Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education MSc
Year of entry: 2026
Course length: 12 Months Full-Time | 24 Months Part-Time
Help shape a future where education supports the mental health and wellbeing of every learner. This MSc gives you the tools to tackle one of society’s biggest challenges, backed by the latest research and real-world insights.
You will explore what mental health and wellbeing mean, how we can measure them, and how education can be a powerful force for positive change. Your learning will be truly interdisciplinary, blending psychology, sociology, public health and education, and you will look at mental health in contexts from early years to lifelong learning.
Our teaching is grounded in lived and professional experience. You will hear directly from young people, practitioners and researchers working at the forefront of the field. You will also shape your studies with optional units from our MEd Psychology of Education.
Whether you want to improve wellbeing provision in schools, influence policy, or take your research further, this course will help you make a lasting impact.
World-leading
The Manchester Institute of Education (MIE) has a world-leading reputation for excellence in educational research and is the leading provider of doctoral programmes in the North West.
Top ten
Join a UK top 10 Education department (Complete University Guide 2025).
Gain experience
Prepare for careers in educational psychology, mental health services, school leadership, policy development, or further research.
Meet the academics:
“There has never been a greater need for a programme of this kind, and I am delighted to be part of it. Our emphasis on lived and professional experience insights is distinctive and means students will get a truly unique experience when they study with us.”
Professor Neil Humphrey
Neil Humphrey is Professor of Psychology of Education. His research focuses on social and emotional learning, mental health, and special educational needs, including autism spectrum conditions. He leads and collaborates on major national and international projects such as #BeeWell, Passport to Success, and the AWARE and INSPIRE trials, combining research, policy, and practice to improve wellbeing in educational settings.
Dr. Ola Demkowicz
Ola Demkowicz is an Academic Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology of Education. Her research focuses on adolescent mental health, with particular attention to the developmental, environmental, and structural processes that shape mental health, and to inequalities in mental health outcomes. Ola has led and collaborated on major national projects examining, for instance, the drivers of rising poor mental health among young people, the gender mental health gap, and school-based mental health and wellbeing provision.
"Through this new programme we will be able to further build on this by equipping students to make a meaningful difference in promoting mental health and wellbeing across educational settings and communities.”
“I am excited to be part of a programme that addresses one of the most pressing challenges of our time. By combining research, lived and professional experience, and current policy priorities, this MSc prepares students to become future leaders in promoting mental health and wellbeing in education.”
Dr. Margarita Panayiotou
Margarita Panayiotou is a Senior Lecturer of Psychology of Education. Her research focuses on the measurement and provision of young people’s mental health, with a particular interest in psychometrics and the role of social media use in adolescent mental health. She currently leads #So.Me, a co-produced project on adolescent social media, and collaborates with colleagues on major national projects such as the Passport to Success and PS-WELLS, which aim to improve young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Dr. Charlotte Bagnall
Charlotte Bagnall is a Senior Lecturer in the Psychology of Education. She is especially interested in how to support young people’s emotional wellbeing over educational transitions, and has worked with several Local Authorities and schools in the UK and also internationally to design (using co-creation), implement and evaluate primary-secondary school transition provision. Charlotte is currently the Principle Investigator of the P-S WELLS research project and TaST 5-7 intervention evaluation research project.
