MSc Health Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University

Health psychology is a rapidly growing discipline that plays a vital role in addressing some of society’s most pressing health challenges, such as chronic health conditions, health inequalities, and health-risk behaviours such as alcohol use, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and more. On this course, you’ll explore the variety of factors that influence health, illness, and healthcare, from our ageing population to increasing demand on health services, global health challenges and health inequalities. Through a combination of theory and practical application, you’ll explore health behaviour change, neuropsychology, effective communication skills for working in diverse teams and with clients, and research methods.

Faculty: Faculty of Health and Education  |  Department: School of Psychology  |  Duration: 1 year full-time; 2 years part-time  |  Study mode: full-time, part-time  |  Intake: September 2027  |  Location: Manchester, England, United Kingdom

What you will study

On the MSc Health Psychology, you’ll take a biopsychosocial approach to understanding health and health-related behaviours, developing core knowledge and critically reflecting on the interlinking pathways to health and illness. You’ll learn about key issues in health psychology, such as health inequalities, and develop your skills in designing behaviour change interventions, helping people manage long-term conditions, neuropsychological assessment, effective communication, and working in multidisciplinary teams. Modules core: Health Psychology Practice, Understanding and Changing Health Behaviour, Biological Mechanisms And Neuropsychological Health, Health, Illness And Society, Research Principles and Methods, Research For Innovation Dissertation.

Career pathways

You could find yourself working in an NHS or public health team as an assistant psychologist, a psychological wellbeing practitioner, a smoking cessation practitioner, a weight management specialist, or a health coach. Other opportunities include working in a commercial organisation, providing valuable insights into human health-related behaviour and evaluating interventions, or in charitable organisations providing support to clients.

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