Psychology - Research

The Master of Literature (MLitt) is a research degree for psychology graduates who are considering pursuing a PhD in applied or experimental research. The MLitt Programme shares many of the same programme features and benefits as the structured PhD. MLitt candidates work under the supervision of a Faculty member and are supported by a number of other key programmes and personnel to guide them through the process and achieve their academic and professional objectives.

The MLitt programme typically takes one to two years (full time) to complete or two to four years (part time). Candidates undertake a research project and write it up as a master's thesis. After one year on the programme, candidates may be eligible to graduate with a MLitt degree award or to transfer to the PhD programme. The examination of the degree of MLitt is based on a description of the candidate's research, written up as a thesis.

Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes

International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region: Yes

Candidates may apply for admission to the PhD programme if they have the following:

Primary Degree

Candidates must have:

A Bachelor's degree in Psychology, with upper second-class honours or international equivalent.

Or a Higher Diploma in Psychology with at least upper second-class honours

We will also consider applicants with at least an upper second-class honours degree in a cognate area that provides appropriate background to their proposed research programme.

English Language Requirements

Applicants whose first language is not English must also demonstrate English language proficiency of IELTS 7.0 (no band less than 6.5 in each element), or equivalent.

Applicants in the first instance may contact the staff member who they would like to supervise their research. Details of individual academic staff members' research interests, lists of their publications, and their contact details are available on the School of Psychology Academic Staff page. If you are interested in working with a specific staff member, contact them by email. If a staff member agrees to supervise your research then, you are invited to submit a research proposal to the School of Psychology Research Committee on the Research Graduate Application form. Contact Muriel Keegan at muriel.keegan@ucd.ie or +353 1 716 8120 for procedures for proposal submission.

Applications to the programme in collaboration with a research supervisor. Before making an application to the programme, interested candidates are asked to submit an Enquiry form following the steps below. Please follow these instructions carefully.

Step one: (Enquiry Phase)

All interested candidates are asked to download and complete an Enquiry Form (Form A):
Step two: (Enquiry Phase)

Fill in your Enquiry Form referencing the faculty member whom you would like to work with (this is your potential supervisor). The Faculty profiles and their research interests may be found here. Please note: at any given time, particular Faculty members may not be accepting students, for example, if they already have a large cohort or if they are on sabbatical.
Step three: (Enquiry Phase)

Once completed, candidates are asked to upload their Enquiry Form (Form A) here: Before uploading your file, we ask you to name the file using the following format, forename and surname (i.e Smith, Mary).

Once this step is completed, the Faculty member you have selected will review your enquiry form (Form A). If the Faculty member wishes to work with you as a potential research student, they will contact you directly and you will both work together towards a formal application for entry to the M.Litt PhD Application (Form B).

If the Faculty member cannot take you on as a potential research student the School will notify you that you have been unsuccessful in obtaining a supervisor. You may then repeat the process choosing another Faculty member and submitting another Enquiry Form.

2 years full-time