Entry requirements

All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.

1. Degree requirement

a. GBC status

You must hold, or have applied for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership with the British Psychological Society (BPS). Please note that Graduate Membership of the BPS is not accepted.

You will normally have GBC status if you hold a Psychology honours degree accredited by the BPS. Otherwise, you can apply to have your existing degree assessed by the BPS, or take a conversion course. If you are not sure whether you hold GBC status, please contact the BPS directly.

b. Adequate level of academic achievement

A first or second class honours degree in a relevant subject or equivalent.

All applications are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.

An assessed piece of coursework must also be submitted as part of the application for review by the programme director. This piece of work should include the use of statistical analysis (a practical report or dissertation).

c. Statistics and research methods training in the social sciences

This programme includes a one-year statistics sequence which you must normally pass in order to receive your award. The teaching assumes that you are familiar with the following topics:

  1. Means and standard deviations
  2. Distributions, hypothesis testing and statistical significance
  3. t-tests
  4. Correlation coefficients
  5. Variables and measurement

Therefore, your existing degree transcript should note that you have taken and passed a minimum of one term each in statistics and social science research methods courses (or two terms of a joint statistics and research methods course). A British Psychological Society-accredited degree will likely meet this requirement. Applicants with other degrees may be asked to provide additional evidence of training in statistics.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Whether you're an aspiring clinical psychologist, researcher, or intellectually curious, enhance your understanding of the key clinical and professional knowledge and skills that lie at the heart of clinical psychology.

Overview

Enhance your knowledge and critical understanding of how we view mental health, delve into the processes involved in psychological assessment, formulation and intervention, and carve out your place in the field by creating your own clinical research.

Reasons to study MSc Clinical Psychology at Kent

  • Clinical teaching from academics with relevant clinical experience and qualifications, demonstrating the scientist-practitioner model of working.
  • Your course is co-produced and designed by academics, professional clinical psychologists, students themselves and by those with lived experience of receiving Clinical Psychologist help and support, matching the aspirations for course design articulated by the University’s 2025 vision.
  • Teaching explicitly designed to be varied, engaging and include experiential learning.
  • We can support you in gaining clinical experience through our signposting database.
  • The opportunity to study in a School with high quality teaching, an active and international research profile, and excellent teaching and research facilities.
  • Over 80% of our Psychology research was classified as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ for environment and publications in Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021
  • Join a supportive and welcoming postgraduate community, with dedicated student and social space within the school.

What you'll learn

You will understand relevant supporting and governing bodies and policies in the area of clinical psychology along with the psychological models of clinical disorders. With this knowledge you can begin to learn and practice therapeutic skills to build your toolbox and confidence in working with individuals experiencing difficulties in the future.

Develop a deep understanding of the processes involved in the assessment and treatment of mental health difficulties.

Generate and explore your hypotheses by designing, conducting and analysing a clinically relevant research project. This prepares you for a future research PhD or a clinical psychology doctorate programme (needed to become a qualified clinical psychologist)

See the modules you’ll study

About the School of Psychology

As a student within the School of Psychology at Kent, you benefit from our supportive, dynamic and diverse environment for creative research and learning.

All of our taught Master’s (MSc) programmes have been recognised by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as meeting the nationally recognised criteria for preparation training for PhD research.

Conducting both basic and applied research in several areas, Psychology at Kent is highly regarded as a leading European centre for postgraduate research. Our long-established international reputation in social psychology is complemented by our strengths in clinical, cognitive, developmental and forensic psychology. We attract excellent visiting scholars and postgraduate students from both within the UK and overseas.

Some of our PhD students are self-funded, and others are funded by grants or awards either from the School, UK or their countries of origin. Some are also paid to undertake part-time teaching within the School. We have a strong track record of attracting ESRC research studentship funding, which involves partnerships with external organisations such as Age UK and the Equality and Human Rights Commission and collaborative studentships with part

Information for international students

International Students

Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.

English language requirements

The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree. Certain subjects require a higher level.

For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages.

Fees and funding

UK students
£4,750 - £9,500
International students
£7,250 - £19,300

Multimillion-pound scholarship fund at University of Kent

We have devised a range of packages to ensure you have the necessary financial support. Find out more at our fees-and-funding page. Also do check out our scholarships, busaries and loans, see if you eligible and apply.

Qualification, course duration and attendance options

  • MA/MSc
    part time
    24 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
    full time
    12 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification

Assessment

AssessmentWhat kind of work will I be doing? (proportionally)
Written coursework / continuous assessment80
Dissertation60 (8,000 words)
Additional optional modules can be included4

Course contact details

Name
University of Kent
Email
information@kent.ac.uk
Phone
01227 764000