical approval to the School and to relevant outside bodies.
This MSc module aims to equip students with knowledge about the key issues concerning children’s mental health and wellbeing. Drawing on theory, research, and practice, students will gain understanding on the different therapeutic interventions used in in contemporary society to support children’s mental health and wellbeing. Students will develop intellectual skills by critically evaluating the psychological theories and research methods underpinning different therapeutic approaches and reflect on the role mental health professionals play in safeguarding children. Examples of topics that may be covered include adverse childhood experiences, the effects of trauma (e.g. domestic/sexual abuse) on children, cost-effective applied therapeutic approaches, telehealth with young people, children in the legal system, wellbeing approaches with underrepresented children (e.g. BAME, LGBT), ethical considerations when working with children and young people, crisis intervention/humanitarian emergencies (e.g. natural disasters, wars, etc.). Lectures may be taught by mental health professionals who have first-hand experience working with children and young people. Students will actively engage in group work. Upon completion of the module, students will have a deep understanding of evidence-based interventions applied to children’s mental health and wellbeing. This module builds on student participation and discussion.
The aim of the module is to provide an understanding of the current conceptual debates within Social Psychology and an appreciation of how practitioners apply psychology in their work. You study the major theoretical models and perspectives, including social cognition, stereotyping, group and interpersonal processes, and intergroup relations.
This module will provide you with a wide-ranging, detailed and critical overview of neuropsychological theories of ageing. It will draw on evidence from healthy and pathological ageing, incorporating cognitive and neuroscientific research. The curriculum will focus on theories of cognitive ageing, presenting evidence sourced using a range of cognitive psychological and neuropsychological methods. It will include detailed neuropsychological profiles of pathological ageing conditions such as Alzheimer's Disease, Frontotemporal Dementia and Parkinson's Disease, allowing you to compare and contrast how specific neural changes attributable to disease processes result in different cognitive deficits. We will also discuss clinical considerations when working with older adults, demonstrating how research informs clinical practice. Finally, the module will introduce the notion of successful ageing" and you will critically evaluate the evidence for lifestyle factors such as diet
This module provides an opportunity to study at an advanced level the literature on intergroup relations. The module builds upon knowledge gathered in the undergraduate degree on social and personality psychology. It will stress how social-psychological and personality theories in combination can explain intergroup processes. Emphasis will be placed on applying theoretical models and empirical findings to the analysis of real-world problems. Topics that will be addressed include social identity and social categorization, social inequality, prejudice, intergroup conflict and innervations to improve intergroup relations. The module relies primarily on research in social and personality psychology, but we will also consider perspectives from other fields, such as political science and sociology. This module relies heavily on student presentation, participation and student discussion.
In this module students will learn a framework for applying social psychology, and will develop an advanced understanding of how to apply social psychology theory and research to understanding, addressing and evaluating social and practical problems. The module invites practitioners to showcase how they use and apply social psychology theories in their field of work to help shape their understanding of human behaviour and develop effective interventions and solutions. It deals with the application of social psychology concepts and methods to significant real-world problems and issues.
The central theme of this module will be to explore how cognition functions in the real world, that is, to investigate the application of cognitive models to the broader context of human behaviour. Possible topics for study include: the role of cognition in development, emotion, memory and action; applications to eyewitness testimony, intentional forgetting and embodied cognition. Practical applications and relevance to a general understanding of behaviour will be emphasised throughout.
This module provides an opportunity to study the literature on group processes at an advanced level and familiarises students with current theorising and research on the psychology of groups and teams in organisations. The module introduces theoretical and empirical background, and uses these to help students develop ideas for further research and practice.
The module builds upon knowledge of social psychology gained at undergraduate level and draws primarily on small group research in social and organisational psychology, but perspectives from other fields such as moral psychology and economics will also be considered. Seminar topics include social identity, group cohesion, status and leadership, creativity, social dilemmas, trust/distrust, as well as moral judgment and behaviour. The module involves a great deal of student presentation, participation and discussion.
This module explores the typical development of key cognitive functions and the psychological methods employed to study these developments. The aim of the module is to explore these topics at an advanced level, allowing students to evaluate critically pieces of research in terms of their findings, conceptual underpinnings, and/or methodological approaches. Lecture topics may include: Research methods in developmental psychology; Critical periods and plasticity; Introduction to theories of word learning; The critical period for language learning; Social learning and imitation; Thinking about the minds of others; Understanding knowledge; Metacognition
The focus of this module is on developing students' understanding of how developmental psychology can be applied in professional settings. This module will provide students with an insight into how developmental psychology theory and methods are used in Professional settings e.g. education, healthcare, clinical. Students will receive lectures from professionals working in Clinical psychology, Educational psychology and Speech and Language development. These contributors will explain, first-hand, current issues/problems in professional settings where developmental psychology is or could potentially provide insights/solutions the extent. The speakers will consider the role of developmental psychology in their professional settings, outline major theories that inform practice and critically evaluate the role of developmental psychology in their setting. Students will have an opportunity to hear about specific instances where theories and methods from developmental psychology can be applied to a particular problem or issue in a professional setting, referred to as 'Case Studies'.
