Course details
- Full-time: 1 year
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Discover the MSc Clinical and Health Psychology programme, designed to provide an advanced understanding of mental and physical health and wellbeing. Located in vibrant Liverpool City Centre, this course uniquely blends cutting edge academic expertise with the latest clinical insights from experienced practitioners, enabling you to pursue a career in clinical or health psychology.
The MSc Clinical and Health Psychology course offers a unique curriculum, combining expert academics with cutting edge research, practitioner guest speakers, and those with lived experience to provide advanced knowledge in the research, theory and practice of Clinical and Health psychology. Build your understanding of the psychology of mental and physical health and wellbeing, psychological distress, and behavioural issues alongside receiving training in professional practice and research methods.
This course has been designed to prepare you with the academic knowledge and skills to prepare students to apply for further postgraduate study or careers in Clinical and Health Psychology. In particular, the course has been designed with input from the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Team to help prepare students who wish to pursue a DClinPsy following graduation. The Department of Psychology also works closely with the University’s Careers and Employability Service to ensure students are provided with opportunities to undertake training to enhance their employability skills, as well as support students seeking to find either research or clinical volunteering or paid opportunities.
This programme is designed for Psychology graduates looking to gain advanced knowledge in Clinical and Health psychology, prepare for a PhD in a clinical or health-related area, or pursue a career as a Practitioner Psychologist.
Discover what you'll learn, what you'll study, and how you'll be taught and assessed.
Each of the first two semesters include 2 x 20 credit discipline specific modules which focus on the key principles, theories, interventions, and debates within Clinical and Health psychology and how they are applied in practice. There are also 2 x 20 credit modules in Research Methods and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis Techniques in Semester 1 and Semester 2. The 60 credit Empirical Research Project module runs across all three semesters.
This module will cover research methods that are used in Clinical and Health Psychology, particularly those advanced methods that are used by researchers at the University of Liverpool. Students who complete this module will be able to describe and critique different research methods and they will be able to develop a method that is suitable for investigating a research question. The module is taught with a combination of lectures and interactive seminars delivered by research active staff, and is assessed with two written assessments: a critique of a peer reviewed journal article and a study protocol.
This module introduces students to key professional issues in applied clinical and health psychology. Practitioners in clinical and health psychology will illustrate the theoretical underpinnings of their practice, and help students understand how to apply these principles in professional settings. The module will include discussion of reflective practice and personal development, the ethical and statutory obligations for applied psychologists, career routes in health and clinical psychology (including career planning, job application and interview practice), multidisciplinary working and leadership. The module will be delivered via expert lectures and seminars for more in depth exploration of the issues. Students will also, of course, be provided with materials relevant to their studies and reading lists for further exploration and enquiry. The module will have two assessment components, an essay paper (on an issue of professional ethics discussed in the course) and a post-interview report based on an interview that students will arrange and conduct with an applied psychologist.
This module exposes students to research and psychological theories accounting for physical and mental health problems in adults and children, including Biological, Neurological, Behavioural, Cognitive and Systems theories. Students who complete this module will develop a critical appreciation of the role of the Clinical and Health Psychologist and develop knowledge and skills on development of individual formulations, adapting general psychological theories to individual presenting problems, and how these can influence interventions and therapies. The module is taught with a combination of lectures and interactive seminars delivered by researchers and clinicians, and is assessed with two written assessments: a critical review of psychological theories and a case study analysis.
Each of the first two semesters include 2 x 20 credit discipline specific modules which focus on the key principles, theories, interventions, and debates within Clinical and Health psychology and how they are applied in practice. There are also 2 x 20 credit modules in Research Methods and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis Techniques in Semester 1 and Semester 2. The 60 credit Empirical Research Project module runs across all three semesters.
This module exposes students to several core current controversies in clinical psychology within four clinical domains (Adult Mental Health, Older Adults, Children and Adolescents, and Learning Disabilities). Each controversy covered is based upon the work of active researchers at the University of Liverpool. The main aim of the module is to enable students to develop critical appraisal skills in order to understand why the controversy has developed and continues to be debated. Students will be expected to develop testable research questions and ideas as to how the debates may be resolved.
Teaching will consist of lectures to expose the students to the key aspects for the controversies. The lectures will be supplemented with seminars and workshops to facilitate independent and collaborative learning. The module will be assessed by a 3,500 position paper on a controversy of choice and via a 10-minute individual presentation.
Students will be exposed to core controversies in health psychology based upon the work of active researchers and practitioners in these areas. Controversies will be based upon four broad areas including: What makes behaviour change interventions more or less effective? How can health psychology research and practice be conducted safely and effectively in real world settings? How does clinician and patient decision-making processes affect physical health? How do factors related to mental health and well-being affect physical health outcomes? Through Lectures, Problem Based Learning Seminars, and Workshops, students will be expected to develop their capabilities to apply psychological theories to complex real world problems, develop testable propositions and critically review evidence. Learning will be assessed with a 3,500 word coursework position paper and a 10 minute individual presentation.
