MSc in Occupational and Business Psychology
Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 up to 2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline *
EARLIEST START DATE
Request earliest startdate
TUITION FEES
GBP 10,900 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* there is no application deadline for postgraduate courses
** home full-time: £10,900 | international full-time: £15,800
Introduction
Why choose this course?
This course is ideal if you want to apply the science of psychology to people at work, with roles including in-house and external consultancy, HR, organisational development, public sector and research. You will learn through case studies, studying ethics, you as a psychologist, and how to successfully implement a programme in an organisation. You will use psychological tools and specialist software. Additional short courses cover psychometric testing at a fraction of the private market cost.
- Course materials grounded in research and practice, delivered by a course team currently working in the field.
- Theoretical and practical understanding that enables you to become a 'reflective practitioner' and demonstrate the skills demanded by employers.
- A supportive and pleasant study environment and an expert academic team to help you achieve your academic goals.
Reasons to choose Kingston University
- Kingston Business School is one of just five per cent of the world's business schools with accreditation from AACSB International.
- This course has accreditation from the British Psychological Society. It can form part of the route towards becoming a chartered and registered occupational psychologist.
- You will attend talks from guest speakers from a range of organisations.
- Free car parking at the Kingston Hill campus is available for students of this course. The campus can also be easily accessed by public transport. Halls accommodation is just a walk away from the classrooms.
Personal development
Your development is at the heart of this course. The programme begins with a focus on the skills you need to gain for your personal career aspirations. As well as building essential transferrable skills, such as communication and interpersonal ability, it has a strong focus on teaching and refining the competencies that employers value, and which will help you succeed in higher-level jobs.
You will:
- learn about the process of contracting with organisations as an occupational or business psychologist, and the consultancy cycle;
- analyse qualitative and quantitative data, and hone your presentation and report writing skills;
- develop skills and techniques, such as critical incident interviewing, job analysis and career counselling;
- learn to think creatively and work independently, develop management and leadership skills; and
- develop an understanding of the different psychological approaches to workplace issues, and how to apply them and synthesise them in practice.
- We offer you practice-based training that teaches you to use psychological tools and specialist software.
Accreditation
British Psychological Society
The course has been accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
If you already hold an honours degree in a BPS-accredited psychology undergraduate course, this MSc upon graduation will satisfy the criteria for stage one of the BPS Chartership process. Those without a background in psychology and/or an accredited psychology undergraduate course can complete a conversion diploma in psychology after your MSc.
Both routes will enable you to become a fully Chartered and Registered Occupational Psychologist in the future.
Health and Care Professions Council
'Occupational Psychologist' is a protected title regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Students who hold GBC as well as this MSc and then continue to successfully complete their Stage 2 training in Occupational Psychology are eligible to apply to register with the HCPC. Please note, this course is not accredited by the HCPC.
The Association of Business Psychology
This course is accredited by the Association for Business Psychology (ABP). Our ABP accreditation demonstrates the quality and rigour of our approach and shows employers and clients that you have a thorough understanding of psychology in a business context.
Admissions
Curriculum
What you will study
The course also considers how other disciplines such as human resource management and sociology inform occupational and business psychology.
The modules for this course investigate various approaches to applying psychological principles in the workplace and how these ideas can increase organisational, team and individual performance. You will learn to critically evaluate the evidence base when making decisions.
You will apply theories and evidence to case studies, examples from the field and real-life practice. You will also learn about ethical considerations and your role as a psychologist in organisations, enhancing your professional skills. You will complement this by learning about ways of overcoming the barriers many occupational and business psychologists face when trying to implement their programmes in an organisation.
Other practice-based training will also be offered, including psychometric testing (offered as an additional short course).
MSc
You can choose to study this course in one year, with our full-time programme, or in two years, with our part-time programme taught at weekends. Both courses cover the same core modules, and both are taught by research-active academics and experienced practitioners.
This course is made up of five core modules.
Core modules
- Research Methods and Dissertation
- Career Counselling, Training and Development
- Leadership, Change and Consultancy
- Wellbeing and Work
- Psychological Assessment at Work
Optional placement year
The professional placement year is optional. It takes place after the full-time year. It allows students to do a 12-month work placement as part of their course. The work placement is an assessed part of the course and is therefore covered by a Student Route visa.
Please note
Optional modules only run if there is enough demand. If we have an insufficient number of students interested in an optional module, that module will not be offered for this course.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
After you graduate
This course will equip you to work in a diverse range of settings. Occupational and business psychologists often work in management training centres, assessment centres, organisational development departments and private companies. Public sector organisations, such as the civil service and the health sector employ occupational and business psychologists. This programme equips you for careers such as:
- occupational psychology consultancy;
- psychometric test publishing;
- talent management consultancy;
- recruitment;
- human resource professional;
- health and wellbeing professional;
- employee engagement professional;
- leadership expert; and
- learning and development.
Whatever career path graduates choose, the organisations they join value their ability to study and analyse staff to identify talent, then coach, develop and enhance people's motivation and performance at work.
Mature students, who often study this course so that they can change careers, sometimes choose to set up their own businesses.
Graduates can also choose to continue working towards a professional qualification in psychology, possibly becoming Chartered and Registered Occupational Psychologists following further training.
Accreditations
Program Admission Requirements
Show your commitment and readiness for Grad school by taking the GRE - the most broadly accepted exam for graduate programs internationally.