University of East Anglia

Who can apply

We are unable to consider:

• Self-funded applicants without overseas fees status
• Funded applicants who do not have the right to work in the UK
• Funded applicants who do not have home fees status

If you are unsure whether you have oversees fees status or home fees status, please see the relevant government guidance.

• Applicants who are not eligible for GBC (or who cannot provide confirmation of eligibility for GBC by the time shortlisting commences in February). Applicants who are currently completing a GBC-accredited undergraduate degree or conversion course in the UK or Ireland must have completed the degree, obtained the results and provided a document to confirm their GBC status by the time short-listing commences at the beginning of February.
• Applicants with an undergraduate degree at 2:2 level without a further research degree (see below)

Furthermore, applicants are required to demonstrate proficiency in the English language by the time of accepting an offer of a place on the programme. For applicants whose first language is not English, this may be achieved in various ways. Please note however that for the ClinPsyD, if the candidate is demonstrating their English language proficiency through IELTS, it is required that this is at IELTS Level 7 (with no score below 7 in each test element - listening, reading, writing and speaking) or equivalent. If this criterion is not met at the point of application, this may be made a condition of any offer.  

Furthermore, in regard to qualifications:

• Please note that the University will not usually allow you to enrol onto the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology if you are currently enrolled on any other degree e.g. a PhD or Masters’ programme.  If you have any incomplete assessment / reassessment or other criteria from another programme, it may not be possible for us to offer you a place on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or you may be required to provide proof that you have withdrawn from your incomplete programme.
• For applicants who are currently completing a PhD, any offer of interview will be conditional upon submission of the PhD for viva by the Clearing House acceptance deadline in early June.  Any offers made to applicants currently studying for a PhD will ordinarily be conditional upon the applicant passing their viva with at most limited modifications (maximum of three months). All corrections must be submitted before the start of the course. Applicants should take account of this early in their planning given delays in organising Vivas.

It is not normally possible for us to offer deferred entry to the programme under any circumstances.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that any conditions attached to their offer are met as specified in the offer letter. We cannot offer extensions to deadlines made in the offer letter.

Admission to the ClinPsyD Programme is subject to satisfactory criminal record (enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service) and occupational health checks. Candidates selected by the university who apply through the funded route will be offered employment by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust to facilitate their training, who will complete additional routine NHS employment checks. Successful international candidates will be given honorary (unpaid) contracts in local NHS organisations. 

Finally, please note for applicants who have received NHS funding for previously completed training, we will follow NHS England criteria and expectations. This means that if you have received funding for an NHS-funded psychological professions training programme in the last two years, and you commenced your studies after the 1 April 2022, you will not be eligible to apply.

Academic

• A minimum of a 2:1 degree in Psychology, conferring GBC with confirmation of outcome provided by the start of the shortlisting process in February.

Alternatively:

• A minimum of a 2:1 honours degree in another subject, with completion of a conversion programme conferring GBC.
• A minimum of a 2:1 honours degree or equivalent obtained abroad, with subsequent confirmation from the BPS that the candidate has obtained GBC. For degrees obtained abroad we will use our own university conversion criteria to determine degree equivalency.
• An applicant with a 2:2 in their undergraduate degree will be considered where the applicant has successfully completed (at the point of application) a postgraduate research programme at Masters, PhD or DPhil level. Please note that many Master’s degrees are taught degrees and so do not meet this criterion. The course must be classified as a research degree (e.g. a Master’s by research). The research component (e.g. dissertation or thesis) must contribute at least 50% to the final award. A taught master’s degree, including a taught master’s degree in research methods, is not sufficient, nor is any programme where the taught components exceed 50%.

A flowchart outlining these requirements is provided and will answer many questions from prospective candidates. 

Additional desirable criteria include a first class degree or PhD.

Clinical

Relevant clinical experience can be gained before, during or after the psychology degree. This may be from a clinical setting, for example, as a psychology assistant, a healthcare assistant or a support worker, and in all cases would give experience of working with people with psychological needs.

We understand that the range of opportunities to gain direct experience varies and as such we will consider a wide range of experience as relevant to your application. Whilst many applicants will gain experience through “traditional” routes such as Assistant or Research Assistant psychology posts, other pathways are also valued. Opportunities to be supervised by or work alongside a Clinical Psychologist will be particularly relevant. Overall, when we are assessing the quality of your experience, our key consideration is how the experience has prepared you for training.

There is no formal minimum length of clinical experience required, but we cannot consider your application if you do not have any such experience. The quality of the experience and its relevance in preparing a candidate for training is considered in shortlisting. Experience can come from a range of sources, and can be voluntary work or paid work, and can be split across posts. However, very short or limited experiences are unlikely to be considered high quality experiences.

We do not require candidates to have obtained clinically relevant research experience beyond their undergraduate degree. However, such experience is valued and is considered within the shortlisting process.

Master’s programmes, or undergraduate degrees with a placement year, which provide practical experience within a relevant clinical setting as part of a placement, and supervised by a suitably qualified professional, will be considered to provide relevant clinical experience.

Applicants must demonstrate an understanding of the variety of roles taken up by a clinical psychologist in the NHS and of their personal suitability for this career. Our recruitment process is consistent with the values of the NHS Constitution and the 6 C’s  and as such we recruit applicants whose values and attitudes reflect these. Where an applicant is making a career change, including from other branches of psychology, it may strengthen their application if they provide information about the background and rationale for this.

