Occupational Psychology MSc

What makes Occupational Psychology at Worcester special?

Our BPS accredited MSc Occupational Psychology is an innovative qualification informed by research at the forefront of both the academic discipline and professional practice.

The course is open to those students who hold a psychology degree with a Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) and is ideal for students wanting to take post-graduate training in order to become Registered Occupational Psychologists.

Overview

Key features

MSc Occupational Psychology is accredited by the British Psychological Society
Guest speakers from a range of organisations, such as psychometric test publishers, occupational psychology consultancies and independent consultants
Develop your skill and knowledge through practical consultancy-style tasks, that demonstrate the application of theory and research to practice
Learn about the work carried out by Occupational/Business Psychologists within organisations and about different psychological approaches to workplace issues

The MSc Occupational Psychology is accredited by the British Psychological Society in and received seven commendations, including:

The commitment and enthusiasm of the programme team and the way in which they are closely engaged with the student cohort
The student support provided by the programme team, which is highly valued by the students
The quality and rigour of the assessment feedback provided to students
The applied nature of the assessments equips students with a range of valuable core and transferable skills
Students are given encouragement and support to engage in presenting their research at a national level
The programme team strongly emphasises the importance of the application of ethical principles

Register your interest

Enter your details below and we will keep you up to date with useful information about studying at the University of Worcester.

Entry requirements

The Occupational Psychology MSc is only open to those students who hold a 2:2 Honours degree in Psychology with Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC). Professional experience within Occupational Psychology is not a requirement for entry to this course.

Other information

If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact the Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk for advice.

Course content

Our courses are informed by research and current developments in the discipline and feedback from students, external examiners and employers. Modules do therefore change periodically in the interests of keeping the course relevant and reflecting best practice. The most up-to-date information will be available to you once you have accepted a place and registered for the course. If there are insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this might not be offered, but we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative.

Advanced Research Analysis	This module aims to consolidate undergraduate research abilities, and equip the student with the skills necessary to undertake Masters level research. As a core module of the course, research design and advanced statistical analysis are covered, using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Psychological Assessment at Work	This module introduces the student to the means of fulfilling the organisational need to have people in work positions who either have the characteristics required for effective performance of the tasks of a job or have the capacities for relevant learning and development.
Work Design, Organisational Change and Development	This module will introduce the student to a range of factors affecting organisational effectiveness including the design of working environments, the consideration of risk management, organisational change and development strategies and contemporary themes within consumer psychology.
Learning, Training and Development	This module introduces the student to procedures designed to bring about learning and development in individuals, including the acquisition of skills and the development of work related competence, employability and attitudes, through training, career planning and coaching.
Wellbeing and Work	This module introduces the student to the link between well-being and work from both individual and organisational perspectives. Mental and physical health will be considered explicitly, with a focus on the psychological evidence base for relevant interventions.
Leadership Engagement and Motivation	This module introduces the student to the wide range of theories of leadership, engagement and motivation in the workplace, and their relationship with approaches to performance including management systems, relations between management and employees, organisational commitment and perceptions of fairness.
Professional Skills Development	This module introduces you to range of professional skills linking to career development. Overall models for reflection on evidence-based practice and also tools and techniques for gathering, analysing and feeding back data in organisational contexts.
Dissertation	The Dissertation is designed to allow the student to carry out a major piece of empirical research in an applied setting, based on the foundation of their course, for example Business/ Occupational Psychology Masters students will be expected to carry out their Dissertation in an organisational setting.

Teaching and assessment

The University places emphasis on enabling students to develop the independent learning capabilities that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement. A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support through the personal academic tutoring system enables you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences that will enable you to flourish and be successful.

Teaching

You are taught through a combination of on-campus lectures and self-directed study tasks. All lectures are held on a Friday and Saturday, the date depends on your module choice. The days involve engaging with different learning activities, such as lectures, practical tasks (individual and/or group), discussion and reflection.

In addition, meetings with your allocated personal academic tutor and your research supervisor are scheduled when required and in line with the module handbook.

Contact time

The programme is taught across two-day blocks on a Friday and Saturday, each 15 credit module being four days in total, and the 30 credit module being eight days in total. Full time students complete all eight taught modules across two semesters, four modules per semester, plus the dissertation within a third semester in one academic year. Part time students select which modules and how many they want to complete in each year, with their dissertation in the final year.

