1. Applicants must hold a Second Class Honours Grade 1 in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) in subjects such as business, psychology, human resource management, organisational behaviour, and the sociology of work. Applicants with a Second Class Honours Grade I in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) in any discipline and who have a minimum of three years of relevant work experience will also be considered.

2. Applicants must supply statements detailing:
Relevant work experience whether professional or voluntary

Motivation and readiness, which must be ~500 words and must include information on:
a. Reasons for applying to the programme and how your reasons fit with your experience, interests and career objectives within work and organisational behaviour
b. Experience of group work in an education setting or teamwork in a workplace setting
c. Experience in managing time and workloads effectively
d. Experience in effectively managing conflict in work or educational settings.

Statements will be evaluated based on your responses to the above bullet points.

Consideration under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) may also be given to applicants who do not meet the minimum academic entry requirements as stated above but who present with a Second Class Honours Grade 2 in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) in any discipline and have significant and directly relevant work experience or has performed impressively in a relevant Master's degree acceptable to the School selection committee. In such cases, the applicant must clearly set out the grounds upon which they wish to be considered in the motivation and readiness statement. Such applicants may also be called for interview and will be selected based on the following:
1. Academic performance
2. Commitment to, or work experience in, the area of work and organisational behaviour.

For Applicants with Qualifications Completed Outside of Ireland
Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements. For more information see our Qualification Comparison page.

International/Non-EU Applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure visit our how to apply pages for international students.
• In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.
• Note that not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above. For more information contact the International Office.

English Language Requirements
Applicants who are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements.

Closing Date
Rolling deadline. Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.

Non-EU Closing Date
Open until all places have been filled or no later than 15 June. Early application is advised.

Start Date 8 September 2025

This course is typically suited for people with the following Career Interests. If these interests do not describe you, this course may prepare you for work you may not find satisfying.

Social

The Social person's interests focus on interacting with the people in their environment. In all cases, the Social person enjoys the personal contact with other people in preference to the impersonal dealings with things, data and ideas found in other groups.

Many will seek out positions where there is direct contact with the public in some advisory role, whether a receptionist or a counsellor. Social people are motivated by an interest in different types of people and like diversity in their work environments. Many are drawn towards careers in the caring professions and social welfare area, whilst others prefer teaching and other 'informing' roles.

Skills and Careers Information
Graduates of this programme can look forward to a wide range of career options across both the public and private sectors applying psychology at work. Graduates may consider careers in human resource management, human resource development, consultancy, organizational research, or academic/research careers.

To date, a number of our alumni have been recruited nationally and internationally as an outcome of completing this MA in Work and Organisational Behaviour. For alumni who were already in employment, a number of our former students were subsequently promoted to new roles. Examples of areas where alumni ended up working include Human Resources positions, organisers or facilitators of Organisational Development and Change/Community Development initiatives, occupational psychologists in training, and consultants (e.g., recruitment and selection).