Course overview

Description

This course synthesises Master of Clinical Psychology and PhD training across a four-year period of study. It is intended for students who are motivated to become future leaders in the field of clinical psychology by developing and combining high-level skills in clinical practice and research in ways that will enable them to both engage effectively in professional practice and significantly advance the discipline.

Course title
Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology
Award abbreviation
PhD, MClinPsych
Course code
01870/54570
Course type
Combined postgraduate (coursework only and thesis only)
Status
Current / 2024
Administered by
Psychological Science; Graduate Research School
CRICOS code
077710M

Course details

Intake periods
Beginning of year only
Attendance type
Full-time only
Articulation
The Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology has the following exit award: 53570 Master of Clinical Psychology (96 points) (96 points)
Credit points required
72
A standard full-time load is 24 points per semester.
Professional accreditation
Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology is accredited by: Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC).
Standard course duration
4 years
Time limit
8 years
Delivery mode
Internal
Locations offered
UWA (Perth)
Domestic fee type
Postgraduate fee-paying/FEE-HELP or Commonwealth supported and/or HECS-HELP (master's degree) and RTP (PhD)
Available to international students
Yes. For information on international student fees see 'Student Procedures: Fees'. (Enquiries: https://www.uwa.edu.au/askuwa)
Course Coordinator(s)
Associate Professor Jeneva Ohan
Fees
Visit the fees calculator.

Prospective students should see the Future Students website for details on admission requirements, intake periods, fees, availability to international students, careers information etc.

No study plans found for this course. See study plans for more information.

Course structure

Key to availability of units:
S1
Semester 1
S2
Semester 2
NS
non-standard teaching period

All units have a value of six points unless otherwise stated.

Take all units (72 points):

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
NSPSYC5511Special Topics in Clinical Psychology
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology
or 53370 Graduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology
and Successful completion of
two Unit(s) PSYC5672 Foundations in Clinical Skills I
and Unit(s) PSYC5673 Foundations in Clinical Skills II
These are advanced Master classes typically delivered in 3- to 8-hour workshops, up to a total of 50 hours in the teaching period.
S2PSYC5530Applied Research Methods
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
01890/54590 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Neuropsychology
or 01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology
13 x 3 hours (attendance at classes is compulsory)
S2PSYC5531Assessment and Intervention—Adult Complex Disorders
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
01890/54590 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Neuropsychology
or 01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology
and Successful completion of
two Unit(s) PSYC5672 Foundations in Clinical Skills I
and Unit(s) PSYC5673 Foundations in Clinical Skills II
Incompatibility
Unit(s) PSYC5592 Neuropsychological Assessment
lectures: 8 x 2 hours; workshops: 5 x 4 hours (attendance at classes/workshops is compulsory)
S2PSYC5533Clinical Psychology and Health
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology
and Successful completion of
two Unit(s) PSYC5672 Foundations in Clinical Skills I
and Unit(s) PSYC5673 Foundations in Clinical Skills II
Incompatibility
Unit(s) PSYC5567 Clinical Health Psychology
Seminars: 12 x 2.5 hours per week (attendance at classes is compulsory)
NSPSYC5663External Practicum
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology (ID 233)
and Unit(s) PSYC5678 Practicum I (ID 3857)
45 days
NSPSYC5664External Practicum
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology (ID 233)
and 6 Points PSYC5679 Practicum II (ID 3858)
45 days
S1PSYC5672Foundations in Clinical Skills I
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
01890/54590 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Neuropsychology (ID 30)
or 01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology (ID 233)
or 53370 Graduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology (ID 392)
Co-requisites
Unit(s) PSYC5673 Foundations in Clinical Skills II (ID 3854)
3h/12 weeks (attendance is compulsory)
S1PSYC5673Foundations in Clinical Skills II
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
01890/54590 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Neuropsychology
or 01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology
or 53370 Graduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology
Co-requisites
Successful completion of
Or Enrolment in
One Unit(s) PSYC5672 Foundations in Clinical Skills I
2 1/2 hours/week; plus workshops: 3 x 4 hours
S1PSYC5674Assessment and Intervention—Childhood Disorders
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology
or 53370 Graduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology
and Successful completion of
two Unit(s) PSYC5672 Foundations in Clinical Skills I
and Unit(s) PSYC5673 Foundations in Clinical Skills II
lectures: 12 x 3 hours (lecture attendance is compulsory)
S2PSYC5675Assessment and Intervention—Emotional Disorders
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
01890/54590 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Neuropsychology
or 01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology
or 53370 Graduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology
lectures: 3 hours per week
NSPSYC5678Practicum I
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology
and Successful completion of
three Unit(s) PSYC5672 Foundations in Clinical Skills I
and Unit(s) PSYC5673 Foundations in Clinical Skills II
and Unit(s) PSYC5675 Assessment and Intervention—Emotional Disorders
Minimum 200 hrs (including observation, supervision, supervised clinical work and case presentations). A record of signed hours and activities must be kept using the electronic logbook system and submitted at the end of semester.
NSPSYC5679Practicum II
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
01870/54570 Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology
and Successful completion of
four Unit(s) PSYC5678 Practicum I
and Unit(s) PSYC5672 Foundations in Clinical Skills I
and Unit(s) PSYC5673 Foundations in Clinical Skills II
and Unit(s) PSYC5675 Assessment and Intervention—Emotional Disorders
practicum work: 200 hours (160 hours face to face); meetings: 2 hours per week; supervision meetings: to be arranged with supervisor.

