Master of Clinical Psychology Practice

The postgraduate programs in Clinical Psychology are highly competitive and there are many more applicants than places available. Therefore, at Griffith there is a highly structured application process. Admission to the Master of Clinical Psychology Practice is restricted to individuals who have held general registration as a psychologist in Australia for a minimum of 12 months or who have completed an Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) accredited Level 3 Masters coursework program in psychology. The application process involves three stages.

Stage 1: The application

All applicants are required to demonstrate their capability for training in Clinical Psychology as follows:

• Academic Achievement/Intellectual Ability: Applicants must have completed a program in Psychology extending over four years and accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). Applicants must have attained a minimum entrance requirement of a Lower Second Class Honours (2B) psychology degree or equivalent at the commencement of the program. In addition, applicants are required to have held general registration as a psychologist in Australia for a minimum of 12 months or have completed an APAC accredited coursework program that meets Level 3 competencies in psychology (e.g., Master of Professional Psychology or Master of Psychological Practice in an area other than clinical psychology). The Grade Point Average in the fourth year and relevant postgraduate courses will be considered.
• Interpersonal and Counselling Capability: Given the interpersonal sensitivity and awareness required for effective clinical practice, successful applicants will be expected to demonstrate a high level of interpersonal skills. Furthermore, for the program to build on a reasonably advanced applied skill baseline, successful applicants will be expected to demonstrate foundational competence in the counselling context, evidence of warmth and empathic responding, evidence of foundational knowledge and skills in assessment, case conceptualisation, and treatment planning, and an openness to a range of approaches. This may be demonstrated through evidence of work experience and/or qualifications.

Applicants must submit the following:

• Curriculum vitae of no more than 2 pages, summarising completed qualifications, training, and experience relevant to the role of a Clinical Psychology trainee
• Self-Reflection of Clinical Competencies form in relation to psychological practice.
• Personal Statement: For assistance with this statement, see the Position Description for a Clinical Psychology trainee and the Self-assessment/Colleague-assessment checklists.
• Support from Referees: Two referee reports are required to be submitted via the Australian Psychology Postgraduate Program Reference Request System. Both referee reports should be from professional referees who can attest to your interpersonal and counselling capabilities. At least one of these referees should be an individual who has supervised your recent psychological practice. See below for the Australian Psychology Postgraduate Program Reference Request System process.

Stage 2: The interview

• Please note that, given the competitive nature of this program, only those applicants who have been evaluated by a panel of the clinical team as having demonstrated their suitability for training in clinical psychology (according to the above criteria and ranked sufficiently high enough relative to others) will be shortlisted for an interview.
• The interview itself consists of a multi-station assessment process. Applicants are required to attend a face-to-face session that takes around half a day to complete. Applicants will be required to demonstrate sound interpersonal and emotion management skills as they respond to the various tasks at each station. For example, tasks include responding to an ethical dilemma, roleplaying an interview, roleplaying a supervision session, reflecting on their professional practice and areas for further development, and responding to questions relating to their own reasons for applying for training in clinical psychology.
• Applicants are assessed by a panel of clinical program staff in the multi-station interview process. Applicants will be ranked according to their performance at each station and those ranked highly enough will be offered a place in the program.

Stage 3: The offer

• First round offers will be made to applicants who are ranked at a sufficiently high level. A waitlist of applicants will be retained as second and third round offers may be made. Unsuccessful applicants will be advised as soon as is practically possible.
• Note: Applicants are not permitted to defer an offer. Should you be unable to accept an offer, you must re-apply for entry in the following intake.

English language requirements apply to International applicants and other applicants whose previous study was undertaken in a country other than Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom, the United States of America or South Africa or undertaken in a language other than English. The minimum English language requirements for such applicants for admission to this program are as follows:

• A minimum overall band score of 7.0 on IELTS (Academic) with a minimum of 7.0 in each sub-score;
• OR the OET with a minimum score of B in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking);
• OR an internet-based (iBT) TOEFL score of 94 (minimum score of 24 for listening and reading, 27 for writing and 23 for speaking);
• OR a minimum overall score of 65 in the Pearson Test of English (Academic) with no score less than 65;
• OR successful completion of at least two years of secondary education and your entire tertiary studies in psychology taught and assessed solely in English from a recognised country*;
• OR successful completion of at least six years (full time equivalent) continuous education, including your tertiary qualifications in psychology, that were taught and assessed solely in English from a recognised country* prior to commencement.

Applicants who have not completed Grade 12 in Australia or have not completed six years of continuous education in a related field and recognised country must meet the AHPRA English language requirements. Please visit the Psychology Board of Australia website for further English language requirements information.