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What are the requirements for a Clinical psychology phd??

Hi im currently doing my A levels, but i was wondering what the requirements were for a PhD in clinical psychology as i want to plan ahead. Is a masters degree necessary or could i do work experience? And if so where could i find that work experience?

Reply 1

CardiffUni Rep 2

Official Rep

Original post

by ensconced-hone

Hi!

Just to clarify, are you looking to do research at graduate level or qualify in becoming a clinical psychologist? There is sometimes a little bit of confusion, since the postgraduate course in becoming a psychologist is completely different to a PhD - you'd need to take a DClinPsy.

But if you're interested in academia and research, you're asking the right thing :smile:

Universities typically ask for a 2:1 in your undergrad or higher - for reference, Cardiff asks for a 1st of upper 2nd class degree honours. Masters are helpful as it shows you have the skills in study/research at a more extensive level, but it is possible to do a PhD without a masters, although challenging. I recommend taking as much research opportunities at your university as possible and looking into doing research for a placement year, if your university offers it.

Hope that helps!

~ Fatiha, Cardiff University Student Rep

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post

by ensconced-hone

PhD or DClinPsy? As above they're different courses. The DClinPsy is a professional doctorate to enable you to work as a clinical psychologist. The PhD is a research degree which would be the first step for a research career as a university academic.

For the DClinPsy you'll need a BPS accredited psychology degree. It's very competitive though so I gather it's more or less essential to have clinical work experience, and many applicants apparently have masters degrees and/or a PhD.

Note the work experience would be stuff you would gain in the latter years of the degree or after graduating e.g. as an assistant psychologist or perhaps in similar areas. Stuff you can do in 6th form would be unlikely to be relevant because a) it would be 3 years at minimum before you actually were applying to the doctorate and therefore not recent and b) probably hard to find substantive work experience for the doctorate itself. That said doing work experience now might be something you can build on to get more substantive work experience during the degree to then secure an assistant psychologist role after graduating :smile:

For the PhD a masters may be preferable in some situations. Getting accepted to the PhD is one side of things though, the other side would be getting funding which is usually quite competitive. You'd probably need a 1st in your undergrad at minimum to be a competitive prospect for a funded PhD. Most likely you'd be doing a psychology degree but a relevant analogous area may be appropriate for some projects e.g. neuroscience or biosciences courses may be suitable for very biological/neuroscientifically aligned PhD projects. You don't need work experience for a PhD although research experience e.g. summer research projects etc can be very valuable.

From an A-level perspective the requirements would essentially be the same. Do well in your A-levels, do a relevant degree, get what work experience you can during and after the degree!

Reply 3

ensconced-hone

Original post

by CardiffUni Rep 2

Hi!
Just to clarify, are you looking to do research at graduate level or qualify in becoming a clinical psychologist? There is sometimes a little bit of confusion, since the postgraduate course in becoming a psychologist is completely different to a PhD - you'd need to take a DClinPsy.
But if you're interested in academia and research, you're asking the right thing :smile:

Universities typically ask for a 2:1 in your undergrad or higher - for reference, Cardiff asks for a 1st of upper 2nd class degree honours. Masters are helpful as it shows you have the skills in study/research at a more extensive level, but it is possible to do a PhD without a masters, although challenging. I recommend taking as much research opportunities at your university as possible and looking into doing research for a placement year, if your university offers it.
Hope that helps!
~ Fatiha, Cardiff University Student Rep

Hi, thank you for your response!
Sorry, i meant a DClinPsy but i was unsure of the correct term, i think i was confused as i read that in order to get this they would prefer that you had a phd too.
Do you know what a good route for this is, and if there are any requirements that i may be unaware of?

Reply 4

ensconced-hone

Original post

by artful_lounger

PhD or DClinPsy? As above they're different courses. The DClinPsy is a professional doctorate to enable you to work as a clinical psychologist. The PhD is a research degree which would be the first step for a research career as a university academic.
For the DClinPsy you'll need a BPS accredited psychology degree. It's very competitive though so I gather it's more or less essential to have clinical work experience, and many applicants apparently have masters degrees and/or a PhD.
Note the work experience would be stuff you would gain in the latter years of the degree or after graduating e.g. as an assistant psychologist or perhaps in similar areas. Stuff you can do in 6th form would be unlikely to be relevant because a) it would be 3 years at minimum before you actually were applying to the doctorate and therefore not recent and b) probably hard to find substantive work experience for the doctorate itself. That said doing work experience now might be something you can build on to get more substantive work experience during the degree to then secure an assistant psychologist role after graduating :smile:

For the PhD a masters may be preferable in some situations. Getting accepted to the PhD is one side of things though, the other side would be getting funding which is usually quite competitive. You'd probably need a 1st in your undergrad at minimum to be a competitive prospect for a funded PhD. Most likely you'd be doing a psychology degree but a relevant analogous area may be appropriate for some projects e.g. neuroscience or biosciences courses may be suitable for very biological/neuroscientifically aligned PhD projects. You don't need work experience for a PhD although research experience e.g. summer research projects etc can be very valuable.
From an A-level perspective the requirements would essentially be the same. Do well in your A-levels, do a relevant degree, get what work experience you can during and after the degree!

Hi, thank you for your response!
Sorry for the confusion, I meant a DClinPsy.

Could i get any psychology degree that is bps accredited, or does it need to be clinical psychology related? Furthermore, would i need a post graduate degree or just an undergrad?

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post

by ensconced-hone

You will need the graduate basis for chartered membership with the BPS which would be a BPS accredited psychology degree. Typically this would be a BPS accredited undergraduate psychology degree (including accredited joint honours courses, although there are fewer of these). You can also do a graduate conversion course which is BPS accredited if your undergrad course was not BPS accredited (e.g. an unaccredited psychology course or a non psychology degree).

If becoming a clinical psychologist is your aim you're probably best off aiming for a BPS accredited undergrad degree in the first instance as its meets that requirement in the most straightforward manner.

Reply 6

CardiffUni Rep 2

Official Rep

Original post

by ensconced-hone

Hi,

No worries! And yep! In general the requirement between all DClinPsy courses are similar - they ask of both academic requirements and clinical experience, but there are many routes into the course. People usually come from a wide range of experiences.

Some requirements also differ between unis. For example, Cardiff University asks for minimum 9 months worth of clinical experience from certain types of job roles, whilst other universities may ask for longer, or have expectations in terms of the experience you have. If you wanted to see what universities are looking for, I recommend looking at the Clearing House website - this will detail most information you're looking for about the DClinPsy.

In terms of what routes are the best - honestly, I wouldn't say there's one perfect route :smile:

There are many ways to get clinical experience, in research jobs, assistant psychology posts, NHS funded roles such as PWP, CWP, or CAAP (although be warned, you have to spend a minimum of 2 years in these roles). Some courses also even accept related roles such as support worker roles, healthcare assistant or support worker roles, for example.

Hope that's helped,

~Fatiha, Cardiff University Student Rep