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Organizational Psychology
Application options include:
Course Overview
An MPhil/PhD is an advanced postgraduate research degree that requires original research and the submission of a substantial dissertation of 60,000 to 100,000 words. At Birkbeck, you are initially registered on an MPhil and you upgrade to a PhD after satisfactory progress in the first year or two. You need to find a suitable academic supervisor at Birkbeck, who can offer the requisite expertise to guide and support you through your research. Find out more about undertaking a research degree at Birkbeck .
The MPhil/PhD in Organizational Psychology aims to train you to conduct research of a high academic standard and to make an original contribution to the subject through your thesis. It will not only prepare you to undertake research for your own dissertation, but will also equip you to be able to evaluate research results and reports more widely.
Our research interests include: selection and assessment; training; organisational communication; organisation studies and organisational sociology; well-being and emotion; technology development and organisational change; human resource management; employment and psychological contracts; pay; careers and innovation. We also have expertise in, and are committed to, both qualitative and quantitative research techniques.
Please note, the PhD in Organizational Psychology is a research degree. If you are a practitioner, our Professional Doctorate in Occupational Psychology and associated British Psychological Society and Health and Care Professions Council accreditations might be more suitable.
Before submitting an application, please ensure that you read the submission guidelines carefully, and note that research proposals should be no longer than 1500 words (excluding references).
Key information
Organizational psychology mphil/phd: 7 years part-time, on campus, starting 2024-25.
- October 2024
- January 2025
Organizational Psychology MPhil/PhD: 4 years full-time, on campus, starting 2024-25
Organizational psychology mphil/phd: 7 years part-time, on campus, starting 2025-26.
- October 2025
- January 2026
Organizational Psychology MPhil/PhD: 4 years full-time, on campus, starting 2025-26
Find another course:
- Birkbeck is one of the world’s leading research-intensive institutions . Our cutting-edge scholarship informs public policy, achieves scientific advances, supports the economy, promotes culture and the arts, and makes a positive difference to society.
- Birkbeck’s research excellence was confirmed in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework with 83% of our research rated world-leading or internationally excellent.
- You will get access to superb library resources, including: Birkbeck Library , including our electronic library, the British Library , Senate House ( University of London) Library and libraries in the Bloomsbury area .
Entry Requirements
Good first degree or Master's qualification in a relevant subject area.
Applicants who do not hold a Master's degree in a relevant subject may be required to take some MSc modules.
English language requirements
If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this programme is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 7.0, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.
If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses, foundation programmes and language support services to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.
Visit the International section of our website to find out more about our English language entry requirements and relevant requirements by country .
Visa and funding requirements
If you are not from the UK and you do not already have residency here, you may need to apply for a visa.
The visa you apply for varies according to the length of your course:
- Courses of more than six months' duration: Student visa
- Courses of less than six months' duration: Standard Visitor visa
International students who require a Student visa should apply for our full-time courses as these qualify for Student visa sponsorship. If you are living in the UK on a Student visa, you will not be eligible to enrol as a student on Birkbeck's part-time courses (with the exception of some modules).
For full information, read our visa information for international students page .
Please also visit the international section of our website to find out more about relevant visa and funding requirements by country .
Please note students receiving US Federal Aid are only able to apply for in-person, on-campus programmes which will have no elements of online study.
Organizational Psychology MPhil/PhD: 7 years part-time or 4 years full-time, on campus, starting in academic year 2024-25 or 2025-26
Academic year 2024–25, starting october 2024, january 2025, april 2025.
Part-time home students: £2,539 per year Full-time home students: £4,786 per year Part-time international students : £7,525 per year Full-time international students: £14,885 per year
Academic year 2025–26, starting October 2025, January 2026, April 2026
To be confirmed
Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing on their course in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see the College Fees Policy .
If you’ve studied at Birkbeck before and successfully completed an award with us, take advantage of our Lifelong Learning Guarantee to gain a discount on the tuition fee of this course.