See also the rules for the course and the Student Rules.

Rules

Applicability of the Student Rules, policies and procedures

1.(1) The Student Rules apply to students in this course.

(2) The policy, policy statements and guidance documents and student procedures apply, except as otherwise indicated in the rules for this course.

Academic Conduct Essentials and Communication and Research Skills modules

2.(1) Except as stated in (2), a student who enrols in this course for the first time irrespective of whether they have previously been enrolled in another course of the University, must undertake the Academic Conduct Essentials module (the ACE module) and the Communication and Research Skills module (the CARS module).

(2) A student who has previously achieved a result of Ungraded Pass (UP) for the CARS module is not required to repeat the module.

(3) A student must successfully complete the ACE module within the first teaching period of their enrolment. Failure to complete the module within this timeframe will result in the student's unit results from this teaching period being withheld. These results will continue to be withheld until students avail themselves of a subsequent opportunity to achieve a passing grade in the ACE module. In the event that students complete units in subsequent teaching periods without completing the ACE module, these results will similarly be withheld. Students will not be permitted to submit late review or appeal applications regarding results which have been withheld for this reason and which they were unable to access in the normally permitted review period.

English Language competency requirements

3.(1) To be considered eligible for consideration for admission to this course an applicant must satisfy the University's English language competence requirement as set out in the University Policy on Admission: Coursework, except as otherwise indicated in the rules for this course.

(2) Applicants must be eligible for provisional registration as a psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia, including meeting the Board's English language registration standard.

Admission requirements

4.(1) To be considered for admission to this course an applicant must have—

(1) an accredited bachelor's honours degree in psychology with at least an upper second class Honours (2A), or an equivalent qualification, as recognised by the Psychology Board of Australia or the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council. The Honours degree in psychology must be completed within the past 10 years at the time of application or you must be provisionally or generally registered as a psychology with AHPRA at the time of application; and

(2) Applicants must be eligible for provisional registration as a psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia. and

(3) Applicants must have secured PhD supervision, with at least one supervisor from the School of Psychological Science at the time of submitting their application.

Admission ranking and selection

5. Where relevant, admission will be awarded to the highest ranked applicants or applicants selected based on—

(a) a satisfactory personal statement, as recognised by UWA;

and

(b) two satisfactory referees, as recognised by UWA;

and

(c) a curriculum vitae summarising relevant occupational and practical experience, as recognised by UWA;

and

(d) an interview in which eligible applicants will be assessed based on the personal qualities considered desirable in psychology with invitation to attend the interview based on Rules 4, 5(a), (b) and (c) and the interview quota for that year;

and

(e) the intake quota for that year.

