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This innovative course is designed to meet the needs of psychology graduates who wish to specialise in the psychology of health, illness and the healthcare system. It forms stage 1 of the training required to become a chartered psychologist and full member of the Divison of Helath Psychology (DHP) within the BPS. It also provides the first step towards becoming a Registered Health Psychologist with the Health Professions Council (HPC). The course comprises eight compulsory taught units and a research project, which forms the basis of a thesis. The taught units are designed to cover the core curriculum for Master's degrees in health psychology, as stipulated by the DHP training committe (BPS).
The core philosophy of the course revolves around using a scientist-practioner model to equip you with research and practical skills, all within the diverse cultural background that the Luton community provides. Students completing the course will have a strong theoretical background in health psychology and a variety of practical skills required for working in the field.
The Department of Psychology is very welcoming and relaxed. The Health Psychology team comprises nine members of staff, three of whom are registered health psychologists and one who is a Professor of Applied Psychology.
The success of the course is reflected in the successful careers of our former students who have gained, or are about to gain, PhDs. Others have progressed to careers including Smoking Cessation Co-ordinator for a NHS Primary Care Trust (PCT), shared care support worker, Research Assistant in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and employees in the Clinical Health Psychology Unit of Northampton General Hospital.
As a chartered psychologist and registered health psychologist, you can work within the health sector at managmeent level or apply health psychology knowledge and methods to educate and improve patient recovery and health.
During this course you will:
Areas of study you may cover on this course include:
The assessment strategy reflects the academic rigor expected of a BPS accredited MSc degree.
The assessments are designed to test your academic knowledge, oral and written skills, use of literature using primary and secondary sources, critical analysis of ideas, connections made between theory, practice, real life situations and the understanding and application of professional values, to include ethical issues as detailed by the BPS. The criteria for passing a unit are given in the University Regulations Section 3.1.7.
Examples of the range of assessment types are given below:
Written essays are used to assess:
Group presentations assess:
Exams assess:
Critical review used to assess:
Statistics worksheets
Videotaped role play assesses:
Response to consultancy brief:
Teaching and training programme design:
Dissertation:
The programmes aims and objectives are based on the Masters Level Descriptors for the University, the aims and objectives of an MSc Health Psychology programme as set out by the BPS and those specific to the programme.
On successful completion of the course, students will:
The Psychology Division places strong emphasis on student support so that you are in a good position to achieve your maximum academic potential and to enjoy the University experience. We are very aware of the differing needs of our students and this is reflected in the range of support mechanisms that are available. The Psychology Division places particular emphasis on the accessibility and availability of the teaching team.
The induction programme is designed to introduce you to the Psychology Division and your degree programme. We aim to foster a sense of belonging to the University and your award programme in order to nurture your academic and professional identity. During induction you will hear about the structure of the curriculum and the British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation of our awards and what this means together with the opportunity to apply for student membership with the BPS. You will learn how to access your unit results using E:Vision and practice using BREO the universitys virtual learning environment. All students have access to a Personal Tutor, though generally this role is eventually covered by the dissertation supervisor. Short talks will be given by various services available to you in the university, for example, the Student Services, Professional and Academic Development (PAD) unit, Learning Resources Centre (LRC) and the Centre for Personal and Career Development (CPCD).
A feature of the psychology programmes is the level of IT and technical support given. Tutorial and lecture material is supplemented with hands on experience of using a variety of types of software and help with statistics and report writing is available. Additional IT / Statistical drop in sessions are available at different times during the week for students at all levels within the department, with extra sessions put on specifically for students undertaking their dissertation.
The Student Service is available to all students and can give you independent and confidential advice if you are having difficulties, for example, if you are unwell during an assignment hand in or exam period. When you have extenuating circumstances, perhaps an untimely illness then the service can provide you with extra time to complete your work or postpone an exam without penalty when the work is marked.
The Professional and Academic Development team are able to help you through study skills workshops or with one to one sessions to help you improve the quality of your written assignments, understanding statistical concepts, organisations skills to help you manage your study programme, language skills and much more. PAD can be contacted via the PAD BREO site that you will be automatically enrolled on.
At the Student Centre you will find the Disability Advice Team and the Counselling Service. The Disability Advice Team is available to discuss any issues you may have and can provide services such as dyslexia screening. The Learning Resources Centre (LRC) offers a range of services and specialist software and equipment. The counselling service is available at Student Services and assists with personal and financial difficulties.
