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Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

Our highly respected MSc Organizational Psychology, accredited by the British Psychological Society, will develop your understanding of people and organisations within the context of both occupational psychology and organisational behaviour. Why choose this course?

  • We are proud of being the first department of occupational psychology established over 60 years ago in the UK. We also started the first online organisational psychology programme in 1981.
  • As the home of organisational psychology in the UK, we have strong links to employers and organisations, with opportunities for additional training, networking, internships, career learning and research collaboration.
  • This course is ideal if you are interested in pursuing a career in organisational psychology, want to develop in a role related to managing people, or simply want to pursue your intellectual passion in this area.
What you will learn As the world of work continues to change, we equip you to ask, and answer, questions about the impact of work on individuals, organisations and society. You will begin by examining ideas about careers as the axis of the individual-organisation relationship, important at social and economic levels and relevant to you at any stage of your life. Simultaneously, you will learn about organisational research methods to prepare for carrying out your own project. You will go on to examine learning, motivation, organisational change, leadership, selection and assessment, and wellbeing. How you will learn Teaching on the course is informed by cutting-edge research from the teaching team and from the field. The course is structured around flexibility, with recorded lectures and pre-set readings offering you choice about where and when you study and learn. These are accompanied by weekly, evening seminar sessions where you will have the chance to engage with teaching staff and peers discussing that week’s learning content. We also have termly weekend sessions on campus. This course is part of our new Birkbeck Flexible Master’s UK, which gives you the choice of how you want to study - on campus, online or via flexible learning, which combines both. Highlights
  • 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 online. You will have access to an extensive range of electronic resources for each module.
  • This degree provides the materials to enhance or develop your career in organisational psychology, management, human resources, training and development or consultancy.
Careers and employability On successfully graduating from this MSc Organizational Psychology, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including:
  • a broad knowledge base in the field of organisational psychology
  • critical thinking skills in order to evaluate theory and assess its application to organisational contexts
  • sound research skills to develop your own independent investigations and to critically evaluate existing research investigations and findings
  • the ability to critically assess and challenge practices and procedures in organisational psychology
  • an awareness of ethical issues in research and practice
  • synthesising and applying academic knowledge to an applied work situation and issues
  • translating academic understanding to a lay audience.
Our MSc Organizational Psychology is industry-relevant, so graduates can pursue career paths in psychology, human resources and management. Possible professions may include:
  • psychometric developer/assessor
  • recruitment and selection associate/consultant
  • learning and development advisor
  • business or organisational psychologist
  • management consultant
  • human resources officer
  • change manager/consultant
  • health and safety/occupational health and safety officer
  • research associate
  • talent manager.

Modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

Assessment method

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.

Professional bodies

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

  • British Psychological Society

How to apply

International applicants

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this course is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.

Entry requirements

A second-class honours degree (2:2) or above. Work experience of any kind is desirable. To proceed to Stage 2 of accreditation with the British Psychological Society (BPS), you need to fulfil the requirements for the Graduate Basis for Chartered (GBC) Membership of the BPS. This requires a BPS-recognised qualification in psychology. Management development professionals and consultants without an undergraduate degree but with suitable professional qualifications or significant work experience in a range of organisations may be considered in line with Birkbeck’s mission of widening participation. On your application form, please list all your relevant qualifications and experience, including those you expect to achieve. As this course requires a commitment of approximately 18 hours (part-time) or 35 hours (full-time) of study a week, please discuss in your personal statement how this time will fit in alongside your existing work, family and personal commitments.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £6225 Year 1
Northern Ireland £6225 Year 1
Scotland £6225 Year 1
Wales £6225 Year 1
International £10170 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing on their course in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases.
Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS