DOC DHealthPsych Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology | Part-time
- Entry year:
- 2026/27
- Start date:
- January
- Study mode:
- Part-time
- Course duration:
- 4 years
- Campus:
- City
About this course
LJMU's Prof Doc in Health Psychology meets the requirements for BPS Stage Two training in Health Psychology and leads to eligibility for registration with the HCPC.
- Choose this programme which meets the requirements for BPS Stage Two training in health psychology and leads to eligibility to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
- Benefit from studying on a course that is British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited and HCPC approved
- Experience quality training and supervision on a course underpinned by high-grade research and practice activity
- Learn from enthusiastic, expert staff offering supportive learning opportunities
- Enjoy career opportunities in the health industry, healthcare provision, teaching and research
- Option to study 27 months Full-time, 3 years Full-time and 6 years Part-time
Health psychology is an exciting new discipline with growing opportunities for qualified professionals.
The DHealthPsych programme is underpinned by a strong focus on equipping the future Health Psychologist for a range of professional scenarios. In keeping with the nationally agreed curriculum competences for Health Psychologists, you will be developing your skills in teaching and training, behaviour change interventions, research, consultancy and demonstrating that you have the generic professional skills needed to qualify in this field. This is achieved through your own job role, taught sessions on the programme and extensive supervision.
Staff in the School of Psychology produce high quality research in a range of areas in health psychology. Areas of expertise include pain, disability, patient-reported outcome measurement, positive psychology, obesity and health cognition. Staff have long-standing expertise in training and developing future Health Psychologists.
Debi's Story
Course modules
Discover the building blocks of your programme
Further guidance on modules
Modules are designated core or optional in accordance with professional body requirements, as applicable, and LJMU’s Academic Framework Regulations. Whilst you are required to study core modules, optional modules provide you with an element of choice. Their availability may vary and will be subject to meeting minimum student numbers.
Where changes to modules are necessary these will be communicated as appropriate.
Core modules
Planning Training in Health Psychology
30 credits
30 credits
This module's primary objective is to assess the trainee's capacity to align their training with the national competences for health psychologists, and to showcase a critical self-assessment of their developmental plan. It serves as the introductory module for the DHealthPsy program, focusing on aiding trainees in crafting a training plan akin to the one mandated by the British Psychological Society for their Stage II Qualification in Health Psychology. Additionally, it encourages reflective thinking by using a SWOT analysis to evaluate the training plan.
Professional Practice in Health Psychology
270 credits
270 credits
This module focuses on Consultancy, Teaching and Training, Behaviour Change Interventions and Research. It aims to capture the professional competencies of:
- research
- consultancy
- behaviour change interventions
- teaching and training
in Health Psychology, over the period of training.
Reflection in Health Psychology
60 credits
60 credits
This module serves as the culmination of the DHealthPsy program. It is designed to prepare students for their future roles as health psychologists by enabling them to reflect on their development, choices, and decisions throughout their training. The primary objective of this module is for trainees to demonstrate their comprehensive professional skills development and their capacity for reflective and meta-reflective thinking about their development, choices, and decisions made throughout their training.
Professional body recognition
The programme is BPS accredited for Stage 2 Training in Health Psychology for those applicants with BPS Graduate Basis for Chartered Status (GBC). This means, by the end of the course, you will be provided with a qualification which meets the requirements of Stage 2 training.
Your Learning Experience
An insight into teaching on your course
Applicants must have a suitable pre-determined placement (paid or voluntary) before undertaking the course.
Study hours
All teaching is on Thursdays (mostly fortnightly) and in the slots 10-1pm and 2-5pm, leaving you some time in the day to meet with your supervisor. Sessions are formally scheduled from January to May/June and September to December in year one and on an ad hoc basis in subsequent years.
Teaching methods
In keeping with the nationally agreed curriculum competences for Health Psychologists, you will be developing your skills in teaching and training, behaviour change interventions, research, consultancy and demonstrating that you have the generic professional skills needed to qualify in this field. This is achieved through your own job role, taught sessions on the programme and extensive supervision.
Applied learning
Applicants must have a suitable pre-determined placement (paid or voluntary) before undertaking the course.
How learning is monitored on your programme
To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.
Assessment methods include: a log and diary of professional practice, case studies, reflections on each competence and a viva voce examination. In terms of research, you will produce a number of publishable papers and submit them to peer-reviewed journals.
Where you will study
The School is based in LJMU’s City Campus at the Byrom Street site, which is located in the heart of Liverpool city centre, and offers postgraduates excellent laboratory and research facilities, including appetite laboratories, psychology testing labs and neuroscience labs.
Course tutors
Rachel is a Registered Health Psychologist (HCPC), Chartered Psychologist (BPS) and Associate Fellow of the BPS (AFBPsS). She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority. As an academic and health services researcher she has implemented health psychology practice to improve healthcare/health services, particularly in the areas of screening prevention and early diagnosis (SPED), contributing nationally to the cancer agenda. She is passionate about the advancement of health psychology in knowledge transfer and professional activity, for example, in her role as Deputy Chair of the Division of Health Psychology Training Committee (BPS), she is a national professional UK accreditor for MSc and Professional Doctorate (stage 1 & 2) courses in Health Psychology. She is Director of the Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology at LJMU, and the Chair for the Institute of Health Research, Cancer Special Interest Group.
