BPS accreditation

Hello!
I did my UG and currently pursuing my Masters in psychology from India. I want to study masters in clinical psychology from UK. Do i still need BPS accreditation even after a masters degree from India?

Reply 1

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by shrinidhi suresh

The phrases "BPS accreditation" refers to the course you've taken, not you as an individual. If you have taken a BPS accredited undergraduate course, or a BPS accredited Master's conversion course, then you have met the "graduate" requirements for becoming a chartered member of the BPS. This status is referred to as having Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC).

In order to practice psychology in the UK you need to be registered with the HCPC, and to register you need to have successfully completed an HCPC-approved postgraduate qualification (this which be a doctorate in the case of clinical psychology). In order to gain access to any of the HCPC-approved postgraduate qualifications, you need to hold GBC.

International students can gain GBC in two ways:
1. Take a BPS-accredited Master's conversion course, which confers GBC.
2. Provide BPS with all the details of the courses(s) you have taken in your home country, what modules they contained, what you were taught, etc. so they can establish whether it meets the requirements to confer GBC. To do this you need to apply to join the BPS.

Once you have GBC, and relevant experience, apply to join an HCPC-approved educational programme, complete that course, register with the HCPC and you're all done.

As you're looking at clinical psychology, there's an extra complication in that most HCPC-approved clinical psychology doctorates are funded by the NHS, and are therefore unavailable to those who don't have an unfettered right to work in the UK. That normally rules-out international students from these NHS-funded doctorates. There are some self-funded courses, buy not many.