MSc Health Psychology at Northumbria

HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY AT NORTHUMBRIA

Welcome to Health Psychology at Northumbria University Health Psychology MSc

YOUR COURSE

Why Health Psychology at Northumbria?  Learn from an expert team with a variety of health-related backgrounds and excellent research records.  MSc Health Psychology is employment focused and will prepare you for roles in the areas of health promotion, healthcare delivery, illness management and rehabilitation.  This course is BPS-accredited Stage 1 training to students with undergraduate degrees, that confer the Graduate Basis for Chartership.  It is also an excellent start to professional development as a practitioner, upon the completion of Stage 2 training, when it is accompanied by the BPS Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBS).

Psychology at Northumbria  Almost three quarters of Northumbria University’s psychology research is judged to have outstanding reach and significance, placing us top 20 in the UK.  This course is delivered by expert practitioners and leading researchers who will share their experience of contemporary research and practice techniques to ensure your learning is at the cutting edge of the discipline.  The course prepares you for careers in the areas of health promotion, healthcare delivery, illness management and rehabilitation.

Health Psychology MSc Examples of Current Modules

Health Psychology in Theory and Practice

Psychosomatic Pathways to Health and Illness

Lifespan, Individual and Cultural Perspectives on Health Psychology

Systems Approaches to Understanding Health and Disease

Professional Skills

Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

MSc Thesis

DISCLAIMER: Please note that information, advice and guidance received at the Open Day is accurate as of today, and is subject to change as we review our courses and our offers to ensure that you are receiving the best possible educational experience. The University continues to monitor guidance in relation to Covid-19 to ensure compliance with government requirements and to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff. Our website is the most up to date place to review our information.

1 Year Full-Time September start Module Overview Health Psychology in Theory and Practice (Core, 20 Credits) Lifespan, Individual and Cultural Perspectives on Health Psychology (Core, 20 Credits) Psychosomatic Pathways to Health and Illness (Core, 20 Credits) Systems Approaches to Understanding Health and Disease (Core, 20 Credits) Qualitative and Quantitative Methods (Core, 20 Credits) Professional Skills (Core, 20 Credits) MSc Thesis (Core, 60 Credits)

Ways to Study 2 Years Part-Time September start Module Overview

Module Overview

Lifespan, Individual and Cultural Perspectives on Health Psychology (Core, 20 Credits)

Health Psychology in Theory and Practice (Core, 20 Credits)

Systems Approaches to Understanding Health and Disease (Core, 20 Credits)

Psychosomatic Pathways to Health and Illness (Core, 20 Credits)

Qualitative and Quantitative Methods (Core, 20 Credits)

Professional Skills (Core, 20 Credits) MSc Thesis (Core, 60 Credits)

DISCLAIMER: Please note that information, advice and guidance received at the Open Day is accurate as of today, and is subject to change as we review our courses and our offers to ensure that you are receiving the best possible educational experience. The University continues to monitor guidance in relation to Covid-19 to ensure compliance with government requirements and to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff. Our website is the most up to date place to review our information.

Teaching and Assessment Teaching While our teaching methods include traditional lectures, seminars and discussion groups, we place a strong emphasis on non-traditional methods including interactive and practical learning sessions. This approach has been developed around the techniques you will need in the workplace after graduation.  Courses are split into modules worth 20 credits.  You will also undertake a 60 credit Thesis.  You will study 180 credits in total.  You will be expected to study at least of 600 hours (per semester).  Guest lecturers are a key component of the course. Local and national experts are invited to cover specific topics related to their expertise.  Students are also invited to attend weekly departmental seminars (Wednesdays).

DISCLAIMER: Please note that information, advice and guidance received at the Open Day is accurate as of today, and is subject to change as we review our courses and our offers to ensure that you are receiving the best possible educational experience. The University continues to monitor guidance in relation to Covid-19 to ensure compliance with government requirements and to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff.

Our website is the most up to date place to review our information.

Teaching and Assessment Assessment

In addition to exam and essay-based assessment, we use a variety of innovative assessment methods to develop the skills you will need to progress in the health psychology field. These include funding applications, health campaigns, reviews, reports for non-academic audiences, reflection and personal development.  Respond to a commissioning brief, from a Local Authority, and create a health promotion campaign that addresses one of their strategic priorities.  Write an accompanying needs assessment and outcome analysis to add clarity for the choices made in terms of the health promotion campaign  Present and lead discussions based on a research critique of a contemporary empirical paper related to content learned within a module.  Write a 4,000 word critical literature review.  Sit set question examinations, e.g. assessing quantitative methods.

