Course summary

Advance your knowledge. Unravel different theories. Apply what you learn to all aspects of health, illness and disability. Everything we teach on our MSc Health Psychology will equip you with the practical skills and specialist knowledge you need for your future. We’ve designed this programme for psychology graduates who have Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership with the British Psychological Society (BPS). You’ll develop the interpersonal, evaluative, technical and creative skills to assess health issues and design effective interventions. Learning flexibly in person and online, we’ll help you sharpen your analytical, problem-solving and advanced research skills to prepare you for postgraduate employment or further study in health psychology and beyond. To help you think about your future, we’ll introduce you to a range of career pathways and specialist roles that you could explore. What you'll study During MSc Health Psychology, we’ll immerse you in all aspects of health psychology theory and practice. You’ll explore key issues and interventions designed to encourage changes to health-related behaviour, boost wellbeing and promote recovery. The key to improving health is understanding the experience of being ill and the role psychology can play in care. Untangle the complex relationship between mind and body by examining medically unexplained illnesses and conditions. Examine the role of psychological factors in disease. You’ll look at the role of environmental, social, cultural and economic factors, as well as exploring other reasons why people engage in health-damaging behaviours. Most importantly, we’ll discuss how we can encourage them to make healthier lifestyle choices. We’ll introduce you to a range of research methods – multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), regression, mediation moderation, and more. You’ll also gain experience using a range of qualitative research approaches too. Developing expertise in these areas will prepare you for your dissertation and serve you throughout your career. Social responsibility is a critical part of the course. While carrying out research, you’ll make sure your findings are presented in an inclusive format. We’ll also discuss the style of language used to discuss health psychology.