Overview
If you enjoy working in a business environment and are interested in how to improve effectiveness at both a corporate and individual level, this professionally accredited course sets you on the path to becoming a practising Occupational Psychologist and Chartered Psychologist.
Accredited by British Psychological Society (BPS), the course confers stage one of two training levels required to be a registered Occupational Psychologist. You’ll be taught by our highly respected and experienced course team, which includes staff who are qualified themselves, who sit on the BPS Board of Assessors in Occupational Psychology and the Division of Occupational Psychology Training Committee, which promotes the professional interests of occupational psychologists.
You should gain a thorough grounding in the theory and practical skills necessary to apply evidence-based social psychological research in the workplace. We cover a wide range of topics, such as work and wellbeing, psychological assessment at work, leadership, engagement and motivation and learning, training and development.
Why Coventry University?
An award-winning university, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible experience. We continue to invest in both our facilities and our innovative approach to education. Our students benefit from industry-relevant teaching, and resources and support designed to help them succeed. These range from our modern library and computing facilities to dedicated careers advice and our impressive Students’ Union activities.
COVID-19
The University may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2020/2021 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to Covid-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.
Global ready
An international outlook, with global opportunitiesEmployability
Career-ready graduates, with the skills to succeedStudent experience
All the support you need, in a top student cityAccreditation and Professional Recognition
This course is accredited and recognised by the following professional bodies:
British Psychological Society (BPS) - Accredited Occupational Psychology
This course is currently accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and is recognised as meeting Stage 1 training requirements for qualifying as an Occupational Psychologist.
Graduates must achieve at least 50% for all modules contributing to the accredited MSc degree (BPS Standards for the Accreditation of the Masters Programme in Occupational Psychology. Graduates who do not meet this requirement will exit with a non-accredited award, MSc Occupational Psychological Studies. To achieve the necessary number of credits for all non-accredited awards, graduates must achieve the necessary 40% pass mark for all modules contributing to the award.
Course information
The course has been designed to meet the accreditation criteria of the British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Occupational Psychology and provide Stage 1 of the occupational route for eligibility to chartered membership, provided you possess Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) from your undergraduate studies.
As such, it provides a thorough empirical, theoretical and methodological introduction to the field of occupational psychology.
We place a significant emphasis on professional research methods, developing your knowledge and skills in planning, carrying out, analysing and writing about research in applied psychology. You’ll gain a sophisticated awareness of problems, issues and ethics in applied research in psychology, such as confidentiality and data protection.
A core part of the degree will be your dissertation, which enables you to engage in a supervised but independently undertaken empirical research project. This offers a unique and exciting opportunity to provide a noteworthy contribution to the current understanding and practice of Occupational Psychology. You will investigate in depth an area of specific interest – anything from zero hour contracts to workplace bullying.
Top 200
For the 3rd year in a row Coventry University has been ranked one of the top 200 universities in the world to study psychology.Read news article
Times Higher Education
Course Specification
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Modules
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
In more detail...
The course covers the five core areas of the new BPS Occupational Psychology curriculum – psychological assessment at work; learning training and development; leadership, engagement and motivation; wellbeing and work; and work design, organisational change and development.
Intended for Psychology graduates, this is a practice-oriented course with the vast majority of assessment based on your ability to practically and effectively apply the principles, theories and research of psychology to workplace case studies and scenarios. You’ll have an opportunity to explore diverse organisational or workplace phenomena, such as ergonomics, personnel management and time management, choosing the focus of your research.
We have a number of strong links with numerous public and private, commercial, not-for-profit and charitable organisations, which offer placements, internships or provide interesting contexts for research. For example, the course team is currently working with West Midlands Fire Service to develop and evaluate a situational judgement test to assess situational preparedness.
You’ll learn how to act in accordance with the legal, ethical and professional standards and regulations that apply to the practice of occupational psychologists, including those of the BPS and the Health and Care Professions Care Council (HCPC).
Our faculty has applied occupational psychological experience, either through becoming Occupational Psychologists themselves or through consultancy-based work. Many of the lecturers are research-active too, which offers the potential for student involvement. Recent projects have ranged from looking at the ergonomics of a prison waiting-room to developing assessments of operational preparedness for West Midlands Fire Service.
- Additional opportunities to secure certification in British Psychological Society (BPS) psychometric testing offered based upon demand (additional funding required).
- Guest lectures from practicing Occupational or Business Psychologists. Recent topics have covered careers in Occupational Psychology and Stage 2 practice.
Your main study themes are:
- Psychological assessment at work: An introduction to personnel selection and assessment including job analysis, competency frameworks, selection methods, development of a selection process and legal issues in relation to selection.
- Work and wellbeing: Provides an understanding of how work links with an individual’s personal and organisational wellbeing. Examines how work is structured (work and non-work) and the negative aspects of work including stress, workplace bullying and the roles of emotions.
- Applying psychology to work and organisations: Provides models for reflecting on evidenced-based practice, such as the scientist-practitioner model, as well as specific tools and techniques to enable the gathering, analysing and feeding back of data in organisational contexts. We also look at the consultancy cycle, project management and reflective practice.
- Leadership, engagement and motivation: An overview of theories and empirical research of work motivation and its relationship to performance appraisal and performance management. We cover the concepts of leadership, power and influence and their impact on employee engagement, including issues of positive and negative responses to work, such as organisational citizenship or derailment.
- Work design, change and development: Develops critical and creative practice in the field of work, design, change and development. We explore a broad range of topics, including organisational structure, design and culture, models of change and development, performance and communications, the design of jobs, work systems and environments, workplace safety and methods for managing risk and reducing human error.
