Social Cognition: Research and Applications MSc

About this degree

This programme provides an understanding of how the human emotional, cognitive and neural systems have evolved to sustain social co-ordination and adaptation to the environment. Key topics include: social perception, motivation, attitudes, embodiment, emotion, social judgement and decision-making, and social neuroscience. For further details on this programme, please see our dedicated local webpage.

You will study at one of the world's best universities (UCL is ranked 9th in the world in the QS World University Rankings 2024) and our research is pioneering. UCL is ranked first for research power in Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience by the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), with more than two thirds of our research in these areas rated as world-leading (4*).

This MSc focuses on how individuals construe the social world and the processes that underlie social judgement and behaviour. The programme draws on the research of outstanding academic staff working in the areas of social cognition, social endocrinology, socio-cognitive neuroscience, and judgement and decision-making to provide unique, cutting-edge perspectives on humans as social beings. This programme should contribute to an understanding of applied societal problems in domains of climate change, mental health, inequality and social conflict.

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Students are expected to have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. However, very good candidates in related areas, such as management, sociology, or communication sciences, will also be considered. Students should be prepared for the mathematical component contained in the MSc-level Research Statistics module.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

On completion of this programme students will have acquired an understanding of the processes involved in the construction of the social reality, in particular how cognitive and affective processes guide social judgement and behaviour, and how these processes are implemented in the brain. Students will have also acquired methodological skills to design and carry out socio-cognitive research which will enable them to address real-world social problems and/or pursue an academic career. In addition, they will have acquired knowledge related to theoretical and philosophical issues underlying psychological research.