Develop your theoretical and research-based knowledge of social and occupational psychology to enhance your understanding of workplace behaviour. Open the door to a successful career as a practitioner or academic researcher in the field of organisational psychology.
Gain insights into the psychology of selection and assessment, methods and statistics, employee wellbeing, entrepreneurship and people management. Our Association for Business Psychology-accredited programme will develop your understanding of the contextual forces within organisations and the role of organisational psychology, including political, environmental, technical, social and legal.
A first or second class honours degree in a relevant subject or equivalent.
All applications are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
This course requires a Good level of English language, equivalent to B2 on CEFR.
Details on how to meet this requirement can be found on our English Language requirements webpage.
Examples:
IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component
PTE Academic 63 with a minimum of 59 in each sub-test
A degree from a UK university
A degree from a Majority English Speaking Country
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
We’ve created the most progressive approach to higher education, developing and modernising our curriculum. For 2025 our courses will be designed with you at their heart to deliver a top-class student experience and career outcomes.
The following modules are what students will typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations.
You take all compulsory modules and them choose one from a list of optional modules.
How can research methods and statistics answer advanced research questions in psychology? As a postgraduate student, this module will deepen your ability to answer research questions such as how children improve in their skills year on year, whether a given training module improves the ability to correctly identify faces, or what factors predict prejudice in the workplace. You will learn about the logic of qualitative analysis and the many different forms it takes, and gain a firmer understanding of quantitative analysis, sampling, and statistical inference. In preparation for understanding and conducting research, you will learn advanced insights about correlational and experimental methods to understand relationships, causes and effects among variables. Building on this understanding, you will learn in-depth how simple correlations underlie understanding of multiple regression and its assumptions, and how regression in turn supports the general linear model, which is key to the other advanced topics taught in the module. The teaching will keep up-to-date with the latest advances in open science and transparent reporting of evidence. We will also use open-source software to support practical lessons and assessments in data analysis, so that you can produce as well as understand the techniques being taught. Reporting your results through writing in APA style and appropriate data visualisation is an important skill that you will learn for a variety of analyses. There is also a special focus upon learning how to identify which analysis technique is right for any given statistical problem.
Organisations are involved in a constant ‘war for talent’ –fighting to both recruit and retain the best talent they can. Against this backdrop, it is critical that they can predict and understand the behaviour of their employees. This ‘war for talent’ sits at the heart of the psychology of selection and assessment. This module will describe, analyse and evaluate how psychological research and methods contributes to the effective selection of people into employment, and their assessment within organisations. Teaching will take the form of lectures, introducing you to key theories and tools; and workshops, where you will be able to apply your learning to the practicalities of designing a selection process. This module will give you the opportunity to think critically and evaluate the theory and practice of selection and assessment. There will be a large focus on the practical application of theory to design and implement best practice selection and assessment processes for a range of organisational contexts.
How can psychology can be used to improve the environment, communities and societies that we live in? And how can psychology be used to make organisations more effective or to create new business opportunities? This module introduces you to the frameworks for applying social psychology theories to understanding and solving a range of social, organisational and business issues. Using expertise within the School of Psychology at Kent and speakers from external organisations, it showcases applications of theory to solving problems in range of contexts. It will develop your ability to design, implement and evaluate evidenced-based interventions that create a positive change for either individuals, organisations, communities or society. Working with case-study problems provided by real organisations, you will have the opportunity put these skills into practice and develop consultancy skills.
What makes a great leader? How can leaders inspire change, motivate others and create thriving communities, societies, teams and workplaces? And when can it go wrong? This module examines the psychological basis of how members of teams and groups behave and interact, and their relationships with leaders. It also examines how leaders themselves may affect the behaviour of groups and teams. It considers how organisations and other types of large and small groups are affected by these phenomena and uses a combination of evidence, group discussion and debate to address these questions and highlight new areas for research development. You will analyse and discuss how these areas can be studied, what we can learn from the evidence, identify gaps in the literature and propose and develop exciting new research ideas. You will present your ideas to other students on the module and also develop a research proposal to explore questions that interest you in the areas of leadership, groups and organisations.
