Health Psychology

On the Health Psychology PhD at the University of Surrey, you’ll train in advanced and innovative research methods to prepare for your career and develop your consultancy skills by completing a work placement.

Contribute to a rapidly evolving area of practice and research that is becoming increasingly relevant to modern society. Benefit from Surrey’s expertise in qualitative and quantitative methodologies (using subjective measures, objective measures and biological assessments of health).

Career opportunities

In your first year of Health Psychology Health Psychology programme offered at the  University of Surrey University of Surrey you will focus on the design of your PhD and complete four compulsory training courses covering quantitative and qualitative research methods, professional academic skills, and teaching and training. You will also familiarise yourself with relevant literature, create a research plan, develop your methodological and analytic skills, and complete your first study. You will develop research methods and improve your communication skills to effectively convey your findings. You will collect and analyse data, complete a detailed literature review and then write up your PhD thesis. Depending on your research area, data collection can take place in schools, hospitals, laboratories or online. Throughout your registration you will also work on your Stage 2 competencies by applying the knowledge you covered at Stage 1 (your MSc in Health Psychology) alongside working on your PhD. Your PhD will partly fulfil the research competency and may also fulfil some of the other competencies, depending on the research studies. The other competencies will need to be completed with additional studies or the placement.

• Accredited against the requirements for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

• Approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for the purpose of providing eligibility to apply for registration with the HCPC as an operating department practitioner.

Research themes

Our research investigates:

• Chronic conditions including obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease and brain injury

• Health behaviours and behaviours change including eating, exercise and sleep

• Risk appreciation, governance and policy processes including food contaminants and toxicants, smoking, genetic conditions and sexually transmitted diseases

• Health, stress and fatigue including strategies for managing work-life balance and stress as experienced by members of the emergency services.