Evolutionary and Comparative Psychology: The Origins of the Mind MSc

University of St Andrews
5.0
1 review
  • It's an excellent place for all those who want to grow themselves intellectually and raise their virtues.
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Description

  • Type

    Master

  • Location

    St andrews (Scotland)

  • Duration

    1 Year

The MSc in Evolutionary and Comparative Psychology provides advanced research training in a range of intellectual and practical skills associated with evolutionary, comparative and developmental approaches to the study of the mind.

Facilities

Location

Start date

St Andrews (Fife)
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University Of St Andrews, KY16 9AJ

Start date

On request

About this course

Students gain a detailed knowledge of the evolutionary and comparative literature and principal theoretical and methodological issues in this field.
The course equips students with the necessary skills to pursue a research degree at MPhil or PhD level in psychology.
Students have the opportunity, subject to availability, to undertake independent research at a given research centre in the UK or abroad, typically over the summer period.
The course is taught by members of the internationally recognised Origins of Mind research group, with additional classes by members of the wider Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution and related academic staff with interests in evolutionary and comparative psychology.

The vast majority of our postgraduates have gained postdoctoral and lecturing positions in universities across the world while others have jobs in research, wildlife conservation, academic publishing and management services.

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students on a taught postgraduate course and offers a programme of events to assist students to build their employability skills.

A good 2.1 Honours undergraduate degree in Psychology or a cognate discipline.

If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.

English language proficiency. See English language tests and qualifications.

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Reviews

5.0
  • It's an excellent place for all those who want to grow themselves intellectually and raise their virtues.
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4.8
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Course rating

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Centre rating

Student

5.0
19/10/2018
What I would highlight: It's an excellent place for all those who want to grow themselves intellectually and raise their virtues.
What could be improved: -
Would you recommend this course?: Yes
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This centre's achievements

2018

All courses are up to date

The average rating is higher than 3.7

More than 50 reviews in the last 12 months

This centre has featured on Emagister for 14 years

Subjects

  • Psychology
  • Project
  • Communication Training
  • Neuroscience
  • Data analysis
  • Generic Research
  • Professional
  • Technical Intelligence
  • Research
  • Practical

Course programme

Compulsory modules
  • Empirical Approaches to the Evolution of Communication: explores the evolution of human language and animal communication through the comparative study of communication and cognition in humans and a variety of non-human species.
  • Methods of Data Analysis in Psychology: advanced training in research design, statistics, qualitative methods and modelling.
  • Origins of Human Cognition: focuses on the origins of human cognition from evolutionary and developmental perspectives.
  • Principle Approaches to the Origins of Mind: introduces distinct ways of studying the origins of mind within a comparative Tinbergian framework, emphasising both functional and mechanistic accounts.
Optional modules

Students choose two optional modules; Generic Research and Professional Skills count as two choices.
  • Evolution and Development of Social and Technical Intelligence: traces the evolution and development of aspects of social intelligence such as imitation and theory of mind, and technical intelligence such as tool use and understanding of causality.
  • Generic Research and Professional Skills in Psychology: introduces students to the various skills and issues that are of importance to academic psychologists irrespective of their particular area of research.
  • Mechanisms of Behaviour - Integrating Psychological and Neuroscience Perspectives: explores the relationship between neural function and behaviour in a range of animal species, including humans.
  • Methodologies for Psychology and Neuroscience: gives students a practical, hands-on experience of a number of laboratory techniques and of research methodologies as are employed by the principal investigators in the School.
  • Origins and Evolution of Mind Reading (Theory of Mind): offers a comparative approach to the emergence of the ability to understand mental states in children and non-human primates, and its alteration in autism.
  • Review - Approaches to the Study of the Mind: compares and contrasts different theoretical and methodological approaches to a particular topic in the study of the mind.
Optional modules are subject to change each year, and some may only allow limited numbers of students (see the University's position on curriculum development).

Research project and diessertation

Students will undertake a significant piece of independent research as part of their final assessment. In the past, students have had the opportunity to perform fieldwork studying nonhuman animals at:
  • Living Links Centre and Budongo Trail in Edinburgh Zoo
  • Wolfgang Köhler Primate Research Center in Leipzig
  • Budongo Conservation Field Station in Uganda
  • Taï Monkey Project in Ivory Coast
  • Inkawu Vervet Project in South Africa.
Additionally, the School of Psychology and Neuroscience has facilities for testing children. There are also facilities for testing adults in tasks related to evolutionary psychology.

Student dissertations will be supervised by members of the teaching staff who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation of not more than 15,000 words must be submitted by a date specified in August.

See related categories

  • Data analysis Postgraduate Degrees
  • Postgraduate Degrees in Scotland
  • Other Education Postgraduate Degrees
  • Distance learning Other Education Postgraduate Degrees
  • Other Education Postgraduate Degrees in Scotland
  • University of St Andrews Postgraduate Degrees

Evolutionary and Comparative Psychology: The Origins of the Mind MSc

£ 9,000 VAT inc.

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