This module will provide students with theoretical instruction about how the methods and techniques of cognitive psychology have been applied to the practical topic of evaluating eyewitness testimony. The study of cognitive processes involved in face recognition and face matching will feature highly in this module.
This module investigates common forms of neurodevelopmental disorder. The goal of the module is to help students understand the behavioural manifestations of these disorders, as well as their possible psychological/cognitive, neurobiological, and/or etiological (genetic/environmental) causes. Moreover, the module will explore some characteristic approaches that clinicians take when attempting to support people with these disorders and remediate the difficulties that these people experience. Finally, students will learn to evaluate critically pieces of research on developmental psychopathology in terms of study findings, conceptual underpinnings, and/or methodological approaches
This module examines key concepts and emerging themes in Psychology applied to work and organisations; for example, work motivation, leadership, and management, nudging, and well-being — with a particular focus on areas of research within the School of Psychology. Applications of psychological and behavioural science to work and organisations will be enriched by case studies and situated in the wider business context in which psychologists practice and provide consultancy, including relevant ethical and legal frameworks.
The course provides a coherent base for understanding the methodological and theoretical issues that are currently considered important in the study of cognitive psychology and neuropsychology. Students will be shown how to critically appraise the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of the various disciplines that comprise cognitive psychology and neuropsychology, and to evaluate how these disciplines may successfully be combined to further scientific understanding of the core problems in cognitive psychology and neuropsychology today. A selection of material from areas such as vision, learning, memory, language, reasoning, and emotion will be referred to in order to examine the relationship between brain and mind, the modularity of brain and mind, and the notion of different levels/frameworks of description and explanation.
The module will survey cutting edge research emphasising the role of sensory and motor systems in human cognition. We will discuss the relationship between brain, mind and body, from physiological, experimental, philosophical, linguistic, and neuroscientific perspectives. The module will cover areas such as sensorimotor interactions, interoception, somatosensory and motor plasticity, body representation, body ownership, the sense of agency, as well as embodied cognition. Implications for cognition, social behaviour and clinical conditions will be emphasised.
The programme includes lecture, workshop and seminar-based teaching, as well as an individually supervised empirical research project.
Advanced Statistics and Methodology is assessed by examination. All other taught modules are assessed by written work and presentations. Research is assessed by two articles: one empirical paper and one review article on your chosen topic.
This programme aims to:
You will gain knowledge and understanding of:
You develop intellectual skills in:
You gain subject-specific skills in:
You will gain the following transferable skills:
The School has excellent facilities for both laboratory and field research, including advanced laboratory and teaching facilities. Resources include:
Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology; Child Development; Clinical Psychology Review. Details of recently published books can be found within the staff research interests.
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
The School of Psychology is highly regarded as a leading European centre for postgraduate research, with an international reputation for excellence in social psychology (including group processes and intergroup relations); cognition and neuroscience; developmental psychology; and forensic psychology. We have staff who can supervise research degrees in all of these areas. The research environment is designed to sustain a strong, vibrant research culture, encourage collaboration, and unite staff and students with shared research interests. Our themes ensure critical mass and create a highly energetic and stimulating intellectual climate.
Research activity is supported by:
Forensic Psychology research at Kent and all forensic-related teaching operates through our newly constituted Centre of Research and Education in Forensic Psychology (CORE-FP). Current research is focused on bullying in prisons, prison gang behaviour, jury decision-making, child sexual offending, rape, rape proclivity, female sexual offending, theories of offender rehabilitation, firesetting, sexual harassment, violence, aggression and alcohol, and the infrahumanisation of offenders. Other areas of research include social cognition, social and moral emotion, and group process theory, all of which are applied to the study of offending behaviour or court process issues.
Forensic psychology research at Kent is funded by various national and international sources, which include: The British Academy, Economic and Social Research Council, Home Office, Leverhulme, Ministry of Justice and the Nuffield Foundation.
Research may be carried out with staff or offenders/ex-offenders in a variety of settings, including prisons, youth offender institutions, secure mental health units and probation offices. Alternatively, research may take place with students or members of the community in our newly equipped laboratories.
Much of our social psychology research is co-ordinated through the Centre for the Study of Group Processes (CSGP), the largest research group in this area in Europe. CSGP attracts a stream of major international social psychology researchers, who are officially affiliated to the Centre and visit regularly to work with our staff. The Social Psychology group also includes the co-editor of Group Processes and Intergroup Relations (Abrams).
Social psychology research at Kent is funded by a variety of British and international sources, currently and recently including ESRC, British Academy, Leverhulme, Age Concern, European Commission, European Science Foundation, Home Office, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Nuffield, and Joseph Rowntree Foundation, as well as government departments such as the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions.
