Business and Organisational Psychology MSc

Study level: Postgraduate
male student sitting in front of a shelf of books

Develop your career path with our 100% online Business and Organisational Psychology MSc degree.

Year of entry

Location

100% online study

Study mode

Full-time
Part-time

Duration

1 year full-time
2 years part-time

Course code

HLST282

Start date

January 2025
May 2025


Course overview

Benefit from the flexibility of our 100% online Business and Organisational Psychology MSc degree. Start your path to a new career by learning when and where you choose, within given deadlines, around your existing career, family, or other commitments. Our digital learning environment offers you the opportunity to study completely online, with our guidance and support.

Through practical case studies, you will explore the individual, team and organisational factors that can affect workplace behaviours. 

These may include decision-making, personnel selection, motivation and teamwork, as well as techniques needed to manage such situations.

Five stars in a speech bubble.

5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities

QS Stars University Ratings

A hand clicks a button with a person on

Ranked 11th Modern University in UK by the Times

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

Icon of person sharing information with three others

Ranked 8th for Overall Satisfaction in PTES

Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2024

Why you should study this course

The course aims to provide you with a thorough grounding in the theory and practical skills required to apply psychological research, business tools and methods within a variety of organisational settings and corporate cultures. You will explore learning business psychology-related techniques to promote individual workplace wellbeing and organisational success.

It aims to prepare you for business and organisational psychology roles in management or consultancy, in human resources and the many other occupational functions. These could include learning, training and development, recruitment, health and wellbeing.

  • Accredited by the Association for Business Psychology (ABP)1.
  • Taught by academics, many of whom benefit from practitioner experience either as a Business Psychologist or through consultancy-based work (staff may be subject to change).
  • Dedicated consumer psychology module, which provides a critical understanding of consumer behaviour and applied marketing and advertising practice.
  • Opportunity to develop an evidence-based practice intervention plan as an outcome of a systematic literature review.

Accreditation and professional recognition

This course is accredited1 and recognised by the following professional bodies for the 2024/25 intake:

Association for Business Psychology

Association for Business Psychology

The course is accredited by the Association for Business Psychology (ABP) and aligns to their standards and codes of practice. For further information, please consult their website https://theabp.org.uk/


CMI Chartered Management Institute

Chartered Management Institute

The course currently includes the  Chartered Management Institute (CMI) accredited module, . Upon successful completion of the Leading Strategic Change through Creativity and Innovation module (achieving a pass grade), you will gain the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice, subject to successful registration and CMI moderation, at no additional cost. Further details can be found on the Professional Development module homepage. Coventry University’s accreditation with CMI is currently ongoing for the relevant module and is regularly reviewed and monitored by the CMI through their its quality systems. If the accreditation/s of this course change, we will seek to notify applicants and students as soon as possible.



What you'll study

The main study themes of this course are:

  • Work and Wellbeing: An introduction to employee wellbeing, based in applied theory and practice looking at workplace behaviours and issues, such as work life balance, stress and bullying, performance coaching and counselling including emotional triggers, mental and physical health symptoms related to the workplace, disorders and potential coping strategies and interventions.
  • Psychological Assessment at Work: The principles, theories, methods and legal issues concerning recruitment, selection and assessment.
  • Learning, Training and Development: A detailed approach of how learning and skills are acquired by individuals will be provided and opportunities to test your learning styles will be given. Knowledge of how training is applied to groups and teams and the related issues will also be practiced.
  • Leadership, Engagement and Motivation: The concepts of leadership, power and influence, and their impact on employee engagement and motivation.
  • Consultancy/Management: How to critically evaluate and develop solutions to complex, inter-related, multi-faceted issues that can be found in a variety of organisations and professional contexts.

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.


How you'll learn

Study 100% online

This course is studied completely online via our digital learning environment. It can be studied as a full-time master's programme over three semesters in one year, or on a part-time basis. Our platform provider is currently Aula.

This course can be offered on a part-time basis. Whilst we would like to give you all the information about our part-time offering here, it is tailored for each course each year depending on the number of part-time applicants. Therefore, the part-time teaching arrangements vary. Request further information about the part-time study.

When studying online you will have access to a complete set of online learning materials delivered through our approved platforms. The learning materials contain all the essential teaching you will need to complete your course and undertake your assessments. You also have access to our library's electronic resources 24/7, including thousands of books, ejournals and newspapers.

In addition to the learning assets, you will have the support of an Associate Lecturer. The Associate Lecturer will undertake weekly live sessions (recorded for those unable to attend). These sessions will be seminar based, discussing the learning materials, giving clarity, depth and direction to your learning.

