MSc Applied Positive Psychology & Coaching Psychology
Course summary
The University of East London was one of the very first in the world to launch MSc courses in coaching Psychology and Applied Positive Psychology, both of which have been running with huge success for eight years.
Now we are breaking new ground by creating a unique synthesis of the two elements in what is the first MSc course of its kind in the world.
It fully integrates positive psychology and coaching psychology to create an innovative training programme for those promoting wellbeing.
There is a growing recognition within the world’s coaching and positive psychology community that such integration is an important step forward, providing clients with a more open-minded approach to their mental health.
From the point of view of positive psychology, the course will have a strong foundation in cutting-edge theory and research relating to wellbeing.
The coaching element will feature advanced training in working with clients and groups in professional capacities.
Our aim is to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to be able to help people and organisations to flourish.
It combines the study of cutting-edge empirical research and theory on wellbeing with the practical skills and competencies you need to apply this expertise in the real world. The result is a course designed to empower students to truly make a positive difference in the world.
Start date
UEL School
Attendance
- Full-time
- Part-time
Learning
- On campus
Length
- 1 year 6 months full time, 2 years six months part time
Fees
We are the first university in the world to offer this explicitly integrated course, which is aimed at those wishing to promote wellbeing in organisations, education establishments and businesses worldwide.
This broad and flexible course has been put together in response to a growing demand within the coaching and positive psychology community. There is a rapidly expanding market for the range of skills you will learn.
You will be taught by a team of leading academics in both fields, and you can customise your course with additional elements of counselling, career coaching and occupational therapy.
What we're researching
Psychology at UEL was ranked equal first in the country in terms of the impact of its research, beating Oxford and Cambridge.
The Research Excellence Framework is a six-yearly national review by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
In 2014 it rated 43 per cent of our research as ‘internationally excellent’ and a further 25 per cent as ‘world-leading’ – the highest accolade. It added that UEL’s School of Psychology was one of only four in the country whose research had a ‘100 per cent impact’ at the highest level.
The combined figure of 68 per cent from the top two tiers dwarfs the previous figure of 20 per cent from the previous national review in 2008.
Research subjects in recent years have included electronic cigarettes, infant development and neuropsychology.
Professor Irvine Gersch has produced world-renowned research in the fields of listening to children and pupil involvement, behaviour management, school leadership, systems analysis, management, educational psychology training, conciliation and mediation in special needs and teacher stress.
He is a former recipient of the British Psychological Society’s annual award for Distinguished Contributions to Professional Psychology.
Professor Rachel Tribe was awarded the British Psychological Society’s Ethics Committee’s 2013 award for promoting Equality of Opportunity.
Her clinical interests focus on all aspects of trauma, culture and mental health, professional and ethical practice, working with interpreters in mental health, migration and mental health and organisational development.
Dr Lynne Dawkins, leader of the Drugs and Addictive Behaviours Research Group, is one of the UK’s leading authorities on e-cigarettes.
Dr Caroline Edmonds’ research examines the effect of hydration on cognition in children and adults.
Dr Davide Rivolta’s research focuses on the cognitive and neural correlates of face perception, both in normal subjects and in people with congenital prosopagnosia (face blindness).
Making a difference
UEL is one of the UK’s leading modern research universities. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF), 17 per cent of our overall research submission was classified as ‘world-leading’ for its quality and impact – almost double our previous REF score. A further 45 per cent of our work was considered ‘internationally excellent’.
Fees and funding
£10,000 to fund your Masters Programme under the Postgraduate Loans (PGL) scheme
Postgraduate Loans (PGL)
The Postgraduate Loan (PGL) provide non means-tested loans of up to £10,000 to taught and research masters students. It will be paid to students as a contribution towards tuition fees, living costs and other course costs.
Applications are made directly through Student Finance England
Eligibility
Whether you qualify depends on:
• if you’ve studied on a postgraduate course before
• your course
• your age
• your nationality or residency status
Full eligibility can be found here
Please take a look at the Postgraduate Loans for an overview of the new funding.
