University of Plymouth

Safer recruitment

This programme is committed to safer recruitment and principles are embedded into our selection processes, at both Short-listing and Selection Event stages, to ensure a safe and positive environment for service users and the workforce in health settings.

All offers of a place on the doctoral programme are dependent on satisfactory references, Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) and Occupational Health checks.

Short-listing

At Plymouth we are committed to a fair selection procedure which looks holistically at every applicant as a person not a number.

For this reason, we do not use any pre-selection testing and we do not use any degree mark threshold.

Instead, we guarantee that every application we receive is considered carefully by at least one member of the course team and one local clinical psychologist. 

We then invite short-listed applicants to our selection event so that we can meet in person.

Selection Event

Information about the programme is available and current trainees are present throughout the selection event to consult with candidates.

Currently there are 2 parts to the selection event.

Panel Interview

The interview is designed to explore candidates' strengths.

Panels include:

• members of the course team
• representatives from our Plymouth Consultative Group
• practising clinical psychologists drawn from services across Devon and Cornwall

There will be a focus on:

• academic and research competences
• reflectivity
• reflexivity
• formulation
• values
• commitment to service user involvement

Group Task

The group task looks at how candidates work with others.

Outcomes

Allocating placement locations

Candidates provide information regarding preferences of location between:

• Cornwall
• Plymouth
• South Devon

We work together with our training partners to consider preferences, however your placement location preferences cannot be guaranteed. We ask you to take this into consideration when you apply for this course.

You will be given opportunities to discuss this thoroughly with the team and trainees currently in all locations.

Candidates are informed when the selection process is completed and are allocated their placement base at this time.

Feedback

We provide telephone feedback to unsuccessful candidates following their interview and after the Clearing House closing the date for acceptance of offers.

Equal opportunities

The course is committed to increasing diversity in the clinical psychology profession and therefore welcomes applicants from diverse cultural and personal contexts, and applicants with extensive life experience. 

Policies

The University operates an Equal Opportunities Policy.

The recruitment and selection processes for the Plymouth Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Programme comply with the University of Plymouth Admissions Policy.

Applicants will not be discriminated against on the basis of any protected characteristic.

DClinPsych Plymouth University Anti-racism statement:

"We recognise the realities of racism and respect and value diversity and actively work in coalition across all aspects of our programme.  We have an ongoing commitment which includes access to training, the experience of trainees and the anti-racist practice of Clinical Psychology. We also have a commitment to reflect on our own positions and practices. We recognise this is ongoing work and value feedback on how we can develop.”

Plymouth DClinPsych Team, November 2022

Positive action

We implement positive action processes as part of our selection procedure, weighting applicants who have disclosed ethnicity, disability and contextual data and using this in our ranking of candidates following interview.

Contextual admissions

Our programme is developing the use of contextual recruitment processes. This is based on evidence that contextualising individuals' achievements using additional information about their educational, social and economic background can lead to fairer and more inclusive selection processes. This information could help us to recognise individuals with strong potential for success at doctoral level and within the profession, who otherwise might not have been identified.

We will use contextual data for audit/research purposes to consider developments to selection processes in future years; to create reports for external agencies such as NHS England; etc.

Disability Confident / Applicants with disabilities

• We do not apply the Disability Confident Scheme.
• We aim to be a disability-affirmative programme and welcome applications from people with disabilities.
• Short-listed applicants will be asked to contact us to discuss reasonable adjustments at our selection event.
• Please see the University of Plymouth Student Hub website for information about trainee support.