Work & Organisational Psychology

Course Outline

Psychology applied to the domain of work is a fascinating area offering many employment opportunities. From improving recruitment decisions to understanding how technology affects our work performance and experience, from coaching individuals to developing organisational capacity, psychology can be applied to enhancing peoples’ well-being and performance at work and contributing to organisational effectiveness. This programme will be of interest to graduates wishing to pursue careers as work and organisational psychologists, human resource managers, trainers, managers, consultants, or researchers.



By engaging with the programme, you will develop a range of practical skills in conducting research, critical thinking and analysis, and a range of competencies relevant to professional work psychologists such as selection and assessment, negotiation, consulting, etc. The aim is to equip graduates of this programme with the building blocks to operate as effective and reflective professionals.



The MA in Work and Organisational Psychology can be taken on a full-time or part-time basis and is designed to advance your knowledge of the discipline of psychology applied in work settings. To achieve this the course content emphasises the application of high-quality psychological research to real-world concerns and issues in the workplace.

Full-Time Option

The 90-credit full-time MA in Work and Organisational Psychology runs over one calendar year (12 months):



Part I (60 credits total)

Core Modules (50 credits)

AP6061 Qualitative Research Methods and Data Analysis (5 credits)

AP6062 Quantitative Research Methods for Professionals (5 credits)

AP6169 Learning, Well-Being and Participation at Work (10 credits)

AP6166 Personnel Selection and Assessment (10 credits)

AP6170 Professional Skills (5 credits)

MG6020 Changing, Leading and Developing Organisations (5 credits)

AP6168 Designing in Work and Workplaces (10 credits)



Elective Modules (choose 10 credits)

AP6159 Positive Organisational Psychology (5 credits)

AP6160 Private Practice (5 credits)

AP6161 Coaching Skills (5 credits)

AP6176 Cognitive Enhancement (5 credits)



Part II (30 credits)

AP6171 Research Dissertation in Applied Psychology (Work and Organisational Psychology) (30 credits)



Part-Time Option

The 90-credit part-time MA in Work and Organisational Psychology runs over two calendar years (24 months):

Part I comprises modules worth 60 credits running across Semesters 1 and 2 of Year 1, and Semester 1 of Year 2.



Part II comprises a research dissertation worth 30 credits, which is submitted at the end of the summer in Year 2.

1. Applicants must hold a Second Class Honours Grade 1 in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) in Psychology.



2. Applicants must satisfy the eligibility requirements for graduate membership of either the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) or the British Psychological Society (BPS). This must be demonstrated by the applicant by providing evidence that your undergraduate degree/qualification(s) is accredited by the PSI or by the BPS. Applicants whose undergraduate degree/qualification(s) is not listed as an accredited qualification by either the PSI or the BPS are required to provide evidence from the PSI or the BPS that they (the PSI or the BPS) consider your undergraduate degree/qualification(s) to be equivalent to the PSI/BPS degree, in terms of granting you eligibility for graduate membership of the society. This evidence must be sought by the applicant by applying directly to either the PSI or BPS for graduate membership as appropriate.



3. Applicants must supply statements detailing:

Relevant work experience whether professional or voluntary.



Motivation and readiness, which must be ~500 words and include information on:

a. Reasons for applying to the programme and how your reasons fit with your experience, interests and career objectives within work and organisational psychology

b. Experience of group work in an education setting or teamwork in a workplace setting

c. Experience in managing time and workloads effectively

d. Experience in effectively managing conflict in work or educational settings.



Statements will be evaluated based on your responses to the above bullet points.



Consideration under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) may also be given to applicants who do not meet the minimum academic entry requirements as stated above but who present with a Second Class Honours Grade 2 in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) in Psychology and have significant and directly relevant work experience or has performed impressively in a relevant Master's degree acceptable to the School selection committee. In such cases, the applicant must clearly set out the grounds upon which they wish to be considered in the motivation and readiness statement. Such applicants may also be called for interview and will be selected based on the following:



Academic performance

Commitment to, or work experience in, the area of work psychology.



For Applicants with Qualifications Completed Outside of Ireland

Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements. For more information see our Qualification Comparison page.



International/Non-EU Applicants

For full details of the non-EU application procedure visit our how to apply pages for international students.

• In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

• Note that not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above. For more information contact the International Office.



English Language Requirements

Applicants who are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements.

Closing Date

Rolling deadline. Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.



Non-EU Closing Date

Open until all places have been filled or no later than 15 June. Early application is advised.

Assessment

There are a mix of assessments for this programme including on-line assessments, written reports and essays, examinations and a research dissertation.

1 year full-time, 2 years part-time.

Start Date 8 September 2025

Skills and Careers Information

Graduates of this programme can look forward to a wide range of career options across both the public and private sectors applying psychology at work. Graduates may enter careers as work and organisational psychologists, or may consider careers in human resource management, human resource development, consultancy, organizational research, or academic/research careers.



To date, a number of our alumni have been recruited nationally and internationally as an outcome of completing this MA in Work and Organisational Psychology/Behaviour. For alumni who were already in employment, a number of our former students were subsequently promoted to new roles. Examples of areas where alumni ended up working include Human Resources positions, organisers or facilitators of Organisational Development and Change/Community Development initiatives, occupational psychologists in training, and consultants (e.g., recruitment and selection).