Cognitive Neuroscience

The MSc Cognitive Neuroscience is delivered via lectures, seminars, practical sessions, workshops and lab placements. There is an emphasis on practical experience and experiential learning.

Lectures provide in-depth knowledge on general topics such as cognition, emotion and neuropsychology, and techniques used in cognitive neuroscience.

Seminars and workshops allow student-led discussions with the aim of developing your critical thinking, oral and written communication skills.

Practical sessions provide you with hands-on knowledge of research techniques, programming (e.g. Matlab , R), statistics, research design, project management and data presentation.

Lab placements allow you to experience and apply research techniques.

The dissertation is an opportunity for you to conduct a significant piece of independent research with excellent support from the Department.

Outside timetabled contact hours, you are also expected to undertake your own independent study.

It is expected that students spend on average 35 hours per week on the course, with about equal parts timetabled contact hours and independent study.

Assessment

Assessments include examinations, written assignments, practical exercises, oral presentations, and the dissertation.

We typically require a 2:1 Bachelor (Honours) degree that covers the following content:

• Statistics (Candidates with limited statistics background may be interested in our MA in Research Methods (Developmental Psychology) programme.)
• Research methods
• A good range of psychology content, e.g., Experimental psychology, Developmental psychology, Biological psychology, Cognitive psychology

The majority of relevant modules should be at 2:1 grade or better.

If you are an international student who does not meet the requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take a pre-Masters pathway course at the Durham University International Study Centre.

Alternative qualifications

• Other UK qualifications

• EU qualifications 

• International qualifications

International students who do not meet direct entry requirements for this degree might have the option to complete an International Foundation Year.

Home students who do not meet our direct entry requirements, may be eligible for our Foundation Programme which offers multidisciplinary programmes to prepare you for a range of specified degree programmes.  

English language requirements

Country specific information

Full Time Fees

Please also check costs for colleges and accommodation.

Our Masters qualifications provide the essential skills and understanding to progress to research at a higher academic level or to launch a professional career.

Our students enter the workplace with knowledge relevant to careers in psychology but also with the transferable skills in analysis and problem-solving that are valued by employers.

Such skills are highly sought after in a range of professions and our postgraduates have progressed to roles that include consultants, advisors, human resources professionals, talent managers, business analysts, market researchers, public relations professionals, marketeers, administrators, managers, civil servants, coaches, trainers and teachers.

In addition, the broad nature of the Department means that some of our postgraduates also qualify for careers in clinical and healthcare settings.

Our Department provides world class teaching and research into understanding the mind and human behaviours. We investigate the processes that bring about the thoughts, feelings and motivations that lie behind our actions.

The Department of Psychology provides a world-class teaching and research environment for postgraduates who are interested in understanding more about the thoughts, feelings and motivations that lie behind actions and human behaviours and the processes that trigger them.

Our academic team are leading experts in their specialisms and provide outstanding supervision for postgraduate learning and research in key areas of psychology including Developmental Science, Cognitive Neuroscience and Quantitative Social Psychology.

Our range of taught Masters qualifications offer the opportunity to focus on a specific aspect of psychology be it biological, cognitive, social, developmental or neuroscience-related and to learn key approaches to the discipline including statistical training. For those who are interested in pursuing their own research interests we offer the MA/MSc by Research which offers a direct route to the PhD.

All postgraduate taught courses include a postgraduate dissertation in a chosen subject, supported by a member of staff with expertise in that area. Students also have access to state-of-the art technical, clinical and experimental facilities to support learning and research.

In the Department, we are proud to have passionate and committed teachers, who love their subjects and want to share that passion. We encourage collaborative working on new ideas so that together we can make new discoveries about human behaviour.

For more information see our department pages.

Facilities

Facilities in the Department are outstanding. They provide state-of-the-art support for postgraduate work in understanding mind and behaviour through high precision experimental methods and ecologically valid controlled environments.

Postgraduate students have access to dedicated laboratory space equipped with opportunities for training in eye-movement recording, motion capture and psychophysics.

Other specialist facilities include transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electroencephalography (EEG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and a number of laboratories.

The Department of Psychology is located close to many academic departments and University services, and is within walking distance of Durham’s historic centre, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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