ClinPsyD Doctorate in Clinical Psychology / Entry requirements

A degree (minimum Upper Second (2:1)) in single honours Psychology, or joint honours where psychology constitutes at least fifty per cent of the course, is required.

The degree must have already been awarded at the time of application; candidates who are currently undergraduates will not be short-listed for interview.

For candidates with degrees that do not constitute at least 50% psychology, a BPS accredited Psychology conversion course must be obtained (original award grade will remain the same therefore the minimum of a 2.1 award remains applicable).

Candidates must establish their eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society before making an application.

A minimum of 12 months of paid FTE clinically relevant experience such as work in a healthcare setting or a background in clinical research involving direct contact with patients delivering assessments and/or treatments and/or service development work  at the time of submitting an application  is considered essential.

Formal consent to participate as service users in practical and clinical teaching will be required as a condition of entry to the programme.

Full entry requirements

For applicants whose first language is not English a minimum of IELTS 8 (with no less than 7 in the writing element) is required, although this may be waived if the student has completed an undergraduate degree in a  majority English speaking country as defined by the UK Home Office  . You must supply an official IELTS transcript to support your application or provide a date on which you will be taking a test. Applicants may be contacted by the Programme to request evidence of English language competency if this is not supplied as part of the Clearing House form.

For more information about English language tests see  English language requirements .

Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.

We accept a range of qualifications from different countries, provided all applicants are eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS). Potential applicants should contact the BPS for further information on equivalency and how to register.

• BPS website

A minimum of twelve months of clinically relevant paid experience (accumulated at the time of submitting an application ) is considered essential. We define 'clinically relevant' as any work in a healthcare, research or other setting that involves direct contact with service users in a context where psychological knowledge and principles are being applied. Points are scored at shortlisting for work supervised by a qualified psychological practitioner that involves assessment, formulation, intervention and/or service development. Experience of working in a variety of clinical settings and supervised clinical work involving psychological research also score additional points. 

We find it particularly helpful when applicants organise their application form so it is clear how much experience they have had of assessment, formulation, intervention, service development and research. We also find forms much easier to assess where there is clear spacing between paragraphs and separate sub-headings for different types of experience.

Many of our successful applicants have been assistant clinical psychologists, clinical research assistants, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, High Intensity Therapists or other mental health workers, although this is not essential if you can demonstrate that your experience meets our criterion of clinically relevant. Experience as a support worker alone is not considered sufficient unless formal application of psychological knowledge and principles were central to the role (if so, this should be made explicit in the 'Main duties' section of the 'Description of Post' part of the application form).

All applicants must be eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society.

A minimum of 12 months' clinically-relevant experience, such as work in a healthcare setting or clinical research, is also essential.