Occupational Psychology MSc

" Occupational Psychology MSc

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— Coventry University (@covcampus) September 26, 2012 OVERVIEW

This course has a September and a January intake.

Occupational Psychologists apply the science of psychology in work-based settings. The Occupational Psychology MSc is accredited by the British Psychological Society and provides a thorough grounding in the theory and practical skills central to the application of psychological research in the workplace. For those that have GBC, the course confers stage 1 of training as an Occupational Psychologist.

You can study this course in one of two different ways:

• as a blended learning course (a mix of online and residential), run over 2 years, January to December (course code HLST125);
• as a face-to-face course based on Coventry University campus, run over 1 year (full-time study) or 2 years (part-time study), October to September (course code HLST126).

WHY CHOOSE THIS COURSE?

The course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and was designed to cover the BPS Division of Occupational Psychology core curriculum.

The course has been developed and delivered by an experienced course team which includes Registered Occupational Psychologists and Chartered Members of the Division of Occupational Psychology as well as sitting on the BPS Board of Assessors in Occupational Psychology and the Division of Occupational Psychology Training Committee. All members of the team are actively involved in research which informs their teaching.

WHAT WILL I LEARN?

The course will give you a unique opportunity to study an area of applied psychology related to the work place and which can be applied in any work setting.

Please see the How will this course be taught? section for clarification on the two methods of studying this course. Whichever version of this course you follow, you will complete the nine modules listed below:

• Psychological Assessment at work (20 credits) - an introduction to personnel selection and assessment including job analysis, competency frameworks, selection methods, development of a selection process and legal issues in relation to selection,
• Research Methods in Psychology (20 credits) - knowledge and skills in planning, carrying out, analysing and writing about research in applied psychology at postgraduate level, and a sophisticated awareness of problems, issues and ethics in applied research in psychology,
• Work and Well Being (20 credits) - provides students with an understanding of how work links with an individual’s personal and organisational well-being. The module will include how work is structured (work and non-work) the negative aspects of work including stress, work-place bullying and the roles of emotions.
• Applying Psychology to Work and Organisations (10 credits) - provides students with models for reflecting on evidenced based practice (e.g. the scientist-practitioner model) and specific tools (e.g. critical incident), techniques and enable the gathering, analysing and feeding back of data in organisational contexts.. A focus of this module will be on the consultancy cycle, project management and reflective practice.
• Leadership Engagement and Motivation (20 credits) - provides an overview of theories and empirical research of work motivation, and its relationship to performance appraisal and performance management. The module covers the concepts of leadership, power and influence and their impact on employee engagement. Issues of positive and negative responses to work will be outlined (organisational citizenship and derailment).
• Work Design, Change and Development (10 credits) - develops the student’s critical and creative practice in the field of work, design, change and development through the integration of theory and practice. The module covers a range of topics, including organisational structure, design and culture, models of change and development, performance and communications, the design of jobs, work systems and environments, workplace safety and methods for managing risk and reducing human error
• Learning, Training and Development (20 credits) - provides students with an understanding of theory and conceptual approaches to design, implementation and evaluation of training programmes. Students will gain an in-depth and applied understanding of the training cycle and how approaches to training can be applied according to the context and requirements
• Project Planning and Ethics (10 credits) - enables the students to conceive a topic for dissertation research, conduct background literature reviews on this topic, and develop a complete and ethically approved dissertation proposal for their research dissertation on the Masters in Occupational Psychology
• Dissertation in Occupational Psychology (50 credits) - engages students in supervised but independently undertaken empirical research at an advanced level. Students will be encouraged to integrate and practice the skills acquired during the course and to investigate in depth at Masters level an area of specific interest to them.

HOW WILL THIS COURSE BE TAUGHT?

HLST125: blended learning method

The blended learning course (course code HLST125) runs for two years (January to December) with a two-day induction session in January of the first year, and one four-day residential school in June of that year. A further one-day attendance-based session is run in year two to introduce the dissertation. Note that residential schools are a mandatory part of this course and must be attended by all students.

HLST126: face-to-face method (full-time or part-time)

The face-to-face course (course code HLST126) runs October to September with the full-time route requiring two days' attendance per week over one year, and the part-time route one day of attendance per week over two years.

TEACHING CONTACT HOURS

HLST125: blended learning method

The blended learning course allows study when convenient to you. You can access materials any time of the day or night, 7 days a week. The course material is presented online and contains interactive activities.

HLST126: face-to-face method (full-time or part-time)

For the face-to-face study method, on the full-time route teaching occurs two days per week over one year, and on the part-time route one day per week over two years.

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