The MSc in Occupational and Organizational Psychology is designed to develop the next generation of evidence-based leaders and practitioners who can make tangible contributions to the rapidly changing world of work.
Our programme covers the standards of the BPS for Occupational Psychology, and prominently reflects the core strengths and interests of the course team including:
This programme is studied full-time over one academic year.
Example module listing
The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that not all modules described are compulsory and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.
The MSc in Occupational and Organizational Psychology is designed to develop the next generation of evidence-based leaders and practitioners in the field of work and organisational psychology. Students learn about the foundation knowledge, research and theory in the field, alongside practical, technical and professional content designed to permit development as future practitioners.
The programme is intentionally delivered in an interdisciplinary environment, from faculty who are Work, Organizational and Occupational Psychologists, Human Resource Specialists, and world-leading experts in Organizational Behaviour.
Learning and development is facilitated through innovative, high-quality teaching incorporating (for example) case studies, team-working, skills development, guest speakers, and an applied research project, alongside class lectures and academic assignments and assessment.
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:
Knowledge and understanding
Critical, evidence based and theoretical understanding of the core knowledge areas of occupational and organizational psychology:
Intellectual / cognitive skills
Professional practical skills
Key / transferable skills
A range of generic skills relevant to practice of occupational and organisational psychology. These include effective oral and written communication, team working, planning and organizing, problem-solving, critical reasoning, data gathering and analysis (qualitative and quantitative), and use of specialist IT (e.g. SPSS).
We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.
In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.
Learn more about opportunities that might be available for this particular programme by using our student exchanges search tool.
Surrey Business School is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and by the Association of MBAs (AMBA).
Offered for full-time accelerated network (distance) learning, this highly respected Master's degree will develop your understanding of people and organizations and knowledge of occupational psychology and organizational behaviour. Network learning at Birkbeck differs from traditional distance learning, as it includes attendance at termly weekend workshops and tutor-facilitated computer conferencing, in addition to online materials.
Teaching on the course is informed by cutting-edge research in the field and you will be encouraged to engage in critical thinking and to reflect on theory and practice. You will also acquire applied research skills in preparation for an independent research project on a subject that interests you.
You will be taught by leading academics and practitioners who have a wealth of experience in supporting and encouraging students who are studying via distance learning. Ours is a friendly, welcoming community of learners who are keen to work hard, share their professional experience with classmates and network and make contacts.
Celebrating our 55th anniversary in 2017, Birkbeck's Department of Organizational Psychology was the first department of occupational psychology in the UK. We continue to play a distinctive role in British occupational psychology - and, increasingly, within organizational behaviour. We have been delivering programmes by network learning for nearly 30 years and we are established experts in using digital technologies to create and maintain an engaged and supportive learning environment for our students.
This course is also available for full-time and part-time evening study and part-time network learning over two years.
You complete eight taught modules.
You will also complete an independent applied research project, with support from one of our academics.
Network learning combines online distance-learning with face-to-face weekend workshops. You will contribute to online, tutor-supported discussion groups and attend weekend workshops, involving both lectures and group exercises.
Non-residential weekend workshops will be held at Birkbeck in Central London.
Essays or reports, written examinations and an independent applied research project (10,000 words), submitted at the end of the year.
Offered for both face-to-face evening study at Birkbeck and via network (distance) learning, this highly respected Master's degree will develop your understanding of people and organizations within the context of both occupational psychology and organizational behaviour. Network learning at Birkbeck differs from traditional distance learning, as it includes attendance at termly weekend workshops and tutor-facilitated computer conferencing, in addition to online materials.
Teaching on the course is informed by cutting-edge research in the field and you will be encouraged to engage in critical thinking and to reflect on theory and practice. You will also acquire applied research skills in preparation for an independent research project on a subject that interests you.
You will be taught by leading academics and practitioners who have a wealth of experience in supporting and encouraging students who are studying in the evening and via distance learning. Ours is a friendly, welcoming community of learners who are keen to work hard, share their professional experience with classmates and network and make contacts.
Celebrating our 55th anniversary in 2017, Birkbeck's Department of Organizational Psychology was the first department of occupational psychology in the UK. We continue to play a distinctive role in British occupational psychology - and, increasingly, within organizationalbehaviour. We have been delivering programmes by network learning for nearly 30 years and we are established experts in using digital technologies to create and maintain an engaged and supportive learning environment for our students.
