Program Details

Very much like their North American counterparts, the department of Psychology at University of Cambridge has a singular focus on research and building careers in academia. It does not offer terminal Masters’ program barring an MPhil in Psychology, which often leads to further research and a subsequent PhD in Psychology. There are no taught courses available. 

A PhD in Psychology is a three year research degree which culminates in a 60,000 word dissertation. Usually the applicants apply in a single round in the month of October and go through a stringent set of criterion before getting selected. PhD applicants can expect a number of grants and aids and usually their tuition and single-person living is taken care of. 

An MPhil is Psychology is one year of full-time research with an individual supervisor followed by examination of a research thesis in an oral examination. Please note that this is a separate track from the PhD track as above and should the student is desirous of pursuing a PhD, a separate application is due. Application entry requirements and funding options are similar to PhD. 

Masters in Education is offered at the faculty of education and has a strong developmental focus. This offers a route to BPS accreditation and is extremely sought after. The requirements are also more stringent and require a written task in addition to normal requirements. Deadlines extend till later in May and part time deadlines are on May 31. Course accepts around 20 full time students! 

Students who graduate from these academically rigorous programs tend to assume faculty positions across leading universities across the world and pursue careers and interests in research.

Program Details

While Oxford is similar to North America and its counterpart in UK, Cambridge University, in its unstinted focus on research, it has instituted one Taught Masters’ degree in addition to its doctorate and MRes programs in Experimental Psychology. 

Offered Disciplines: 

MSc in Psychological Research – This one year taught Masters Course provides a broad-based research training program in psychology, covering theory and methods in core domains of the subject which are reflected in the particular research strengths within the Department. Following research themes are offered within the program –

• Behavioral Neuroscience 
  
  
• Cognitive Neuroscience 
  
  
• Developmental Science 
  
  
• Social Psychology and Psychological Disorders 

MSc by Research in Experimental Psychology- This is a 2 year research degree. Successful applicants will be registered with the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford. MSc by Research in Experimental Psychology students submit a thesis of up to 50,000 words and also attend an oral examination. 

Master of Education (Psychology and Education), Masters of Education ((Child and Adolescent Psychotherapeutic Counselling), MPhil in Education (Psychology and Education) are courses which have a developmental psychology focus and are available, like many other universities, at the cross section of developmental Psychology and Education. These usually award a counseling license (non-clinical). Course is extremely selective and accepts only 12-13 students/ every year. 

Application Requirements: Bachelor’s degree with a 2:1, at least two academic letters of references and a personal statement are needed for application to this Masters’ program. Grounding is Psychology, though not mandatory, is an unstated pre-requisite for an entry in these extremely competitive courses. This is followed by a shortlisting and an interview before an offer is rolled out. 

Tuition and Fees: About 14,000 Pounds for Masters in Education. Others are priced at about 28,000 Pounds/ year. 

License available: Yes. BPS accreditation is available for Master’s degrees in Education. 

Career tracks: Most students pursue PhD. Master’s in Education degree holders do take up counseling and advisory roles across a range of governmental and non-governmental organizations. 

Application Deadlines: Early October

Program Details

UCL division of Psychology and Language Sciences offer some of the most applied courses in the discipline. The sheer extent of the UCL expertise can be gauzed from the fact over 50 different Master’s programs focused on different strands of Psychology and related disciplines. 

UCL continues to do some pioneering work and is leading the charge with some very new disciplines responding to the jobs and requirements of the modern 21^st century society. Courses like MS in Human-Computer Interaction are in huge demand and offer cutting edge expertise to solve some of the current topics of human’s technological existence.

Offered Disciplines:

As noted earlier, UCL offers more than 50 different Masters’ for interested Psychology graduates. While some are conversion degrees, most tend to be specialized and are focused on some prior experience of Psychology or related disciplines. Most courses are for one year (if taken in the full-time format) and often have a strong practical, professional component associated with them. Some extend to 2 years as well, especially the ones done in partnership with Yale. A non-exhaustive list is given as under 

Programs in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Programs in Cognition and Research Skills, Programs in Developmental Psychology, Programs in Language Sciences and Linguistics, Programs in Speech and Language Therapy, Programs in Neuroscience, Programs in Organizational Psychology, Programs in Human-Computer Interaction 

Application Requirements: Bachelor’s degree with a 2:1, at least two academic letters of references and a personal statement are needed for application to this Masters’ program. Some specialized programs require you to have a good grounding in Psychology as well 

Tuition and Fees: 24,400 – 25,800 Pounds. Fees could be higher for 2 year programs. 

