Organisational and Business Psychology

The UQ Centre for Business and Organisational Psychology takes the best and brightest students from around Australia and the world, and prepares them for a career in what is one of the fastest growing occupations globally.

Business and organisational psychology has a long and proud history at UQ, going back to the work of Elton Mayo, who pioneered the human relations movement in the early 20^th Century.

Today, the UQ Centre for Business and Organisational Psychology is recognised globally as one of the leading centres for excellence in the field.

• We have the largest concentration of expertise in business and organisational psychology the Asia Pacific.
• Our academics are internationally recognised as leaders in their respective fields. For example, Alex Haslam, Kim Peters and Nik Steffens are renowned for their pioneering work on the ‘Glass Cliff’ effect and the New Psychology of Leadership. Andrew Neal, Stacey Parker and Tim Ballard are renowned for their work on motivation, performance, safety and well-being in high pressure environments, such as air traffic control and emergency response.
• Our placement programs are run by Emma-Jane Harrison and Miche McEniery, who have over 30 years experience as practitioners working in recruitment and selection and organisational development.

Our graduates have gone on to lead successful careers both in Australia, and around the world. The majority of our graduates work as organisational consultants, and are employed by consultancy firms, publicly listed companies, government agencies, and not-for-profit organisations. Increasing numbers are going on to establish their own consultancy businesses, and are establishing start-ups in the tech sector. Some go on to pursue a career in research, working for universities and research institutes.

Our students are highly sought after by employers, on the basis of the quality and reputation of the program.

The most common areas that our graduates work in are:

• Organisational development
• Leadership and talent management
• Change management
• Work and organisational design
• Training and development
• Coaching, mentoring and career development
• Recruitment and selection

We offer three programs: the Master of Business Psychology; the Master of Organisational Psychology; and a PhD in Business or Organisational Psychology.

• The three programs draw on the same scientific discipline, and share the same set of core courses (in training and development, work and organisational design, organisational change, leadership and motivation, and applied research methods).
• The programs differ in the additional courses that are offered, and the way the placements are structured. As a result, the programs provide different career opportunities.

Master of Business Psychology

The Master of Business Psychology is designed to give students the skills and experience they need to succeed as a consultant in both industry and government. It is targeted at people who want to work for large consultancy firms, boutique consultancies, or establish their own consultancy business.

The program combines organisational psychology with business. You get to combine courses in organisational psychology with courses in areas such as strategic management, entrepreneurship, finance, international business, human resources and industrial relations.

In the placement program, you will carry out a range of consultancy projects with different organisations, focusing on people, systems and culture. The program is designed to develop the personal capabilities and professional skills that a business consultant needs to operate in an organisational environment. These include the following:

• Foundational skills (e.g., communication, self-management, integrity, accountability, judgment).
• Operational skills (e.g., stakeholder engagement and management, negotiation, scoping, contracting, use of consultancy tools and assessment instruments, project management, evaluation),
• Strategic skills (e.g., leadership, change management, business insight and acumen).

The placements are flexible, and tailored to your career goals, and your individual learning needs.

Find out more about the Master of Business Psychology on the Study at UQ. Read more about the application process. 

To discuss concurrent enrolments (i.e., Masters and PhD), please contact pg.psychology@enquire.uq.edu.au.

Master of Organisational Psychology

The Master of Organisational Psychology is designed for people who want to become registered as a psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA), and go on to obtain an Area of Practice Endorsement in organisational psychology. Upon completion of the degree, you will be eligible for general registration as a psychologist and to commence a two-year Registrar Program with the PsyBA. Upon completion of the Registrar Program, you will be able to use the title “organisational psychologist”.

The program combines core courses in organisational psychology with courses that focus on psychological assessment, counselling, and mental health. For this reason, the program is ideally suited for people who want to work at the intersection between organisational and clinical psychology, dealing with mental health in the workplace.

In the placement program, you will complete 1000 hours of supervised psychological practice with a PsyBA approved supervisor. The placement program is designed to meet the competency standards set by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council, which includes developing your skills on ethics, psychological assessment, intervention strategies, and evaluation.

Find out more about the Master of Organisational Psychology on the Study at UQ website, and read more about the application process.

To discuss concurrent enrolments (i.e., Masters and PhD), please contact pg.psychology@enquire.uq.edu.au.