The Association for Business Psychology (ABP) accredited

100% online MSc Organisational and Business Psychology

Learn high-demand business psychology skills and unlock career progression with an ABP-accredited, 100% online master’s from a QAA-commended university

Apply by:

13 June 2023

To start:

27 June 2023

180 credits •
14 months full-time •
2 years part-time •
£7,200 total fees •
QAA-commended university

Choose Wolverhampton

Commendation from Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
85% of research ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally important’ (latest REF)
Course accredited by Association for Business Psychology
Over 150 industry partners
Option to pay per module
Alumni discount available

Take your career to the next level

An online master’s to provide professionals globally with the psychological skills to succeed in the modern workplace.

The 100% online MSc Organisational and Business Psychology from the University of Wolverhampton provides a balance of theory practice to equip you with the knowledge, skills and cultural sensitivity required to apply psychology as a tool for organisational success and individual well-being in workplaces across the globe.

This master’s course focuses on organisational psychology that is highly relevant in both UK and international contexts. It enables you to enhance your career prospects as an expert and strategist for organisational development and improvement, an area of growing demand both locally and internationally, or as a business psychologist. The course has been accredited by the Association for Business Psychology (ABP), which enables you to automatically achieve CertBP status on graduation.

This postgraduate course has been designed closely with industry partners to equip you for career success in a wide range of roles.

Superb student experience

An immersive online learning experience with interaction and collaboration at its core.

With a clear focus on accommodating the needs of working professionals and individuals with families, the flexible delivery of the online MSc Organisational and Business Psychology enables you to access course content at any time. This is key because it enables you to fit your studies around the rest of your life, meaning that you can get ahead by avoiding a study break and can continue to earn and progress in your current role as you study.

You will learn in a supportive online environment with tutors and fellow learners from all over the world, with regular and ongoing interaction through discussion boards and forums and collaboration through group learning activities. As you do so, you’ll learn from the diverse backgrounds, insights and experiences of a global group of peers to further your own professional development, and will make potentially important connections in your global professional network.

In line with its international focus, this psychology master’s course has been specifically designed for international as well as UK-based students. With an entirely online learning experience and teaching delivery, you can study from anywhere in the world, without ever needing to visit campus.

You have the option to study part-time and complete your degree in 24 months, or full-time and complete your degree in 14 months. With six start dates a year, you’re not restricted to the traditional academic year and can begin your postgraduate study within weeks.

What you will learn

Studying the online MSc Organisational and Business Psychology, you will develop the knowledge and practical skills of a forward-thinking practitioner who is fully engaged with the contemporary evidence base and relevant case studies, rather than primarily focusing on historical approaches to organisational psychology. In addition to a specialist understanding of organisational and occupational psychology, you will develop a comprehensive understanding of key related areas of business, including organisational strategy, strategic marketing, sustainability, operations management, management and leadership.

Knowledge and skills taught include:

Positive psychology and wellbeing
Leadership and people management
Personality, ability and individual differences
Distance leadership
Research methods and statistics
Organisational strategy
Strategic marketing
Operations and supply chain management
Financial management and control
Sustainability in business

Academic excellence and innovation

An industry-focused and research-led Department of Psychology.

The Department of Psychology is focused on delivering excellence in teaching, innovation, creative thinking and rigorous, impactful research – every individual and idea is encouraged and valued. In the latest Research Excellence Framework, 85% of the research at the University of Wolverhampton was recognised as ‘world-leading’ or of ‘international importance’.

The Department has more than 150 partnerships with business, hospitals, government, prisons and charities, creating a learning economy that feeds directly into psychology courses.

And the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) recognised the University with a commendation – the highest accolade that can be awarded.

Entry requirements for home and international students

You should normally have, or be about to complete:

A recognised undergraduate or postgraduate degree (or equivalent qualification) from an accredited college, institution, or university, equivalent to or higher than a UK bachelor’s degree with honours.

Or:

If you do not hold a recognised degree or hold an ordinary degree, you should have at least two years of relevant work experience in a professional, managerial or supervisory role.

Fees

Total fees: £7,200

Per 15-credit module fee: £600

If you are based in the UK, you may be eligible for a government postgraduate loan to cover the full costs of the course.

University of Wolverhampton alumni discount: If you have successfully completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Wolverhampton, you are eligible for a 10% tuition fees reduction.

Modules

Positive Psychology and Wellbeing

Psychology has historically focused on what we call ‘a deficit approach’ to understanding human behaviour. This means that we tend to focus on what is going wrong and try to fix that problem. This approach, however, ignores a vast wealth of positive experiences. New thinking in the field has triggered a shift in focus towards developing a greater understanding of what works. In this module students will explore positive psychological phenomena such as resilience, growth, flow and how those relate to personal wellbeing and performance.

