MSc Business and Organisational Psychology
This course is open for applications
Page last updated 20 August 2024
Introduction
Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and seeking accreditation with the Association for Business Psychology (ABP), our MSc Business and Organisational Psychology offers entry into the profession for those with or without a psychology background.
An organisation is only as good as its employees. Work psychology is crucial in understanding how teams work and what motivates employees. This field applies psychological theory to workplace, business and organisational issues.
Not only does applying psychology to the workplace produce better leaders and teams, but it improves business decisions too. Business and Organisational Psychology is a growing market, addressing a business need for more effective workplace cultures.
Skills-based, solution-focused
Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), our professionally recognised MSc Business and Organisational Psychology uses an inclusive, practice-led and research-informed approach that applies evidence to practice.
Find evidence-based solutions to the biggest challenges facing organisations today. You'll apply psychology to real-world business problems, from talent recruitment to employee motivation, giving you tangible skills relevant to your workplace.
Blend psychology and business
Study an applied course that draws on scholars, experts and leaders in the fields of psychology and business, connected to industry, practice and research. You'll gain a broad range of expertise that blends these two worlds.
Whatever your career aspirations are, you'll benefit from our local and national industry links and alumni connections within the business hub of Bristol and beyond. Strengthen your professional network by connecting with our academic and practitioner communities.
Advance your career
Whether you’re a recent psychology, social sciences or business graduate or a professional looking to progress or change your career, this course offers you a flexible career route. If you're already employed, you'll be able to study part-time alongside your work through our flexible blocked teaching delivery.
When you graduate, you’ll be eligible to progress to the next stage in training to achieve Chartered Psychologist status from the BPS. On successful graduation, you’ll also be eligible to apply to become a Certified Business Psychologist (CBP) with the Association for Business Psychology (ABP), pending approved course accreditation from the ABP.
Structure
Content
You'll study:
- Coaching and Development
- Leadership, Engagement and Motivation
- Organisational Investigation
- Professional Practice
- Research Methods in Organisations
- Wellbeing at Work
- Work and Organisational Design.
The University continually enhances our offer by responding to feedback from our students and other stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is kept up to date and our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need for the real world. This may result in changes to the course. If changes to your course are approved, we’ll inform you.
Learning and Teaching
This work psychology master’s is delivered through flexible distributed learning, blending online lectures with face-to-face workshops in teaching blocks. If you’re an employed home or international student, blocking face-to-face workshops allows you to book off blocks of time from work or take annual leave more easily. This enables you to study flexibly around work and other commitments.
Designed in line with current practice activities, your modules will ensure you develop practice-oriented skills and you’re familiar with applying theory to practice. The Professional Practice module will also include a work-based learning component to develop your consultancy skills in business and organisational psychology.
Focused on employability, your learning will be relevant to real-world societal shifts, such as the growing demand for mobile and diverse workplaces and sustainable business activities.
Develop your employability skills through skills workshops and a work placement, while all your modules reflect nationally recognised BPS and ABP professional standards, pending approved course accreditation from the ABP.
See our full glossary of learning and teaching terms.
Study time
Scheduled learning includes a mix of online activities, such as online lectures and group discussions, and on campus activities, such as module workshops and skills sessions. A focus on independent, self-guided study also allows you to study flexibly and structure study time around other commitments.
During your course, you’ll also complete a short-term work placement, which will require 60 hours of work-based learning in a professional setting.
Assessment
Our practical assessment strategy is focused on employability, developing your competencies in the practice of professional business and organisational psychology. You’ll complete assessments aligned with the BPS psychometric test user ability and personality qualification to prepare you for professional practice.
Your assessments will include a wide range of methods relevant to real-world professional practice in work psychology, including consultancy pitches, workplace evaluations, critical reviews of organisational research and reflective activities.
Learn more about assessments at UWE Bristol.
Features
Professional accreditation
This course is seeking accreditation from the British Psychological Society (BPS) and The Association for Business Psychology (ABP).
Study facilities
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Life
Postgraduate support
Our support includes access to fantastic facilities, study tools and career consultants, plus practical help to access everything from funding to childcare.
Bristol
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Health and Wellbeing
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Campus and facilities
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Careers
Careers / Further study
Our MSc Business and Organisational Psychology will equip you with the psychological theory needed to solve business challenges in a range of organisational settings. This accredited master’s course offers you a flexible career route into the profession, whether you have a psychology or non-psychology background.
Many workplaces employ experts in business and organisational psychology, also known as occupational psychology, industrial psychology or work psychology. Work psychologists help to identify and address some of the key challenges organisations face today, from talent recruitment to engaging employees, using evidence-based solutions.
Throughout your studies, you’ll benefit from industry links with employers and opportunities for consultancy, research and knowledge exchange, supporting your employability. From leadership to work design, the skills you gain will give you the best chance of career success as a practitioner in work psychology.
You’ll have the opportunity to undertake placements through our employer links and attend regular student-alumni network events, building your professional experience and connections.
If you're already employed, you'll have the flexibility to study part time alongside your work, directly applying psychological theory to improve your own organisation's culture. For those in senior management positions, you'll gain a unique opportunity to advance your career as a business leader.
This work psychology master’s provides the BPS Stage-1 qualification in Occupational Psychology. On completion, you'll be able to continue your development to become a Chartered Psychologist (providing you hold graduate basis for chartership with the BPS).
After graduating, you could continue your training to become a Chartered Psychologist with the BPS, or apply for certified Business Psychologist status with the ABP (Pending approved accreditation).
Our award-winning careers service helps you develop your employment potential through career coaching, a vacancy service for available internships, placements, jobs, global opportunities, volunteering and community activity, plus support for entrepreneurial activity and where possible, access to employer events.
Learn more about graduate destinations.
Fees
There is currently no published fee data for this course.
Supplementary fee information
Read about postgraduate funding.
Additional costs
This refers to items you may need during your studies that aren't covered by the standard tuition fee. These could be for example, materials, textbooks, travel, clothing, software or printing.
Entry
Entry requirements
You should have a good honours degree (2:2) or equivalent, in a relevant subject (e.g. Psychology, Business, Social Science or Science).
If you don't meet the above grade requirements but have at least 12 months relevant professional experience and/ or equivalent qualifications, we'll consider you on an individual basis. We're looking for applicants who are committed to the practice of Business Psychology and are interested in interdisciplinary approaches to working in this field.
Read more about entry requirements.
English Language Requirement
International and EU applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*).
*The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you'll need in our English language pages.
How to apply
Read more about postgraduate applications.
For further information
- Email:
UK applicants
Admissions@uwe.ac.ukInternational/EU applicants
International@uwe.ac.uk - Telephone:
UK applicants
+44 (0)117 32 83333International/EU applicants
+44 (0)117 32 86644