License available: Yes. BPS accreditation available in select cases. 

Career tracks: While many pursue PhD, a significant portion take up some kind of clinical practice or non-clinical counseling jobs in social service, government and developmental spaces. Some con-conventional roles like User Experience (UX) Researchers, Interaction Designers, Usability Specialists and Information Architects are also becoming popular. 

Application Deadlines: Open on October 16 and close by July 27. Though seats tend to get filled up earlier.

Program Details

Psychology is an inter-disciplinary study at the University of Sydneywith focus areas stemming from the school of medicine, psychology, education and some grounding in statistics and empirical research. Ranked at no. 1 in Australia and in top-5 globally in terms of career prospects, University of Sydney offer some very interesting programs for domestic and international students which churn out career-ready graduates. 

Offered Disciplines: 

Master of Clinical Psychology (MCP):The Master of Clinical Psychology (MCP) is a postgraduate degree in the professional specialisation of clinical psychology, which adopt a scientific and evidence-based approach to learning and practice. The program provides students with the practical and academic expertise to work as a professional clinical psychologist in a variety of settings of hospital, clinical and community settings. 

Masters in Coaching Psychology:The Master of Science in Coaching Psychology is an articulated postgraduate program that teaches the applied science of human performance enhancement and coaching. This program provides students with a sound grounding in the theoretical and methodological aspects of coaching and coaching psychology as an applied positive psychology, and teaches fundamental applied coaching skills. This program also has one specialist stream – Executive and Workplace Coaching which may be more relevant for some students. 

Master of Teaching (School Counseling): This course is designed to prepare students to become school counsellors / school psychologists, whilst also qualifying as a teacher in one area of the secondary-school curriculum. To this end, all candidates undertake coursework and professional experiences in school counselling and one of the curriculum areas. 

MPhil in Psychology (Research only):The School of Psychology is one of the largest schools in the Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney, with over 40 full-time continuing academic staff. Importantly, The School of Psychology has committed itself to a strong research-oriented path by recruiting research-active staff, investing strategically in research infrastructure, and supporting research-only appointments. 

Application Requirements: 

Application requirements become more rigorous in MCP and MPhil courses. For instance there are about 130 total students registered in MPhil and PhD tracks which means that annual enrollment is in low double digits implying a tough selection process. 

Apart from an undergraduate degree (not necessarily in Psychology) but with elements of research, human-behavior, science, etc. covered, CV, letter of motivation, some work experience, two letters of reference and English proficiency proof are needed to be able to apply. 

Research proposal (if applicable), Supplementary forms, additional essays and analysis need to be submitted as well depending upon the case. 

Tuition and Fees: Range from about 40,000 $ - 45,000 $/ year. For one year courses like Masters in Coaching that would be the total fees. For the others, which are two year courses, the total fees would be twice. However, research based courses do have attractive research-based grants available. 

License available: Yes 

Career Tracks: The Master of Clinical Psychology (MCP) is the path to professional specialization in clinical psychology. Most graduates work as a professional clinical psychologist in many clinical and community settings. 

MPhil is designated as research track and while most students go on to get a PhD, some work as researchers and human-behavior specialists in government, social and private enterprises. 

Coaching Masters is focused on building coaching readiness in business and organizational context and people tend to take up these roles. 

Teaching Masters is aimed at building counseling capability for school going children and as such job opportunities are available in that space. 

Application Deadlines: Since University of Sydney has two tracks of admission – one starting in March and other later in July, you have typically two deadlines. (However some restrictions apply for Semester 2 entry.) Usually rolling admissions are available but international students should provide for at least 2-3 months for visa and administrative processing. Typically students apply in at least 6 months before the start of the program. Usually 18 Oct is the deadline for Semester 1 (March entry).

