King's College London

Our stage 1 BPS-accredited MSc in Health Psychology is specifically designed for psychology graduates who wish to go on to become registered Health Psychologists. Our Health Psychology course combines classroom teaching, individual study and practical work in statistics, a supervised research project and a 100-hour applied placement.

Our Health Psychology course provides up-to-date and thorough grounding in the theories, concepts and empirical findings in health psychology. It will prepare you for a subsequent research degree or professional training in health psychology (i.e. PhD and/or BPS Stage 2 training in Health Psychology). We aim to equip you with the skills to apply the scientific and theoretical basis of health psychology using scholarly and critical approaches. We also provide formal training in quantitative and qualitative research methods so that you are able to evaluate, plan and conduct research. Applied placements provide the opportunity to observe health psychology in a variety of practice settings and to learn applicable transferable skills.

The applied placement takes place in the second semester and is organised by a dedicated member of academic staff in NHS departments across King’s Health Partners, in industry and health related charities and public services. Placements consist of a dedicated piece of work completed by the student in their host department coupled with shadowing and observing health and clinical psychologists. Previous placements included auditing patient experiences in an NHS outpatient department, designing an information leaflet on health psychological measurement for allied health professionals and interviewing patients about their experiences of psychological therapy among others, some of which have led to academic and professional publication.

You will also be required to undertake a significant piece of empirical work (a research project). All research projects are conducted in collaboration with a supervisor. While you will be encouraged to develop your own research proposal, you will also have the opportunity to work on projects developed by academic staff in their areas of expertise.

We will use a delivery method that will ensure students have a rich, exciting experience from the start. Face to face teaching will be complemented and supported with innovative technology so that students also experience elements of digital learning and assessment.