Hi,

I am sorry for the late response.

UoB also offers a Masters (in research) in Clinical Psychology. Different UK universities offer different Psychology Masters, and in the case of UoB, they offer more niche courses.

I think an important factor to consider here is what you future plans are, or what area of psychology do you hope to pursue. In my opinion, all the Master courses are well-established and are highly recognised, however they are all focusing on a different and very niche area of psychology. For example, my personal interest lies in neuropsychology, thus I have chosen to do a MSc in Brain Imaging. Whereas, if I was more interested in clinical psychology, I may have considered the MRes in clinical psychology instead.

I hope that this is helpful.

Thanks, Lynette

Hi, I apologise for the late response. Before I can answer your question properly, may I know which scholarship are you looking at?

Thanks, Lynette

Hi,

I apologise for the late response.

Congratulations on your graduation. Are you thinking of pursuing a doctorate in the UK? If you are, an MSc in Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience would not allow you to practice clinical psychology, however it can provide you with an edge to apply for a doctorate in the future as you will develop a wide variety of research skills, through placement and the different modules, that would be useful/relevant.

I hope that is helpful.

Thanks, Lynette

Hi, thank you very much for your question and apologies in the delay getting back to you. My name is Emma from the Postgraduate Recruitment team, and I am replying on behalf of the mentor as they have not yet answered it.

I actually completed the MSc Psychology in 2017 and had friends on the BICN course. Students on both courses got a list of available thesis projects, which we ranked in order of preference and got allocated one of our choices, from what I remember! The process may be different now but it might be worth checking with the Psychology team to see. At the bottom of the course page (https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/taught/psych/brain-imaging-cognitive-neuro.aspx) there is a 'Make an enquiry' button. Submitting a question there will send it to someone on the team, who will hopefully be able to help.

Best wishes, PG Recruitment

Hello, thank you very much for your question and apologies in the delay getting back to you. My name is Emma from the Postgraduate Recruitment team, and I am replying on behalf of the mentor as they have not yet answered it.

The Teaching tab of the course page gives some detail on course structure: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/taught/psych/mental-health.aspx#TeachingAndAssessmentTab

However, it doesn't say specifically how many days per week you would be on campus and I unfortunately do not know the answer - so I would advise that you email the team to ask for further information. You can find the address at the bottom of the page!

Best of luck, PG Recruitment

Hi, thank you for getting in contact, and I hope you are well too.

Some of the core modules that I have undertaken during my Masters (back in 2016) includes fundamentals in brain imaging methods, Matlab programming, advanced brain imaging methods, application of brain imaging in cognitive neuroscience and current research in psychology. On top of these, I have also completed a research placement and my research project. However, I have checked on the UoB website, and these are the current modules that one would take for the brain imaging and cognitive neuroscience Masters in 2020:

Applications of Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience Current Research and Practice in Psychology Fundamentals in Brain Imaging Introduction to Neuroscientific Methods Proposing Research in Psychology Foundations of Data Science

Optional taught modules currently include: Advanced Brain Imaging Methods Application of Electrophysiological Approaches in Cognitive Neuroscience

Unfortunately, I do not know much about the human-computer interaction master degree so cannot give you an informed answer. The brain imaging and cognitive neuroscience Master degree is more focused on brain imaging, on theories, their usage and also analyses of them. The human-computer interaction Master degree, as seen from the UoB site, seem to be focusing on analysing problems and existing solutions, developing new ideas and building or evaluating prototype systems. I do think they will have some form of relation, but they seem to be rather different in focus, so I think ultimately, it will depend on what you want out of your Masters, and also your future plans.

I hope my answer has been helpful. Thanks, Lynette

Hi, thank you very much for your question. Apologies for the delay in getting back to you, our mentor is not available at the moment.

I did the MSc Psychology at Birmingham and shared a number of modules with students from the Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience course. The timetable aimed to have all of the teaching on 1 or 2 days, to then allow students to focus on the research side of the course. It is therefore possible to do some of it at home, but depending on the research project you choose, you might have to be on campus for testing etc!