Program Details

What makes the Psychology School at University of New South Walesdistinctive is the quality of academic staff. The school earn more competitive research funding and publish more Tier 1 journal articles per academic than any other School in Australia. Historically, the School has played a leadership role in research, teaching and professional issues. The School has an academically rigorous but supportive culture, excellent research facilities, and offers great opportunities for students, visitors and collaborators. 

Offered Disciplines: 

Master of Psychology (Clinical):This program provides graduate training for psychologists who intend to work as clinicians in hospitals, community health and other settings where they might be engaged in health promotion and the diagnosis, assessment and treatment of people with a range of psychological problems or disabilities 

Master of Psychology (Forensic):This program provides graduate training for psychologists who intend to pursue employment within a setting associated with the legal system - police, courts, prisons, probation and parole, guardianship, child protection, statutory review tribunals (e.g. mental health), worker compensation, licensing of special programs and community services, public policy and legislative review. 

MSc (Research in Clinical and Forensic areas):The MSc is a lower level research qualification. Students must undertake an original investigation but it is more limited in its scope and in the degree of originality expected than the PhD. External examiners evaluate the thesis and to indicate whether it merits the awarding of the degree. The recommended length of enrolment for a full-time Masters research student is two years (4 semesters). 

Master of Education (Education Psychology):This degree in Educational Psychology is a specialist professional development program. It focuses on cognitive processes and their implications for teaching techniques and instructional design: 

Application Requirements: Application requirements become more rigorous in MSc and Master of Pscyhology (Clinical) courses. Forensic is not an area that attracts too many international applicants. Education Psychology is offered in the school of Education and prepares graduates for careers in school and college setting. 

Apart from an undergraduate degree (not necessarily in Psychology) but with elements of research, human-behavior, science, etc. covered, CV, letter of motivation, some work experience, two letters of reference and English proficiency proof are needed to be able to apply. 

Research proposal (if applicable), Supplementary forms, additional essays and analysis need to be submitted as well depending upon the case. 

Tuition and Fees: Ranges from about 40,000 $ - 45,000 $/ year. For one year courses like Masters in Education, that would be the total fees. For the others, which are two year courses, the total fees would be twice. However, research based courses do have attractive research-based grants available. 

License available: Yes 

Career Tracks: Clinical Psychology program prepares you for a variety of careers in the counseling, advisory and research space. The graduates find employment as freelance practitioners, and other nodal private and public bodies across a variety of roles. 

Most MSc students go on to pursue PhD or focus on academic and research careers. 

Educational Psychology graduates work across early childhood teaching, primary and secondary teaching, vocational and workplace teaching, and tertiary teaching areas. 

Application Deadlines: Nov 30, May 31 for Educational Psychology. For the other courses, Oct 31 is the deadline.

Program Details

While Stanford does not have a terminal Master’s program in Psychology, their PhD program is extremely selective and of high caliber. It says on the Stanford website: 

“The PhD is conferred upon candidates who have demonstrated substantial scholarship and the ability to conduct independent research and analysis in Psychology.”

Focus on research methods and specific subject matter experiences related to the practice of Psychology are the two main pillars of the PhD programs. Students are paired with guides who have deep interest and expertise in a specific area within the broad discipline of Psychology. And together, it is expected, they will create and focus on novel findings to further the discipline of Psychology. 

Admission is a holistic assessment of multiple factors. Consideration is typically based on a variety of factors, including courses taken, grade point average, letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, and Graduate Record Exam scores. There is a special emphasis on prior research and ‘scientific – observation’ experience since these are critical methods of learning and furthering the doctoral research. 

After the award of the PhD, licensing requirements are automatically taken care of as a part of the program. You are eligible to practice locally. 

Here, you can find additional details about the PhD program in Psychology at Stanford.

Program Details

University of Michigan has one of the oldest and most popular program in Psychology which awards a PhD in 5-7 years. It is an extremely selective program which is focused on research and scholarship and aimed at preparing graduates primarily for careers in academics and research. 

UMich has tried to evolve an objective selection criterion which is given for reference as under

There are extensive school specific and federal funding options which are available to students and they are able to take care of their tuition and reasonable living expenses. 

