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Health Psychology MSc

London, Bloomsbury

Specialise in health psychology at Master’s level at one of the world’s top universities. Benefit from expert-led in-person lectures, and hands-on experience with data collection, clinical observations and placements. This one-year full-time/two-year part-time programme is the longest running of its kind and the ideal stepping stone into work as a chartered health psychologist or a Clinical Psychology PhD.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
£13,500
£6,750
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
£36,500
£18,250
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2025
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 27 Jun 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in psychology from a UK university, or overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. A lower second-class UK Bachelor's degree or equivalent may be accepted with evidence of further study or relevant work experience.

Applicants are encouraged to have Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS) if they want to pursue a career as a Chartered Health Psychologist in the UK.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 4

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

Give yourself a head start in building an impactful career as a health psychologist or researcher on UCL’s hugely popular Health Psychology MSc, accredited by the British Psychology Society (BPS).

You’ll gain a deep grounding in all the theories and main ideas central to current health psychology, receive training in doing your own research, and be encouraged to develop your own specialisation.

Weekly journal clubs will help you build your critical appraisal and presentation skills, with regular opportunities to practise presenting papers.

Drawing on our close links with third sector and clinical organisations, there’ll be placement opportunities, and the chance to visit a hospital outpatient clinic, too.

Your research project, which makes up just over a third of your final mark, will be written up in the form of a mock submission to the British Journal of Health Psychology.

Many graduates go onto coveted Clinical Psychology PhDs straight after this course, and the MSc is an important stepping stone for becoming a chartered health psychologist.

Who this course is for

This programme is suitable for students (with an equivalent of a 2:1 from their first degree and advanced English skills) seeking a thorough grounding in health psychology as preparation for a subsequent research degree or employment in a related field.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

  • Study on the longest-running Health Psychology MSc in the UK, working alongside expert researchers as part of UCL's Research Department of Behavioural Science and Health.
     
  • UCL is ranked number one for research power and impact in medicine, health and life sciences (REF 2021), and 6th in the world for public health (ShanghaiRankings 2023).
     
  • Access a highly interactive and engaging learning community of like-minded peers, researchers and academics, with regular networking opportunities and potential collaborations with leaders in health psychology and related disciplines.
     
  • Flexibility to conduct a dissertation project in a field of your interest.
     
  • Complete relevant placements in clinical, academic or policy-related settings.
     
  • Gain a research-based BPS-accredited Stage 1 qualification, so you move into research or progress onto becoming a chartered health psychologist.
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Studying this kind of academic programme means you’ll gain important research experience and skills. This is particularly advantageous when moving onto advanced degrees – and each year a significant number of students successfully secure PhD studentships and clinical doctorates.

As the focus of the MSc is on improving healthcare and delivery, you’ll also be well positioned to take up roles in the public or private healthcare sector. Graduates have gone onto work for the NHS, the Department of Health and Social Care, NatCen Social Research, and universities in the UK and abroad.*

*Graduate Outcomes survey carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), looking at the destinations of UK and EU graduates in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 cohorts.
 

Employability

Your knowledge of relevant health psychology theory, clinical skills and research experience will make you a strong candidate for PhD-level study, working as a researcher, or taking up roles allied to psychology, healthcare services and delivery.

Networking

The UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care offers four on-campus MSc programmes and a fully online Master of Public Health MPH programme encompassing a wide range of topics. Our students come from diverse academic and professional backgrounds, from the UK and overseas providing great networking opportunities within and across programmes. Each programme holds social events during the year to enable networking between students. Students have the opportunity to join the newly formed Population Health Sciences Student Society, two of the founding members of which were from the MSc in Population Health. During the year, online, hybrid, and in-person seminars are hosted by the research departments. These cover a variety of topics and provide an opportunity to hear from national and international experts and to network with attendees and speakers. 

Accreditation

The Health Psychology MSc is stage 1 accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). BPS accreditation criteria stipulate a minimum 50% pass mark, with no condoned modules, and so students with final marks falling below 50% cannot graduate with the accredited Health Psychology MSc award. In addition, the BPS expects students to engage in primary data collection which will be assessed as part of the dissertation module (IEHC0024). Students who fail to meet either of these criteria will instead graduate with an MSc in Psychology & Health, if they have fulfilled UCL award requirements but not BPS award requirements.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered in-person, through a combination of learning approaches, lectures, seminars, class exercises, project work, training workshops, journal clubs and hands-on computer-based teaching on statistical analysis techniques. 

Meet the academics currently leading this programme on the UCL IEHC website. 

Assessment is through coursework (including among others a critical review and an essay, group and individual-based presentations), three unseen examinations and the research project.

During term time, full-time students are expected to spend 16 hours per week in taught sessions, including interactive lectures/seminars, journal clubs and tutorials. Students will also be expected to spend 20 hours learning independently per week.

Part-time students attend one day of teaching (8 direct contact hours) each term and 10 hours of self-directed learning per week.

Modules

You'll be required to complete eight compulsory modules and a dissertation within the general area of Health Psychology. The dissertation will present empirical findings of the student’s research project and take the form of a research paper presented as a mock submission to the British Journal of Health Psychology, in accordance with the journal’s guidelines.

You'll be required to complete four compulsory modules in the first year and four compulsory modules in the second year as well as a dissertation within the general area of Health Psychology.

Compulsory modules











Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Health Psychology or Psychology & Health (see above BPS-specific requirements).

Placement

During the Third Term, students will be provided with the opportunity to gain experience in a setting relevant to health psychology. The placement aims to provide students with work experience and insights into the working life of health psychologists. Students will be given a choice of placements within an academic unit, a clinical setting or a non-governmental organisation such as a funding body. More details of placements will become available during the Second Term. Please note that due to the process of selection by providers and competition for popular placements, we cannot guarantee students that they will receive their first choice of placement, and we, therefore, ask students to choose at least four options from the list of placements that become available.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Visit us

All open days and events

Balcony and Winter Garden UCL, Great Ormond Street, Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford St, WC1N 1EH, London, UK - Open day

Life and Medical Sciences Postgraduate Open Evening

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Discover UCL’s Master's degrees in health, medicine, brain sciences and life sciences at our upcoming Open Evening! Join us to learn more about our Master’s degrees, meet our academic teaching staff, and see where postgraduate study may take you.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26) £13,500 £6,750
Tuition fees (2025/26) £36,500 £18,250

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For Full-time and Part-time offer holders a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

Students will need to meet local travel costs as part of the placements and clinical visits.

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

The department is offering the Jane Wardle studentship for students undertaking the Health Psychology MSc. The studentship will consist of £3,750 towards tuition fees and is awarded to one student each year based on their academic records and personal statement. There is no need to apply separately for this studentship; all applicants are considered. This scholarship has been endowed in memory of Professor Jane Wardle (1950-2015), professor of clinical psychology and co-director of the Health Psychology MSc. Find out more.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • Why you want to study Health Psychology at graduate level.
  • Why you want to study Health Psychology at UCL.
  • How your academic and professional background meets the demands of this programme.
  • Where you would like to go professionally with your degree.

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2025-2026

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care
Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care

bsh.mschealthpsychology@ucl.ac.uk

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