References / Statements of suitability

Applicants must provide two suitability statements, one from an academic referee (who will be asked to provide an academic suitability statement) and one relevant experience (who will be asked to provide an experience suitability statement). Both referees must be from someone who can meaningfully comment on the applicant and their readiness for training. Referees would ordinarily have (or have had) some oversight or responsibility for your work, i.e. a supervisor or a manager. 
 

The two referees must be different people.

We consider that “someone who can meaningfully comment” is someone whose knowledge of the candidate allows them to make an informed judgement of their skills and suitability for training as a Clinical Psychologist. The referee should have direct experience of and be able to comment on the applicant’s performance in a relevant clinical and professional context.

Whilst your academic referee may in many cases be best obtained from your undergraduate degree or conversion course (whichever gave you GBC), it is also acceptable to ask an alternative person if they can more meaningfully comment on your academic suitability for training (i.e. a recent research supervisor). Please choose the person who can best speak to your potential for doctoral level study.

Your relevant experience suitability statement should be as recent as possible. If this is not your most recent supervisor/employer, please explain why. Regardless of who is providing this statement, it should speak to your suitability for the clinical elements of training and your ability to work in a clinical and professional context.

We cannot accept references which are not returned in the format of the standard Clearing House template. Please check that your referee is able to do this.

Please also note that we cannot consider your application unless both suitability statements are received within the timescales set by Clearing House.

Documents required

A document to confirm GBC (please see Clearing House guidance for what documentary evidence is acceptable). 

Please provide the transcript and certificate (if possible) of all undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. Any qualifications that are not evidenced with a transcript and/or certificate will be disregarded within your application. 

We do not need certificates of mandatory training, CPD completion etc. Please only send us certificates in relation to your academic qualifications. 

The evidence you provide will be used to ensure that you meet the minimum entry requirements. We cannot make any assumptions about qualifications that are not evidenced, so please provide certificates which prove that you meet our minimum academic requirements. For instance, if you only send us a certificate from a taught Master’s qualification, we will be unable to confirm you meet the minimum 2:1 entry requirement without your undergraduate certificate. Similarly, if you have completed an undergraduate degree in another subject and are relying on this to count as your 2:1, you must provide the transcript and certificate of that degree, as well as your conversion certificate. 

If documents are not in English, they must be accompanied by an official translation. The original (non-translated document) must also be supplied. Failure to supply both a translated and original document will mean we will disregard the qualification.

All applicants should check our website for the evidence you need to provide of your English language ability.

Failure to supply certificates or transcripts of degrees may mean that your application will either not be considered at all (if essential requirements cannot be confirmed), or you will achieve a lower ranked shortlisting score. 

Advice for your application

Remember, the fundamental purpose of Clinical Psychology training in the UK is to provide the NHS with a workforce who has the necessary competencies, knowledge and skills to act in this role. We are not looking for a specific ‘type’ of candidate, and nor are we trying to identify a cohort of ‘perfect’ candidates, and there are certainly no ‘magic words’ or phrases which will guarantee an interview. We encourage candidates to reflect on their experience and knowledge, and present their potential to train openly and clearly bearing in mind both the demands of training (in particular both practice placements and research) and the context of working in the NHS and with complex mental health and clinical problems.

International applicants

Clinical Psychology is an increasingly international profession and at UEA we have developed many diverse ways of ensuring that our programme has a vibrant international outlook.

Since 2014 we have accepted self-funded international applicants onto the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology at UEA and we now have many international students that have successfully graduated the Programme via this route and are working as qualified Clinical Psychologists in the UK or in their home countries.

We promote the programme through talks and open days both in the UK and internationally, particularly in the South East Asia region and in Australia, and welcome any enquires. Further information about our international programme can be found on our applicant information page on our website.

International candidates may also find it helpful to review the video on our website from two existing international trainees.

All candidates must apply through the Clearing House processes, and can only apply via either the NHS-funded or self-funded route. The route which is open to you will depend on your fees status. 

What is your fees status?

The UK Government provides guidance on determining your fees status. Please review this guidance first. You can only have either home or international fees status. Your fees status is not the same as your right to work. Some people who have the right to work in the UK still have international fees status.

If you are unsure about your fees status, please complete the UEA fee status form.

If you have UK or Irish citizenship, then regardless of any other citizenship you may hold, you will have home fees status and are therefore only eligible for the NHS funded route. If you are a dual national with the UK, please provide a copy of your UK passport to [email protected] as soon as possible, and no later than Friday 2 January 2026. Please include your Clearing House Application ID number in the body of the email. 

Information for international candidates applying via the NHS-funded route

Applicants applying to the NHS-funded route of the Programme must be eligible for Home Fees Status as defined by the UK Council for International Student Affairs and have the right to work in the UK without restriction. They must also be able to demonstrate the Right to Work in the UK.

For all international candidates applying via the NHS-funded route, we will need to check the following, which we will do after the application window closes:

• Your right to work in the UK
• Your immigration status
• Your residency status (i.e. that you have lived in the UK, Gibraltar, EEA, British Overseas Territories and EU Overseas Territories  for at least the last 3 years before your course starts)
• Your location at the point of application

If these checks indicate that you do not have the right to work in the UK, or home fees status, we will be unable to accept your application. 

Information for international candidates applying via the self-funded route

Applicants applying to the self-funded route of the Programme must be eligible for overseas fees status as defined by the UK Council for International Student Affairs.

International applicants applying for the self-funded route need to demonstrate their right to study in the UK through eligibility for an appropriate visa.