After the award of the PhD, licensing requirements are automatically taken care of as a part of the program. You are eligible to practice locally. 

Here, you can find additional details about the PhD program in Psychology at University of Michigan.

Program Details

Offered Disciplines:

There are two paths which are available – 

MA in Psychology in Education:Titled “Psychology in Education” for historical reasons, but is today well-known as a premier MA program for students interested in the field of Clinical Psychology and the mental health professions. 

MEd in Counseling Psychology:The Master of Education (Ed.M.) Program in Psychological Education prepares students to practice mental health counseling or school counseling, and provides students with the necessary coursework and training to obtain mental health licensure or school counseling certification in New York State. 

Application Requirements: Bachelor’s degree, Clinical and Research experience, at least two letters of refences and a personal statement are needed for application to this Masters’ program. 

Tuition and Fees: The Teachers School charges tuition on a per-point basis. For MA in Psychology in Education, you would need 36 credits and provide for about 60,000 $. Likewise, for a more rigorous, M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology, you would need approximately 100,000 $. You can expect to spend close to 2500 $ per month on lodging and boarding.

License available: Yes. MEd graduates are eligible for license in NY City.

Career tracks: Most people pursue careers as researchers or counselling professionals. Some pursue a PhD track as well.

Application Deadlines: The early deadline is January 15. The final deadline is April 15.

Program Details

The Department of Psychology does not have a terminal Master’s degree program. However, the Division of the Social Sciences offers two Masters Degrees that may be of interest to prospective psychology students. 

Offered Disciplines:

There are two paths which are available – 

Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS)

MAPSS is an intense, intellectually transformative one-year program. Students concentrate in anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology, or in interdisciplinary research. 

Masters in Computational Social Science (MCSS) 

The two-year MA in Computational Social Science will give you the ability to apply cutting edge technologies and statistical techniques to data sets that are orders of magnitude larger than one normally encounters as a social science investigator. 

Application Requirements: Bachelor’s degree, GRE Scores, at least two letters of refences and a personal statement are needed for application to this Masters’ program. Please note that for students applying into MCSS, there is substantive Mathematics requirement. 

Tuition and Fees: MAPSS – 52,000 $ and MCSS – Cost can go up to 100,000 $ but over 90% of students receive grant and scholarships and are able to substantially reduce their costs. 

License available: No

Career tracks: MAPSS: Roughly split equally across for-profit sector (market research, digital publishing, and research-based consulting), non-profit sector (government, publishing, university administration, high school and community college teaching, health care management, etc.) and PhD candidature.

MCSS: The students are extremely in demand across high-value careers like consulting, high-end research, anthropological design, urban planning, etc. A substantial number also pursue PhD. 

Application Deadlines: January 4 and April 30.

Program Details

Offered Disciplines:

There are two paths which are available – 

Master of Science in Applied Psychology (MSAP): This intensive, one-year Master of Science in Applied Psychology program focuses directly on these two crucial areas by studying both consumer psychology and organizational psychology. Also offered in the online version, the classroom format is more popular. 

Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis (MSABA): The two year Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis program is designed for students who wish to pursue a career in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and use it in the context of Autism and other developmental disorders. 

Application Requirements: Bachelor’s degree, GRE Scores, at least two (three for MSAP) letters of references and a personal statement are needed for application to this Masters’ program. Please note that for students applying into MSABA, experience of dealing with developmental disorders would be useful.

Tuition and Fees: MSAP – 50,000 $ and MSABA – Cost can go up to 100,000 $ 

License available: International certification available for MSABA graduates. 

Career tracks: MSAP: Applied Psychology master’s are suited for a number of interdisciplinary fields like marketing, human-resources, etc. MSABA : Most work at behavior analysts with about 90% focused on autism. Starting salaries of 75,000 $ are fairly common 

Application Deadlines: January 1 and April 1

Program Details

The Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences offers a one-year, eight-course program of study leading to the MA in Psychology that provides the flexibility to pursue a variety of areas in psychology, building on a common foundation of scientific methodologies 

Offered Disciplines: MA in Psychology at Boston University. 

