Organizational Psychology MSc

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.

Accreditation

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.

Exemptions

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.

Course content

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.

Course structure

Compulsory modules

You’ll take nine compulsory modules including your dissertation.

• The Psychology of Effective Organizations 15 credits
• Personnel Selection and Training 15 credits
• Systems Thinking and Consulting Practice 15 credits
• Organizational Development and Change 15 credits
• Dissertation 60 credits
• Managing Performance and Developing Careers 15 credits
• Research Design and Analysis 15 credits
• Advanced Behavioural Research Design and Analysis 15 credits
• Commercial and Professional Skills 15 credits

For more information on typical modules, read Organizational Psychology MSc Full Time in the course catalogue

Learning and teaching

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

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.

Career opportunities

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.

Careers support

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.

Visit the Organizational Psychology MSc page on the University of Leeds website for more details!