This course is also available for full-time accelerated network learning over one year.
You complete eight taught modules.
You will also complete an independent applied research project, with support from one of our academics.
Lectures and group work.
You will also study via network learning which combines online distance learning with face-to-face weekend workshops. You will contribute to online, tutor-supported discussion groups and attend weekend workshops, involving both lectures and group exercises.
Essays or reports; written examinations each year; and an independent applied research project (10,000 words), normally submitted at the end of the final year. Full-time students complete the same number of assessments in one year.
This professionally-recognised course will provide you with the skills and commercial awareness to apply psychological principles to the challenges faced by organisations.
You’ll build your knowledge of the psychological science base while gaining an appreciation of business management, learning from expert practitioners within organizational psychology.
You’ll examine individual, group and organisational effectiveness by exploring issues such as selection and assessment, and consider the latest topics including managing innovation, change management and designing complex socio-technical systems.
The course has a practical focus and thanks to our connections with firms such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Marks and Spencer, you’ll test your professional skills in real business scenarios. During the course you’ll have the opportunity to gain certification in Occupational Test User: Ability and Personality at no additional cost, which is a valuable tool for selection and development.
This masters is an ideal qualification if you want to work as a practitioner organizational psychologist or academic researcher.
Academic excellence
You’ll learn from an influential group of organizational psychologists, introducing you to the latest thinking from our research centres, the Socio-Technical Centre (STC) and the Workplace Behaviour Research Centre. They undertake research at the cutting edge of organizational psychology and behaviour. The centres combine expertise in psychology, management, engineering, environmental science and geography to form a thriving research community.
Students also benefit from our strong corporate connections, as well as links with several leading organizational psychology consulting firms. Recent project partners have included Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Arup, the National Health Service, Network Rail and Marks and Spencer.
The course covers the full range of topics required for professional recognition by the British Psychological Society (BPS), the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK. To read more about the benefits of undertaking an accredited programme, please see the BPS website.
Graduation from this course fulfils stage one of the requirements for Chartered Membership of BPS and full membership of the Division of Occupational Psychology. Please see the BPS website for details.
In each semester you’ll study a range of modules that develop your knowledge of key aspects of organizational psychology.
You’ll be introduced to the individual, team and organisational factors that affect workplace behaviours such as decision-making and teamwork. You’ll explore the selection and training methods use by organisations to recruit, develop and retain talent and the design of complex human-technical systems.
From there you’ll study contemporary business priorities such as organisational development and change, as well as approaches to career development and performance management. A further module will put you in real-life business situations to help you develop your commercial awareness and professional skills.
Throughout the year you’ll develop your understanding of research design and analysis in psychology and social sciences, especially behavioural research. This will develop your skills to prepare you for your dissertation – the independent research project on your choice of topic that you’ll submit by the end of the year. Read about a recent student dissertation project with Bentley.
Compulsory modules
You’ll take nine compulsory modules including your dissertation.
For more information on typical modules, read Organizational Psychology MSc Full Time in the course catalogue
We use a variety of teaching and learning methods to help you make the most of your studies. These will include lectures, seminars, workshops, online learning and tutorials.
Independent study is also vital for this course allowing you to prepare for taught classes and sharpen your own research and critical skills.
Assessment methods emphasise not just knowledge, but essential skills development too. You’ll be assessed using a range of techniques including exams, group projects, written assignments and essays, in-course assessment, group and individual presentations and reports.
As a graduate of this course you will be business savvy, with a broad appreciation of the financial, strategic and operational workings of contemporary organisations. Our graduates are strongly positioned to enter careers in the public or private sectors, equally adept as dedicated consulting organizational psychologists or human resource specialists.
Recent graduates have gone on to pursue successful careers in a range of organisations and consultancies around the world, including Google, Kiddy and Partners, Capp, and Human Factors International. Roles include Consulting Psychologist, Operations Analyst, Trainee Occupational Psychologist, Management Consultant, Recruitment Consultant and Crowd Management Consultant.
We help you to achieve your career ambitions by providing professional development support as part of the course. You benefit from our professional development tutor, who will help you to develop the important professional skills that employers value. This means you will develop the academic skills to successfully progress through the course, and also the professional skills you will need to start a successful career.
Read more about our careers and professional development support.
