You must have at least a 2:1 degree or recognised equivalent at undergraduate level you will need to provide a certificate or transcript showing your degree level at the time of applying. We welcome applicants with higher degrees; these should ideally be in a clinically relevant area. We do not accept applicants with a 2:2 at undergraduate level, even if they have a Master's or PhD. Whilst people who have taken conversion courses are not at a disadvantage in our process, we do require their original degree to be 2:1 or above.
Candidates must also have Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society. For guidance on the kinds of experience considered to be relevant when applying for the Clinical Psychology Doctorate, please visit the Clearing House for Postgraduate Courses in Clinical Psychology’s website.
Selection Procedure
We operate our selection procedures in line with NHS Values Based Recruitment.
Our selection process is as follows:
- All applications are screened to ensure that candidates meet our minimum academic entry criteria (as described above).
- Applicants who meet our minimum academic criteria are short-listed according to information presented on the application form, including satisfactory references. 48 short-listed candidates are invited to attend the University of Birmingham for half a day (morning or afternoon), which includes a series of interviews and exercises. (Example of written exercise 2018 (PDF 64KB)). Experts by experience and local clinicians are involved in the interview process. After the final interview date, offers are made to the most suitable candidates subject to a satisfactory DBS disclosure and Health and Immunisation checks. Please note: the offer process at the University of Birmingham has several steps, and the final formal offer will be made by the University of Birmingham Admissions Team.
Please note: our selection processes have changed and we will not be running the written test in February 2019 as we have in previous years.
Work experience
Applicants must demonstrate that they have been engaged in work experience that allows them to understand the profession of clinical psychology, and to demonstrate skills that can be enhanced through training, that are relevant to the role. We require applicants to have completed at least one year's full-time clinically relevant experience (which can include placement experience from a clinically relevant Master's degree) at the time of applying. This experience could come from a variety of roles, including Assistant Psychology and research posts, and graduate roles within IAPT services. However, this is not an exhaustive list of potential relevant experience. Applicants need to demonstrate that they have been applying psychological principles in a clinical setting, preferably under the supervision of a psychologist, or have been engaged in research that is relevant to a clinical population (eg as a research assistant or as part of a 3-year PhD). The experience could be spread across more than one year but must equate to one year full-time as a minimum requirement. Candidates are required to describe this experience clearly on the application form. Candidates who have previously pursued relevant professional careers will be considered on an individual basis; however, all applicants must meet our minimum academic requirements and requirements for GBC (see above for details).
Please ensure when detailing Clinical Experience gained, that you are clear how many hours you worked per calendar week if this role is part time. In addition it is helpful to detail the tasks / role carried out and the profession of the person supervising or overseeing that work. This information could be within your supporting information or an uploaded CV.
Please note that for applications for the ClinPsyD, a research proposal and names of proposed research supervisors are not required, as research projects are developed during the first year of training in collaboration with staff and local clinicians.
International students
The ClinPsyD is only open to Psychology graduates who are registered with the British Psychological Society (BPS). If your qualifications are not from the UK or the Republic of Ireland, you will need to have them assessed by the British Psychological Society (BPS) to see if they can grant you Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC). You must do this by applying for membership of the BPS for more information on this process and on Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership.
Standard English language requirements apply
For candidates whose first language is not English or whose first degree was not taught in English the minimum requirements are IELTS 7.0 with no less than 6.5 in any band.