MSc Psychology with a specialisation in Business

Program Overview

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The MSc Psychology with Specialization in Business or Health from the University of Strathclyde is an online, flexible program that provides a comprehensive grounding in core psychology and specialized knowledge in either business or health applications. Accredited by the British Psychological Society, it offers a route to Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership and prepares graduates for careers in human resources, healthcare, research, and other fields.

Program Outline

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MSc Psychology with a Specialisation in Business or Health - University of Strathclyde

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Degree Overview:

This MSc program offered by the School of Psychological Sciences & Health at the University of Strathclyde is a unique online Masters program with a flexible delivery mode and a choice of specializations: Business or Health.

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Objectives:

• Gain knowledge of the core domains of psychology.
• Develop an understanding of the applications of psychology to real life, particularly business or health contexts.
• Provide a route to gain Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS) for those with no background or an unaccredited background in psychology.
• Develop specialist knowledge in modules provided for the program in Psychology for Business or Health.

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Program Description:

The program is accredited by the British Psychological Society and offers a flexible online learning environment. Students can choose to specialize in either Business, in collaboration with the Strathclyde Business School, or Health. The program provides opportunities to develop specialist knowledge in a range of sub-disciplines.

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Outline:

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Program Structure:

• The program comprises 180 credits.
• 80 credits are dedicated to core domains of psychology.
• 40 credits are dedicated to specialist modules (either Business or Health).
• 60 credits are dedicated to an empirical research project.
• Students can choose to study full-time for 12 months or part-time over 24 months.

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Course Schedule:

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Full-time (12 months):

• Semesters 1 and 2: 60 credits of taught classes.
• Semester 2: Begin working on the empirical project.
• Summer months: Complete the majority of the project work.

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Part-time (24 months):

• Year 1: Complete 90 credits.
• Year 2: Complete the remaining 90 credits.

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Individual Modules:

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Core Modules:

• Conceptual & Historical Issues in Psychology (CHIP) and Individual Differences: Develops knowledge of the history of psychology and understanding of conceptual and contemporary issues in the discipline.
Covers personality, sex differences, genes & environment, and intelligence as a predictor of health and illness.
• Social & Developmental Psychology: Introduces the study of within and between group behavior, including attitudes, prejudice, obedience, conformity, and social identity.
Covers cognitive development across the lifespan and theoretical and empirical work in social and moral development.
• Research Design & Analyses in Psychology: Develops understanding of research methods and data analyses in psychology.
Covers ethical issues in research, strengths and limitations of various research designs, and quantitative and qualitative approaches.
• Psychobiology & Cognitive Psychology: Covers essential principles of brain function and explores topics like attention, perception, language, thinking, learning, and memory.
• Empirical Project: A cornerstone of BPS recognition, this module involves working closely with an academic supervisor on an empirical research project.

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Specialist Modules (Business):

• Organisational Psychology: Introduces modern Organisation Behaviour Modification Programmes, work attitudes, the psychological contract, and models of the psychological contract.
• Foundations of Risk: Introduces holistic and multi-disciplinary approaches to the study of risk, including technical methods, psychological and sociological perspectives.
• Leadership in Organisations: Reviews the development of leadership theory, covers group dynamics, group decision-making, team development, and the role of leadership in teams.
• Psychometrics in Organisations: Provides a history of psychological measurement in organizations, introduces ability testing, the theory of True Scores, and characteristics of testing.
Covers intelligence testing, ability tests in occupational settings, personality testing, and questionnaire construction.

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Specialist Modules (Health):

• Understanding Health: Introduces a critical psychological perspective on health, determinants of health, and their application to contemporary global and public health issues.
• Promoting Health: Provides a critical grounding in conceptual and theoretical issues pertaining to promoting health, planning, and evaluation in health promotion.

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Assessment:

• Assessment is through a mixture of coursework, including individual essays or reports, collaborative writing tasks, online quizzes, verbal presentations, and class exams.
• Continuous feedback is provided on student progress.

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Teaching:

• The course is delivered by internationally recognized Psychology researchers from the School of Psychological Sciences & Health and staff from the Strathclyde Business School who are organizational psychologists and chartered members of the British Psychological Society (BPS).
• The course is designed for those new to the topic.
• Learning tasks and objectives are carefully scripted and prepared to build knowledge, structure learning, and develop confidence.
• Each module is centered around studio-based lectures studied online.
• Student engagement is encouraged through individual and group-based online activities, quizzes, discussion boards, wiki creation, verbal reports, and podcasts.
• Online and webcam-based tutorial meetings are available throughout the course.

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Careers:

• An accredited Masters in Psychology is a mark of quality and the first step towards Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the BPS.
• It is a prerequisite for entry onto professional postgraduate psychology training programs, such as MSc Organisational Psychology, Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, and MSc Educational Psychology.
• Graduates can pursue careers in teaching, human resource management, social work, and other areas.
• The knowledge, understanding, and skills acquired by psychology graduates are highly valued by employers in the graduate job market.

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Other:

• The program is delivered entirely online via the University's virtual learning environment Myplace, as well as a suite of powerful software platforms.
• The program is designed to foster both a scientific approach to enquiry and the writing and research skills prevalent in humanities and other social science disciplines.
• It is anticipated that a proportion of graduates will enter the graduate job market in private, public, or third sectors.