Your Path to Postgraduate Success in Psychology

Congratulations on your offer! As a prospective postgraduate student in the Psychology Department, this page will guide you through your next steps, provide helpful resources, and offer details about our upcoming virtual events designed for offer holders.

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What to expect from these events?

  • Meet our world-leading academics and explore their groundbreaking research, while getting to know your department. 
  • Discover our renowned teaching facilities that set Lancaster apart. 
  • Hear firsthand from current master’s students about their experiences and why they chose Lancaster for their studies. 
  • Learn about the range of scholarships and bursary packages available to prospective master’s students.
  • Further details can be found here Master's Degrees - Lancaster University 

Upcoming In-Person Events

Join us on campus to discover our renowned facilities and meet the Inspiring academics who will guide your journey to success as a Psychology Postgraduate Student at Lancaster!

Book now!

Meet the team

Leslie Hallam

After a somewhat checkered start to my career (contributing to advertising for cigars, whisky, exotic holidays, expensive cars, and luxury chocolates), I’ve pivoted more recently to working primarily on charities, insurance, education and public sector projects. For the last ten years or so, I’ve combined working with major creative advertising agencies in the UK and the US with teaching at Lancaster, using insights gained within the industry to fine-tune the Psychology of Advertising Masters programme – and help my students find internships within the course, and subsequent first steps in their careers. 

Some of the more interesting projects I’ve worked on include a number centred on bringing the consumer enquiry as close as possible to the point of decision-making/influence – 

  • Interviewing people about drug support while they viewed new influencer content  
  • Exploring the emotional connection with the Perrier brand in a sauna/Jacuzzi suite (heat, thirst and bubbles!) 
  • Asking people how they felt about a particular charity, right after they’d been stopped in the street and asked to contribute to it by ‘chuggers’. (Irritated!) 

  This ‘consumer ethnography’ approach has extended to alcohol, biscuits, Mars Bars, yoghurt, Pringles, diamond engagement rings, Mercedes, high-street shopping, Pampers, and charity fundraising, all to better understand the psychology of purchase decisions, in order to design more appealing, more effective, more persuasive - advertising

Some articles that may be of interest: 

Mad Men of the future will be brain scientists and dream experts 

Email Leslie to find out more about the Master's Degree (Psychology of Advertising)

Richard Philpot

Hello! I’m Dr Richard Philpot, Director of Study for the Psychology and Behavioural Analytics MSc. 

I joined Lancaster University in 2019, first as a Research Fellow, then Lecturer and now Senior Lecturer. For better or for worse I am a Man United fan. I also enjoy playing real-time and turn-based strategy video games, growing plants on my balcony and watching K-dramas. 

When not teaching on the hugely enjoyable Psychology and Behavioural Analytics MSc, I conduct research at the intersection of psychology, criminology and technology around how groups coordinate in public emergencies and criminal events. I also examine emergency services' interoperability and how police behaviour affects public confidence. 

My work applies innovative data sources and methodologies, including observation of CCTV footage, body-worn camera footage, social media data, as well as agent-based simulations. I look forward to teaching you these methods during your MSc! 

My most interesting research to date is likely the body of work analysing real-life public behaviour in emergency events captured on CCTV. This work examined behaviour during: 

The overwhelming evidence is that the typical behaviour across bystanders is coordination and care, not mass panic. This work also received extensive media coverage – e.g., New Scientist, Washington Post, The Times – which is always interesting to observe, as it reveals how others interpret and (mis)represent your research. 

I’m excited to work together with you on your new MSc, where you’ll not only gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge techniques but also develop the critical thinking skills needed to push the boundaries of what’s possible in psychology and data science. 

Email Richard to find out more about the Master's Degree (Psychology and Behavioural Analytics)

Dr Marina Bazhydai

I am a Lecturer in Developmental Psychology at Lancaster University and the principal investigator at the Active Learning Lab (ALL). My research focuses on curiosity, wonder, creativity, and information sharing in childhood, with a particular interest in how these processes impact learning and well-being outcomes. In my lab, I use behavioural, eye-tracking, and physiological methods to explore these questions. I also conduct programme evaluation studies to examine the effects of child-focused interventions on curiosity, teaching, and creativity. Some of my recent and ongoing projects include developing measures of children's curiosity, studying the impact of educational trips on children's curiosity and wonder, and designing evidence-based curricula for place- and nature-based learning in early years classrooms.

I have been at Lancaster University for 8 years, first as a PhD student and now as a lecturer. Before completing my PhD in developmental psychology at Lancaster, I earned an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and B.A. and M.A. degrees from Belarus State University. I also worked as an educator and held research positions at Harvard and Yale Universities in the USA. In my free time, I enjoy dancing Argentine tango at beautiful venues around the world.

Email Dr Marina to find out more about the Master's Degree (Research Methods, Developmental Disorders, Developmental Psychology)

Hear from our alumni

Jessica Andrew, a woman in a red top smiling at a camera
Jessica Andrew- former MSc Psychological Research Methods

Jessica Andrew

"For anyone who is passionate about advancing the field of psychology and looking for a course that combines academic excellence with practical experience, I wholeheartedly recommend the Master's programmes we offer at Lancaster University. I was truly grateful for the knowledge and skills I gained over the course of that academic year"