The scholarship is open to full-time and part-time UK and EU students of taught postgraduate courses.
To see our full eligibility criteria and how to apply click here
Terms and conditions apply.How we can help you
Did you know that with a postgraduate qualification you can expect to earn £200,000 more than someone who only holds an undergraduate degree*?If you want to build new skills, change career paths, or further your career prospects, a postgraduate degree can help you. Our range of scholarships and bursaries will make financing your education that much easier.
*Sutton Trust Report 2013
Alumni Discount - 15 per cent
Early Payment Discount - 5 per cent
Part-time Postgraduate Fee-waiver - up to £500
Sport Scholarships – Up to £6,000
Terms and conditions apply.
• Online payment facilities
• By telephone
• In person at our Docklands or Stratford campus
• Bank transfer Full information on making payments can be found here
The Student Money Advice and Rights Team (SMART) are here to help you navigate
your finances while you're a student at the University of East London.
We can give you advice, information and guidance on government and
university funds so that you receive your full funding entitlement.
Email: study@uel.ac.uk
Phone: 020 8223 4444
£10,000 to fund your Masters Programme under the Postgraduate Loans (PGL) scheme
Postgraduate Loans (PGL)
The Postgraduate Loan (PGL) provide non means-tested loans of up to £10,000 to taught and research masters students. It will be paid to students as a contribution towards tuition fees, living costs and other course costs.
Applications are made directly through Student Finance England
Eligibility
Whether you qualify depends on:
• if you’ve studied on a postgraduate course before
• your course
• your age
• your nationality or residency status
Full eligibility can be found here
Please take a look at the Postgraduate Loans for an overview of the new funding.
The scholarship is open to full-time and part-time UK and EU students of taught postgraduate courses.
To see our full eligibility criteria and how to apply click here
Terms and conditions apply.How we can help you
Did you know that with a postgraduate qualification you can expect to earn £200,000 more than someone who only holds an undergraduate degree*?If you want to build new skills, change career paths, or further your career prospects, a postgraduate degree can help you. Our range of scholarships and bursaries will make financing your education that much easier.
*Sutton Trust Report 2013
Alumni Discount - 15 per cent
Early Payment Discount - 5 per cent
Part-time Postgraduate Fee-waiver - up to £500
Sport Scholarships – Up to £6,000
Terms and conditions apply.
• Online payment facilities
• By telephone
• In person at our Docklands or Stratford campus
• Bank transfer Full information on making payments can be found here
The Student Money Advice and Rights Team (SMART) are here to help you navigate
your finances while you're a student at the University of East London.
We can give you advice, information and guidance on government and
university funds so that you receive your full funding entitlement.
Email: study@uel.ac.uk
Phone: 020 8223 4444
The Student Money Advice and Rights Team (SMART) also run an Emergency International Fund to assist international students in hardship.
You can contact our SMART team on 02082234444 or study@uel.ac.uk
As part of the Tier 4 student visa requirements, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) estimate that you will need £1265* per month to cover your living costs. It includes expenses for accommodation, food and drink, travel within London, text books, entertainment, clothing, toiletries and laundry. Most Tier 4 students are required to show they have sufficient funds to cover the first nine months of the course before they start- a total of £11385- in addition to the tuition fees. You can find more information about the specific requirements of the Tier 4 student visa here. The amount that you will spend can vary depending on your lifestyle. The UKCISA International Student Calculator can help you plan and manage your money.
* Please note the Immigration Rules are subject to change and this figure is likely to be increased by UKVI year on year. Please therefore check our ISA pages (www.uel.ac.uk/isa) for more information at the time of preparing your visa application.
International students are required to pay a deposit prior to being issued a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).
Your remaining balance will be paid in five monthly instalments over your first term. The first of these instalments must be paid when completing your enrolment on arrival at UEL. Please follow the payment instructions here.
After the required payment has been made, you will be asked to complete the online International Student Reply Form to confirm your acceptance of our offer and of our terms of admittance and fees policy.
Our International team at UEL are available for advice and guidance on studying in London, fees, scholarships and visa requirements.
