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MSc in Behavioural Science

Page contents > Paper 3 option list | Footnotes

Programme Code: TMBS

Department: Psychological and Behavioural Science

For students starting this programme of study in 2026/27

Guidelines for interpreting programme regulations

Classification scheme for the award of a taught master's degree (four units)
Exam sub-board local rules 

Specialisms

Wellbeing Specialism: students who choose to concentrate their electives and dissertation on wellbeing may elect to have a specialism in “Wellbeing” attached to their degree certificate and transcript, i.e. “Behavioural Science (Wellbeing)”.

To obtain this specialism, students must take PB421 Happiness and PB441 Wellbeing for Policy, and their dissertation topic must be approved by their supervisor as being appropriate for this specialism.

If no such election is made, the degree certificate will state “Behavioural Science” without further specification.

AI and New Technology Specialism: students who choose to concentrate their electives and dissertation on behavioural science in an age of AI and new technology may elect to have a specialism in “AI and New Technology” attached to their degree certificate and transcript, i.e. “Behavioural Science (AI and New Technology)”.

To obtain this specialism, students must take PB434 Behavioural Science in an Age of AI and New Technology, and one of the following: PB429 Science, Innovations and the Human Future; or PB458 Dialogue: Conflict & Negotiation; or PB440 Modelling Minds in Society; or MY459 Computational Text Analysis and Large Language Models; or MY461 Social Network Analysis; or MY474 Applied Machine Learning for Social Science; or MY475 Applied Deep Learning for Social Science; or MY478 Generative AI for Social Science Research.

Moreover, their dissertation topic must be approved by their supervisor as being appropriate for this specialism. If no such election is made, the degree certificate will state “Behavioural Science” without further specification.

Please note that places are limited on some optional courses. Admission onto any particular course is not guaranteed and may be subject to timetabling constraints and/or students meeting specific prerequisite requirements.

Course code, title (unit value)

Paper 1

PB405 Foundations in Behavioural Science (1.0)

Paper 2

PB413 Experimental Design and Methods for Behavioural Science (0.5) and PB4A7 Quantitative Applications for Behavioural Science (0.5)

Paper 3

Courses to the value of 0.5 unit(s) from the following:

PB421 Happiness (0.5)

PB434 Behavioural Science in an Age of AI and New Technology (0.5)

PB435 Behavioural Science for Planetary Wellbeing (0.5)

PB436 The Science of Time at Work (0.5)

PB438 Behavioural Science of Cross-Cultural Cooperation and Conflict (0.5)

PB440 Modelling Minds in Society (0.5) #

PB441 Wellbeing for Policy (0.5)

PB452 Behavioural Science for Health and Crises Responses (0.5) (suspended 2026/27)

PB453 Corporate Behaviour and Decision Making (0.5)

Paper 4

Students select a further 0.5 unit(s) from paper 3, or from the list below:

MY457 Causal Inference for Observational and Experimental Studies (0.5) #

MY459 Computational Text Analysis and Large Language Models (0.5) #

MY461 Social Network Analysis (0.5) (suspended 2026/27)

MY474 Applied Machine Learning for Social Science (0.5) #

MY475 Applied Deep Learning for Social Science (0.5) #

MY481 Generative AI for Social Science Research (0.5) #

PB417 Consumer Psychology for Sustainability (0.5)

PB418 Corporate Communications (0.5)

PB424 Organisational Life (0.5) (suspended 2026/27)

PB425 Organisations, Groups and Identity (0.5) # (suspended 2026/27)

PB428 Political Psychology (0.5)

PB429 Science, Innovations and the Human Future (0.5)

PB431 Societal Psychology of Economic Life (0.5)

PB432 Social Representations: Social Knowledge and Contemporary Issues (0.5)

PB433 Theory and Practice of Organisational Development (0.5)

PB437 Conversation Analysis and the Science of Social Interaction (0.5) (suspended 2026/27)

PB439 Leadership in challenging times (0.5) #

PB440 Modelling Minds in Society (0.5) #

PB458 Dialogue: Conflict & Negotiation (0.5)

Paper 3 option list

Or a course from another department (subject to the approval of the Candidate's Programme Director)

Paper 5

PB410 Dissertation (1.0)

Paper 3 option list

PB421 Happiness (0.5)

PB434 Behavioural Science in an Age of AI and New Technology (0.5)

PB435 Behavioural Science for Planetary Wellbeing (0.5)

PB436 The Science of Time at Work (0.5)

PB438 Behavioural Science of Cross-Cultural Cooperation and Conflict (0.5)

PB440 Modelling Minds in Society (0.5) #

PB441 Wellbeing for Policy (0.5)

PB452 Behavioural Science for Health and Crises Responses (0.5) (suspended 2026/27)

PB453 Corporate Behaviour and Decision Making (0.5)

Footnotes

# means there may be prerequisites for this course. Please view the course guide for more information.

Note for prospective students:
For changes to graduate course and programme information for the next academic session, please see the graduate summary page for prospective students. Changes to course and programme information for future academic sessions can be found on the graduate summary page for future students.