The Social Psychology group includes the following themes:
This research is carried out in our social psychology laboratories, at schools and in business organisations. For example, research within this topic focuses on questions such as: how contact between members of different social groups is represented psychologically, how intergroup contact affects prejudice, when outgroups are seen as less human, when and why children show prejudice, and why organisational mergers sometimes fail.
Research on this topic combines theory-driven research and engagement with policy. It is conducted in real-life settings such as the workplace, and involves national and international surveys. For example, the research focuses on the well-being of elderly people in Britain, work participation and motherhood, and discrimination against different groups in society.
Laboratory studies and community-based research are conducted on this topic. For example, research focuses on co-operation in small groups, group decision-making, perception and influence of leaders, social communication and language, subjective group dynamics in adults and children, the dynamics of prison gang activity, and the impact of alcohol on group processes.
Much of this research is carried out in laboratories, through surveys and in clinical or other applied settings. For example, research has examined aggression, the adaptive functions of perfectionism, and consequences of mortality salience.
Research under this theme has an international reputation in the topic areas of Visual Cognition, Attention and Memory, and Language and Communication.
Research on this topic focuses primarily on the role of vision and visual perception in human performance. The fundamental aim of this work is to identify the cognitive processes and neurological mechanisms underlying various visual tasks. Studies involving neurologically healthy volunteers examine issues such as face recognition and identification, eyewitness testimony, person detection, emotion processing, episodic memory and pattern and motion recognition.
Research in this group examines various aspects of semantic, pragmatic and syntactic understanding. Research questions on healthy populations include the role of executive functions in successful language use and communication, how language influences attentional processes and perspective taking, anomaly detection, and the effect of interruptions on reading. Work on developmental populations examines issues such as how children learn to understand and produce sentences in their own language, and how they learn conversational conventions and self-repair. Research also examines developmental disorders of communication, including autism spectrum disorders and dyslexia. This research group has links with researchers in the School of European Culture and Languages, as part of the Centre for Language and Linguistic Studies.
Much of the research conducted by members of the Developmental Psychology group is conducted with neurotypical infants, children, and adolescents. However, we also take a lifespan approach to the study of development and conduct research with older adults. Moreover, a key focus of our research is on neuro-developmental disorders. Central research topics include:
Developmental group members are particularly interested in the expression and control of ethnic and gender prejudice, social ostracism and inclusion, conversational norms and group identity in children. We also conduct research on social aspects of older adulthood, in particular self-stereotyping and prejudice against elderly people.
Cognitive development is a major focus of many of our developmental psychologists. In particular, members of the Developmental Psychology group actively research topics such as the development of social cognition and theory of mind, language, information and sensory processing, and conversation and pragmatic skills.
Our developmental research also focuses on adolescence, as well as infancy, childhood and older adulthood. In particular, we are interested in the emergence of gang activity and antisocial behaviour during this period of development.
We also conduct cutting-edge research into neuro-developmental disorders, such as autism and language impairment, with a view to understanding the nature and basis of, and best ways to treat, these disorders.
The School of Psychology currently includes two formally constituted research centres, representing areas of concentration and excellence in research.
The Centre for the Study of Group Processes (CSGP) was set up in 1990 to consolidate the School’s excellent international reputation for social psychological research into group processes and intergroup relations. CSGP is now a thriving international research community, including 15 full-time academic staff and a large number of research fellows and PhD students. The Centre also attracts a stream of major international group researchers, who are officially affiliated to it and regularly visit to work with our staff. The Centre also edits an international journal, Group Processes and Intergroup Relations.
The main aim of the Centre of Research and Education in Forensic Psychology is to conduct high-impact psychological research to further understand key forensic issues of social significance, and to lead to cutting-edge teaching and research opportunities for postgraduate students. Forensic psychology is an extremely popular and rapidly developing branch of psychology that seeks to understand the psychological processes underlying offending behaviour (including group processes), the reduction and supervision of offending behaviour (ie rehabilitation, treatment and management of community risk), victim responses to offending, the mechanisms underlying the criminal justice system more generally (ie jury decision-making and the courts), and attitudes to offenders and offender reintegration in society.
Our postgraduate students commonly go into the fields of health, teaching or further education. For instance, many of our graduates take up roles as assistant psychologists in the NHS with a view to becoming a professional clinical or forensic psychologist. Upon completing our Master’s courses, graduates have also pursued doctoral study and academic careers at higher education institutions.
The programmes we offer help you to develop general critical, analytic and problem-solving skills that can be applied in a wide range of settings.
All of our taught Master’s (MSc) programmes have been recognised by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as meeting the nationally recognised criteria for preparation training for PhD research.
Please note that only students who gain a mark of 40% or above in every module, with an overall mark of at least 50%, are eligible for accreditation by the British Psychological Society.
The 2024/25 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Find out more about general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Next steps
Learn more about the application process or begin your application by clicking on a link below.
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