MSc Clinical and Health Psychology

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2027, the tuition fees are as follows:

• MSc (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £13,800
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £35,300

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International student CAS deposit

Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

For the latest scholarship and bursary information please visit the fees and funding page.

During the first half of this unit students will gain an understanding of qualitative methodologies. In these sessions, students will gain practical experience of the most commonly used techniques for analysing qualitative data in psychology (Thematic Analysis and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ). The second half focuses on a selection of  advanced statistical techniques, including non-parametric statistics; mediation and moderation analyses, ANCOVA and regression.  

The unit aims to:

• ensure that students have knowledge of the main epistemological approaches to qualitative research
• provide hands-on experience of qualitative data analysis, both guided and independently on two of the main forms of analysis conducted in health psychology
• provide students with the knowledge to independently decide which form of qualitative analysis is needed for a research question and ensure that they can justify their choice, epistemological position and review limitations and strengths of their approach
• ensure that student are able to report qualitative data
• ensure that students have an understanding of selected advanced statistical techniques
• ensure students can conduct a range of statistical tests using appropriate software
• ensure that students can interpret the ‘output’ of advance statistical analysis
• ensure that students understand the limitations of quantitative and qualitative techniques

By the end of the course unit, students will be able to:

• understand the concepts underlying quantitative and qualitative methods
• understand the scope of different data analysis techniques
• critically evaluate the scope of different analysis techniques
• identify which techniques are appropriate to address different types of research question
• gain experience of carrying out qualitative analysis
• correctly interpret output from advanced statistical analysis and be able to report findings appropriately
• gain understanding of qualitative and quantitative approaches which will be applicable to understanding and appraising research

The first part of the course (focusing on qualitative research) will be delivered in 4 x 2.5 hour sessions, two sessions for each qualitative method, with the pattern being that the first session will be a recorded lecture for students to work through at their own pace. followed the next week by a workshop where students apply what they learn. In these sessions junior researchers currently using these technique will also be in attendance to provide guidance.  The second part of the course (advanced statistical techniques) will be delivered in 5  2.5 hour sessions. Although each week is a different method, there will still be time within each session for a taught component and applied practice.    The unit will be taught using a blended approach where a range of materials including recordings, videos, reading materials, etc will be used to convey the central concepts. These will be complemented by live sessions where students can work with the lecturers to enhance their knowledge. A research-team approach will be used in some teaching sessions, enabling students to develop their data handling skills.

Analysis of qualitative data using either IPA or thematic analysis (2,000 words, 50%).

Data analysis assignment in which students will be given a database and asked to conduct appropriate analyses and report their findings (2,000 words excluding tables and figures, 50%) 

Each lecture will have a detailed reading list. In addition to this, students will be encouraged to read the following as preparation to the course.  

• Braun, V & Clarke, V (2022) Thematic analysis: A practical guide. London: Sage.
• Smith, J.A., Flowers, P., Larkin, M. (2022) Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, methods and research. London: Sage.
• Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics usinf SPSS (Fourth ed.) Sage. London.
• Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical Mediation Analysis in the New Millennium. Communication Monographs, 76(4), 408-420.