Fees and finance
PhD students resident in England can apply for government loans of over £26,000 to cover the cost of tuition fees, maintenance and other study-related costs.
Flexible finance: pay your fees in monthly instalments at no extra cost . Enrol early to spread your costs and reduce your monthly payments.
We offer a range of studentships and funding options to support your research.
Discover the financial support available to you to help with your studies at Birkbeck.
International scholarships
We provide a range of scholarships for eligible international students, including our Global Future Scholarship. Discover if you are eligible for a scholarship .
Our research culture
Birkbeck was the first institution in the UK to establish teaching and research in occupational psychology over 60 years ago. We continue to play a distinctive role in British occupational psychology - and, increasingly, within organisational behaviour. We engage in significant collaborative research and have excellent contacts with many public and private sector organisations, professional bodies and researchers at other academic institutions.
As a research student, you will receive training in theory and research methodology during your first year (full-time) or two years (part-time), provided partly by Birkbeck and partly by other University of London institutions. You will also complete an annual report on your progress. You will be invited to attend research student seminars held four or five times each term at Birkbeck in the evenings. We offer a wide range of student support and study facilities .
Find out more about studying for an MPhil/PhD in Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck.
Read more about our vibrant research culture .
Contact our admissions tutor, Dr Rebecca Whiting , for further details.
Follow these steps to apply to an MPhil/PhD research degree at Birkbeck:
1. Check that you meet the entry requirements, including English language requirements, as described on this page.
2. Find a potential supervisor for your MPhil/PhD research. You can look at the Find a Supervisor area on this page for an overview, or search our Experts’ Database or browse our staff pages for more in-depth information. You may also find it helpful to view the research projects of our current students .
3. Contact the academic member of staff - or the department they teach in - for an informal discussion about your research interests and to establish if they are willing and able to supervise your research. (Please note: finding a potential supervisor does not guarantee admission to the research degree, as this decision is made using your whole application.) Find out more about the supervisory relationship and how your supervisor will support your research .
4. Draft a research proposal. This needs to demonstrate your knowledge of the field, the specific research questions you wish to pursue, and how your ideas will lead to the creation of new knowledge and understanding. Find out more about writing a research proposal .
5. Apply directly to Birkbeck, using the online application link on this page. All research students are initially registered on an MPhil and then upgrade to a PhD after making sufficient progress.
Find out more about the application process, writing a research proposal and the timeframe .
Application deadlines and interviews
You can apply at any time during the year. Entry months for the programme are October, January and April of each year.
If you wish to apply for funding, you will need to apply by certain deadlines. Consult the websites of relevant bodies for details.
Apply for your course
Apply for your course using the apply now button in the key information section .
Finding a supervisor
A critical factor you will need to take into account when applying for postgraduate study in organisational psychology is the correlation between your research interests and proposed methodology and the research interests and methodological expertise of one or more potential supervisors.
Find out more about the research interests of our academic staff who may be available to supervise (either as principal supervisor or second supervisor) PhD theses.
Please be aware, however, that not all staff may be taking on new PhD applicants.
- Alexandra Beauregard , Professor of Organizational Psychology: work-life interface; flexible working practices; diversity, equality and inclusion; gender equality; gender identity (transgender employee issues).
- Uracha Chatrakul Na Ayudhya , Reader in Work and Organization: 'diversity' and intersectionality at work; unequal working lives and careers; lived experience of marginalised and minoritised workers in the workplace; work-life balance (WLB) and transitions over the life course; assisted fertility and work; 'agile working' as a managerial agenda; qualitative methodologies.
- Libby Drury , Reader in Social and Organizational Psychology: ageism and ageing; stereotypes and stigma; sexism; prejudice towards minority group members at work; social cognitions; discrimination and bias in selection and assessment processes; intergroup relationships; group processes in the workplace; stereotype threat.
