Our innovative MSc Health Psychology programme applies the theories, methods and techniques of psychology to issues of health and illness.
These are integrated into the psychological processes related to the maintenance of health, the promotion of the psychological wellbeing of the physically ill, and the normal and pathological responses to ill health and stress.
Our MSc Health Psychology programme will equip you with a sound knowledge of theories and practical issues relevant to health psychology.
You will consider the psychological and physiological responses of the individual to ill health, as well as the social and community contexts of health-related behaviours and healthcare systems.
The programme will equip you with a sound knowledge of theories and practical issues relevant to health psychology, in addition to a solid understanding of quantitative and qualitative approaches to research.
The programme, which is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), provides the academic component (Stage One) on the route towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.
This programme is studied full-time over one academic year and part-time over two academic years. It consists of eight taught modules and a dissertation.
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 aims of the programme are:
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
Students will gain knowledge and understanding of the following:
Intellectual / cognitive skills
Students will be able to:
Professional practical skills
Students will have the skills to:
Key / transferable skills
Students will be able to:
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.
Health psychologists apply their knowledge of psychology and health to understand illness and promote health and wellbeing. They aim to enhance psychological and emotional outcomes for individuals who are ill or who have a disability.
They develop healthcare policy and work to improve the healthcare system.There is an urgent need to produce graduates who have experience of an interdisciplinary approach and who can apply both their academic knowledge to understand and contribute to the development of topics in health psychology as well as their practical skills to enhance practices such as stress and pain management in clinical health contexts. Furthermore, skills acquired by postgraduate psychological researchers are needed to promote evidence-based practice in healthcare.
The health psychology programme at Teesside presents a coherent programme of study which, at the same time, reflects the major debates and produces graduates who can creatively and innovatively contribute to the development of their field. The programme encourages you to develop your own interests within health psychology and to explore how health psychologists can work within these specialist areas. Health psychologists work in a variety of settings including the NHS, universities, private practice, health-related organisations, within communities and schools.
Professional accreditation
The course is accredited by the British Psychological Society and provides Stage 1 practitioner training, a pre-requisite for Stage II training in Health Psychology and Chartered Psychologist status.
The course comprises six core modules that aim to develop your knowledge of how psychology can be employed to facilitate and protect health, and develop your ability to effect change and suggest alternatives in healthcare provision.
You will explore current issues in health psychology, and gain transferable and practical skills to facilitate progression in the field of health psychology. Supported by a research methods team with expertise in both quantitative and qualitative methods, you will critically evaluate the nature and practice of research in health psychology, study research ethics and integrity and systematic reviewing, and develop skills in advanced research design and analysis.
The programme aims to develop writing and presentation skills that are transferable to practice, including conference presenting and writing for publication. Throughout the programme, you will be encouraged to think critically and reflect upon your skills development. Emphasis is given to the study of clinical and professional skills and you will be equipped with theoretical knowledge and practical skills to enable effective communication with patients and health professionals. You will explore our range of physiological measures, have an opportunity to practice assessment techniques and will gain knowledge of interventions including mindfulness, guided imagery and cognitive behavioural therapy.
Opportunities are provided for you to gain work experience in healthcare practice as well as to work alongside academic staff to conduct health psychology research and evaluation. The programme has strong links to organisations providing a range of volunteering opportunities as well as external agencies, including the NHS and within the public health sector.
Course structure
Core modules
Modules offered may vary.
How you learn
You learn by knowledge and skills acquisition through directive teaching, group discussions, independent exploration and examination of academic resources. You will work with project data, review professional practice scenarios, and will have an opportunity to present a poster at our annual Teesside University Psychology Conference.
The course is delivered by a team of experts with wide-ranging research, consulting and practice expertise. There are also contributions from practitioners working in the fields of research, consultancy, and NHS practice.
Staff areas of specialism include: breast cancer, complementary and alternative therapies, neurological conditions, doctor-patient communications, psychosocial interventions and sexual health. The team has close links with the Psychology Research Unit within the Social Futures Institute (SoFI) and with AskFuse, The Centre for Translational Research in Public Health.
How you are assessed
A range of assessment methods is used, from traditional essays and examinations to a critical review, poster presentation, and a video of you conducting a stress management intervention. You will develop a research proposal including a mini systematic review and will reflect on your skills and development. Your final research project is written in the style of a research article.
Previous students have conducted their final project research on topics including:
• The male pill
• Quality of life and the utility of a guided imagery intervention for individuals with motor neurone disease
• Subject and neural indicators of health-related anxiety as a consequence of using the internet
• Experiences of being a mother with epilepsy
• The effectiveness of weight loss management groups
• Stress management
• Chronic disease
After Stage 1, you can become a Chartered Psychologist by successfully completing Stage 2 training in Health Psychology. This will confer eligibility to apply for registration with the HCPC and use the protected title of ‘Health Psychologist’.