Application Requirements: Bachelor’s degree, GRE Scores, at least three letters of references and a personal statement are needed for application to this Masters’ program. 

Tuition and Fees: 60,000 $ 

License available: No 

Career tracks: While some pursue PhD, most students take up some kind of non-clinical counseling jobs in social service, government and developmental spaces. 

Application Deadlines: May 15 

Program Details

The Master's program in Counseling is a terminal Master’s of Science (M.S.) degree taking about 60 credits and spanning over full two years. 

Offered Disciplines: MS in Counselling Psychology. The course if offered in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education and is run in an extremely applied fashion.

Application Requirements: Bachelor’s degree, GRE Scores, and at leastthree letters of references are needed for application to this Masters’ program. In addition to this, you would need to submit Reasons for Graduate study (1-3 pages) and supplemental applicationmaterial. 

Tuition and Fees: 55,000 $ 

License available: Yes. Graduates from our Program successfully completing all required courses will fulfill academic requirements for licensure as a Professional Counselor (PC) in the State of Wisconsin. 

Career tracks: While some pursue PhD, most students take up some kind counseling jobs in social service, government and developmental spaces. 

Application Deadlines: Jan 5 

UC Irvine also has a Master’s program in Legal and Forensic Psychology but since that program is more than 90% online, and has not comparable professional and academic outcomes, it is not considered in this list. The details are here.

Program Details

Like the US counterparts, University of British Columbia does not offer Terminal- Master’s programs in Psychology. The graduate program is a unitized MA-PhD program. 

In order to be eligible for the PhD program, applicants must have completed a thesis-based MA/MSc degree in Psychology. Applicants with a BA/BSc in Psychology are not eligible for the PhD program and must apply to the MA program first. The MA program is a 24-month program, which is typically followed by an average of four-five years to complete the PhD program. 

There is one intake per year (September) and each year, the Department of Psychology accepts a total of 15-20 graduate students from approximately 300 applicants implying an acceptance rate of about 5% In terms of the costs of the program, Graduate students receive a minimum guaranteed level of support for the first two years of the MA ($17,500 per year for two years) and the first four years of the PhD ($18,000 per year for four years), unless other arrangements are made at the time of admission. Support is comprised of some combination of fellowships, awards, teaching assistantship, and research assistantship. This is usually sufficient to cover for tuition and reasonable level of living expenses. 

After the award of the PhD, licensing requirements are automatically taken care of as a part of the program. You are eligible to practice in Canada and with some quick assessments and degree validation, may practice in your local geography as well. Here, you can find additional details about University of British Columbia Psychology integrated MA-PhD program.

The psychology department at University of Toronto consists of the following three campuses – (St. George, Mississauga, and Scarborough) and several affiliated institutions and hospitals. The department’s goal is to focus on scientific research and as such, similar to other North American universities, does not offer a terminal-Master’s program. 

All programs of study are intended to lead to the doctoral degree in psychology and the university recommends that applicants interested only in a Masters degree should not apply. Successful applicants are admitted to a one-year M.A. program; assuming satisfactory performance, students then continue on to the Ph.D. program. Applicants with an M.A. in Psychology from another university may be admitted directly to the Ph.D. program. 

There are a number of scholarships and grants which are available and in general students do not have to spend extra over and beyond those for their studies and single-living. 

Here you can find additional details about the University of Totonto’s Integrated Psychology Masters- Doctorate.

Program Details

One of the leading research University of Europe, housed in one of the most vibrant global city – Munich, LMU offers 2 flagship Masters Programs in Psychology. Remember that over 15% of LMU’s students are international (high by German standard) and as such great opportunities are available to the graduates of the university. 

Offered Disciplines: 

Psychology MSc in Learning Sciences:This program combines fundamental skills and expertise from the fields of psychology and education – and has a clear focus on learning, research and excellence. The Psychology Master’s Program in the Learning Sciences prepares and qualifies students for positions in research on learning. 

Neuro-Cognitive Psychology Masters: This program has a major focus on attentional and executive control of vision and action. Both research-oriented and interdisciplinary in focus, the program integrates state-of-the-art theoretical and methodological approaches of experimental psychology and the cognitive neurosciences (neurobiology, neurology, neuropsychology, neuropsychiatry). 

