This programme specialises in Psycholinguistics - the study of mental representations that underlie human language use
This programme provides students with an in-depth understanding of current research in psycholinguistics and is an opportunity for intensive advanced training in psychology of language.
The teaching and supervision is conducted by internationally recognised researchers from our Language, Cognition & Communication Research Group, one of the largest collections of natural language researchers in Europe. The group’s expertise covers psycholinguistics, as well as connections to other areas of social and cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience, and use a wide range of experimental, observational, computational, and neuroscience methods.
Why study Psychology of Language at Edinburgh?
- Psychology is rated 3rd in the UK by Times Higher Education for the quality and breadth of the research using the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021).
- We're ranked 6th in the UK and 30th in the world for psychology (QS World University Rankings by subject 2025).
Showcasing Psychology at Edinburgh
Programme structure
This programme contains two semesters of taught compulsory courses and optional courses followed by a dissertation. The taught courses and their assessments take place between September to December (Semester 1) and January to April (Semester 2). Planning for the dissertation will take place until April and carried out between April and August.
Dissertation
The dissertation is the capstone component of the programme and involves conducting an independent research project in a chosen area, and in close collaboration with a supervisor. Sometimes dissertations are subsequently published as journal articles.
There is a wide range of staff available for supervision within the department.
Course options
On this programme you will take the following core courses:
- Psychological Research Skills
- Univariate Statistics and Methodology using R
- Multivariate Statistics and Methodology using R
- Psychology of Language 1 (semester 1)
- Psychology of Language 2 (semester 2)
Optional courses available in addition to these are:
- Neuroscience of Language
- Contemporary Topics in Cognitive Neuroscience
- Brain Imaging in Cognitive Neuroscience
- Specialist Techniques in Cognitive Neuroscience
- Clinical Neuropsychology
- Atypical Development
- Applied Psychological Testing
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Or any other Edinburgh course open to MSc students, as agreed by the programme director
When to apply
We operate a gathered field approach to applications. You may submit your application at any time.
All complete applications that satisfy our minimum entry requirements will be placed on a shortlist and held until the next batch processing deadline. Applications will then be ranked and offers made to the top candidates.
Find out more about the degree programme and how to apply:
Connect with us
If you have any programme-specific enquiries please get in touch with the programme director:
Professor Martin Pickering (Programme director)
Feel free to get in touch with our friendly Postgraduate Team with any questions you might have about academic or English language requirements, course information, enquiries about your application and information on arriving at the University.
Postgraduate Research Administration Team (MScR/PhD enquiries):
Email: pplspgoffice@ed.ac.uk
How to apply and fees & funding information:
Degree Finder for MSc Psychology of Language
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