Articulations and exit awards

6.(1) This course has the following exit award:

  • 53570 Master of Clinical Psychology (96 points)

(2) A student who withdraws from the Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology course before completing it, but who has completed the coursework units (72 points) required for the Master's component of the combined course and a research dissertation equivalent to at least 24 points (PSYCH5210 and PSYC5211), within 8 calendar years from the time of initial enrollment, may apply to the School to be awarded the Master of Clinical Psychology.

Course structure

7.(1) The course consists of units to a total value of 72 points.

(2) Units must be selected in accordance with the course structure, as set out in these rules.

Satisfactory progress

8. To make satisfactory progress a student must pass units to a point value greater than half the total value of units in which they remain enrolled after the final date for withdrawal without academic penalty.

9. A student who has not achieved a result of Ungraded Pass (UP) for the Communication and Research Skills module (the CARS module) when their progress status is assessed will not have made satisfactory progress even if they have met the other requirements for satisfactory progress in Rule 8.

Progress status

10.(1) A student who makes satisfactory progress in terms of Rule 8 is assigned the status of 'Good Standing'.

(2) Unless the relevant board determines otherwise because of exceptional circumstances—

(a) a student who does not make satisfactory progress for the first time under Rule 8 is assigned a progress status of 'On Probation';

(b) a student who does not make satisfactory progress for the second time under Rule 8 is assigned a progress status of 'Suspended';

(c) a student who does not make satisfactory progress for the third time under Rule 8 is assigned a progress status of 'Excluded'.

11. A student who does not make satisfactory progress in terms of Rule 9 is assigned the progress status of 'On Probation', unless they have been assigned a progress status of 'Suspended' or 'Excluded' for failure to meet other satisfactory progress requirements in Rule 8.

Award with distinction

12. To be awarded the degree with distinction a student must achieve a course weighted average mark (WAM) of at least 80 per cent which is calculated based on—

(a) all units above Level 3 attempted as part of the course that are awarded a final percentage mark;

(b) all relevant units above Level 3 undertaken in articulating courses of this University that are awarded a final percentage mark;

and

(c) all units above Level 3 completed at this University that are credited to the master's degree course.

Deferrals

13. Applicants are not permitted to defer admission to this course and are expected to commence their course in the offered intake only. Approved leave is not available during the first academic year of this course. Applicants seeking admission to an alternative intake must submit a new application for that intake.

Additional rules
Research thesis

14. The research thesis must be undertaken in one of the areas of specialisation selected for the Master of Clinical Psychology.

Submission of research proposal and thesis

15.(1) A student must provide a research proposal to the Board of the Graduate Research School for approval within six months from the date of first enrollment in the course.

(2) Submission and examination of the thesis is governed by the relevant Doctor of Philosophy rules.

Time limit

16.(1) Unless the University on the recommendation of the Head of the School of Psychological Science approves otherwise, students must complete the units required for the Master of Clinical Psychology within four calendar years from the date of first enrolment in the combined course.

Research supervision

17. To ensure that the research thesis meets APAC accreditation requirements:

(1) The enrolment in the PhD component of this course must be 100% in the School of Psychological Science.

(2) The coordinating supervisor must be an academic from the School of Psychological Science, with a minimum 50% supervision load within the School. Students enrolled in this course may also have a percentage of their supervision from another school or from an external supervisor, but the supervision arrangements must be approved first by the School of Psychological Science.

Qualification for awards

18.(1) A student who completes the units required under Rule 7 and completes the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy will qualify for the award of the degrees of Master of Clinical Psychology and Doctor of Philosophy.

(2) A student who completes the units required under Rule 7, but has not completed the requirements of the Doctor of Philosophy may fulfil the remaining requirements of the Master of Clinical Psychology (53570) by satisfying the School that they have completed a research component equivalent to at least 24 points (PSYC5210 and PSYC5211).