This module will introduce and critically evaluate a range of quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques, particularly those that are used in Clinical and Health Psychology, with a focus on advanced methods that are used by researchers at the University of Liverpool. Additionally, this module will introduce students to evidence synthesis, various types of systematic reviews, and outline the process of conducting systematic reviews. The module is taught with a combination of lectures and practical classes delivered by research active staff, and is assessed with two written assessments: a systematic review protocol and a mini systematic review.
Each of the first two semesters include 2 x 20 credit discipline specific modules which focus on the key principles, theories, interventions, and debates within Clinical and Health psychology and how they are applied in practice. There are also 2 x 20 credit modules in Research Methods and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis Techniques in Semester 1 and Semester 2. The 60 credit Empirical Research Project module runs across all three semesters.
This is a 60-credit empirical research project in an area related to Clinical and/or Health Psychology. Students will develop and carry out a research project under the supervision of a member of staff with expertise in Clinical and/or Health Psychology. Students can work on an existing project or design an original study, the topic of which must be agreed by staff. The module runs over the full academic year; that is from October to September. The module will be taught via four (two hour) assessment workshops and supervisory meetings and assessed via a 6000-word research report. Students will define a research question, collect data using an appropriate methodology and analyse and present the data in the form of written report written for an academic journal. In the first semester they will learn how to write a research proposal for a Research Council based on their research project and in the second semester they will present their research project in the form of an academic poster.
Each of the first two semesters include 2 x 20 credit discipline specific modules. In Semester 1, students are provided with foundational knowledge of the key principles, theories, and interventions used within clinical and health psychology and how they are applied in practice. They will be also introduced to professional skills and career development issues for working in clinical and health psychology. These modules scaffold learning for Semester 2 where they are then introduced to introduced to current, topical controversies in clinical and health psychology, which require students to debate, utilise evidence, and to form positions based on their teaching and learning. Discipline-specific modules involve lectures and research seminars delivered to the full cohort. Lectures cover important theory and research across the whole module syllabus to provide students with a solid understanding on which to base detailed investigation of specific subjects. Seminars involve independent learning where students work in small groups to answer lecture generated core questions. Seminar sessions are student-led and facilitated by staff. All teaching will be delivered by core teaching staff and where possible by guest practitioner speakers working in Clinical and Health Psychology, including D-Clin trainees.
There are 2 x 20 credit modules in Research Methods and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis Techniques. Research Methods and Analysis modules will involve lectures and practical laboratory sessions delivered to the full cohort. Lectures will introduce a specific research method or analysis technique and will be delivered by core teaching staff. Practical laboratory sessions are student-led and facilitated by staff. They aim to deepen students learning about various research methods and provide them with practical skills to apply quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to clinical and health psychology research data.
There is also a 60 credit empirical research project module which runs across all three semesters. Students will complete an empirical project in which they will work largely independently, still under the guidance of an experienced member of staff in exploring their own interests by designing and carrying out an independent research project in an area of Clinical and Health Psychology. In addition, as part of this module there will be taught components including assessment workshops for research proposals, posters, and report writing. Students will also undertake a Personal Development Portfolio, which will address skill development, self-reflection and employability.
The programme adopts a range of assessments, which enable students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have acquired and ensure that module and programme outcomes have been achieved. Particular emphasis is placed on the introduction of ‘authentic’ assessments, which allow students to practise tasks more closely aligned to future employment and study demands. Authentic assessment means that we assess students using tasks that mirror those they might undertake as professionals through choice of purpose, format, intended audience, resources and collaborative or student designed elements. Authentic assessments require students to undertake tasks which demonstrate meaningful and integrated application of relevant academic knowledge, skills and understanding. There are many benefits to authentic assessment in Psychology. We expect that our assessments will have a positive impact on the students learning by mirroring real life contexts of Clinical and Health psychologists’ working environments. They contribute to the development of students as self-managing professionals who can self-direct their learning.
Assessments undertaken on the MSc aim to equip students for future study or professional work in Clinical and Health psychology. All summative assessments are coursework based. Students will be expected to write post-interview reports, policy briefs, position papers, and presentations in the discipline-specific modules. In the Research Methods modules students will write methodological protocols, critique published papers, and write systematic review protocols and reports. In the empirical research project module, they will complete a research proposal, an academic poster, and a year-long research report. These assessments encourage the development of skills, which are utilised in the real world of Clinical and Health Psychology and in other careers. These assessments promote and evaluate among others the ability to critically appraise research and evidence, appraise published work and research methodologies and report on Clinical and Health interventions. Assessment support sessions and formative assessments will prepare students to complete the summative assessments effectively.
The need to provide extensive, constructive and timely feedback for all assessments to students has been a major drive in the development of the curriculum. This is achieved by engaging all members of the theme teams in both the delivery and assessment of each module, providing clear guidance to assessors and establishing comprehensive monitoring and moderating mechanisms to ensure reliability and validity. All interim assessments are submitted and marked online. Five types of feedback are provided throughout the programme: in text, rubric, general ‘what worked well, even better if’, generic and individual feedback.
