Clinical Psychology MSc

The course

Psychology explores many aspects of the human condition including our thoughts, feelings, decisions and behaviours. Study Clinical Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London and you’ll develop a deep understanding of the treatment and assessment of mental illness and behavioural problems.

This comprehensive programme will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to pursue a career in a mental health setting or mental health research, with topics including clinical assessment, the principles of evidence-based treatments and wellbeing. You’ll learn from our enthusiastic expert academics, with a mix of seminar, lecture and research-based teaching providing exciting academic variety.

You’ll graduate with a range of transferable skills to take into further PhD study or your future career, including advanced research training and communication skills for working with clients, patients, and families. We provide excellent employability skills for graduates. Our notable alumni include leading bioscience innovator Professor Jackie Hunter CBE, Terrence Higgins Trust founder Dr Rupert Whitaker, and Dr Christian Jarrett - author of The Rough Guide to Psychology.

Teaching & assessment

Teaching and learning is delivered primarily through sessions lasting between one-and-a-half and five hours. These typically combine seminar discussions with practical exploration or workshops. Where possible, these will be student-led, with participants encouraged to devise exercises engaging with the relevant issues and to direct fellow-students in these experiments.

We place emphasis on group discussion and the development of independent thought and analysis appropriate to carry out an independent piece of research of high quality, in an area of interest to you. In some contributing modules, you will give oral presentations which form part of the formative assessment. Summative assessment is usually by extended essay, although there are written exams for modules focussing on methodology and statistics.

Your future career

Graduate with a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London and you’ll be well-placed to progress to further postgraduate study or to a rewarding career in mental health.

Royal Holloway's Department of Psychology is one of the most highly regarded psychology departments in the country, and we work hard to provide our students with the help and advice they need to achieve their postgraduate career ambitions. We hold annual ‘Meet the Grads’ events where students can get help and advice from our successful alumni, while a dedicated online forum provides students with the information they need to prepare for postgraduate life.

Students need to have 2:1 in Psychology or a related Social Science subject with evidence of having taken and passed methodological and statistics training at degree level.