MRes Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropsychology / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

Our MRes Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropsychology course will prepare you for a successful research career in experimental psychology, cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology.

You will undertake a year-long research project, supported by taught units for comprehensive research skills training.

The major advantage of this course is that you will put the acquired research skills into practice by working with experts in the field for the entire year.

Our supervisors have a wide range of expertise and we will ensure your research project is always tailored towards your research interest. View a list of project examples (PDF, 390KB) and our research.   

Through the taught units, you will receive a strong grounding in the theoretical understanding and practical experience of key research paradigms, research designs and statistical techniques used in experimental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and neuropsychology.

You will also develop transferable skills training for careers outside academia, including data science skills, science communication, and patient, public and business engagement.

We have a long tradition of producing internationally renowned research and high-quality research training.

Our MRes course is endorsed by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and constitutes the first year of ESRC 1+3 postgraduate PhD studentships awarded through the ESRC Northwest Doctoral Training College for full-time, part-time and CASE students.

PhD with integrated master's

If you're planning to undertake a PhD after your master's, our Integrated PhD programme will enable you to combine your postgraduate taught course with a related PhD project in biology, medicine or health.

You can also visit this page for examples of projects related to integrated master's courses.

Teaching and learning

Our teaching is delivered using a combination of in-person and online lecture-seminars, workshops and problem-based learning exercises in small groups, allowing for individual support and feedback.

You will receive substantial research training through learning by designing, running and analysing studies in close coordination with supervisors.

You are encouraged to participate in research seminars, meetings and workshops within our active and vibrant research community.

If needed, you also have the opportunity to supplement your training with research and career management skills courses provided by the University's Careers Service, a teaching assistant/demonstrators course, and language courses provided by the University's Language Centre.

Key academic staff    

  • Dr Garreth Prendergast – Programme co-director
  • Dr Anna Woollams – Programme co-director

Coursework and assessment

Assessment is by examination, continuous assessment in the form of essays, practical reports and exercises, presentations, skills portfolio and a final dissertation for your research project.

Course unit details

Full-time MRes students take six taught course units. Typical taught course units include:

  • Contemporary Research Skills
  • Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods 
  • Advanced Data Skills, Open Science and Reproducibility
  • Mixed Models, Hackathon and Bayesian Statistics Workshop
  • Research in Neuropsychology and Clinical Neuroscience
  • Cognitive and Social Neuroscience

You will work collaboratively with your supervisor(s) to produce a high-quality dissertation using qualitative, quantitative or mixed research methods. Dissertation work is supported by taught sessions including topics such as literature review, experimental design, critical thinking and data analysis skills.

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Advanced Data Skills, Open Science and Reproducibility PCHN63101 15 Mandatory
Mixed Models, Hackathon and Bayesian Statistics Workshop PCHN63112 15 Mandatory
Contemporary Research Skills PCHN63151 15 Mandatory
Dissertation PCHN63160 90 Mandatory
Research in Neuropsychology and Clinical Neuroscience PCHN63172 15 Mandatory
Cognitive and Social Neuroscience PCHN63182 15 Mandatory
Qualitative Research Methods POPH63121 15 Mandatory

Facilities

You will be able to access a range of facilities throughout the University.

Specialist research labs using techniques such as MRI, fMRI and TMS are not typically accessible for research dissertations conducted on this course.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk