Course information

Length

1 year full-time

Course overview

Shape the future of work by training as an Occupational Psychologist in the Institute of Management Studies (IMS). Gain the scientific knowledge, practical skills, and professional network to challenge the status quo and offer innovative workplace solutions.

This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society.

Occupational Psychologists specialise in human behaviour at work, understanding how people act and interact as individuals, in teams, and in organisations. The field brings together academics and professionals who use science and research to help improve the world of work, and answer questions like:

  • Who would be best for a given job?
  • How can companies use Artificial Intelligence to help select the best job candidates, or manage their employees?
  • How should companies manage, promote, and pay their people?
  • What is a healthy workplace?
  • Where do people perform at their best?
  • What is good leadership?
  • How can we spot problematic leaders?
  • How do we coach people to improve their work-life and performance?

You will benefit from our more than 25 years of experience in shaping the next generation of occupational psychologists, our vast alumni network, and our industry connections. This programme is accredited by the British Psychological Society(BPS) and their Division of Occupational Psychology (DOP).

You will study in the Institute of Management Studies (IMS), a vibrant environment for the study of people, behaviour, and change. The institute brings together academics in occupational psychology, economics, marketing, consumer psychology, and entrepreneurship.

Professional certifications

You will also have the opportunity to obtain a number of BPS certificates. These are provided for free so you can hit the ground running as a practising occupational psychologist when you graduate. Training is delivered in the summer by a leading occupational psychology consultancy. You will obtain BPS certificates in “Test User: Occupational, Ability” and “Test User: Occupational, Personality”. These qualifications recognize you as an expert in the administration, scoring, and interpretation of ability tests and personality questionnaires. The training is useful for those who wish to learn about or work with psychometric tests.

Our Specialisms

Our program is taught by a group of academic practitioners with specialisms in computational psychometrics and organisational wellbeing.

Computational psychometrics combines psychological theory with machine learning and artificial intelligence methodologies to measure individual differences in personal attributes like personality and cognitive ability. Applied computational psychometrics is often used in Human Resources technology, for example, video-based assessments or AI-based video interviewing.

Organisational wellbeing uses psychology to improving the performance and health of people in a broad range of work environments. For example, Contextual Behavioural Science theories, and interventions such as acceptance and commitment therapy are used to predict and enhance wellbeing and performance. Health and wellbeing can also be studied in social entities like organisations by looking at interpersonal and structural antecedents of wellbeing, and how they affect specific groups.

Shape the future of work

This program is designed to introduce you to the core elements of occupational psychology. It will equip you to work in research and applied settings to help shape the future of work. Whether you are looking to be self-employed, in-house, or a consultant in HR, tech, coaching, development, academia, or other sectors, you will gain the skills and knowledge to study and influence human behaviour.

  • Learn about core topics in occupational psychology including coaching, talent management, individual differences, and leadership.
  • Expand your statistical analysis skills and learn how to analyse human behaviour. Our programme is suitable for those with and without prior statistics training.
  • Conduct your own research project to answer questions about people and behaviour at work.
  • Connect to practitioners in London, the UK and the world to learn how they are applying research in their practice, get inspired about career options, and build your network.

We equip you with a theoretical and empirical knowledge base that you start applying to real-world scenarios during your degree. So you can start practising as an occupational psychologist straight away.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Dr Nigel Guenole.

What you'll study

Structure

The MSc programme runs for one year, starting in September. Most lectures and seminars are in the first two terms of the academic year, however the programme is structured in such a way that you are expected to pursue your studies beyond formal term times. Apart from the individual module-units listed in the syllabus, you will be required to attend other seminars and workshop series.

As far as is practicable, the majority of lectures and seminars will be timetabled for Mondays and Tuesdays.

 

Module title Credits
Organisational Behaviour and Health 15 credits
Training, Coaching and Counselling 15 credits
Leadership and Talent Management 15 credits
Assessment and Selection 15 credits
Research Design and Applied Statistics 15 credits
Professional and Applied Research Skills 30 credits
Research Project 60 credits

 

Option Modules

You will also choose one 15 credit option module from a list made available by the Institute of Management Studies, including in the areas of innovation, marketing, consumer psychology, entrepreneurship, and economics. We will provide you with a list of modules to chose from prior to the beginning of term.

Occupational Test User Training

(Formerly known as Level A and B training)

During your degree, you will be provided with the opportunity to partake in training that will allow you to qualify for the BPS certificates in “Test User: Occupational, Ability” and “Test User: Occupational, Personality.” This qualification recognizes you as an expert in the administration, scoring and interpretation of ability tests and personality questionnaires. Your training will be delivered by Criterion Partnership, a world-recognised authority on objective assessment.

Assessment

Your performance will be assessed by formal examinations, essays, presentations, business reports and a research dissertation of not more than 10,000 words.

Download the programme specification.

Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.

What our students say

Eng Hoong Thio

The course covers a wide range of topics with many speakers from different companies.

Hoong's time at Goldsmiths

The course covers a wide range of topics with many speakers from different companies, such as HireVue, CAIA, Hogan Assessments and The Chemistry Group, coming in to speak to us, which is an opportunity to know more about what we can do after graduating, and build networks.

Advice for future students

I think one very important point is to know what you want to study. If you are unsure, talk to people who have done it before. If I remember correctly, you can speak to student ambassadors using the Goldsmiths website, so you can try that first!

Hoong's favourite part of living in South East London

Lots of food options around and it is really close to central London.

Entry requirements

You should have an undergraduate degree in Psychology, or in a relevant subject (not necessarily Psychology), of at least upper second class standard. Relevant work experience will be an advantage.

Important information about career routes in occupational psychology

For those applicants who have a BSc or a BA in Psychology from a university that is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) (This is also known as having Graduate Basis for Chartership; GBC), the Goldsmiths’ MSc Occupational Psychology (if successfully completed) will allow you to progress to BPS Stage two training, and eventually attain professional chartership in occupational psychology (if Stage two BPS requirements are met).

For those applicants who have a BSc or a BA in Psychology from a university that is not accredited by the BPS, you will not be eligible for the BPS Stage two training at present, but will nevertheless be welcome to join the Goldsmiths’ MSc Occupational Psychology. Importantly, it may be possible for you to gain BPS recognition for your non-accredited BA or BSc in Psychology

For those applicants who are unable to gain BPS recognition for their BSc or BA in Psychology, and those applicants who have a BSc or a BA in a discipline outside of psychology, you will not be eligible for the BPS Stage two training at present, but will nevertheless be welcome to join the Goldsmiths’ MSc Occupational Psychology. Applicants in this situation may consider completing a BPS accredited psychology postgraduate conversion course prior to undertaking the MSc Occupational Psychology. This will permit eventual progression to the BPS Stage two training, if the MSc Occupational Psychology is successfully attained.

International qualifications

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for postgraduate-level study.

Fees, funding & scholarships

Annual tuition fees

These are the fees for students starting their programme in the 2024/2025 academic year.

  • Home - full-time: £12520
  • International - full-time: £23660

If your fees are not listed here, please check our postgraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office, who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.

It’s not currently possible for international students to study part-time under a student visa. If you think you might be eligible to study part-time while being on another visa type, please contact our Admissions Team for more information.

If you are looking to pay your fees please see our guide to making a payment.

Additional costs

In addition to your tuition fees, you'll be responsible for any additional costs associated with your course, such as buying stationery and paying for photocopying. You can find out more about what you need to budget for on our study costs page.

There may also be specific additional costs associated with your programme. This can include things like paying for field trips or specialist materials for your assignments. Please check the programme specification for more information.

Funding opportunities

Find out more about postgraduate fees and explore funding opportunities. If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an application deadline.

How to apply

You apply directly to Goldsmiths using our online application system. 

Before submitting your application you’ll need to have:

  • Details of your academic qualifications
  • The email address of your referee who we can request a reference from, or alternatively a copy of your academic reference
  • Copies of your educational transcripts or certificates
  • personal statement – this can either be uploaded as a Word Document or PDF, or completed online. 

    Please see our guidance on writing a postgraduate statement

You'll be able to save your progress at any point and return to your application by logging in using your username/email and password.

When to apply 

We accept applications from October for students wanting to start the following September. 

We encourage you to complete your application as early as possible, even if you haven't finished your current programme of study. It's very common to be offered a place conditional on you achieving a particular qualification. 

If you're applying for external funding from one of the Research Councils, make sure you submit your application by the deadline they've specified. 

Late applications will only be considered if there are spaces available.

Selection process 

Selection is by personal application, references and interview.

Find out more about applying.

Staff

MSc in Occupational Psychology staff

Academic staff in the Department who will be contributing to this programme include: 

Find out more about staff in the Institute of Management Studies.

Staff in the Institute of Management Studies

Careers

Connect with the Industry

You will join our network of occupational psychologists through guest speakers, research projects, and internship/job opportunities. The  Distinguished Speakers series is one of your compulsory modules and provides specialised talks by either academic or practising experts in various fields of business, enterprise, and occupational psychology.  
The programme’s success is reflected in the excellent employment rates of our former MSc students in both the public and private sectors. Some students also go on to carry out PhD level study with us to become academic Occupational Psychologists.

You’ll have the opportunity to engage in both cutting-edge research, as well as practical skills sessions. For your research dissertation, you’ll have access to academics with expertise in areas such as occupational health and wellbeing, talent management and entrepreneurship. Your dissertation can also be conducted in collaboration with an industry partner, for example using data from their employees.

You'll develop technical skills related to occupational psychology including: 

  • Psychometric test development  
  • Work re-design procedures 
  • Training needs analysis 

You’ll also develop general skills that will help you as a practising occupational psychologist as well as other areas:

  • Data analysis and statistics 
  • Academic writing 
  • Research design and conducting research

Through the Professional Skills Workshops, you will be able to interact closely with experts from the world's leading organisations in occupational psychology. You will see a range of career options and have the opportunity to network with a wide range of practitioners.

You may go on to work as an independent consultant, as an in-house consultant for a private or public sector organisation, in a consultancy, or in academia. 
Find out more about Occupational Psychology from the British Psychological Society.

Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.

Where your degree can take you

Our alumni work in a range of industries and roles. Our top destination role for graduates over the last two years has been HR and Talent Management (38%), followed by Consultant (18%) and Lecturer or Teacher (6%).

Similar programmes

MSc Management of Innovation

This programme will equip you with the fundamental business and social enterprise knowledge and skills needed to manage innovative product and brand or policy development, service delivery, and integration of emerging technologies in fast-paced industries.

MSc Marketing & Consumer Behaviour

The MSc Marketing & Consumer Behaviour equips you with a comprehensive grounding in approaches to understanding consumer preferences, judgements, decision-making and behaviour.

Related content links