Educational psychologist : Entry requirements

Full details of the training required to become a Health Professions Council (HPC)  registered educational psychologist are available from the British Psychological Society (BPS) . Briefly, you will need the following qualifications:

• an undergraduate degree in psychology. (See British Psychological Society (BPS) Accredited Psychology Courses .) Alternatively, if you do not have a psychology degree you can complete a BPS accredited conversion course. You will then achieve the required Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC);
• a BPS accredited Doctorate in Educational Psychology or, for Scotland only, an accredited Masters in Educational Psychology followed by the BPS Award in Educational Psychology.

To use the title ‘educational psychologist’, you will need to be registered with the HPC. This involves completing a Doctorate in Educational Psychology (or equivalent) approved by the HPC. Contact the HPC for more information on the entry requirements for their register. In Scotland, all psychologists employed by local authorities must be chartered and must also be full members of the Scottish Division of Educational Psychology  or the Division of Educational and Child Psychology .

For acceptance onto a postgraduate course, you will need to be able to demonstrate that you have relevant experience of working with children in educational, childcare, or community settings. Usually you will be required to evidence at least one year's full-time experience and sometimes two years may be required.

Experience as a teacher is very relevant, although it is no longer a requirement, teachers may be given exemptions from parts of the doctorate. Contact course directors for exemption details.

Admissions tutors for doctoral programmes will not normally accept graduates with a 2:2 without a higher qualification, such as an MSc/MPhil in, ideally, an education-related area. However, candidates with a 2:2 and exceptional experience may be successful. Contact admissions tutors for further details.

In England, the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) manages applications for courses and funding. See Children's Workforce Development Council - Educational Psychology  for further details of the application process, accredited courses and closing dates. Funding is only available to applicants who are UK residents and intend to seek a permanent position as an educational psychologist with a local authority in England after successful completion of the programme. Funding is likely to cover fees for all three years and a bursary for the first year. Trainees will be required to seek employment in a trainee post with a local authority for their second and third years. Failure to undertake this may result in the recovery of all or part of the grant.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland applications are made directly to institutions. These are the universities of Dundee and Strathclyde in Scotland, Cardiff in Wales, and Queen’s University, Belfast in Northern Ireland. Direct links to these institutions can be found on the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC)  website. Early application is advisable and funding options are available; competition for course places and funding is fierce.

The Scottish Government offers a training grant to support people doing the MSc. There has been an increase in local authorities in Scotland employing assistant educational psychologists, and these posts offer a useful way of gaining relevant experience for those who wish to do the MSc Educational Psychology course.

There are approximately four times as many applicants for postgraduate courses as there are places. Once you are trained there are jobs available and indeed, an overall shortage is evident.

Apart from academic qualifications, you will need:

• to be an excellent communicator;
• sensitivity, tact and diplomacy;
• the ability to be assertive, persuasive and an effective facilitator;
• strong negotiating, administration and time management skills.

For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.