MSc Applied Child Psychology

Since childhood plays such a huge role in shaping the rest of our lives, studying the mind and behaviour of children in order to support their physical, mental, intellectual and emotional growth can be both fascinating and rewarding.

Our MSc Applied Child Psychology will be of interest to anyone, UK-based or international, who currently works with or is interested in careers supporting children, from infancy to adolescence, in a professional or personal capacity in education, healthcare, childcare, forensic settings, such as courts, and leisure or voluntary settings, such as sports clubs and youth groups.

It will prepare you to design and conduct psychological research to assess children’s physical, cognitive and emotional development. This encompasses everything from memory capacity to how they learn language, use reasoning or imagination, feel and express their emotions, and interact with their peers and with adults.

Teaching is very much linked to practice, with multiple opportunities to work on research with other students and staff, capitalising on our expertise in areas as diverse as sensory and brain development disorders, such as ADHD and deafness; bullying and peer relationships in schools; sibling aggression; and roles of parents and teachers.

You will have the opportunity to carry out a work-based or research-based placement during your studies. Doing a work-based placement will give you valuable experience, observing and reflecting on the ways in which different practitioners approach children’s issues, for example, within a school, charity or youth group. In legal settings, for instance, child psychologists are often consulted to make children feel more comfortable socially, physically and morally when testifying in court.

The Action Research project too offers a chance to tackle any issues of particular interest to you, opening up dialogue with relevant stakeholders and preparing your analysis and recommendations. For example, you may consider interventions for bullying within a school or how to improve information sharing with parents, teachers and other interested parties on matters ranging from mood disorders to gender identity. In doing so, you will develop essential transferable skills, learning to tailor communication and research to suit different audiences.

This course is recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council's Doctoral Training Pathway and is eligible for applications for funding for a combined MSc and PhD application.