Postgraduate research opportunities
At LJMU, you can take the next step in your academic journey with a PhD or MPhil, available on a full-time or part-time basis. International students also have the option to study remotely.
- PhD duration: Up to 4 years full-time, or up to 7 years part-time
- Funding options: Choose between funded projects (with supervisors already in place) or self-funded study
Our Doctoral Academy is here to support you every step of the way—from your first enquiry through to successful completion—working closely with Schools, Faculties, and Professional Services.
For more details on postgraduate research and full details on how to apply, visit the Doctoral Academy website.
Career paths
Further your career prospects
LJMU has an excellent employability record with 97% of our postgraduates in work or further study fifteen months after graduation (Graduate Outcomes Survey, 2025). Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real world context.
A growing number of health psychology graduates work in health education, health promotion, health administration and health audit. There are also opportunities in the organisational aspects of delivering health care within the health service and in research/teaching. Staff on the course have supervised trainees working in the health service, universities, private healthcare companies including occupational health, health and safety laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, and in private practice offering health coaching and therapeutic interventions.
Tuition fees and funding
- Part-time per year:
- £4,100
You can pay your tuition fees in instalments over the year and if you are taking out a masters loan, you can align your tuition fee payments to the same dates you will receive your masters loan payments. Read more about fee payments in our Postgraduate Fees and Funding section.
PLEASE NOTE: The Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology (along with The Professional Doctorate in Applied Sport and Exercise Science and Professional Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Psychology) is not eligible for the LJMU Alumni Award if the 20% discount has already been used for an alternative LJMU programme.
Fees
The fees quoted above cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as library membership and student IT support with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources including programme-appropriate software and on campus wifi.
Financial Support
There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you’ll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages. The University offers a range of financial support for students. You'll find all the information you need on our specialist financial support pages including details of the Student Support Fund and other activities to support with the cost of living.
Additional Costs
In addition to fees, students should also keep in mind the cost of:
- Accommodation
- Travel costs and field trips unless paid for by LJMU
- Stationery, IT equipment, professional body membership and graduation gown hire
- Part-time per year:
- £9,500
You can pay your tuition fees in instalments over the year and if you are taking out a masters loan, you can align your tuition fee payments to the same dates you will receive your masters loan payments. Read more about fee payments in our Postgraduate Fees and Funding section.
PLEASE NOTE: The Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology (along with The Professional Doctorate in Applied Sport and Exercise Science and Professional Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Psychology) is not eligible for the LJMU Alumni Award if the 20% discount has already been used for an alternative LJMU programme.
International Scholarships and payment plans
Liverpool John Moores University is committed to supporting international students by providing a range of scholarships and flexible payment plans to help students manage their tuition fees.
Scholarships
LJMU provides a variety of postgraduate scholarships to support international students. Scholarships are available to self-funded students who have accepted their offer and met all the conditions outlined in their offer letter. Students must also demonstrate that they can cover living costs, travel, and other expenses associated to studying at the university. Postgraduate scholarships include tuition fee reductions and are often offered in partnership with external funding organisations such as the British Council and Chevening.
All self-funded international students are eligible for an automatic scholarship worth up to £4,000. For more details and to view our full list of scholarships, visit the international scholarship webpages.
Deposit
All students must pay a £5,000 deposit before they can receive their CAS letter.
For more information view our deposit page.
Tuition Fee Payment Plan
After paying their £5,000 deposit, students have the option to pay their fees in full or in three equal instalments minus any internal scholarships and discounts. There are two payment options available for international students. You can either pay your tuition fees in full before enrolment or opt for a payment plan. With the payment plan, you can pay your fees in three instalments after making your £5,000 deposit. The first instalment is due before enrolment.
All payments should be made through Flywire. Full details can be found in the How to Pay Guide.
Entry requirements
You will need:
Qualification requirements
Postgraduate degree (required for research programmes)
- a BPS Accredited MSc in Health Psychology (or BPS Stage I Qualification), normally at merit level or higher
Undergraduate degree
- a good honours degree in Psychology and GBC
Additional requirements
-
Interview required
- All candidates will be interviewed
Further information
-
Extra Requirements
Applicants must have a suitable pre-determined placement (paid or voluntary) before undertaking the course.
-
RPL
- RPL is accepted on this programme
International requirements
IELTS
- IELTS 7.0 (minimum 6.5 in each component)
Other international requirements
- International students applying to study a full-time taught Masters, MRes, MPhil or PhD at LJMU should check if they require an Academic Technology Approval Scheme or ATAS certificate
- International students entering on a student visa cannot study part-time
Further information
-
Extra Requirements
Applicants must have a suitable pre-determined placement (paid or voluntary) before undertaking the course.
-
RPL
- RPL is accepted on this programme
Please Note: All international qualifications are subject to a qualification equivalency check.
How to apply
Securing your place at LJMU
To apply for this programme, you are required to complete an LJMU online application form. You will need to provide details of previous qualifications and a personal statement outlining why you wish to study this programme.
Please note: Applications are open for January 2027 intake. However, there are only ten places available per year and competition can be strong. We therefore recommend early application.
To help you to maximise your application success, and due to the nature of the programme, discussions with us - prior to application - are strongly advised. Please contact Programme Director: Dr Rachel Tarling r.m.tarling@ljmu.ac.uk
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