Application Requirements: Typically an upper level Bachelors, with some grounding is statistics and research is important for application. CV, a letter of motivation and two letters of references are also needed to apply. Applicants need to furnish a prior knowledge table with experience in the following domains – learning sciences, scientific research methods and statistics and academic skills. Specific to this program, applicants need to present an elaborate analysis of a scientific article. Applicants need to also demonstrate a fluency in English as well. 

Tuition and Fees: Zero 

License available: Typically not 

Career Tracks: Most of the Cognitive Neuroscience graduates go on to pursue PhD. However a small number find employment within government and service sector focused on rehabilitation, language disorders, etc. Learning Science graduates are highly valuable within various settings, including academia, industrial and commercial settings (e.g. Unilever, CapGemini,), non-profit organisations (e.g. SCP and Cito), and clinical settings (e.g. Kentalis and Praktikon). 

Application Deadlines: Feb 15

Program Details

Ranked at no. 29 in the Global Masters’ in Psychology, the Psychology programs at Groningen offers variety and flexibility. Masters’ at Groningen cover 11 tracks and offer room for individual preferences. 

The Master’s program spans over 12 months and cover 60 ECs, half of which are attributed to Master’s thesis. 

Offered Disciplines:

• Applied Social Psychology: social psychological factors determining human behavior
• Clinical Forensic Psychology and Victimology: the psychology of violence and crime in offender and victim contexts
• Clinical Neuropsychology: assessment and treatment of cognitive brain disorders
• Clinical Psychology: theory, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders
• Cognitive Psychology and Psychophysiology: cognitive brain functions: perception, attention, memory, and learning
• Developmental psychology (in Dutch only): developmental processes across the life-span
• Environmental Psychology: the human dimension of environmental and energy-related problems, development of eco-friendly strategies
• Reflecting on Psychology: relations of psychology with other parts of science and society
• Talent Development and Creativity: talent and creativity in individuals and organizations across achievement domains
• Traffic Psychology and Sustained Mobility: human behavior in traffic and interventions keeping people mobile
• Work, Organization and Personnel Psychology: factors influencing people's emotions and behavior at work and consequences

Application Requirements: Typically, an upper level Bachelors, with some grounding is statistics and research are important for application. Applicants need to also demonstrate a fluency in English as well.

Tuition and Fees: 8300 Euros.

License available: Typically, not.

Career Tracks: Multi-disciplinary tracks are available. Apart from mental health institutions, students can expect to work in public and social services, market research firms, and psychologist positions across traffic, sports, policy and other disciplines.

Application Deadlines: Oct 15 for February intake and April 1 for September intake.  Clinical disciplines only start in September though.

Program Details

One of the top universities in Netherlands, Radboud offers two research based programs in Psychology – both for two years with 120 ECs. They also have a one year Master’s but that is typically open only for graduates of Radboud only. 

Offered Disciplines:

Master’s Program in Cognitive Neuroscience: 

More technically oriented, this research based program is focused on studying the cognitive and neural basis for diverse brain functions such as perception, action, language, attention and memory. 

Master’s Program in Behavioral Science 

This research based program contributes to a better understanding of human behavior, whether that is normal or dysfunctional, and learn how to influence behavior. 

Application Requirements: Typically an upper level Bachelors, with some grounding is statistics and research is important for application. CV, a letter of motivation and two letters of references are also needed to apply. Applicants need to also demonstrate a fluency in English as well. 

Tuition and Fees: 10,000 Euros. 

License available: Typically not. 

Career Tracks: Most of the Cognitive Neuroscience graduates go on to pursue PhD. However a small number find employment within government and service sector focused on rehabilitation, language disorders, etc. Behavioral Science graduates are highly valuable within various settings, including academia, industrial and commercial settings (e.g. Unilever, CapGemini,), non-profit organisations (e.g. SCP and Cito), and clinical settings (e.g. Kentalis and Praktikon). 

Application Deadlines: April 1. For the cognitive Neuroscience MS which also has a February start, 1 November is the relevant deadline.