MSc Psychology of Social Relations

The programme offers a social-developmental psychology training that will advance the careers of anyone who's interested in the people professions diverse careers related to education, work, health, government and non-profit organisations. Humans have a fundamental ‘need to belong’ and form relationships. Positive relationships lead to higher well-being, personal development and well functioning societies, whereas a lack or dysfunctional relationships lead to poor psychological well-being, unhealthy development and conflict or violence within society. The programme will teach students about the different psychological approaches to studying social relations in children, adolescents and adults, drawing from different areas of study within psychology (eg social and personality psychology, developmental psychology, educational psychology, clinical psychology, social neuroscience). These approaches are relevant to anyone interested in understanding social relations between individuals (ie families and friendships) and social groups within a variety of settings (eg schools, the workplace, social movements). The programme will also introduce different strategies aimed at improving social relations between individuals and groups (eg intergroup contact, bullying interventions, and mentoring schemes).

The programme will:

• develop your knowledge and understanding of psychological approaches and common psychological methods for studying social relations in children and adults
• enable you to develop a thorough knowledge of psychological theories and interventions in relation to improving social relations in a range of social settings
• equip you with transferable knowledge and skills required to undertake psychological research, including the design, implementation and interpretation of studies and communication of outcomes

As a graduate of this programme you'll be able to use your knowledge of social relations in the workplace. This will help you advance your career in a wide variety of settings (including clinical, health, educational and work organisations) that involve human relationships, at both the individual and group level. With the help of the tutors, you'll also be encouraged to work with one or more of the many organisations (private, public, or third sector) available in greater London for your independent research project, which will help you establish a professional network.