Clinical Doctoral Programs Admission Process

A: Three Referee reports

You must arrange for three confidential referee forms to be completed:

• two academic referees (one of whom should be your research supervisor) and
• one professional/academic referee (ie. a person such as an employer who has known you in a context other than the academic context).

It is essential that all applicants have a referee report from their current or past 4th year supervisor or coordinator (or Masters if applicable).

Applications for referee reports are only available here through psychologyreference.org

B: Personal Statement 

We ask that you prepare a written statement that outlines your vision for your career as a clinical psychologist or clinical neuropsychologist. Most of our previously successful applicants had a strong academic record and some practical experience or volunteer work experience related to clinical practice. This makes the personal statement a key factor in discriminating among a large group of strong applicants.

Your personal statement (about 700 words) should briefly discuss: 1) your prior experience and training, and how they contribute to your being a strong candidate for the program; 2) your research interests and how they align with one or more members of our staff; 3) your goals for postgraduate study; and 4) your career goals, including clinical research, clinical practice, teaching, training, and/or other activities.

C: Nominating a supervisor

Do not contact potential supervisors. Please submit the name of a potential supervisor without contacting the staff member. To find out more about the potential research projects, visit Supervisor Connect.  Click here for a list of projects on offer for 2022.

D: International Applicants ONLY:

D1: Assessment of your psychology qualifications

Applicants who completed their undergraduate psychology degree overseas must undergo an assessment of the equivalence of their qualifications by the Australian Psychological Society (APS): see http://www.psychology.org.au/membership/qualifications/.

Please note assessments can take up to 8 weeks. Please attach the APS letter of assessment to the end of your academic transcript – i.e., scan your transcript and letter from the APS in together and upload them as one document, along with the letter from your university as described in the following section.

If you have not completed your overseas degree at the time of submitting your application, please add a note to your application saying that the APS assessment of your qualifications is pending completion of your degree.

D2: Letter from your University

All international applicants must also include a letter from your university stating your overall grade and ranking within the final year of your undergraduate psychology program.

Please attach the letter from your university to the end of your academic transcript – i.e., scan your transcript, letter from the APS and letter from your university in together and upload them as one document

D3: Obtain Police Check

Any applicant who has resided in an overseas country for 12 months or more in the last ten years should contact the relevant overseas police force to obtain a criminal or police record check. Victoria Police does not conduct international police checks.