Master of Professional Psychology

This degree integrates supervised placement experiences and coursework focused on psychological practice. You will learn how to practice professionally and ethically and to communicate and collaborate effectively as you gain skills in evaluating client needs, designing and implementing evidence-based interventions and evaluating outcomes.

This program has been designed to meet the requirements for the fifth year of a 5+1 pathway to general registration as a Psychologist. Enrolment in this program may allow you to register as a provisional Psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia as part of the requirements of a 5+1 pathway and prepares you for eligibility to complete a +1 internship as a provisional Psychologist.

The postgraduate psychology programs 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 Professional Psychology is restricted to students who are eligible for provisional registration with the Psychology Board of Australia. The application process involves three stages.

Stage 1: The application

All applicants are required to demonstrate their capability for training in 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) or equivalent as determined by the Australian Psychological Society. The Grade Point Average (GPA) in the undergraduate degree, fourth year and relevant courses will be taken into account. A minimum of an Honours Second Class Division B (or equivalent) is required.
• Interpersonal and Counselling Capability: Given the interpersonal sensitivity and awareness required for effective psychological practice, successful applicants will be expected to demonstrate a high level of interpersonal skills. Furthermore, in order for the program to build on a reasonably advanced applied skill baseline, successful applicants will be expected to demonstrate at least a basic level of competence in the counselling context, evidence of warmth and empathic responding and an openness to a range of approaches. This may be demonstrated by evidence of previous counselling training and relevant volunteer or work experience.
• Support from Referees: Two referee reports are required - one from an academic who knows your work well and a second from a professional referee who can attest to your interpersonal and counselling capabilities. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure the form is completed by their nominated referees. 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 psychology (according to the above criteria and ranked sufficiently high enough relative to others) will be shortlisted for 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. Tasks include, for example, responding to an ethical dilemma, roleplaying an interview, roleplaying a supervision session, discussing research, responding to questions relating to their own reasons for applying for training in psychology and a written task.
• Applicants are assessed by a panel of program staff who are registered psychologists 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 by mid-November 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 as late as January. 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.

You will be prepared to complete the +1 internship as per the guidelines set by the Psychology Board of Australia to meet the requirements for general registration as a psychologist. As a psychologist, you will be prepared for work in government organisations (for example, that deliver health, education, child safety and forensic services) as well as non-government and not-for-profit agencies.

You may seek to further your qualifications by enrolling in a Master degree to become eligible for an area of practice endorsement in psychology or higher degree by research to follow a research-related career path.