- Learning, training and development: Develops an understanding of theory and conceptual approaches to design, implementation and evaluation of training programmes. We examine the training cycle and how approaches to training can be applied according to the context and requirements.
The course is currently accredited by the BPS, features modules including Research Methods, and the final project involves an independent empirical research piece. If you have not studied research methods before and are not interested in gaining Stage 1 accreditation towards becoming an Occupational Psychologist, you should apply for the accredited Business and Organisational Psychology MSc, where you will study modules that include Consumer Psychology, and your final research piece will include a Literature Review and Business Plan.
There are some differences in entry requirements between courses.
Campus-based learning (HLST185): This course runs October to September with the full-time route requiring two days' attendance per week over one year, and the part-time route requiring one day of attendance per week over two years.
Online learning (HLST186): This course runs for two years from January to December with no face-to-face requirements.
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module. This course is predominantly assessed by coursework but also include a research methods class test.
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes.
On completion, you will be able to:
- Establish and evaluate competence in applying psychological knowledge and skills to the practice of Occupational Psychology
- Evaluate and synthesise competence in theoretical and methodological aspects of Occupational Psychology at master’s level
- Critically evaluate psychological literature
- Establish and evaluate skills and knowledge of research methods and ethical procedures in order to undertake an empirical investigation in the field of Occupational Psychology
- Evaluate the theoretical principles of psychological knowledge
- Critically evaluate psychological business analysis techniques
- Critically evaluate the relevance of theory and research to professional practice
- Evidence and synthesise contemporary psychological research relevant to the field of Occupational Psychology
- Systematically evaluate and select appropriate principles and techniques for Occupational Psychology interventions
- Critically evaluate and apply research findings in the field of Occupational Psychology to professional practice
- Synthesise information from a range of sources in order to demonstrate a coherent understanding of the links between theory and practice
- Design, conduct and evaluate research in an area of Occupational Psychology
- Evidence the appropriate application of ethical and legal codes of conduct.
Campus-based learning (HLST185): On the full-time route, your ‘face-to-face’ teaching will take place two days per week over one year, with one day per week over two years on the part-time route.
Online learning (HLST186): This course has been designed specifically to allow you to study when it is convenient for you. You can access materials any time of the day or night, seven days a week. The course material is presented online and contains interactive activities. You can interact with students and staff through forum and peer-feedback activities.
Please note that each module credit requires 10 hours of study, thus a 20 credit module requires 200 hours of study including lectures, workshop and independent study. Self-directed study includes completing the recommended reading that accompanies your lectures, working on coursework assignments, taking part in group work and exam revision.
The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.
As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.
We offer a multicultural, international experience attracting students from a wide range of diverse backgrounds and different countries, particularly Malaysia, China, India, Nigeria, Germany and Bulgaria, who provide an insight and experience into different organisational cultures.
Many of the organisations we have links with for commercial activity and research, operate on an international basis. We also collaborate with internationally renowned researchers across the globe, with past projects including topics such as work-life balance and meaningful work.
Global ready
Did you know we help more students travel internationally than any other UK university according to data from the experts in higher education data and analysis, HESA?
In 2018/19, we were able to provide a total of 5,469 experiences abroad that lasted at least five days.
Much of this travel is made possible through our Global Leaders Programme, which enables students to prepare for the challenges of the global employment market, as well as strengthening and developing their broader personal and professional skills.
Explore our international experiences1st for
International experiences
Sending more students overseas than any other UK uni 2016/17
5,469
Student experiences
The number of student trips abroad for at least 5 days in 2018/19
12,000
and counting
The number of students we’ve helped travel internationally since 2016
12
global programmes
As well as trips, we offer other opportunities like language courses
Entry Requirements
Tuition Fees
We pride ourselves on offering competitive tuition fees which we review on an annual basis and offer a wide range of scholarships to support students with their studies. Course fees are calculated on the basis of what it costs to teach each course and we aim for total financial transparency.
EU student fees
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year remain eligible for the same fees as home students and the same financial support. Financial support comes from Student Finance England, and covers undergraduate and postgraduate study for the duration of their course, providing they meet the residency requirement.
For tuition fee loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that three year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
For maintenance loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the UK and Islands for the five years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that five year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
Career prospects
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
Occupational psychologists work with organisations and businesses of all sizes across the private, public and voluntary sectors. According to the BPS, the Civil Service is one of the largest single employers of occupational psychologists, but they are also used by the Prison Service, the Home Office, the Employment Department Group (including the Employment Service), the Ministry of Defence and the Civil Service Commission.
There are two stages to becoming a Chartered Member of the BPS through the occupational psychology training route – requiring a combination of professional education and practice. In the first instance, you need the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), which is achieved by completing an accredited undergraduate degree or conversion course, followed by an accredited Masters in Occupational Psychology, like this course. The second stage requires two years of supervised practice. In order to use the title Occupational Psychologist, you need to have completed both stages and register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
The skills gained from successfully completing this course will help prepare you for senior management roles in a range of different settings, including human resources, business development, personnel selection, career development, training, marketing, advertising and management. The learning and teaching style is designed to aid independent learning and develop entrepreneurial skills, so that you may also consider self-employment as an option.
Coventry University is committed to preparing you for your future career and giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market. The university’s Talent Team provide a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your career.
Where our graduates work
Our postgraduate degree may open the doors to a variety of positions, from senior HR roles and consultants in anything from organisational change, behaviour and HR, to psychometrics, staff development and talent management.
Many of our graduates either go on to work within academia, build a career through consultancy work or go to apply the skills developed within organisations, typically in roles within human resources and personnel departments.
Disclaimer
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2020/21 Contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.
For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.