We have a distinctive approach to education, the Liverpool Curriculum Framework, which focuses on research-connected teaching, active learning, and authentic assessment to ensure our students graduate as digitally fluent and confident global citizens.
A typical day for an MSc Clinical and Health Psychology student would involve a blend of lectures, seminars, practicals, online learning, and independent study.
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The MSc Clinical and Health Psychology is ideal for students wishing to pursue a career in clinical or health psychology either as practitioners (following further postgraduate study) or as researchers.
A high proportion of students will wish to pursue further postgraduate studies in Clinical and Health Psychology (including Stage 1 Health Psychology or Doctorate in Clinical Psychology) or progress to a PhD in Clinical or Health Psychology or in other areas of the Social Sciences in the UK or overseas. A further proportion will wish to pursue research careers in health or clinical psychology or cognate discipline. Students with this degree will be in a more advantageous position, than those students with a BSc in Psychology with respect to further postgraduate study.
In addition, there are a variety of careers that are open to graduates with an MSc in Clinical and Health Psychology, including those in the health service, civil service, local government and the third sector, as well as in private industry and commerce. Employers are frequently wishing to employ students with Masters degrees in psychology.
The Programme provides students with key employability skills which include written, oral and visual communication skills, numeracy and data analysis skills. They include the ability to find, evaluate and synthesise information which is essential in many careers. They will also develop personal and professional skills and ethical awareness important for their working lives. They will acquire information technology skills which are also important for their careers. Further, students have the opportunity to undertake a work placement as part of their course.
Employability is embedded in all of the modules, through the use of practitioner guest speakers, authentic assessments and reflective skills mapping. The programme leader has worked closely with the Academic Director of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology when designing the course to ensure that our teaching, learning, and assessment methods provide the academic knowledge and skills to prepare students to apply for doctoral study in Clinical Psychology. Furthermore, D-Clin Psy trainees will be also be utilised as guest speakers to provide students with experience of the D-Clin Psy application process and curriculum.
The Department of Psychology also works closely with the University’s Careers and Employability Service to ensure students are provided with opportunities to undertake training to enhance their employability skills as part of our Academic advisor system, as well as support students seeking to find either work placements or volunteer opportunities. There are activities specifically designed to prepare students from their future, for example Psychology careers week, which brings together practitioners and recruiting organisations.
Your tuition fees, funding your studies, and other costs to consider.
UK fees (applies to Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland) | |
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Full-time place, per year | £11,700 |
International fees | |
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Full-time place, per year | £28,300 |
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching and assessment, operating facilities such as libraries, IT equipment, and access to academic and personal support.
If you're a UK national, or have settled status in the UK, you may be eligible to apply for a Postgraduate Loan worth up to £12,167 to help with course fees and living costs. Learn more about fees and funding.
We understand that budgeting for your time at university is important, and we want to make sure you understand any course-related costs that are not covered by your tuition fee. This could include buying a laptop, books, or stationery.
Find out more about the additional study costs that may apply to this course.
We offer a range of scholarships and bursaries that could help pay your tuition and living expenses.
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The qualifications and exam results you'll need to apply for this course.
We've set the country or region your qualifications are from as United Kingdom. Change it here
Your qualification | Requirements |
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Postgraduate entry requirements |
We accept a 2:1 Psychology honours degree from a UK university (or an equivalent academic qualification from a similar non-UK institution) with at least 65% in all research methods modules and all statistics modules. This degree should confer Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) status with the British Psychological Society (BPS). Prior clinical and health psychology experience is not essential. However, it is viewed as giving applicants an advantage at the application stage. |
International qualifications |
Applications from international students wishing to undertake the programme will be evaluated to ensure that their qualifications have been gained from a recognised institution, and to ensure that the applicant has achieved the required academic level. The following criteria will be used to decide whether an international qualification is comparable to a British Bachelor’s degree:
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You'll need to demonstrate competence in the use of English language, unless you’re from a majority English speaking country.
We accept a variety of international language tests and country-specific qualifications.
International applicants who do not meet the minimum required standard of English language can complete one of our Pre-Sessional English courses to achieve the required level.
English language qualification | Requirements |
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IELTS | 7.0 overall, with no component below 6.5 |
TOEFL iBT | A score of at least 570 on the paper-based test; or a score of at least 230 on the computer-based test with a score of at least 4.5 on the essay section of the test; or a score of at least 88 on the internet-based test with a minimum of 22 in the reading and 24 in the writing components. . TOEFL Home Edition not accepted. |
Do you need to complete a Pre-Sessional English course to meet the English language requirements for this course?
The length of Pre-Sessional English course you’ll need to take depends on your current level of English language ability.
Find out the length of Pre-Sessional English course you may require for this degree.
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Dr Vicky Fallon
Last updated 7 February 2025 / / Programme terms and conditions