Independent self-study

In addition to the contact time, full time students are expected to undertake around 24 hours of personal self-study per week. Part time students are expected to undertake around 6 hours of personal self-study per module per week. Typically, this will involve further reading on each module and additional reading and research to complete each module's assessments. Assessments may consist of written essays, individual presentations, poster presentation and case study work.

Independent learning is supported by a range of excellent learning facilities, including the Hive and library resources, the virtual learning environment, and extensive electronic learning resources. There is also additional reading and resources on the module's Blackboard site, which will be available once you register for the module.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes Occupational Psychologists, Researchers, Academics, Counselling Staff and Consultants/Practitioners.

Teaching is informed by the research and consultancy, and all of our lecturers are practitioners with significant training and skills in their area of expertise.

Assessment

The precise assessment requirements for an individual student in an academic year will vary according to the mandatory and optional modules taken, but a typical formal summative assessment pattern, for a full-time student on both sites, for each year of the course is:

Semester 1

1 Research proposal
1 Analysis of statistical data
1 Design of a training programme
1 Design of a selection process1 Reflective log

Semester 2

1 Case study
1 Group presentation
1 Seen exam
1 Consultancy report
1 Reflective log

Semester 3

Dissertation

Feedback

You will receive feedback on practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. Feedback is intended to support learning and you are encouraged to discuss it with personal academic tutors and module tutors as appropriate.

We aim to provide you with feedback on formal course work assessments within 20 working days of hand-in.

Programme specification

For comprehensive details on the aims and intended learning outcomes of the course, and the means by which these are achieved through learning, teaching and assessment, please download the latest programme specification document.

Victoria Stephens - Occupational Psychology MSc

Current occupation: Business Change Officer Police Service

Having thoroughly enjoyed my undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Worcester, I knew how knowledgeable and friendly the lecturers were. It was an obvious decision for me to choose Worcester University for my Occupational MSc due to the friendly nature of the course and Campus.

For a student with no industry experience, the lecturers and fellow students would touch on practical examples and work to bring the course to life. This helped reduce the discrepancy in the big step of going out into the world of work having been a student for so long. Being based at the Psychology Unit also gave a professional feel to the course whilst also remaining personal unlike larger institutes.

The Occupational Psychology course provided me with a real breadth of skills that has been attractive to many career paths. Within 5 years of graduating from my MSc I have gained experience in working with: recruitment for Jaguar Land Rover, Training and Development for the Military, Knowledge Management for Nuclear Energy and Business Change for the Police.

There is no doubt without my skills from the MSc course I would not have been successful in these roles. My skills were often unique compared to the rest of the team, which gives organisations the competitive edge. Unlike many other courses and Universities I have been able to find plenty of relevant work which would help me to build a portfolio to become a Registered Occupational Psychologist.

Not only have I gained relevant employable skills; I also have a passion for what I do which no doubt has come from the lecturer’s enthusiasm and knowledge of Occupational Psychology. I would not hesitate to recommend this course for anyone looking to pursue a career in Occupational or Business Psychology.

Hannah Ryder - Occupational Psychology MSc

My experience of the MSc Occupational Psychology course is one that I will never forget, and which has taught me so much educationally and personally. The wide variety of modules taught on the course are well structured with diverse types of assessment which have given me the opportunity to challenge myself but also play to my strengths and to excel in an area that I love.

The block teaching of the course was a great selling point for me and has been a fantastic way to learn and experience different methods of teaching, whilst also allowing me to work part-time.

Being part of a smaller group of students is a stark contrast to my undergraduate degree but one which has boosted my confidence no end. I attribute this to feeling that I can make contributions which are valued by other students on the course and, very importantly, by the teaching staff. The support I have received throughout the course has been one of the best things about this experience; the module team have made me feel respected and appreciated throughout my time on the course, and through sharing their academic and life experiences have encouraged me to see that I am capable of anything I wish to achieve going forward.

At the University of Worcester you will meet friends for life and will meet such inspirational people. I cannot recommend the MSc Occupational Psychology course and staff highly enough, and having the opportunity to study in such a beautiful city is an added bonus – I only wish that I could do it all over again!

Careers

Employability

Our courses will equip you for employment within a diverse range of organisations. Occupational Psychologists work in training, environments, recruitment, coaching, organisational change, management, consultancy and in academic research and teaching.

