introduction

Master of Science (M.Sc.)

Health psychology is a subfield of psychology in which the main concern is how biopsychosocial, as well as spiritual factors affects one’s physical health and illness. Health psychology considers illness as a product of multiple factors, and that people are not seen as passive victims of external forces such as viruses or bacteria. Health psychology takes the biopsychosocial approach and regards health as the combination of effects of biological processes such as viruses and tumors; psychological processes such as stress, beliefs and cognitions; behaviors and actions such as risk-taking and gambling; and social factors such as ethnicity and way of life.

Language of Instruction

The language of instruction at the School of Behavioral Science and Mental Health for the international students will be both English and Farsi. Therefore; the prospective students should be able to understand and speak English and Farsi.

Location

All classes will be held in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

Program Duration

The Health Psychology program at the School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health is a two-year graduate program (32 credit hours).

Program Description:

The Health Psychology program at the School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health is a two-year graduate program (32 credit hours) which is designed to prepare the students to provide assessment, diagnosis and psychological intervention/treatment services to medical patients both at inpatient and outpatient settings. The students also receive training in providing psycho-educational services to patients and their families to help them deal and cope more effectively with the illness. 

After completing their course work, the students are required to complete their thesis, which must focus on addressing the effects of psychological factors on health and illness. 

It should be noted that the clinical training starts from the beginning of the first semester. During the third semester, they are required to take the practicum course during which they have rotations at different departments of a general hospital.

Objectives:

The objectives of Health Psychology program are as follows:

1- Understanding the effects of psychological factors on medical problems and vice versa

2- Understand the role of stress in causing or worsening medical problems.

3- Training psychologist who are expert in providing psychological services to patient with medical illnesses / problems.

4- Helping the patients deal and cope effectively with their medical illnesses / problems.

5- Provide effective psycho-education to patients and their family to enhance their quality of life

6- Working with families of patients to help them cope more effectively with the illnesses of the family members.

Program Curriculum

Find the program of Mater of Science of Health Psychology (M.Sc.) following:

Time Table of Courses

Compensatory courses

Special courses(core)

Elective courses(non-core)

Admission Information:

Admission Requirements

General Requirements: To apply for this program, you will need to fulfill a number of requirements. Which can be found in the Graduate Admission Requirements.

Specific Requirements: To apply to the Health Psychology program at the School of Behavioral Science and Mental Health of Iran University of Medical Sciences, the applicants are required to meet the following requirements:

1. -      Holding a Bachelor’s degree in the field of Psychology from an accredited college or university which is approved by the I.R Ministry of Health and Medical Education or I.R. Ministry of Higher Education.
2. -      The applicant should be proficient in English and Farsi. The theoretical parts of the courses are taught in English, but the students need to understand and speak Farsi when interacting and working with Farsi speaking patients and their families as part of their clinical training.

Admission Deadline

To be considered for admission, applicants are required to submit all necessary application materials by May 15 of each year. The classes start on September 23.

Education Fees and Yearly Expenses

For complete and comprehensive information about fees and expenses, please refer to the Education Fees and Yearly Expenses section.