The Careers Centre also provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
This distance learning course in Organizational Psychology focuses on the social and psychological processes operating in organizations. Drawing on current and classic theory and research, the course enables you to understand organizations and develop ways of improving them.
Redeveloped in 2014, the course features a range of new modules including 'Understanding organizations and change', 'Employee relations and motivation', and 'Leadership and performance management'. Your study experience is enriched through online seminars and discussions and a personal tutor.
On your home computer, you can watch the same lectures as those given 'live' to postgraduate students studying on campus at the University of London, accompanied by PowerPoint slides. You are also supported by:
- tutor-led online seminars for each module.
- a personal tutor who provides general guidance throughout your studies.
- extensive, purpose-written study materials.
- an online facility for submitting essays and mock exams to your tutor.
- access to world-class online library facilities.
- optional face-to-face seminar and exam revision session in London (held in February/September respectively).
The programme is developed by academics within the Department of Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London. The department is the oldest and largest of its kind in the UK and makes a major contribution to research in the field of behaviour at work. It is a major provider of academic and professional training in organizational psychology (also known as occupational psychology) and career management.
Graduates of this course go on to become trainers, motivators, careers advisers, managers and consultants within large multinational companies, government departments, or in any organization where advanced knowledge of organizational psychology may be useful.
Singapore-based Organizational Psychology graduate Janet Wong said: "The course not only covered relevant and practical modules that I'm passionate about which I can apply in my job, but also provided me with the ease of studying almost anywhere in the world."
Provided you complete the Masters or Postgraduate Diploma within five years, you can study at your own pace. As a guide, if you wish to complete in the minimum study period, you should be prepared to study 20 hours per week during the academic session. Academic sessions run from September until July in 2014-2015.
If you have any questions, please contact our Student Advice Centre.
Project-X parties organised via Facebook. Unhealthy eating habits. Workplace bullying. Although a wide range of issues, the same rule applies to all of them: it comes down to the way in which people affect each other's behaviour. In this Master’s programme, you study human behaviour and behaviour change in a social, health, or organisational context.
During this Master’s programme, you will choose between the following three tracks:
By choosing a track and elective courses you can explore your personal field of interest.
This Master’s programme connects closely to our research programmes Social-cognitive and Interpersonal Determinants of Behaviour, Health Psychology: Self-regulation, and Work and Organisational Psychology. Connecting theory and practice is essential in our Master's. You will develop theory-driven interventions by means of the PATH model (Problem-Analysis-Test-Help).
Do you want to know more about our research? Watch the videos of Professor Belle Derks about Work and Organisational Psychology (in Dutch) or about Social Psychology by Professor Kees van den Bos. A video of Professor Denise de Ridder about Health Psychology: Self-regulation will follow soon.
The courses in this Master's programme are rooted in international scientific literature and are focused on the internatonal context. You can do your internship and/or thesis abroad or in (internatonal) organisations in the Netherlands, such as Trendsactive, Coca Cola, Hays, Sogeti (in Dutch), Philips and Nutrica.
As our student, you are primarily responsible for finding your own internship organisation. The department of Social, Health and Organisational Psychology has a database of internship organisations and has an internatonal network you can use.
You will gain specialised knowledge, skills and insights in the fields of Social Psychology, Health Psychology and/or Work and Organisational Psychology. Your development as an academic professional is of central concern.
As a Master's graduate, you will be able to analyse and propose interventions for social, health or organisational issues, such as:
This masters degree gives you a solid grounding in the business psychology science relevant to consulting and management.
You’ll apply modern psychological principles to contemporary organisations and organisational problems, working alongside psychologists to develop your skills in research, problem-solving and consultancy.
From change management to designing green workplaces, you’ll develop the skill set to tackle key growth areas. Case studies, workshops and real-world projects will help you build commercial awareness and professional skills. During the course you’ll have the opportunity to gain certification in Occupational Test User: Ability and Personality at no additional cost, which is a valuable tool for selection and development.
Taught by leading researchers and experienced practitioners among one of Europe’s most influential groups of organizational psychologists, you’ll gain a broad understanding of contemporary organisations to prepare for a career applying business psychology in the public or private sector.
