Program Overview

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MSc Health Psychology | Part-time

About this course

MSc Health Psychology meets the Stage 1 training requirement for BPS accreditation. The course has a strong emphasis on psychological investigation and ethical issues.

• Study on this course which is fully accredited by the British Psychological Society for Stage 1 Training in Health Psychology
• Learn from an academic team that includes Health Psychologists registered with the BPS and HCPC and RAPPS Approved Supervisors for trainees continuing onto the BPS Stage 2 Qualification in Health Psychology or LJMU's Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology
• Access world-class facilities in the award-winning Tom Reilly Building

The primary goal of health psychology is to contribute to the understanding of how physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual factors influence health and illness within a sociocultural framework.

If you have an interest in how psychology affects health and illness behaviour, and how it can be used to enhance wellbeing and encourage healthier lifestyles, this Masters is ideal. If you intend to, or currently work with clients with long term conditions, you will also benefit from the course.

The curriculum aims to examine issues of coping and adjustment as well as relationships with caregivers. It covers all aspects of health across the lifespan, making the course suitable if you are working with children or adults.

During your studies, you will learn about the application of psychology for the promotion and maintenance of health, the analysis and improvement of the healthcare system, and health policy formation. You will also study the prevention of illness and the enhancement of wellbeing in those affected by illness or disability.

Staff in the School of Natural Sciences and Psychology produce high-quality research in a range of areas of expertise including: health psychology, long-term conditions (e.g. pain, diabetes, obesity, cancer, coronary heart disease), design and evaluation of complex interventions to improve health, screening, appetitive behaviour, mindfulness and the development and evaluation of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs). The team have long-standing expertise in training and developing Health Psychologists.

Course modules

Discover the building blocks of your programme

Your programme is made up of a number of core modules and an empirical project. The specific programme aims include:

• providing an academically rigorous framework through which students can study scientifically the psychological processes involved in health, illness and health care with reference to the application of psychology for:
  • the promotion and maintenance of health
  • the analysis and improvement of the health care system and health policy formation
  • the prevention of illness and the enhancement of wellbeing in those affected by illness or disability
• promoting students' awareness of the range of applications of health psychology
• providing students with a qualification which meets stage 1 of the BPS's training towards Chartered Psychologist status

Core modules

• Research Skills and Methodology for Health Psychology (20 credits)
• Analysis for Health Psychology (20 credits)
• Long-Term Conditions (10 credits)
• Health Psychology: Context and Applications (20 credits)
• Psychosocial Factors and Health (20 credits)
• Stress, Health and Coping (10 credits)
• Empirical Project (PT) (60 credits)
• Fundamental Issues in Health Psychology (20 credits)

Professional accreditation

The programme is BPS accredited for Stage 1 Training in Health Psychology for those applicants with BPS Graduate Basis for Chartered Status (GBC). This means, by the end of the course, you will be provided with a qualification which meets the requirements of Stage 1 training.

Your Learning Experience

Teaching Assessment

• Teaching for full-time students is on Mondays and Wednesdays. There is a mixture of teaching hours from 9am to 6pm, which vary across semesters. Formal teaching occurs in semester 1 (September to December) and semester 2 (January to May). However, you are required to attend university to meet with your dissertation supervisor and to attend presentation days, etc., until your final thesis submission date at the end of August. Around 35 hours student learning per week is recommended.
• Part-time students attend on Wednesdays in year 1 and Mondays in year 2. Your final thesis is submitted in August in year 2.

Teaching methods

• The course provides a range of learning approaches. Workshop activities provide opportunities for formative feedback from peers and tutors and tutor support during the preparation of coursework also facilitates formative feedback.

Applied learning

• Many students conduct their research project in applied health settings such as the NHS and charity sectors. As such, these research studies support you to build real experience in the working environment and create professional relationships outside of the university setting.

Career paths

• Further your career prospects
• LJMU has an excellent employability record with 94% (HESA 2022) of our postgraduates in work or further study fifteen months after graduation. Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real-world context.
• Health psychology graduates work in a variety of areas. Many go on to Stage 2 training and subsequently achieve Chartered Psychologist status and become HCPC Registered Health Psychologists.
• Post MSc, some students work in research settings and go on to doctoral research (PhD/Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology).
• A growing number of graduates work in health education, health promotion, health administration and health audit, others are involved in the organisational aspects of delivering health care and work within the health service.
• Graduates from the programme have secured roles including PhD Researcher, Health Trainer, Health and Migration Consultant, Assistant Psychologist and Smoking Cessation Adviser. They work for organisations including Ps4SE, The NHS, The Adelphi Group and mental health care groups.

Tuition fees and funding

• Home: Part-time per credit: £60
• Fees: The fees quoted above cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as library membership and student IT support with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources including programme-appropriate software and on-campus wifi.
• Financial Support: There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you’ll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages. The University offers a range of financial support for students. You'll find all the information you need on our specialist financial support pages including details of the Student Support Fund and other activities to support with the cost of living.

Entry requirements

• Home: Minimum 2:1 honours degree in Psychology and to have satisfied the BPS conditions for Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC)
• International: IELTS English Language at a minimum of 7.0 or equivalent, with no less than 6.5 in any single component
• Extra Requirements: Applicants must be in date and have current skill (to ensure BPS professional standards and ability to engage in Level 7 MSc)– where an undergraduate degree is dated (beyond 5 years), the admissions process may request for the candidate to complete an assessment to demonstrate knowledge of current health psychology practice (short essay) and a brief research analysis test. Failure to demonstrate current practice or ability would result in decline- or recommendation to update skills for a conditional offer.
• RPL: RPL is accepted on this programme