Master of Science - Health Psychology

Health Psychologists promote healthier lifestyles. They try to find ways to encourage people to improve their health and also to improve the healthcare system as a whole. For example, helping people to lose weight or stop smoking, or advising doctors on better ways to communicate with their patients.

Students will learn to use their knowledge of psychology to promote general wellbeing and understand physical illness. Students will gain the skills needed to help people deal with the psychological and emotional aspects of health and illness, and to support people who are chronically ill.

This MSc Health Psychology has a strong experiential focus and emphasises the application of health psychology to real world settings. The course includes contributions from healthcare practitioners. Students will will carry out a brief placement in a healthcare setting, which can include the NHS, third sector (charities) or industry. Students are encouraged to carry out research in healthcare contexts where possible.

This Masters in Health Psychology is designed to meet the British Psychological Society’s requirements for Stage One training towards professional Health Psychologist status. Through formal teaching and practical experience, students will acquire relevant skills and core competencies as a basis for professional training in health psychology (Stage Two) or other applications of psychology to health issues.