This pathway is suitable for you if you have a relevant academic background and your primary motive is academic, focused on investigating a specific research question(s) in an area of psychology.

As a postgraduate research student, you will carry out an original, independent research and/or practice-based project, whilst being guided and supported by a team of expert academic supervisors. As you do this, you will benefit from an extensive programme of researcher development tailored to your background, needs and future ambitions. This will in turn help you develop the skills required to deliver research excellence. Your progress will be monitored throughout the year and via an annual review. The final assessment is by examination of your submitted thesis and a viva voce (oral examination). With the help of your supervisors, you will be encouraged to publish your research during and after your studies.

Researchers in Communication and Cognition (C&C) area explore topics such language and communication (including AI research with large language models), vision science and memory.

Specific topics include how diverse user groups (e.g., older persons, people with disabilities) allocate attention when interacting with complex visual arrays, how we experience dance at the neural level and the impact of dance on wellbeing and social cognitive processing.