Organisations are operating in an environment of constant change. With this increased need to adapt and navigate new challenges, there is a need to develop and retain their talent. Furthermore, organisations have seen an increase in workplace stress leading to increased employee health problems, increased absences, and higher employee turnover. In this module you will explore key theories and approaches to understand wellbeing and talent development in organisations. You will also analyse current psychological research in these areas and evaluate interventions designed to enhance employee skills, engagement and wellbeing in organisations. Teaching will take the form of lectures, introducing you to key theories and tools; and workshops/seminars, where you will be able to reflect on and assess the application of these principles in the workplace. This module will give you the opportunity to think critically and evaluate the theory and practice of wellbeing and talent development initiatives in the workplace. There will be a large focus on the practical application of theory and interpreting different perspectives on the application of development and wellbeing in organisations to fully understand the effectiveness of these strategies.
Research forms the cornerstone of how we solve psychological problems. You will identify a burning question from a range of psychological sub-disciplines and design a research study that addresses the question using appropriate methodologies. This module will give you the skills to conduct research and communicate research in various forms. You will have the unique opportunity to conduct your research project under the supervision of experts across a range of psychological sub-disciplines. The skills learned in this module will prepare you for the completion of your dissertation and future as psychologists.
Students who have not completed an undergraduate degree in psychology work individually or in groups to identify a gap in the literature, design a study to fill that gap, collect data where appropriate and write up their findings. This work will be an opportunity to use all the research skills they have developed over this programme of study. Students will have an academic member of staff as a Project Supervisor. The area of research students work on will depend on their interests and those of their selected supervisor.
Have you always wanted to conduct an extensive ‘deep dive’ piece of work into the latest business/organisational psychology research but just never had the time and space? – then this module is for you. If you are undertaking the MSc Organisational & Business Psychology, then this module can be used to inform your final dissertation. If you are undertaking a PGCert or PGDip, then this module will enable you to pursue your burning interest in a ‘hot’ area of business/organisational psychology. In this module, you will work one-to-one with an academic supervisor to identify, discuss and develop the topic and particular area of research that is both relevant and topical. This module will develop your ability to synthesise literature and critically evaluate empirical research, giving you specialist knowledge and evidence of independent research.
Innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship are key to the success of many businesses. So how do businesses create environments to support innovation and entrepreneurship activity? And how do you know if your innovative idea is any good?
This inspiring module focuses on the practical aspects of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, and allows you to experience being an entrepreneur and innovator first hand. In a week-long intensive course, run by a leading innovation expert, it will take you through, step-by-step, the processes innovators have to go through to test their ideas. It will introduce you to key tools used by entrepreneurs, such as the value proposition and business model canvas. The module will develop your entrepreneurial and innovator mind-set, provide insights into careers in innovation and will give you confidence to be an entrepreneur.
The assessment methods used for this course include: seminar presentations and summaries, coursework essays and assignments, statistical tests and examinations, research assignments, unseen written examination papers, poster presentations, guided assessment, presentations in class, and in-class tests. Some assessments will focus on assessing students’ theoretical understanding and others will test students understanding of how to apply the theory to develop practical outcomes for organisations and their employees. The MSc course will also require a dissertation project.
For course aims and learning outcomes please see the Course Specification.
We have excellent facilities for both laboratory and field research, including advanced laboratory and teaching facilities. Resources include:
Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology; Child Development; Clinical Psychology Review. Details of recently published books can be found within the staff research interests.
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
You learn a set of skills that will allow you to pursue a career such as:
Upon completing our Master’s courses, our graduates have also pursued doctoral study and academic careers at higher education institutions.
All of our taught Master’s (MSc) programmes have been recognised by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as meeting the nationally recognised criteria for preparation training for PhD research.
The 2025/26 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Tuition fees may be increased in the second and subsequent years of your course. Detailed information on possible future increases in tuition fees is contained in the Tuition Fees Increase Policy. If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Tuition fees may be increased in the second and subsequent years of your course. Detailed information on possible future increases in tuition fees is contained in the Tuition Fees Increase Policy. If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
You'll need regular access to a desktop computer/laptop with an internet connection to use the University of Kent’s online resources and systems. We've listed some guidelines for the technology and software you'll need for your studies.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, as well as general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Next steps
Learn more about the application process or begin your application by clicking on a link below.
You will be able to choose your preferred year of entry once you have started your application. You can also save and return to your application at any time.
Supporting your success
Kent ranked top 40 in The Times Good University Guide 2025.
Fees and funding
Kent has risen 11 places in THE’s REF 2021 ranking, confirming us as a leading research university.
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