Understand why our healthy new years’ resolutions always fizzle out despite our good intentions. Explore how our brains and bodies process stress and how psychology could help you fight off your next cold. Discover how to assess neuropsychological function. Health psychology is a rapidly growing discipline, which can make a huge contribution to some of the big health issues currently facing society such as chronic health conditions, health inequalities, and health-risk behaviours such as alcohol use, smoking, sedentary behaviour, and more. Health psychologists have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic, frequently in the media spotlight as one of the expert groups helping our populations keep well and cope with illness, isolation, stress and the many ways life has changed. On this course, you’ll ask questions about the key health issues facing our communities, from our ageing population to pressurised health services, global health challenges and health inequalities. You’ll explore human behaviour, health behaviour change, neuropsychology and research methods. And, you’ll seek ways to improve health, illness and healthcare systems through applying psychological theory and practical methods. Some of the topics you’ll consider include the factors that make a person vulnerable to developing conditions like coronary heart disease or COVID-19, and why where people live matters to their health outcomes. You might apply psychology to ensuring that children get enough physical activity, in understanding the experience of people living with a stroke, or how we can help people with diabetes to take their medications. You’ll also study the principles and practice of research and evaluation, applying these skills to a field-based dissertation. You’ll complete a 70-hour work-based learning opportunity to apply your health psychology learning and build your work experience.

Career prospects

Your understanding of human behaviour, health behaviour change, neuropsychology and research methods gained on this course will enable you to apply for graduate roles in many sectors.

You could find yourself working in an NHS team, or in a commercial, charitable or research organisation. Alternatively, you may want to go on to pursue a PhD or train to become a qualified health psychologist.

To practise as a health psychologist in the UK, you’ll need to have Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), having completed a British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited undergraduate psychology degree or conversion course. Following your MSc Health Psychology at Manchester Met, you will need to complete doctoral-level health psychology training and register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Once you’re registered, you could work in a variety of health, social care and business settings. You might work with patients with long-term conditions at an NHS hospital or in a private practice, in design solutions for a health-related commercial organisation or lead stop smoking services in public health.

Other areas you might develop your career in are local authorities, think tanks, charities or research departments in universities.