I am going to complete my Psychology BSc next year and am planning to do a further course like a Phd or MSc or clinical doctorate when I graduate.

I would really like to do something on combat stress or suicide and am interested in why this happens to men more than women. I asked my tutors and looked online but can't find a course or programme that has a focus on these issues as mainly men's problems. I have started to think these courses don't exist and I am wasting my time and should just find something more general and not specific to men, but I hope that someone here might be able to suggest something along the lines I am interested in.

Does anyone know of a course or PhD of this kind? Do MScs/PhDs/doctorates focus on gender issues in this way? Thanks for any suggestions.

Hi there
Your proposed area of research would come under sociology, a lot of universities offer studying and research in sociology. Take your pick!

You could try to find some academics interested in suicide research and approach them. It doesn't answer your question but this is a very good website and worth a browse. http://www.stampoutsuicide.org.uk

you are unlikely to find a course that addresses your particular niche of interest, but there are alot of MA's that could take you in that direction, for example health psychology MA have typically alot of courses related to stress in general and I am sure you could then find someone with an interest in stress and anxiety that would be interested in pursuing this topic with you should you want to go on a do a phd. Alternatively there are MA in decision making or social psyc that could help develop your understanding of processes involved reactive stress, particularly combat related stress. An another alternative is a more clinical/psychopathology MA , of which there are several- these would place emphasis on aetiology and neurobiology of various clinical conditions and no doubt your understanding of combat stress would be greatly enhanced by taking these courses. this could lead you in direction of being able to develop an good research agenda for a Phd and I'm sure you could find a professor who has an interest in stress or anxiety who also find this interesting.

Hi - I know nothing about this area in particular but I'd also say, echoing newlease, that you'd perhaps be best off looking at more general courses, depending on your preference (sociological vs neurobiological) and then looking to do something like a dissertation project on this topic; you could perhaps search to see who is working in this area and where they're based and approach them via email as Seasons suggests. A Google Scholar search on the topic keywords may help as you can see who's done recent work in this area and their affiliations.

I say this because I'm doing a course in cognitive neuroscience which is fairly broad, but my dissertation topic is on something fairly specific that I'm interested in. I didn't actually know that I wanted to do something in this specific area before I started the course, but I was lucky in that the interest I developed very much aligns with one of the lecturers, who is now my supervisor, so I was able to focus on what I wanted to be doing for my dissertation which in turn should (I hope) help me in applying for PhDs in this area. I decided I wanted to do a PhD a little too late to really see what was on offer this year esp re funding, but I want to apply next year and will almost certainly be doing a search to see who does what I'm interested in; my reading for the project (certain names come up often on papers) and knowing my supervisor who herself knows and is known by others in the field I think will help with this.

Good luck with finding the right course/person to work with!

I think the three previous answers make some really good suggestions and are well worth acting on. I would add that as a general rule it is very useful to contact whatever is the representing body for psychology in your field of interest. If you are in the US you should contact the men's studies division of the American Psychological Association. This will link you in with psychologists who may be able to put you on a suitable course. I don't know whether there are similar men's studies sections in other parts of the world - I suspect not - but it would be worth your while looking into it.

This isn't my area, but the advice that a broader masters course might be more likely to be available sounds sensible. If there are a few to choose from, perhaps select a university where research on that topic goes on, so that you have the opportunity to make contacts for PhD study.

One place which might be worth looking at would be the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College London. They have a centre for Military health research:

I think you will struggle to find something so specific, but in Britain (if that is where you are based?) the British Psychological Society is taking votes on setting up a Male Psychology Section which may well provide you with some opportunities. This month's Psychologist, the BPS magazine, has an article on what they are planning to do.

Here is the link listed in the Psychologist tinyurl.com/malesection

Thanks everyone for good ideas, especially ones about UK which is where I want to study. I have sent a few emails and I really really hope I get on a good course.