MSc Neuroscience of Mental Health

Length

1 year full-time

Department

Department of Psychology

Start date

September 2025 (semester dates)

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This course provides you with a deep understanding of the brain mechanisms that malfunction in individuals with mental health conditions, and an ability to link this understanding to treatments for mental illness.

You'll study how the brain, neurochemistry and genetics contribute to the behavioural patterns that we observe in different mental illnesses.

You'll also examine how the understanding and treatment of psychiatric disorders has been improved by the advent of modern neuroscientific techniques, including neuroimaging and brain stimulation.

An improved understanding of the underlying brain and biological impairments in mental health disorders will enhance the chances of employment in a number of research and mental health related roles. Students who have completed similar courses in the past have gone on to fully funded research PhD and clinical doctoral training programmes.

Committed to Gender Equality

We hold a Gold Athena Swan Award for our commitment to improving gender equality in the Department.

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Research excellence

We ranked 8th in the UK for research and 2nd for research output quality in the Times Higher Education’s ranking of the latest REF results (2021).

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Course content

This course is made up of 180 credits, consisting of modules split over two semesters and a substantial empirical research project.

You will be taught by academic experts within the Department of Psychology as well as professional clinical psychologists.

Your empirical research project is a chance to work on designing and implementing a theoretically-motivated piece of pure or applied research in the neuroscience of mental health.

Modules

Core modules

Option modules

You will study two option modules. Examples can be found below. Some option module combinations may not be possible. The options available to you will be confirmed after you begin your course.

Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.

Dissertation

MSc/PGT Project

As part of this MSc you will be given the opportunity to undertake a novel piece of empirical work on a topic at the cutting-edge of research into the neuroscience of mental health. You will be supervised by faculty members who have relevant expertise in the field.

The York approach

Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.

Students who complete this course will be able to:

Demonstrate a deep and systematic understanding of how cognitive processes can be better understood in terms of underlying brain processes and how these processes are impaired in individuals with mental health disorders.
Assess and critically evaluate mental health research evidence and outputs using different neuroscientific methods, including how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret this knowledge.
Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to critically evaluate what comprises good empirical experimental design and demonstrate how new data can be used to better understand the brain mechanisms underpinning mental health and its disorders, as well as potential targets for treatment.
Design and execute high quality mental health research using modern neuroscientific techniques. This will include the appropriate use of statistics and other quantitative methods; develop an ability to evaluate methodologies from a range of sub-disciplines and construct critiques of them.
Demonstrate an ability to critically engage with the literature on the neuroscience of mental health, and an ability to communicate complex analysis, findings and conclusions to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
Demonstrate an understanding of the methodological strengths and weaknesses of different neuroscience techniques (eg, fMRI, PET, MEG, EEG, TMS) in the study of mental illness.
Demonstrate an understanding of how their knowledge and skills can be applied within a wide variety of careers in mental health, in both the clinical and non-clinical domains.

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees for 2025/26

Study mode	UK (home)	International and EU
Full-time (1 year)	£13,300	£31,900

Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.

Fees information

UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.

Postgraduate taught fees and expenses

Funding information

Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs.

We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2025/26 throughout the year.

If you've successfully completed an undergraduate degree at York you could be eligible for a 10% Masters fee discount.

Funding opportunities

Chevening Scholarships

We are pleased to work with Chevening Scholars to offer funding for our Masters programmes. Chevening Scholarships provide one year of fully-funded postgraduate study in the UK for international (including EU) students. The scholarships are open to early and mid-career professionals who have the potential to become future leaders.

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Careers and skills

This course will equip you with the knowledge and skills to pursue a broad range of careers in either mental health research or the clinical sector.

We anticipate that some of you will apply for further training (eg a PhD in the Neuroscience of Mental Health or Clinical Psychology), while others may apply for other roles in which mental health expertise will be required.

Career opportunities

Research Assistant
Assistant Psychologist
Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner.

Entry requirements

	Typical offer
Undergraduate degree	2:2 or equivalent in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, or a related subject with relevant experience in the mental health field. We will look for strong marks in mental health, biological psychology, neuroscience and related modules
Other international qualifications	Equivalent qualifications from your country

English language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

	Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic and Indicator)	6.5, minimum 6.0 in each component
Cambridge CEFR	B2 First: 176, with 169 in each component
Oxford ELLT	7, minimum of 6 in each component
Duolingo	120, minimum 105 in all other components
LanguageCert SELT	B2 with 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert Academic	70 with a minimum of 65 in each component
Kaplan Test of English Language	459-494, with 426-458 in all other components
Skills for English	B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component
PTE Academic	61, minimum 55 in each component
TOEFL	87, minimum 21 in each component
Trinity ISE III	Merit in all requirements

For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.

If you haven't met our English language requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

Applying

You can apply and send all your documentation online. You don’t need to complete your application all at once: you can start it, save it and finish it later.