The Associate Lecturer will also offer fortnightly one to one surgeries for any individual requirements and will be available for questions on platform and via email.

Prefer to study with time on campus? Click here to view our on campus course.


Teaching contact hours

As a full-time student, you will study modules totalling 180 credits each academic year. A typical 20 credit module requires a total of 200 hours study. This is made up of teaching contact hours, guided and independent study.

Teaching hours:

In a typical teaching week you will have around two contact hours of teaching. Later in the course, you will have 10 hours (total) of project supervision. Teaching is typically organised as two-hour sessions for 20-credit modules and one-hour sessions for 10-credit modules, incorporating engagement on our digital platform with content material and applying learning in associated workshops.

Guided and independent study:

Throughout your studies, you will be expected to spend time in guided and independent study to make up the required study hours per module. You’ll be digging deeper into topics, review what you’ve learned and complete assignments. This can be completed around your personal commitments. As you progress through your studies, you’ll spend more time in independent study.

Online learning:

As an innovative university, we use different teaching methods including online tools and emerging technologies.


Assessment

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.

The assessment methods may include:

  • formal examinations
  • phase tests
  • essays
  • groupwork
  • presentations
  • reports
  • projects
  • coursework
  • exams
  • individual assignments.

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.


Entry requirements

Typical entry requirements:

Typical entry requirements

The criteria for entry are:

  • an honours degree in a relevant subject (e.g. Psychology, Business or Social Science)
  • 2:1 / 2:2 or first class award.

Applicants who do not meet one or both of the two criteria above but have relevant experience will also be considered for entry on an individual basis.

Select your region to find detailed information about entry requirements:


You can view our full list of country specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page.

Alternatively, visit our International hub for further advice and guidance on finding in-country agents and representatives, joining our in-country events and how to apply.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 6.5 overall, with no component lower than 5.5

If you don't meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course. 

For more information on our approved English language tests visit our English language requirements page.

General enquiries


Fees and funding

Student Full-time Part-time
UK and International £13,550   Request fee information

For advice and guidance on tuition fees3and student loans visit our Postgraduate Finance page and see the university's Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.

We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them.

Scholarships, bursaries and discounts

To help you as much as possible please click enquire to contact our admissions team. We offer a range of scholarships, bursaries and discounts. For more information, visit our enquire page.

*Irish student fees

The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.


Facilities

All students have access to these facilities in Coventry:

People walking in front of a building which has a big library sign

The Library

You will benefit from our support designed to help you succeed and our industry-relevant teaching and resources. These include our modern library and computing facilities, dedicated careers advice and Your Students’ Union.

Glass modern building with a spire in the background

The Hub

The Hub is the centre of student campus life. It's also home to the Student Wellbeing Centre, the Spirituality and Faith Centre, the Tank Studio, Student Success Coaches and the Enterprise Hub.

Facilities are subject to availability. Access to some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) may vary from those advertised and/or may have reduced availability or restrictions where the university is following public authority guidance, decisions or orders.


Careers and opportunities

A diverse and broad range of career opportunities have been the ‘next step’ for students completing the course successfully. These have included CEOs who have gained the confidence to apply evidence-based practice to others who have careers as business consultants, leadership coaches, HR managers and training and development practitioners.

On successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

  • demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the theoretical principles of Business and Organisational Psychology as applied in a business (occupational) setting, together with relevant psychological business analysis techniques
  • critically evaluative psychological literature and apply research findings to professional practice
  • demonstrate the appropriate application of ethical and codes of conduct, analysing complex employee-related issues and selecting appropriate intervention techniques to produce creative and effective business solutions
  • produce consultancy reports based on theoretical concepts and knowledge in line with professional reporting standards in psychology
  • evidence a range of transferrable and professional skills, thereby enhancing employment and promotion opportunities. These could include presentation; problem-solving; aptitude in literacy, numeracy and IT; working independently and with others to complete tasks effectively; excellent verbal and written communication; report writing; and self-management strategies to organise time and workloads.

Our current teaching staff and the university’s career specialists, known as the Talent Team, can support your search for employment in the UK or overseas by making use of our alumni network, industrial contacts, and individual advice (subject to availability).

Where our graduates work

Many of our graduates have gone on to work as independent business consultants for companies like Kellogg's and Ricoh UK. Graduates have also found employment as business consultants, in sales, in HR, and as learning, training and development, and leadership training practitioners.


How to apply

You may also like

Coventry University (Coventry) Lady with short hair writing on a whiteboard

Psychology MSc

Coventry University (Coventry) Male student sat in front of shelf of books

Applied Psychology MSc