Genes, Environment & Development in Psychology & Psychiatry MSc

Our Genes, Environment & Development in Psychology and Psychiatry MSc course takes a highly interdisciplinary approach to the study of how genetics and the environment ('nature and nurture') combine during human development to produce behaviour, diseases and psychiatric disorders. You will study three required modules and undertake a research project on one of the broad range of subject areas relevant to the course.

Key benefits:

• Offers specialised interdisciplinary graduate training in several subject areas and research methods.
• Taught by the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre, a department recognised as a world-leader in the field of interdisciplinary studies in psychology, psychiatry and behaviour.
• Opportunity to attend the weekly SGDP Centre research seminars led by renowned researchers, such as Professor Francesca Happé, Professor Robert Plomin and Professor Sir Michael Rutter.
• Extensive collaborations within King’s as well as with other universities.
• Study with students from from diverse and rich backgrounds.
• Access to large sets of data for populations who have been studied and followed up over many years.
• Located in a beautiful modern building designed to foster interaction.

Description:

Our interdisciplinary course covers the advances that have been made in behavioural genetics over recent years. It focuses on how genes and environments shape the development of normal and abnormal human behaviours, including cognitive ability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD), anxiety and depression and schizophrenia.

In addition to disorder characterisation and presentation of the genetic, social and other environmental risk factors, our course also covers the molecular mechanisms and the specialised analysis methods relevant to interdisciplinary research in this field. By focusing on current research in this area, our course will enhance your understanding of research methods and enable you to critically appraise the relevant scientific literature.

Our course also aims to provide a thorough grounding in a range of research methods and their application and to develop skills of critical evaluation, problem solving and intellectual rigour in order to carry out independent research. You will develop an awareness of the practical and ethical issues related to conducting, writing up and disseminating research and develop transferable skills and knowledge needed for a research career in academia or industry, or in science communication.

Career prospects:

Our graduates go on to further full-time study in an academic research environment or in a taught clinical programme, gain employment in an academic, clinical or pharmaceutical organisation. Some students may enter scientific publishing.