Information for Applying to the Clinical Psychology Program

Applications for the Clinical Psychology postgraduate programs close 30th September. Domestic students require filling in the School's application forms (available here). International students must fill out an application for with the UQ International office in addition to the School forms.

ALL applicants must attend either a face-to-face interview or a video-linked interview; we do not do telephone interviews.

All applicants are requested to obtain referees reports from three people: your honours supervisor, another academic staff member, and a third person who knows you well (but is not a relative or personal friend).

ALL STUDENTS who do not possess an honours level degree from an Australia University MUST get their undergraduate qualifications assessed by the Australian Psychological Society (information on how to do this and the fees associated with this service can be found here).

The clinical postgraduate programs are extremely competitive; roughly four to five times as many people apply to get into the programs as we can accommodate. In order to accommodate the scheduling of the mandatory clinical interviews, an important component of the clinical application process, we can only accept students for interview who have obtained 78% or above in the first semester of their degree if they are currently undertaking honours. If you are in your honours degree and have failed to maintain a 78% GPA in the first semester, but finish the year at 78% or above overall, a second small intake will occur after results are processed. If you completed your honours qualification last year, scored at or above 76% and also have undertaken either work experience in the mental health or general health areas, or have published your honours results in a peer-reviewed journal, you may also apply for a place in the program.

There is no hard-and-fast weighting between academic qualifications, interview results and referees reports. These are evaluated holistically at an extended meeting of the clinical staff.

If accepted to the clinical training program you cannot defer your entrance. If you would like to take a year off between your honours year and beginning the program, by all means do so (this may actually enhance your ability to rise to the demands of the training program). However, if you do so you must apply at the end of that gap year. NOTE that the QLD registration board stipulates that you MUST apply for postgraduate training within 5 years of completing your honours degree.

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) together with the Australian Department of Health and Ageing are offering scholarships of up to $15,000 per year to students who will be commencing an APAC-accredited Masters or Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2009.

To be eligible, applicants must meet one of the following criteria:

• be from rural, regional or remote localities,
• be an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander,
• have a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse background,
• have demonstrated commitment to working in these locations or with one or more of these populations.

For more information on the scholarship, please visit: http://www.psychology.org.au/academic/science/#postgrad

Alternatively, call toll free 1800 703 883, or email