Our Staff  The Health Psychology team have wide ranging professional experience and research specialisms which are aligned to the courses to inform teaching.

Health Psychology Expertise Dr Angela Rodrigues Intervention Development

Medically Unexplained Symptoms

Personality & Health

Dr Nicola O’Brien

Professor Mark Wetherell

Professor Jason Ellis

Chronic Disease Prevention & Management

Psychobiology of Stress & Health

Dr Mark Moss

Professor Vincent Deary

Dr Michael Smith

Dr Brian Lovell

Dr Katri Cornelissen

Sleep Medicine

Dr Crystal Haskell-Ramsay

Dr David Smailes

Dr Lee Shepherd

Dr Greg Elder

World Leading Research  Work with state of art facilities in a research rich environment conceptualising, planning and implementing a research study of your own.  MSc Health Psychology students will be able to identify and develop their research skills in order to become more experienced, competent researchers who are able to communicate their findings in written form and may even have their thesis published.

Entry Requirements  Applicants should normally have a minimum of a 2:1 honours degree in Psychology (or MSc equivalent), or a minimum of a 2:1 in another subject including relevant work experience.  Applicants must produce a personal statement detailing their reasons for applying to the Health Psychology course at Northumbria University. In some cases, applicants will be required to answer additional questions related to research methods and background knowledge into Health Psychology.  International qualifications - If you have studied a non-UK qualification, you can see how your qualifications compare to the standard entry criteria, by selecting the country that you received the qualification in from our country pages at www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry.  English language requirements - International applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*). * The university accepts many UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find more details at www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications.

YOUR CAMPUS

Our Facilities  Northumbria are 11th in the UK for Facilities.*  Major campus investment in recent years – Sport Central, Student Central, Digital Commons, Architecture Studios, Computer and Information Sciences Building.  One of the best academic libraries in the UK boasting Customer Service Excellence (CSE) accreditation since 2010, with 24/7 access.***  Our IT, library and course resources are all ahead of sector for satisfaction.** *Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2018 *** National Student Survey 2019 *** Digital library is currently 24/7, access to library learning spaces reviewed in line with Covid-19 guidance.

Health Psychology Facilities  Taught in Northumberland Building at City Campus in the centre of Newcastle.  We offer a wide range of modern facilities including an Observation Studio, Observation Lab, Test Library, Experimental Psychology Lab, Applied Psychology Lab and a Psychology Learning and Teaching Lab.  The Brain, Performance and Nutrition Research Centre comprises four testing labs equipped with touch screen computers for cognitive testing.  Wet lab facilities allow the monitoring of a wide range of physiological markers, and two Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) systems and a Trans-cranial Doppler system facilitate the non-invasive monitoring of cerebral blood flow and proxies for brain metabolism.

YOUR FUTURE

Career Success at Northumbria  Boost your earning potential: according to the Department for Education’s Graduate Labour Market Statistics 2017, postgraduates earn on average £6,000 a year more than their undergraduate counterparts.  Which? University Student Survey 2018 ranked us as one of the top rated universities for ‘job readiness’ in the UK.  Northumbria is ranked 2nd in the UK for graduate start-ups based on turnover, according to the HEBCIS Survey 2018/19.  Graduate Futures - our Careers and Employment service will help at every stage, from finding part-time jobs that fit alongside your studies and volunteering opportunities, through to finding your first full-time job after graduation.

Where do our graduates go?

 The broad skills-base means that health psychologists are also attractive to consultancy companies looking for expertise in training, research or intervention.  Previous graduates have gone on to work across a spectrum of health-related psychology disciplines locally, nationally and globally.  These have included careers as assistant psychologists in the NHS, charitable organisations and the private sector.  Some have moved on to research posts, and others are undertaking PhDs.  One of our graduate students is currently studying a PhD at Kings College London and has recently been involved in expertise seminars related to Covid-19.

THANKS FOR WATCHING. What’s Next?

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www.northumbria.ac.uk

DISCLAIMER: Please

note that information, advice and guidance received at the Open Day is accurate as of today, and is subject to change as we review our courses and our offers to ensure that you are receiving the best possible educational experience. The University continues to monitor guidance in relation to Covid-19 to ensure compliance with government requirements and to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff. Our website is the most up to date place to review our information.