Why do people smoke? How can we improve people’s adherence to medication? What is the impact of stress on healthcare staff?
Understand why our healthy new years’ resolutions always fizzle out despite our good intentions. Explore how our brains and bodies process stress and how psychology could help you fight off your next cold. Discover how to assess neuropsychological function.
Health psychology is a rapidly growing discipline, which can make a huge contribution to some of the big health issues currently facing society such as chronic health conditions, health inequalities, and health-risk behaviours such as alcohol use, smoking, sedentary behaviour, and more. Health psychologists have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic, frequently in the media spotlight as one of the expert groups helping our populations keep well and cope with illness, isolation, stress and the many ways life has changed.
...1 year full-time
2 years part-time
On our course, you’ll take a biopsychosocial approach to understanding health and health-related behaviours, developing core knowledge and critically reflecting on the many interlinking pathways to health and illness.
You’ll learn about key issues in health psychology, such as designing behaviour change interventions, helping people manage long-term conditions, neuropsychological assessment and working in multidisciplinary teams.
Day-to-day, you’ll learn through a mix of taught lectures and seminars, problem-based learning exercises, class discussions, case studies, and group work. As part of the Health Psychology Practice unit, you'll take part in 70 hours of work-based learning in a relevant setting. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to put your health psychology knowledge and skills into action.
You’ll complete a field-based dissertation of your choice, which involves identifying a research question, preparing a research protocol and ethics application, collecting empirical data, conducting analysis, and writing up your report.
At Manchester Met, our teaching team includes practitioners and academics with experience in the NHS and in private practice in the UK and internationally. Our course specialises in health psychology practice. Lecturers’ research interests include neuropsychology, designing psychological interventions to promote healthy living and person-centred approaches to healthcare.
Core course teaching takes place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Personal tutor meetings, dissertation supervisor meetings and additional study skills sessions will take place throughout the week. If you are a full-time student you need to ensure you are able to devote on average full time hours (37.5 hours) per week to your study across the year as a whole; part time students would spend approximately half of this (18.75 hours) per week across their two years as a whole.
Whether you've already made your decision about what you want to study, or you're just considering whether postgraduate study is right for you, there are lots of ways you can meet us and find out more about postgraduate student life at Manchester Met.
We offer:
Your studies are supported by a department of committed and enthusiastic teachers and researchers, experts in their chosen field.
We often link up with external professionals too, helping to enhance your learning and build valuable connections to the working world.
A 2:1 or above in a BPS-accredited psychology undergraduate degree (or equivalent through a psychology conversion course) conferring Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) is typically required to study on our MSc Health Psychology. Applicants with a 2:2 or equivalent in an eligible degree are also encouraged to apply and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
International applicants have to show evidence that their undergraduate degree is eligible for GBC. Applicants must contact the British Psychological Society independently to verify this and upload the proof along with their application. For information, please check the BPS website.
Overseas applicants will require IELTS with an overall score of 6.5 with no less than 5.5 in any category, or an equivalent accepted English qualification. Accepted English qualifications can be viewed here.
Full-time fee: £9,500 per year. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
Part-time fee: £1584 per 30 credits studied per year. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
Full-time fee: £18,500 per year. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
Part-time fee: £3084 per 30 credits studied per year. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
A masters qualification typically comprises 180 credits, a PGDip 120 credits, a PGCert 60 credits, and an MFA 300 credits. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of study provided the course is completed in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
Optional estimate: £400
All of the books, e-books, and journals required for the course are available from the library. The University also has PC labs and a laptop loan service. However, you may choose to buy some of the core textbooks for the course and/or a laptop. Campus printing costs start from 5p per page. Estimated costs are £300 for a laptop and up to £100 each year for books and printing.
Your understanding of human behaviour, health behaviour change, neuropsychology and research methods gained on this course will enable you to apply for graduate roles in many sectors.
You could find yourself working in an NHS team, or in a commercial, charitable or research organisation. Alternatively, you may want to go on to pursue a PhD or train to become a qualified health psychologist.
To practise as a health psychologist in the UK, you’ll need to have Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), having completed a British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited undergraduate psychology degree or conversion course. Following your MSc Health Psychology at Manchester Met, you will need to complete doctoral-level health psychology training and register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Once you’re registered, you could work in a variety of health, social care and business settings. You might work with patients with long-term conditions at an NHS hospital or in a private practice, in design solutions for a health-related commercial organisation or lead stop smoking services in public health.
Other areas you might develop your career in are local authorities, think tanks, charities or research departments in universities.
Please contact our course enquiries team.
Get advice and support on making a successful application.
You can review our current Terms and Conditions before you make your application. If you are successful with your application, we will send you up to date information alongside your offer letter.
Programme Review
Our programmes undergo an annual review and major review (normally
at 6 year intervals) to ensure an up-to-date curriculum supported by the
latest online learning technology. For further information on when we
may make changes to our programmes, please see the
changes section of our Terms and Conditions .
Important Notice
This online prospectus provides an overview of our programmes of study
and the University. We regularly update our online prospectus so that
our published course information is accurate. Please check back to the
online prospectus before making an application to us to access the most
up to date information for your chosen course of study.
Confirmation of Regulator
The Manchester Metropolitan University is regulated by the Office for
Students (OfS). The OfS is the independent regulator of higher education
in England. More information on the role of the OfS and its regulatory
framework can be found at
officeforstudents.org.uk.
All higher education providers registered with the OfS must have a student protection plan in place. The student protection plan sets out what students can expect to happen should a course, campus, or institution close. Access our current Student Protection Plan .