Leadership and People Management

This module introduces people management and effective leadership practice within the organisation. In particular, it analyses themes that relate to the changing landscape of people management including: the strategic organisational context of attracting and selecting people for work: training; performance management; and the employment relationships. It also deals with the actual way in which effective leaders emerge within organisations and how they use people management practices and their distinct qualities, such as cross-cultural awareness to motivate and reward diverse employees. It provides you with the opportunity to optimise your potential and be involved in the day-to-day decision-making processes within organisations that advocate change as a route to achieving competitive advantage.
On successful completion, you will be able to demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge and focused awareness of the internal and the wider business context in which to manage and lead effectively within and across teams.

Personality, Ability and Individual Differences

What makes us tick? Have you ever noticed that you approach some things in your life differently to other people? Have you ever watched a celebrity and wondered why they do the things they do or keep making the same mistakes? By taking a critical look at issues such as personality, our preferred ways of looking at and approaching the world, intelligence, emotions, and persuasion this module will consider what has changed since the study of this extensive field began and delve into ideas about what makes us unique and what unites us as human beings. Through examining issues like contemporary approaches to measuring intelligence and personality, you will gain a critical understanding of the ways in which humans are likely to behave in certain situations. You will also gain an understanding of contemporary issues in behavioural change and understand how we might go about getting someone to change their behaviour (and if that is even possible).

Distance Leadership and Virtual Teams

What is different about virtual teamwork and leadership? Many of us have recently experienced a situation novel to us when having to interact with our teams and managers in a virtual environment, but businesses have utilised distance leadership and virtual teams for decades, with varying degrees of success. There are many reasons why an organisation may need to operate with geographically dispersed teams, with many historical practices being driven more by organisational needs and resources than a sound evidence base. The global Covid-19 pandemic has thrown telecommuting, technological advances and personal and psychological challenges into the limelight. This module will critically examine the evidence base for distance leadership practices as well as working in virtual teams and ask what organisations can do to enhance distance leadership and virtual team working.

Organisational Strategy

This module introduces practical techniques for identifying emerging trends in the business environment, both in a national and international context. It encourages the use of conceptual frameworks and practical tools and techniques to improve the quality of strategic decision-making, and develops the insights and competencies needed to present strategies and business plans in a persuasive manner.

Marketing Strategy

Organisations face several challenges and opportunities which they must respond to through marketing decisions. This module develops your understanding of the market decisions that organisations face. Through the application of marketing theory, models, and tools you will gain an understanding of the importance of the organisational environment and the impact this has for analysis, planning and control in a marketing management context.

Operations and Supply Chain Management

This module provides you with a firm foundation in the principles of operations and supply chain management. It introduces you to a broad range of operations management challenges facing managers working in modern organisations and equips you with the knowledge and tools to resolve them. The module explores the information needs of organisations and systems to support operations management processes. The focus of the module is on how firms can achieve competitive success through improving the processes involved in delivering products and services.

Sustainability in Business

Climate change, resource depletion and population growth, and the role of business in society are amongst the most highly debated subjects today and create a profound challenge to the status quo for all organisations. But these issues also create opportunities for innovation and change, and the business case for acting sustainably is becoming increasingly persuasive. In this module, you will explore the range of meta-challenges facing business, understand the social and the business case for acting sustainably, and discuss how sustainability can be managed.

Financial Management and Control

Managers in all sectors are required to take account of the financial impact of their decisions. Whether they are being required to approve the purchase of new plant and machinery, increase or decrease the workforce, increase marketing efforts, or authorise the new strategic and budget plans, one of the key aspects of the decision is the financial impact. Managers therefore need to understand financial reports, be able to question the information provided in them and make decisions based upon the information provided by them.

This module seeks to enable you to make well-informed decisions based upon a sound knowledge of financial reports, systems, and developments in the accounting and financial environment.

Research Methods and Statistics

This module will equip you with knowledge and training to be able to conduct psychological research ethically and responsibly. It introduces the use of critical thinking to develop independent research and study design that can be used to inform your self-directed dissertation research project. You will learn how to statistically analyse human behaviour through research and will gain transferable skills that will be useful to a wide range of professions.

Dissertation

You will conduct your own piece of psychological research, investigating a phenomenon of psychological interest that is developed into an answerable research question. Working with a supervisor to design and conduct research of the highest ethical standards, you will learn how to critically evaluate an existing evidence base, gather data and apply comprehensive analysis techniques to establish your findings, resulting in a report of your research ready for dissemination.