Many Occupational Psychologists are employed within the public sector, such as the Police, Civil Service Commission, Department for Work and Pensions, Ministry of Defence, HM Prison Service and the NHS.

Students who have completed our programmes have gone on to work in the following areas:

PhD study
Psychometric testing
Psychology, management or recruitment consultancy
Human resources
Health and wellbeing within the NHS
Coaching
Counselling
Management within organisations

The structure and content of the programme allows students to gain skills that are valued by employers and help them to find their chosen career.

Many of our students use the Dissertation as a springboard into their chosen research area, with a large number of our students continuing their studies at PhD. All students are encouraged and supported to submit their work to national conferences. The course is always well represented at the Division of Occupational Psychology conference by both staff and students.

Fees and funding

Full-time tuition fees	UK and EU students The standard tuition fee for full-time home and EU students enrolling on MA/MSc/MBA/MRes courses in the academic year 2025/26 is £9,450 per year. For more details, please visit our course fees page.	International students The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on MA/MSc/MBA/MRes courses in the academic year 2025/26 is £17,900 per year. For more details, please visit our course fees page.
Part-time tuition fees	UK and EU students The standard tuition fees for part-time home and EU students enrolling on MA/MSc/MBA/MRes/PGCert/PGDip courses in the academic year 2025/26 are £788 per 15-credit module, £1,575 per 30-credit module, £2,363 per 45-credit module, and £3,150 per 60 credit module. For more details, please visit our course fees page.	International students The standard tuition fees for part-time international students enrolling on MA/MSc/MBA/MRes courses in the academic year 2025/26 are £1,492 per 15-credit module, £2,983 per 30-credit module, £4,475 per 45-credit module, and £5,967 per 60 credit module. For more details, please visit our course fees page.
Additional costs	Every course has day-to-day costs for basic books, stationery, printing and photocopying. The amounts vary between courses. If your course offers a placement opportunity, you may need to pay for an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.
Accommodation	Finding the right accommodation is paramount to your university experience. Our halls of residence are home to friendly student communities, making them great places to live and study. We have over 1,000 rooms across our range of student halls. With rooms to suit every budget and need, from our 'Traditional Halls' at £131 per week to 'Ensuite Premium Halls' at £228 per week (2025/26 prices). For full details visit our accommodation page.
Postgraduate loans	The Government will provide a loan of up to £12,471 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2024 per eligible student for postgraduate Masters study. It will be at your own discretion whether the loan is used towards fees, maintenance or other costs. For more details visit our postgraduate loans page.

Full-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard tuition fee for full-time home and EU students enrolling on MA/MSc/MBA/MRes courses in the academic year 2025/26 is £9,450 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

International students

The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on MA/MSc/MBA/MRes courses in the academic year 2025/26 is £17,900 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Part-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard tuition fees for part-time home and EU students enrolling on MA/MSc/MBA/MRes/PGCert/PGDip courses in the academic year 2025/26 are £788 per 15-credit module, £1,575 per 30-credit module, £2,363 per 45-credit module, and £3,150 per 60 credit module.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

International students

The standard tuition fees for part-time international students enrolling on MA/MSc/MBA/MRes courses in the academic year 2025/26 are £1,492 per 15-credit module, £2,983 per 30-credit module, £4,475 per 45-credit module, and £5,967 per 60 credit module.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Additional costs

Every course has day-to-day costs for basic books, stationery, printing and photocopying. The amounts vary between courses.

If your course offers a placement opportunity, you may need to pay for an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Accommodation

Finding the right accommodation is paramount to your university experience. Our halls of residence are home to friendly student communities, making them great places to live and study.

We have over 1,000 rooms across our range of student halls. With rooms to suit every budget and need, from our 'Traditional Halls' at £131 per week to 'Ensuite Premium Halls' at £228 per week (2025/26 prices).

For full details visit our accommodation page.

Postgraduate loans

The Government will provide a loan of up to £12,471 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2024 per eligible student for postgraduate Masters study. It will be at your own discretion whether the loan is used towards fees, maintenance or other costs.

For more details visit our postgraduate loans page.

How to apply

Please make your application via our online application form. If you have any questions, please contact our admissions office or the course leader using the details below.

Apply now for a September start.