I hope this helps, Emma

Hi,

Unfortunately you would require a medicine or biosciences background to be eligible.

Best wishes, Tom

One of the best things about the course was definitely the module I have taken like Matlab, Advanced Brain Imaging and Fundamentals of Brain Imaging. I have always been interested in the neuroscience aspect of Psychology and being able to expand my knowledge base was very satisfying for me. I have also enjoyed the small size of the course of only about 30 students, it was definitely less intimidating and more comfortable for me to speak out or voice my opinions. I really liked how the classes were carried out, where it was structured to be led by students. For example: during our fundamentals classes, as a group of 4, we presented a self-chosen article and answered questions from the class and tutor. Of course, the tutors play a part in ensuring the course quality. I have had very understanding, supportive and knowledgeable tutors who have infused my enthusiasm in this field! Lastly, the placement was definitely one of the best things about the course, and an eye opener!

It is a very interesting and stimulating field! I would highly encourage anyone who is considering pursuing a postgraduate in this field. It does not only allow you to develop knowledge or skills specific to neuroscience, but also skills that you can use in other fields. For example: my placement allowed me to work with neurodevelopmental disorders in children, and I have used surveys that are more related to developmental psychology. I will say to be prepared for hard work, but it is very rewarding at the end!

I have always wanted to pursue an academic career. Through my time at Birmingham, I have been building on my research skills, through my placement and my thesis. I am happy to say that I have been accepted into a PhD in a similar field. I will be looking at biomarkers in Pediatric traumatic brain injury starting next January.

Indeed, the jump from an undergraduate to postgraduate study was huge. There was way less contact hours in terms of lectures and seminars than in undergraduate. Unlike undergraduate, students are expected to have more initiative and also be more independent. For example: a lot of times, students will not have sufficient time to complete the given practice during the workshop and are expected to complete them independently at their own time at home. However, having said that, though the jump was huge, but it was doable as I had a lot of support and guidance from both module tutors and my primary supervisor.

My greatest motivation was my ambition to pursue an academic career in the future. I knew that I was not ready to pursue a PhD straight after my undergraduate. Additionally, I was not clear on my area of passion and did not want to jump straight in to a PhD that I could potentially regret or be lacking the skills for. Therefore, I took up my MSc to affirm my field of interests and to gain better skills like critical thinking, working with MRI data and even technical skills like using the transcranial direct current stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation.

The application process was fairly easy and fuss free. Unlike undergraduate, you do not apply through UCAS, you will apply directly via the University application system where you will create an account. You will need to submit a personal statement and 2 references along with the application. If you have not yet finished your degree, then you will usually only be offered a conditional offer (with expected grades) first, before being given an unconditional offer after attainment of the expected grades.

I moved to Birmingham close to 2 years ago now.

Hey there! For starters, formal seminars/lectures will be 2-3 days a week. However, depending on your research, you might need to be on campus more. Personally, as my study was on fMRI, I was in university 4-5 days a week. You can definitely live outside of Birmingham during the course, I have had course mates who lived outside. However, if you live too far away outside, I wouldn't recommend it, as the time wasted on travelling can be spent on your work. A girl I knew who commuted would stay the whole day in university to make her traveling worthwhile, so it really depends on you. The placement during this course is a research placement so you are usually in the university, however as my placement was with the cerebral centre I had the opportunities for house visits but they are around Birmingham itself. Lastly, it is common for employment during the Masters, I was a tutor outside of University, and a couple of my friends were working on campus as teaching assistants or admin staffs so working alongside is definitely possible, you just need to manage your time properly! Also for the placements, it is not a long one, it is only for 3 months so don't worry too much about it. Don't worry about all the questions, I was once in your shoes so I understand how overwhelming the process can be :)

Hi,

there are other options other than a PhD as the skills you gain are going to be very valuable like the statistical skills and analytical skills. You can go into research roles in both corporate and government places (like universities/hospitals) or even pursue a clinical doctorate position.