The LRC provides valuable resources to enable you to develop essential information literacy skills, knowledge and understanding of the range of online databases available to you so that you are in a good position to expand your knowledge of health psychology. The Psychology Division works closely with our subject specific librarian and with our commitment to supporting students employability skills we have embedded into the curriculum lectures and workshops to enhance your information literacy skills. In addition, our subject librarian is available for one to one support outside of the teaching programme.
The Centre for Personal and Career Development helps students to reflect on their unique capabilities, interests and circumstance which can be expanded whilst at University and to prepare you for successful employment or postgraduate study. This service offers one to one career coaching on job search, how to complete application forms, interviews techniques and study and career planning. Also available to help you with your future after graduating is the Job Shop which is a service designed to help you gain valuable skills such as team working, problem solving, communication, planning and organisation. If you are interested in Community Volunteering then visit the Centre for Personal and Career Development to help to build your personal confidence and participate in work experience. The Psychology Division works closely with the Centre for Personal and Career Development. The Centre delivers lectures and workshops which are embedded into the Psychology curriculum to both get you to consider the Psychological aspects of your career choice and personal development along with facilitating you to develop very practical employability skills. We also host a Going Professional Conference every year where employers and graduates are available to discuss your career options.
Some units include grades for the outcomes of group work. Students will be expected to work in groups or discuss issues in groups as part of the teaching and learning programme. We encourage the year group to work in study groups for mutual support. However, two modules Public Health and Professional Skills for Health Psychologists require you to work with others on a project to be presented as a group. You are also expected to work collaboratively with your peers and staff within all units and in particular within the dissertation component with your supervisor.
Careers development is built in to the programme in the Health Psychology in Context module. There is also a research and careers focus event organised for postgraduate students where researchers and employers give talks and advice. There is a strong careers department in the University and a very effective interactive careers web site.
There are sessions delivered by specialist professionals as well as by the careers service.
Health psychology focuses on many health related questions such as: Can recovery from stressful medical procedures be improved? How and why are some personality types less prone to heart attacks? Does stress causes illness?
It is an exciting and expansive academic discipline that can lead to chartered status and a profession in health psychology. As a Chartered Health Psychologist, you could be working within the health sector at management level or be applying health psychology knowledge and methods to educate and improve patient recovery and health.
However, the advanced route to chartership in health psychology is only one possibility and having completed your degree you will find that many career opportunities are open to you both inside or outside the health sector or even psychology. But nonetheless, health psychology is compelling as both a discipline and a profession.
Studying for the MSc in Health Psychology will give you a good grounding in:
Standard:
To be admitted to the course you are normally required:
Students from the European Union and International students:
As a general guide, to apply for a place on the course you need to have met the above requirements and have the required English qualification as outlined below:
- IELTS 6.0
- TOEFL 580 [paper]
- TOEFL 235 [computer]
- Cambridge CPE C
- Cambridge CAE C
- Bedfordshire test (TELAS) grade 2
A foundation degree will be of particular interest if you have completed a Modern Apprenticeship, vocational A levels, BTEC National or equivalent.
Foundation degrees are also particularly suitable if you want to qualify while working.
Many students studying for foundation degrees come to us through work-based routes so you can apply for a foundation degree even if you don’t have traditional academic qualifications.
We welcome applicants with relevant work experience.
We will consider you as an individual and take into account all elements of your application, not just your qualifications. We are looking for both breadth and depth in your current studies as well as enthusiasm for the subject you wish to study.
The general requirement is one of the following:
As a general guide, to apply for a place on an undergraduate course (BA/BSc) at the University you need to have completed your high school education and have the required English qualification.
We have students from all the European Union member countries so we are quick to make decisions on most qualifications.
(Please note that applicants on a full student visa are not eligible for part-time study)
We recommend that you apply directly to the University where possible, as this allows us to offer the quickest turnaround time for your application.
Please read the Direct application instructions before completing the course application form.
Application forms for accommodation in the student halls at Bedford campus and Luton campus are available in the Student life section
APL is available for international students applying for undergraduate (Bachelor degree) study. Please do not use this APL form to apply for postgraduate courses.
Use the APL form to tell us about any non-standard qualifications and/or work experience you have that you think should be taken into consideration with your application. `
The APL form should be submitted at the same time as the course application form.
We regret we are unable to process APL forms from students who have not submitted a formal course application form.