Email: international@uel.ac.uk
Entry requirements
INTERNATIONAL
(Including European Union)
We accept a range of qualifications from across the world. Please see our country pages for information on specific entry requirements for your country.
What you'll study
- Perspectives on Wellbeing (core)
- Multidimensional Flourishing (core)
- The Search for Something Higher (core)
- The Practice of Evidence-based Coaching (core)
- Coaching in Professional Contexts 1 (core)
- Coaching in Professional Contexts 2 (core)
- Research Methods and Dissertation 1 (core)
- Research Methods and Dissertation 2 (core)
How you'll be assessed
You will be assessed in a variety of ways, designed to capture the multidimensional skills and understanding that you will develop on the course. These include a personal portfolio, which will reflect on positive psychology interventions that you will try out on yourself, a consultancy project for an external organisation, essays, a research proposal and a journal article. You'll also be asked to carry out a certain number of coaching sessions and submit a video and a transcription as well as a critical coaching log and personal professional development plans.
Course specification MAPPCP infopack Timetable informationHow you'll learn
This course is delivered in our School of Psychology, which is a large and exciting community with a global reputation for the high quality of its teaching and research.
The course is taught through an executive teaching style whereby teaching is delivered on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (plus a few Thursdays) once every three weeks, with 4-8 hours of teaching per day.
This innovative course is based on cutting-edge research already being produced by members of the academic team who are shaping their respective fields in collaboration with colleagues around the world.
Importantly, you can tailor what you learn to your own professional requirements.
You might, for example, want to keep an equal emphasis on positive psychology and coaching psychology.
You can mix things up, however, through optional modules that Health and Personal Coaching, Core Counselling Skills, Helping Organisations to Change and Psychological Assessment in the Workplace.
Your capacity as a coach will be developed by our guidance on how to build a coaching partnership through the use of reflective questions leading to enhanced self-awareness. You will also develop a helpful blend of techniques to challenge and support clients.
During your induction, the ethos and rationale of an integration of coaching and positive psychology will be fully explained.
You will then be encouraged to start thinking about an integrative topic for your research module.
In each of the core modules, the benefits of integration will be explicitly highlighted, and our academic team will incorporate examples and case studies from both fields.
What you'll learn
Positive psychology (PP) has been defined as “the science and practice of improving wellbeing”. The field encompasses many different topics, including happiness, positive emotions, resilience, hope, strengths, flourishing and psychological development.
Coaching, rather than drawing on the medical model of counselling and working with clients in need of help, develops self-confidence and focuses on the future.
Coaches encourage clients to work towards specific goals.
The course features six substantive modules – three in positive psychology, and three in coaching – plus two further research methods modules.
Key areas of study include the psychological principles involved in goal-setting, motivation and cognition.
You will draw from a wide range of traditions including counselling, career guidance, adult learning, occupational and positive psychology.
Your core modules will review key theory in positive psychology and coaching psychology.
You will also examine the scope and remit of these two fields of operation, and how they can overlap.
The course can be completed full-time, part-time or by distance learning.
Your future career
When you graduate from this course you will operate as a more flexible consultant or practitioner in a rapidly developing and increasingly sought-after field.
You will be well versed in relevant scientific literature, with the confidence to apply it in your professional practice.
This may involve working with individuals on a one-to-one basis through executive coaching, or working at organisational level using positive organisational scholarship.
There is a significant demand for the skills that this integrated course develops.
The field of coaching, for instance, is growing dramatically judging by the amount of research output and the degree of recognition it is now receiving from employers as well as educational and governmental institutions.
Recent evidence showed that 80 per cent of UK organisations now use coaching in some form.
Members of our academic team have consulted informally with industry specialists, appropriate professional associations and academics in other institutions, and there has been consistently positive feedback for this innovative course.
There are relatively few postgraduate courses specialising in either positive psychology or coaching psychology, and none which integrates the two in the way UEL has done.
So, we expect graduates of this to be in a prime position to further their professional careers in a wide range of settings.
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