MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology

Entry standards

A First or Upper Second class honours degree in psychology and graduate basis for chartered membership (GBC, formerly known as GBR) with the British Psychological Society (BPS), and an interest, understanding and/or experience of occupational and organisational issues. Following this, we invite suitable applicants to an interview where possible.

English language requirements

Non-native speakers of English will normally be required to have IELTS 6.5 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).

Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.

MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology - structure and modules

Module Titles

Modules

• Organisational Behaviour 
• Assessment and the Workplace 
• Social Psychology of Organisations and Institutions 
• Training, Development and Workplace Counselling 
• Ergonomics and Human Factors 
• Research in Organisational Settings 
• Quantitative Research Methods
• Qualitative Research Methods
• Dissertation

Module Summary  

You will complete eight modules, six of which cover theory and practice specific to occupational and organisational psychology and two of which cover research methods and professional skills required by all psychologists, and a dissertation. 

Organisational Behaviour 

This module explores employee relations and motivation  in organisations, and considers work-life balance in depth.

Assessment and the Workplace 

This module will examine the fundamentals of personnel selection and assessment, and the assessment components of career appraisal. 

Social Psychology of Organisations and Institutions 

In this module, you will study organisational development and change. You will consider the term ‘organisation’ as any arena in which work is conducted, including the home (as in telework), the voluntary sector and ‘virtual organisations’.

Training, Development and Workplace Counselling 

This module explores the uses of career counselling and coaching, training and career development. 

Ergonomics and Human Factors 

In this module, you will examine human–machine interaction and the design of safe and healthy work environments. 

Research in Organisational Settings 

This module explains research-based practice (analysis, formulation, implementation, evaluation) in organisational settings. Additionally, this module will facilitate the development of your skills in planning, running and analysing data derived from focus groups, critical incident interviews, diaries, observation, repertory grid exercises and employee surveys. 

Quantitative Research Methods

In this module, you will develop the skills to conduct and assess quantitative research effectively.

Qualitative Research Methods

This module will develop skills to conduct and assess qualitative research.

Dissertation

The dissertation enables you to conduct a significant piece of applied research. It will develop your skills in research, and allow you to explore a specific topic in depth.

Subject information

Programme Information 

We regard our students as professional trainees who will leave Surrey with unique skills and competitive edge in the job market.

The MSc in Occupational and Organisational Psychology has been running since 1995 and has been developing ever since.

The aim of the programme is to:

• Develop sound knowledge of the core areas of occupational psychology and its application to work and organisations
• Promote your ability to diagnose and develop understanding of work-related problems using quantitative and qualitative methods
• Guide you in the effective design, implementation and evaluation of bespoke interventions to address organisational problems

MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology - entry standards

Entry standards

A First or Upper Second class honours degree in psychology and graduate basis for chartered membership (GBC, formerly known as GBR) with the British Psychological Society (BPS), and an interest, understanding and/or experience of occupational and organisational issues. Following this, we invite suitable applicants to an interview where possible.

English language requirements

Non-native speakers of English will normally be required to have IELTS 6.5 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).

Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.

Application procedure

Planned intake

Up to 25

Start date

Programme director

• Dr Adrian Banks

MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology - fees and funding

Fees

Occupational & Organisational Psychology (full time):

UK/EU - £6,400 
Overseas - £14,830

Occupational & Organisational Psychology (part time): 

UK/EU - £3,200 
Overseas - £7,415

www.surrey.ac.uk/pgfees/2012

MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology - professional context

Professional recognition

Recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for research training and accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Careers

Our graduates have an excellent employment record. The MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology is very well established and held in high esteem amongst employers, mainly because of our efforts to facilitate student employability. We have developed a reputation for developing students into competent practitioners in occupational psychology.
Previous students have taken up careers in leading consulting firms including Kaizen, Cap Gemini, Human Factors Ltd, SHL Ltd, Accenture, QinetiQ and Reed. Other graduates have gone into human resource posts involving some psychological input (for example, organisational development roles), training and development posts, assessment and development posts, management/training, vocational guidance, research teaching, and others have set up their own consultancies.

MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology - teaching

Teaching hours

Lectures/forums: 12 to 14 hours per week in term time

Outside speaker seminars: between 6 and 10 hours

Supervision: up to 9 hours

Hours of self-study: approximately 130 hours per module across eight compulsory modules

Teaching

A variety of teaching methods are used on the programme. Typically lectures will be used for the compulsory occupational modules, with an emphasis on discussion and your contribution. Additionally group exercises are used to promote theoretical insight and practical skills. Most assignments will be projects in which an occupational issue or problem is posed and you must apply theory to this practical context. Other assessments typically include presentations and exams on specific topics such as research methods. There are also some class exercises and workshops which are not formally assessed but provide valuable learning opportunities and the chance to practise relevant skills.

Staff perspective

Dr Lynne Millward

For example, my research on organisational culture has been used to bring about real change in working practices. The programme has been shaped around this goal.
The occupational psychology lectures take place in small groups with an emphasis on discussion and group exercises. This helps build essential skills for practising as an occupational psychologist alongside the psychological insights.

The assignments that we use are mostly projects which require the application of psychology to practical problems. For example, you will be asked to do some career coaching and then analyse the career using psychological models.

We believe that this not only enables deeper understanding of the topic, but also builds important skills for your future career. We limit student numbers to ensure high standards and to enable us to develop a good relationship with our students.

