MSc Psychology with a Specialisation in Business Frequently asked questions

No. This course is the first stage in a career in psychology and successful completion confers eligibility for graduate membership with the BPS. This allows you to apply for further professional postgraduate psychology programmes if you wish.

More information on graduate membership

The course is fundamentally a Psychology conversion, so most of your classes will focus on the main areas of Psychology (biological psychology; social psychology; developmental psychology; individual differences; cognitive psychology; research design and analyses; conceptual and historical issues in psychology.) The four specialist business classes, Organisational Psychology; Foundations of Risk, Psychometrics in Organisations, and Leadership in organisations will provide an organisational psychology perspective.

All queries related to fee payment should be directed to the Student Finance team.

All queries related to fee payment should be directed to the Student Finance team.

We use a Moodle-based virtual learning environment called MyPlace. All classes and class content can be accessed using this system.

It is not possible to say exactly how much time is required because it will vary depending on how much additional reading you elect to do, and there will also be individual variation. However, feedback from previous students suggests that the course demands more time than they expected. The programme is fundamentally a psychology conversion programme and, as such, must cover a lot of content to get students to the required level for governing body accreditation, so it does require a significant investment of time. As a rough guide, a 20-credit class equates to 200 hours of study time; a 10-credit class equates to 100 hours of study time.

All lectures are recorded and delivered asynchronously. Supplementary activities/reading are provided to complement each lecture. These are usually colour coded according to whether they are required, recommended, or optional.

In addition to induction sessions, there are approximately two online meetings per-term per-class for all core Psychology classes.

Most Psychology classes have two assessments – one mid-term assessment, and one end-of-term assessment. The Research Design and Analyses class has more than two assessments: there are four short quizzes in addition to the two `main’ assessments. The specialist Business classes have one assessment per-class, at the end-of-term.

All assessments, even exams, are delivered online. The exams are open book, but timed. There will never be a requirement for you to attend in-person on campus.

Definitely not. We give as much notice as possible about the assessments. Typically, you will be notified about the first assessment at the start of term, and at the latest will be notified about the second assessment at the mid-term point.

The following classes are available:

There are; however, some curriculum rules that must be adhered to.

Business classes (classes with codes beginning HRxxx) must be studied with Psychology classes (classes with codes beginning C8xxx), or selected following successful completion of all Psychology classes (not including C8983: Empirical Project). That is, Business classes cannot be taken in isolation.

C8982 should be completed prior to, or added to the curriculum at the same time as, other Psychology classes.

The Empirical Project cannot be selected until C8982 is either (1) successfully completed or (2) added to the curriculum to study alongside the Empirical Project.

At the start of each academic year, you will be contacted by the courses support team and invited to select your classes for the entire academic year. The courses support team will then liaise with Student Business HaSS to add these classes to your curriculum in Pegasus.

Before you are able to progress to the next year of study, the previous year’s grades must be ratified at the board of examiners. Only when this process is complete can the process of populating your new curriculum begin.

MyPlace is updated over the summer and will then default to the new academic year. To view your old classes, navigate to the relevant tab in MyPlace (e.g. 19-20).

Year 1

Year 2

The empirical research project does not have to be organisational and is not conducted within a business, but it does have to be underpinned by psychological theory.

While you are welcome to discuss your ideas with your empirical project supervisor, you will initially be invited to select from a list of available projects.

At the start of the academic year, available projects will be listed and students will be advised when the sign up process will open. Sign up to a project takes place in MyPlace.

Full-time students may apply for `Voluntary suspension’. This means that your studies will be paused until you are ready to return. Part-time students should notify us by email (hass-courses- psh@strath.ac.uk) that you plan to take a break and we will record this for administrative purposes.