The course team includes experienced supervisors of the British Psychological Society Qualification in Health Psychology (QHP Stage 2). The MSc programme additionally provides you with the skills to pursue a PhD and the course team have the expertise to supervise a broad range of health psychology topics.
Following the MSc, our students frequently progress to a PhD, undertake the QHP Stage 2 and obtain posts within academia, the NHS, and public health services.
This Masters is ideal for those who have an undergraduate degree in Psychology or a related discipline and would like to build more knowledge and skills highly valued both in academic research and the clinical professions. The MSc is an ideal platform from which to progress to PhD studies, particularly in Cognitive or Social Neuroscience. Students will also be well-equipped should they wish to undertake further professional training in Clinical Psychology, or a related discipline.
This Masters degree bridges three research and clinical disciplines:
The major aim of this programme is to provide you with a thorough grounding in the neuroscience that underpins human cognitive brain function, clinical, social and affective interaction, and neuropathology.
Teaching will comprise of seminars, lectures, computing and statistics classes, and supervision of an individual research project. Your learning experience during the programme will be enhanced by an invited speaker’s programme of external experts who work in Clinical, Social or Cognitive neuroscience.
You will have access to all the facilities and laboratories in the Psychology Department. Check our labs facilities in the Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit (CRNU), the Baby lab, the Autism Research Group (ARG), the Human Memory Research Group, etc. For a full list of facilities visit the Psychology Department.
Our members have experience with a wide range of neuroscientific techniques, including neuropsychological testing, psychophysics, electrophysiology, and neuroimaging methods. We have particular strengths in the use of Electroencephalography (EEG), Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and Transcranial Electric Stimulation (a weak current applied to the scalp), in addition to measures of human behaviour (e.g. response times, response errors, and eye movements) and physiological measures (e.g. galvanic skin response and heart rate).
We test neurologically normal individuals, special populations (e.g. people with synesthesia) and people with expertise or acquired skills (e.g. dancers, musicians, athletes), as well as people with brain damage (e.g. neglect or split-brain patients), psychiatric diagnoses (e.g. schizophrenia), sensory deficits (e.g. visual and hearing impairments) and developmental disorders (e.g. dyslexia or autism).
We facilitate clinical internships through our specialist research Centre for Psychological Wellbeing and Neuroscience (CPWN) and with the local Mind centre.
Teaching will be comprised of lectures, seminars, group work and discussions, workshops and tutorials, reports, computing and statistics classes and the individual research dissertation.
You will undertake independent study, supported by the teaching and learning team, and will receive detailed feedback on your coursework. You will be provided with assessment and grade-related criteria which will outline your intended learning outcomes, along with the skills, knowledge and attitudes you are expected to demonstrate in order for you to complete an assessment successfully. You will also be assigned a personal tutor as your primary contact, who will advise you on academic matters and monitor your progress through the programme.
You will find a supportive vibrant research environment in the Department. The course is taught by academics, who are internationally recognised experts in their field with different backgrounds in clinical, social and cognitive neuroscience.
Check out what is going on in our laboratories and at the Center for Psychological Wellbeing and Neuroscience (CPWN).
Find our more about our work on our Facebook group.
Your learning will be assessed through essays, examinations, oral presentations, research methods projects and interpretation of statistical analyses, formal research proposals and a dissertation.
The programme consists of eight taught modules worth 15 credits each with around 30-34 hours of face-to-face contact, supported by online resources and an empirical research project (worth 60 credits).
You will learn about the latest advances in clinical, social and cognitive neuroscience and develop an appreciation of the reciprocal nature of research and practice in these domains. For example how insights from functional neuroimaging inform our understanding of neurological disorders and how clinical observations inform neurocognitive modelling.
This course will provide you with knowledge and skills highly valued both in academic research and the clinical professions. The MSc is an ideal platform from which to progress to PhD studies, particularly in Cognitive or Social Neuroscience. You will also be well-equipped should you wish to undertake further professional training in Clinical Psychology, or a related discipline.
The knowledge and skills you will acquire in this programme are highly valuable, whether you choose to pursue further research or an applied occupation. They will enhance your employability prospects in a wide range of sectors including the pharmaceutical industry, neuromarketing, the computing industry, science and the media, science and the arts, business or education.
This British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited conversion programme is designed to provide you with a broad and critical awareness of psychological theory and practice. We have particular expertise in quantitative methods, and our course would particularly suit those from a Science background. There will be the possibility for students to specialise in Cognitive Neuroscience or Clinical Psychology in their choice of optional courses. In addition, graduates from the MSc will have a range of generic intellectual and practical skills, including initiative, self-reliance and critical ability, which are easily adaptable to the needs of the labour market. Training in psychological research methods and project work will be included in the programme.
Modes of delivery include lectures, seminars, small group teaching and research projects.
This MSc can function as both a feeder for a PhD but also as an industry focused qualification. Graduates of this programme may go onto further academic training and pursue a PhD. In addition to the academic benefits of this programme, this MSc will be attractive to a wider job market, to those who do not wish to pursue a PhD but wish to acquire brain imaging techniques and have the academic experience of working within a high quality research environment. The MSc will also prepare those with UG Neuroscience degrees who wish to eventually become academic scientists.