Return your completed application to:
University of Bedfordshire
International Admissions
Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire
LU1 3JU
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)1582 489326 (non-EU Students)
F: +44 (0)1582 743469
E: international-admissions@beds.ac.uk
There are no particular issues of accessibility to the curriculum for disabled students. Any new developments within the Psychology Division are reviewed to ensure that they comply with the 2001 Special Needs and Disability Act. The combination of face-to-face and online resources enables a flexible approach that aims to be learner centred. Where individual support needs are recognized the course team works with others within the University to ensure that student needs are addresses.
There is some laboratory based work although this is mostly on computers and should not normally pose a problem. There are procedures for students with dyslexia and some software that might help some students with dyslexia or mild visual problems. Students with hearing problems have been successful on Psychology courses in the past. The Psychology Division has technical support and if your disability causes problems with the use of conventional computers then alternative arrangements can be discussed.
The MSc Health Psychology is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Health Psychology. It is only available to those able to demonstrate the Graduate Basis for Registration with the BPS. It provides stage 1 training towards becoming a Chartered Health Psychologist. Thus the skills development strategy is to build upon those core skills developed through successful achievement of the Graduate Basis for Registration and to move towards the competences required of a Chartered Health Psychologist as outlined in draft Subject Benchmark statements for Applied Psychology (BPS, 2005).
Communication
To help with the development of this you will:
Be encouraged to develop cogent arguments supported by relevant evidence to write both essays, scientific style reports, through experience in giving oral presentations to groups and in producing consultancy reports. You will be supported through feedback, formative and summative assessment procedures. Group work, and in-class discussion and debate will also help to develop your communication skills.
Information Literacy
To help with the development of this you will:
Be expected to make full use of the Universitys Learning Resource Centre and to be proactive in researching your work. You will also be given guidance on using the facilities provided by Learning Resources. All units are designed to enhance the development of your information literacy skills culminating in the Dissertation Project. You will be encouraged to retrieve and organise information and demonstrate abilities in locating and critically evaluating primary source material. All units are linked to BREO (a Virtual Learning Environment) which in turn incorporates links to Learning Resources and relevant pedagogical websites. You will be expected to develop your skills in word processing and the use of software such as Powerpoint. You will be given advanced training in the commonest and one of the most powerful statistics packages (SPSS) as well as introduced to a qualitative analysis package (ATLAS Ti).
Research and Evaluation
To help with the development of this you will:
Be given training in advanced research methods and ethical implications of conducting research to develop a degree of autonomy, specifically in using and interpreting statistics and data analysis together with detailed knowledge of ethical considerations.
You will be helped in the acquisition and mastery of a range of research skills and methods, both quantitative and qualitative, for investigating experience and behaviour, culminating in an ability to conduct research independently. These research skills feature in the advanced research methods and professional skills units and build on the skills developed at undergraduate level.
Specifically these skills include:
Creativity and Critical Thinking
To help with the development of this you will:
Be required to evaluate arguments and underlying assumptions underpinning theories and research in psychology in light of important debates in the discipline and the application to real world situations. Problem solving is an integral part of the programme and you will be faced with a wide variety of novel tasks (including responding to consultancy briefs). Explicit advice will be given on those topics within the relevant unit.
The core curriculum conforms to that described the British Psychological Societys Division of Health Psychology Board of Examiners in relation to Stage 1 qualifications.
The objectives of BPS Accreditation are designed to ensure that programmes of study:
Professional Standards in Psychology are incorporated into the subject skills and teaching and learning elements of the BPS Health Psychology core curriculum.
The curriculum infrastructure has been drawn from significant documents including those above which identify the benchmarks for a BPS accredited health psychology programme and the standards to be achieved and maintained by both students and psychologists. The mapping of these documents against the curriculum (incorporating relevant skills and aptitudes) for this award is conducted on a regular basis and is a requirement for BPS accreditation. We are required to undergo five year reviews to maintain full accreditation. There are also interim resource reviews at division level (focusing on undergraduate accreditation, but with reference to accredited postgraduate provision) to ascertain that physical and human resources are adequate to ensure professional standards and continued accreditation.
The role of ethics and ethical procedures for psychologists are explicitly taught and incorporated into all practical assignments including relevant aspects of the BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct. There is a BREO site dedicated to ethical procedures for students and staff including guidelines and the relevant forms to obtain ethical approval.