Academic excellence
You’ll learn from an influential group of organizational psychologists, introducing you to the latest thinking from our research centres, the Socio-Technical Centre (STC) and the Workplace Behaviour Research Centre. They undertake research at the cutting edge of organizational psychology and behaviour. The centres combine expertise in psychology, management, engineering, environmental science and geography to form a thriving research community.
Students also benefit from our strong corporate connections, as well as links with several leading organizational psychology consulting firms. Recent project partners have included Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Arup, the National Health Service, Network Rail and Marks and Spencer.
This masters provides you with an important grounding in systems thinking, its theoretical basis and practical use in workspace design, IT systems and more. You’ll build critical understanding of research design in psychology and social science.
You’ll consider the factors that affect employee behaviour and how psychological insights can help to design effective organisations. You’ll also explore the personnel selection and training process from interviews and psychometric testing to training evaluation.
The course will expand your understanding of behavioural research and the development not just of employees and their performance, but also of organisations themselves. The course also places a strong emphasis on applying your knowledge in practical business scenarios, and you’ll undertake fieldwork to develop professional skills in a variety of real-life situations.
The research skills you’ve developed throughout this degree will prepare you to complete your final project, which can be either an independent research project on a topic of your choice, or a practical consultancy project with a business.
Compulsory modules
You'll take nine compulsory modules including your dissertation.
We use a variety of teaching and learning methods to help you make the most of your studies. These will include lectures, seminars, workshops, online learning and tutorials.
Independent study is also vital for this course allowing you to prepare for taught classes and sharpen your own research and critical skills.
Assessment methods emphasise not just knowledge, but essential skills development too. You’ll be assessed using a range of techniques including exams, group projects, written assignments and essays, in-course assessment, group and individual presentations and reports.
As a graduate of this course you will have a broad appreciation of the workings of contemporary organisations and will be strongly positioned for a career in the public or private sector as a skilled manager, consulting business psychologist or human resource specialist.
Graduates may look to develop a career applying specialist psychological expertise within management consultancy, working on practical problems across many organisations. Skills from this course are also valued within an HR function, or to improve your own effectiveness as a future manager.
Links with industry
Students have the opportunity to develop leadership skills as part of our Leaders in Residence initiative, which gives management students the opportunity to engage with senior figures from the world of business. This is a rare opportunity where successful and established business people will help you connect the theory of your course to real world practice, and offer their advice for career success.
You will be able to connect with leaders from a range of firms including major manufacturers and retailers, charity chief executives, entrepreneurs and directors of companies large and small, through structured meetings and events. This typically includes workshops, social events, guest lectures and professional skills development.
We help you to achieve your career ambitions by providing professional development support as part of the course. You benefit from our Professional Development Tutor, who will help you to develop the important professional skills that employers value. This means you will develop the academic skills to successfully progress through the course, and also the professional skills you will need to start a successful career.
Read more about our careers and professional development support.
The Careers Centre also provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
Whether you’re a social science graduate or a working professional, this course will help you develop an advanced knowledge of people management.
With its international perspective, this course will explore a whole range of human resources themes – from employee well-being to managing diversity.
If you’re already working and can’t commit to full-time study, this course has a part-time option over two years.
The Human Resource Management & Organisational Analysis MSc degree covers a diverse range of modules. You will explore key issues associated with the change in the global economy, social and technological change, cultural diversity; as well as the nature and role of financial and management accounting in business organisations.
The programme offers you flexibility with the choice to study either full or part-time and is made up of optional and required modules. You must take modules totalling 180 credits to complete the course. If you are studying full-time, you will complete the course in one year, from September to September. If you are studying part-time, your programme will take two years to complete, you will study the required module in the first year, and the dissertation in your second year.
There is an opportunity to gain CIPD accreditation by attending 14 additional workshops. (will not count towards the MSc).
We want to improve your career skills. Whether you’re working already or will start looking for a job on graduation, we’ll make sure you’re capable of great things.
With our international focus and our expertise in a wide range of HR issues, we’re committed to creating capable future leaders.
We use lectures, seminars and group tutorials to deliver most of the modules on the course. You will also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study.
Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.
Your assessment on taught modules, which make up 120 of the final credits, will be predominantly by written examination, but may include other forms of assessment. The written dissertation submitted in September each year makes up the final 60 credits. The dissertation will be assessed on one 12,000-word extended piece of writing.
Get a Masters degree from Leeds University Business School and prepare for a rewarding career