Our MRes Psychology research-focused course will give you in-depth theoretical understanding, knowledge and practical experience of key research paradigms, research designs and statistical techniques used in psychology and, more broadly, in the social sciences.
You will receive extensive training in:
You will also receive training in meta-analytical techniques, experience sampling, physiological recording methods, eye-tracking and working with children.
Our MRes focuses on various forms of dissemination activity including:
You will also develop your critical thinking skills. We encourage you to question the evidence base of many assertions made in the media.
We will train you in the ability to take published articles in a number of domains of psychology and critically analyse components such as theoretical assumptions, methodologies used, data analysis (both qualitative and quantitative) and interpretation of the data. We will point you to wider domains of critical thinking in the realm of science.
This MRes provides one-year, master's-level postgraduate training that constitutes the first year of ESRC 1+3 postgraduate PhD studentships awarded through the ESRC Northwest Doctoral Training College for full-time, part-time and CASE students.
Course units are taught using a combination of lecture-seminars, workshops, problem-based learning exercises, worked examples, self-paced online training, student presentations and independent supervised study.
You are required to attend weekly research seminars given by visiting speakers throughout the year, as well as research and career management skills courses, a variety of which are provided by the University's careers service. This training will equip you with both academic and transferable skills, including oral and written communication, time management and information management skills.
You will also have the opportunity to attend a teaching assistant/demonstrators course and language courses provided by the University's Language Centre.
Key academic staff
Assessment is by examination, continuous assessment in the form of essays, practical reports and exercises, and a dissertation.
Full-time MRes students take six taught course units. Full-time PGDip students take the same six course units, but no dissertation.
Typical taught compulsory course units include:
You will work collaboratively with your supervisor(s) to produce a high quality dissertation using qualitative, quantitative or mixed research methods. Dissertation work is supported by taught sessions including topics such as literature searching, designing a programme of research and critical thinking skills.
Our course is designed primarily for students wishing to pursue research careers in psychology. It is also likely to be attractive if you wish to extend your training, with an emphasis on research methods, and if you work in social or health services, or in marketing and cognate disciplines.
Past careers and destinations of our MRes students have included:
The programme gives you the opportunity to critically examine the theoretical bases of science in understanding sport and exercise, the assessment methods and their practical application within physiology, psychology and biomechanics.
This programme will enable you to gain a critical appreciation of a multi-disciplinary approach to contemporary issues in sport and exercise science, along with the assessment of performance and support for the exerciser and athlete. You will be equipped to critically analyse and evaluate complex and specialised assessment and support techniques in sport and exercise, and to select the most appropriate methods for clients from one (or all) of the disciplines of biomechanics, physiology and psychology.
In helping you build on your practical skills, the course will enable students to understand the relationships between theoretical concepts and current techniques of assessment and support, through a range of practice-based learning and assessment where you will benefit from the feedback of staff and peers. This course will give you opportunities to gain knowledge and understanding in applied ways in relation to sport and exercise science field.
You will also have the opportunity to conduct independent research project with the support and supervision from our staff. You will have access to the state-of-the-art facilities in our Sport and Exercise Research Centre.
You will be able to select a range of modules from the three key disciplines in the programme, psychology, biomechanics and physiology, with a wide selection of optional modules and the chance to undertake your own research in an area that interests you.
Key modules will look at traditional, contemporary and innovative approaches in the disciplines for understanding, evaluating, and supporting clients. Other modules on offer allow you to study more in-depth knowledge and its application in sport and exercise science, such as nutrition, psychology of sport performance, neuromuscular function, and human gait.
Modules
Here are examples of modules:
Pathways include teaching, coaching, sport public relations and promotion, sports consultant, lecturer or further academic study.
Studying both cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology will give a thorough grounding in the scientific investigation of the neural mechanisms underlying human behaviour and the effects of brain injury on cognitive function. You will be taught the theoretical and biological foundations of cognitive science, and undertake advanced training in statistics and neuropsychological research methods.
Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of biological substrates underlying cognition, with a focus on the neural substrates of mental processes. It is a branch of both psychology and neuroscience, overlapping with disciplines such as biological psychology, cognitive psychology and neuropsychology. Cognitive neuropsychology uses data from single cases of individuals with brain injury or neurological illness to refine theoretical models of cognitive processing.
You explore topics including:
Our research is challenging and ground-breaking, with 90% rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (REF 2014), placing us in the top 15 in the UK. We are supported by some of the most prestigious funding bodies, including the ESRC, European Commission and the Leverhulme Trust.
We are a warm and friendly Department, and we wish to welcome recent graduates of psychology (or a closely related subject such as cognitive science). This course is popular with international students (particularly those from North America). Our students receive a high quality Masters degree within one year and benefit from small class sizes and strong research training.
Masters programmes in Education and TESOL – Scholarships available for outstanding candidates
