Candidates seeking admission to the programme leading to the Master of Social Sciences (Psychology) degree by research must have obtained either:

A good Honours degree or equivalent in psychology or a related subject;
OR such other qualifications and experience as the Faculty and Board of Graduate Studies may approve.

It is a faculty requirement that you submit a preliminary research proposal. If you apply to the Psychology Research Graduate Programme, this proposal should be submitted in the form of a personal statement. Instructions on what should go into your personal statement can be found here.

Applicants should examine faculty profiles on the department webpage prior to submitting their application, in order to find out whether their research interests can be accommodated by one (or more) of our staff members. Applicants should then specify their preferred supervisors (in descending order of preference) in their personal statement. Your listed supervisors will evaluate your applications when they reach the department and decide at that point whether they are prepared to supervise you (or not).

Admission is contingent on securing a willing supervisor who is a full-time academic staff member of the department, so it is best that you do that before applying. However, you can also submit a proposal without first securing a supervisor, but in order to maximize your chance of securing one, you should ensure that your research interests (as reflected in your personal statement) overlap well with your proposed supervisors’. If no full-time staff member is willing to supervise you, you will not be admitted. Agreement of supervision from a full-time academic staff member of the department is a necessary but not sufficient condition for admission.

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences awards research scholarships for graduate students on a competitive basis. More information on this scholarship and other financial aids is available here. Financial aid from research grants awarded to individual staff members may also be available.