Cognitive Psychology/Neuropsychology

Entry requirements

Before making your application, we recommend that you contact a staff member whose expertise matches your area of interest to discuss your proposed project, CV and potential supervisory arrangements.

A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree with:

a. Adequate level of academic achievement

A final degree classification (grade average) of at least a 2.1 or Merit in the UK system (the second highest classification after First/Distinction). Results from institutions in other countries will be assessed individually according to this standard.

Your existing degree does not have to be in psychology as long as the statistics training requirement is met (please see below) and your proposed supervisor and the Director of Graduate Studies (Research) are satisfied with the suitability of your academic background. If it is in a different subject, or if it is not accredited by the British Psychological Society, please ask your academic referee to complete our Pro-forma for graduate research programmes and email it to psypgadmissions@kent.ac.uk.

b. Statistics and research methods training in the social sciences

This programme includes a one-year statistics sequence which you must normally pass in order to receive your award. The teaching assumes that you are familiar with the following topics:

1. Means and standard deviations
2. Distributions, hypothesis testing and statistical significance
3. t-tests
4. Correlation coefficients
5. Variables and measurement

Therefore, your existing degree transcript should note that you have taken and passed a minimum of one term each in statistics and social science research methods courses (or two terms of a joint statistics and research methods course).

It is possible to be exempted from the statistics training at Kent if there is sufficient evidence that you have already completed equivalent training in a previous qualification.

All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.

Months of entry

January, May, September

Course content

Study psychology at postgraduate level and you become part of a diverse, dynamic and supportive community in which to research and learn. Cognition and neuroscience research at Kent focuses on visual cognition, attention and memory, and language and communication.

A PhD is a doctorate of philosophy based on mostly independent study. It is assessed formally on the basis of one piece of work, a dissertation (or thesis), that reports your original thought and research. You must also successfully complete all required training.

Choosing a topic

Although sometimes we have specific PhD research projects related to funding awards, most of our research students choose their own research topics. Once you have decided on the nature of your project, you should then contact the member of staff in the School whose expertise and interests most closely match your area of research and ask them if they will act as your supervisor.

You then work with your proposed supervisor on refining your research proposal which provides the starting point for your subsequent research.

Information for international students

Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Please note that international fee-paying students cannot undertake a part-time programme due to visa restrictions.

English language entry requirements

The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree. Certain subjects require a higher level.

For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages.

Need help with English?

Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.

Fees and funding

Please see our funding pages for the most current information.