The programme team are all experienced occupational psychologists with a diverse range of expertise. This ensures that we cover all of the many applications of occupational psychology. However we are all focused on delivering a programme with a solid psychological basis that enables our students to learn to apply this
knowledge in the workplace.

MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology - learning

Our Facilities 

The Department of Psychology is a hub of energy, information and support. You will have access to the following facilities:

Computing 

Two computing rooms, one dedicated to MSc students 

Test library 

300+ psychometric tests available, as well as five years of dissertations and theses from all programmes 

• Video and audio editing 
• Image and audio manipulation 
• Interview and telephone recording 
• Transcription equipment 
• Observation suite (video and audio recording) 
• Seminar and classrooms (three fully equipped for presentations)

MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology - graduate profile

Student Profile: Michelle McGrath

MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology

One of the key factors for me was the experience and knowledge that I would be gaining from Surrey lecturers who were also practising consultants.

I was aware that the course was regarded very highly both in the academic and business world and I felt that this was the kind of environment that would give me a great start for my future career. The programme combines both theory and practice throughout, aiding both your competence and confidence in applying these principles in your
own practice. Applying what we had learnt, as if in a real world scenario, was what I enjoyed most about the programme; such as taking a training session, designing a change management guide for managers and also choosing a student representative, all through the theoretical principles learnt during the programme.

The teaching and learning environment encouraged me not only to apply for the PhD programme but to stay on at Surrey to do it. The lecturers are both supporting and inspiring, offering a wealth of knowledge and advice to all of their students. The practice I got of applying a wide range of methodological approaches within occupational
and organisational psychology allowed me to feel confident in my application of them. I feel that the programme has provided me with both the ability to think more critically about organisational research and also to approach issues within organisations from a range of perspectives.

Having the Surrey Sports Park is a great added bonus to university life and a great way to meet new people.

MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology - more

Work Experience

Previous applicants and students on the programme have gained experience in the following areas: human resources, training and development, business consulting, recruitment, management, applied research, vocational guidance and counselling, ergonomics and occupational health.

In most cases we will be looking for a minimum of six months’ work experience prior to application. This means that, in general, undergraduates who are still completing their degrees will need to have either undertaken a placement year as part of their programme, or have held part-time employment which they can reflect on in relation to the programme, and use as a relevant professional development experience.

Chartered Status

In order to work as a Chartered Psychologist you must initially complete Stage 1 of the chartership process, demonstrating knowledge of the eight areas of occupational psychology and psychological research. The MSc will provide this, but we also offer opportunities for you to acquire some Stage 2 skills in breadth of practice. All of these opportunities are in principle suited to being formally written up and submitted as part of your logbook preparation.

Please contact the BPS for specific advice on the process for applying to become a Chartered Psychologist after graduation or visit: www.bps.org.uk

Psychology at Surrey

The Department of Psychology at the University of Surrey is one of the most active and highly regarded psychology departments in the country. We specialise in applied and policy-oriented teaching and research within a strong theoretical context. The international, interdisciplinary, policy and applied strengths of the Department mean that students’ theoretical and methodological research puts them at the cutting edge of the discipline.

We are one of the highest ranked departments in the country for graduates entering employment, and also one of the largest providers of postgraduate training in the UK.

The University of Surrey Department of Psychology has been the centre for many cross-national studies and has attracted funding from research councils and local and national government departments, such as ESF, Defra, the MoD, the Home Office, the Environment Agency, the Countryside Agency, Surrey County Council and the EU.

If you choose to study psychology at the University of Surrey, you will be provided with a combination of opportunities that would be hard to match elsewhere. We offer you a degree that provides a thorough grounding in the theories, methods and practice of contemporary psychology. Our programmes lay particular emphasis on the application of psychology to real-world problems, and also consider issues related to professional practice in preparation for your career as a professional psychologist.

The basis of good postgraduate courses is the research activity of staff, the incorporation of current research programmes in teaching material and a reciprocal relationship between theory development and applied research in everyday contemporary issues. We believe in involving all postgraduate students in the research life of the Department through active participation in one of the research groups, by attendance at research seminars and, where possible, an attachment to ongoing research projects. As a student of the Department of Psychology, you will also have access to a number of conferences, seminars and workshops hosted throughout the year.

Occupational and Organisational Psychology Research

The University is at the centre of international research projects in the areas of social, environmental, health, occupational, developmental and cognitive psychology, and neuroscience. The Department has strong links with European and other international researchers through the Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre (FCBHRC) and the Clinical Neuroscience Research Team (CNRT) which are based in the Department. A number of members of the Department are also members of the Surrey Sleep Research Centre, studying cognitive, health and occupational aspects of sleep restriction and its effects on performance.

The Department has excellent research facilities. These include laboratories for psychophysiological, perceptual, cognitive, developmental and social psychological research; an extensive library of psychometric and clinical tests; excellent observational and audiovisual facilities; and a wide range of computing facilities.

Members of the programme team are active researchers in the following areas:

• Social identity in organisational contexts
• Corporate identity and reputation
• Reasoning and naturalistic decision making – individuals and groups
• Distributed cognition
• Vocational decision making across the life-span from childhood upwards
• Work–family balance
• Learning and development and work

MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology - apply

• MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology - Full-time - starting September 2012
• MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology - Part-time - starting September 2012