- David Gamblin , Senior lecturer in Organizational Psychology: judgement and decision making; heuristics and biases; metacognition; behavioural economics; social cognition.
- Julie Gore , Professor of Organizational Psychology: naturalistic decision making; applied cognitive psychology; applications of behavioural sciences.
- Vanessa Iwowo , Senior Lecturer in Organizational Psychology: leadership and organisation studies; critical approaches to knowledge generation and dissemination in management development and education; gender dynamics in leadership development.
- Caroline Kamau-Mitchell , Reader in Occupational Health: occupational health of doctors; implications of illnesses and mental disorders for patients returning to or finding work.
- Kevin Teoh , Senior Lecturer in Organizational Psychology: psychosocial working conditions; work-related wellbeing and mental health, both positive (e.g. work engagement, motivation) and negative (e.g. stress, burnout) representations of it; workplace health interventions; emergency and healthcare service workers; patient care/safety; health and wellbeing policies at organisational, national and international levels; precarious work and socio-economic issues (e.g. austerity, poverty, immigration, welfare); underrepresented groups and non-WEIRD samples; systematic reviews, secondary datasets and multilevel modelling.
- Lukas Wallrich , Lecturer in Organizational Psychology: effects of workforce diversity on organisational success; relationship between diversity ideologies and intergroup contact; attitude change and media effects; motivators and barriers to pro-social behaviour; 'big data' and natural language processing; open research practices and replications.
- Rebecca Whiting , Reader in Organization Studies: qualitative methodologies including digital and visual methods; social constructionism; diversity (in particular, age, gender and class); digital technologies; invisible work; research ethics; work-life boundary management.
Related courses
- Psychology (MPhil/PhD)
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Professional Practice in Occupational Psychology (MRes/Professional Doctorate)
Birkbeck, university of london, different course options.
- Key information
Course Summary
Tuition fees, entry requirements, university information.
- Similar courses at this uni
Key information DATA SOURCE : IDP Connect
Qualification type.
Professional Doctorate
Subject areas
Psychology (General) Occupational Psychology Health Studies
Course type
COURSE OVERVIEW
This Professional Doctorate in Occupational Psychology is an accredited University of London doctoral degree. It is accredited by the British Psychological Society as an alternative to the British Psychological Society's (BPS) Stage 2 Qualification in Occupational Psychology, meaning that successful completion of the programme confers eligibility for chartership through the BPS (subject to holding Graduate Basis for Registration).
If you hold a BPS-accredited master's degree in organisational/occupational and/or business psychology, and you are in related employment, this doctorate will let you apply your learning directly in the workplace and use your work experience to inform your research.
We have expertise in both qualitative and quantitative techniques and are well placed to supervise all research topics in occupational psychology. Our particular interests include:
Coaching, careers and lifespan development
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace
Decision making, heuristics and bias
Leadership and critical management studies
Organisational sociology
Professional development and training
Selection and assessment
Worklife balance, boundary management and digitisation of work
Well-being and occupational health.
UK fees Course fees for UK students
To be confirmed
International fees Course fees for EU and international students
Graduate Basis for Chartership and an accredited master's degree in organisational/ occupational and/or business psychology (at Merit or above) required. You must be in relevant employment and able to apply your learning to the workplace as an integral part of the programme. You must be competent in written and spoken English and have good social and communication skills. Students who have already completed Stage Two of the BPS Chartership process (and are therefore, or are eligible to be, both Chartered and hold Registered Psychologist status with the HCPC) will be exempt from Part One (Professional Practice Portfolio) which includes six modules at Level 7. Selection to the course will be through completion of an application form, and an interview.
Birkbeck, University of London is a university which continues to change lives. In 2023 the institution marks its 200th anniversary. Established in 1823, Birkbeck is a world-class research and teaching institution, well known for being London’s premier evening university. Most classes take place in the evening, and this makes Birkbeck stand out from the crowd. Students have the freedom to use their daytimes however they like – a benefit that has... more
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