Program Overview

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Introduction to the University of Kent

The University of Kent is a leading research university located in the United Kingdom. It offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs, including the Developmental and Educational Psychology MSc.

Developmental and Educational Psychology MSc

The Developmental and Educational Psychology MSc is a postgraduate program that explores the psychological processes that affect the social, emotional, and cognitive development of individuals throughout their lifetime. The program is designed to provide students with a deep understanding of advanced methods, analytical techniques, and theoretical and practical approaches to developmental psychology and developmental psychopathology.

Key Information

• Study mode: Full-time or part-time
• Duration: 1 year full-time
• Start date: September
• Location: Canterbury

Overview of the Program

The program includes lecture, workshop, and seminar-based teaching, as well as practical demonstrations of modern methods for studying child development. Assessment is mainly by coursework assignment, examination, plus the dissertation. The program aims to provide students with a clear pathway to a career or postgraduate research in this fascinating field and the opportunity to help people of all ages in a range of settings.

Reasons to Study Developmental and Educational Psychology at Kent

• Opportunity to run studies from the Kent Child Development Unit (KCDU), a resource including child-friendly lab space and a register of 5,000 potential child participants.
• Psychology at Kent was ranked 5th for research intensity in The Complete University Guide 2022.
• Teaching by academics and professionals such as educational psychologists, clinical psychologists, child therapists, and speech and language therapists.
• Join the supportive and welcoming community on our Canterbury campus, with access to the world-class resources of our Templeman Library.

What You’ll Learn

We draw on the strengths of our academic staff and researchers working in the field of developmental psychology. Their expertise includes language development, representational ability and early social-cognitive understanding of others, singing, infant face processing, the development of prejudice and social exclusion, and developmental psychopathology.

Course Structure

The program includes a range of compulsory and optional modules, including:

• Advanced Research Methods and Statistics
• Current Topics in Developmental Psychology
• Developmental and Educational Psychology in Professional Practice
• Current Topics in Developmental Psychopathology
• Professional Research Skills for Psychologists
• Psychology Research Project
• Optional modules may include Current Issues in Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, Mind, Brain and the Body, Advanced Cognitive Neuroscience Methods in Practice, and Psychological Measurement and Modelling.

How You’ll Study

The program includes lecture, workshop, and seminar-based teaching, as well as practical demonstrations of modern methods for studying child development. Assessment is mainly by coursework assignment, examination, plus the dissertation.

Programme Aims

For course aims and learning outcomes, please see the course specification.

Study Support

The School has excellent facilities for both laboratory and field research, including advanced laboratory and teaching facilities. Resources include:

• The Kent Child Development Unit (including a database of children who participate in developmental research) and research team focusing on how children learn about their world, about other people, and about the language they hear around them.
• A social cognition laboratory
• Three fully equipped color video laboratories for face-to-face group research, together with ten satellite laboratories connected via remote-control CCTV and two-way audio links
• 58 research laboratories, all containing networked computers
• A further 80 PCs available exclusively to Psychology students, including a designated MSc computer-networked room providing full email and internet access
• Shared offices and a personal, networked computer for research students
• A full range of computer-based experiment generators and productivity software installed on all the School’s systems
• An upgraded laboratory suite with equipment for digital sound and vision recording
• Four Brain Vision EEG labs (including one for simultaneous TMS & EEG, and one portable EEG system)
• Two trans-cranial direct current electrical stimulators (GVS, Magstim)
• Neuroconn tDCS/tACS electrical stimulator with facilities for simultaneous EEG
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) PowerMAG Research 100 High Frequency Stimulator
• Two Tobii eye-trackers (Tobii X120 & Tobii T60 XL portable)
• One Arrington eye-tracker
• A suite equipped with Bio-Pac recorders to allow for a range of physiological measures to be taken during stressful and other tasks
• Specialist laboratories equipped for face processing and vision research
• CRS ColorCal II Colorimeter/Photometer
• CRS Audiofile for synchronized audio-visual presentation
• Numerous PC and Mac labs to run behavioral experiments
• Mirror Stereoscopes for dichoptic presentation and stereo vision research
• Immersive virtual reality lab (including integrated eye-tracker)

Your Future

Our Developmental Psychology MSc graduates commonly go into the fields of health, teaching, or further education. Many of our graduates take up roles as assistant psychologists in the NHS with a view to becoming a professional clinical psychologist, or pursue doctoral study and academic careers at higher education institutions.

Professional Recognition

All of our taught Master’s (MSc) programs have been recognized by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as meeting the nationally recognized criteria for preparation training for PhD research.

Fees and Funding

The 2025/26 annual tuition fees for this course are:

• Full-time: £10,000 (UK), £20,700 (EU), £20,700 (International)
• Part-time: £5,000 (UK), £10,350 (EU), £10,350 (International)

General Information

For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide. Tuition fees may be increased in the second and subsequent years of your course. Detailed information on possible future increases in tuition fees is contained in the Tuition Fees Increase Policy. If you are uncertain about your fee status, please contact us.

Additional Costs

You'll need regular access to a desktop computer/laptop with an internet connection to use the University of Kent’s online resources and systems. We've listed some guidelines for the technology and software you'll need for your studies.

Funding

Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:

• University and external funds
• Scholarships specific to the academic school delivering this program.