Master of Clinical Psychology

The first year of the Master of Clinical Psychology is only offered full-time on-campus at both the Mt Gravatt and the Gold Coast campuses. This postgraduate clinical training program requires students to be available for components of the program across the full calendar year. A total of four weeks recreation leave is factored into the calendar year at specific times. The second year of the program may (with approval of the Program Director) be completed on a part-time basis. Students enrolling in the Master of Clinical Psychology are required to complete coursework, placement and a research component.

Coursework: You are required to attend approximately 12-15 hours of scheduled classes per week. Some of the classes are offered in full day workshop mode and others are scheduled on a weekly basis. Some classes are also scheduled prior to the start of Trimester 1. Classes may be delivered at the Gold Coast, Mt Gravatt or Logan campuses and students are required to attend the classes at the campus where they are delivered. All classes, seminars and workshops are compulsory.

Placement: During both Year 1 and Year 2, you are required to undertake clinical placements/internships/externships that require up to three days attendance at a specific location. Some placements may be outside of the Brisbane/Gold Coast area (for example, Northern New South Wales). Each placement must be completed within a maximum of 12 months.

Research component: During your enrolment in the research component of this program, it is expected that you will be able to work independently for most of the time. The requirement for on-campus attendance is relatively flexible. However, you will be required to meet regularly with your course convenor and it is recommended that you discuss the on-campus attendance requirements with your course convenor at the start of the research component.

Student Income Support

To be classed as a full-time student, you are required to enrol in a minimum number of credit points each standard study period. The minimum credit points for full-time enrolment in this program is 30 credit points.

Trimester 1 and Trimester 2 are deemed standard study periods. As Trimester 3 is a non-standard study period, continuing students moving from one year to the next will not be required to study during this trimester to be eligible for student income support.

Domestic students who commence in Trimester 3 may be eligible for student income support from the onset of study provided they are enrolled full-time in this study period.

Please refer to the Australian Government website for more details.

Managing Study Interruptions

Taking a leave of absence from this program is permitted, subject to conditions outlined in the Enrolment Procedure and receiving approval from the Program Director or their nominee.

Readmission

Students who have discontinued enrolment in the Master of Clinical Psychology and who are not on an approved leave of absence are required to seek approval for readmission to the program from the Head of School, School of Applied Psychology or nominee. Readmission to the program is not guaranteed and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Work-integrated learning activities (professional placements) integrate theoretical learning with its application in the workplace. The inclusion of work-integrated learning activities in the degree program demonstrates Griffith's commitment to preparing its graduates for success in their working life.

In this program you will spend time in the work/professional environment undertaking placements at various locations. Placements may be outside of the Brisbane metropolitan/Gold Coast area including northern New South Wales and (by negotiation) interstate. Total work placement (hours): 1000.

You will be prepared for work in government organisations such as Queensland Health and in child and youth mental health services, education services, corrections, health psychology as well as non-government agencies, private hospitals and general practitioner practices. In addition the training in clinical psychology also prepares graduates for entering private practice.

You may seek to further your qualifications by enrolling in a higher degree by research in order to follow a research-related career path.

The Master of Clinical Psychology is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC).

Graduates are eligible to apply for general registration as a psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia.

Graduates are eligible to apply for the Psychology Board of Australia registrar program in the endorsed area of practice of clinical psychology.

Graduates are eligible for membership of the Australian Psychological Society.

There are placements associated with this program and before undertaking professional experience placements, all students in this program are required to have completed the following by the end of their first trimester of study:

• Vaccinations and Health Tests
• Licenses and Certificates
• Online Training
• Health Placement Requirements

Students should refer to the checklist of professional practice requirements for their Health discipline on the Health Placement Support Hub for full details of the requirements regarding professional placement to ensure that they meet eligibility for placement.

Students interested in the Master of Clinical Psychology may also wish to consider the Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology (6028). Both programs are designed for graduates to meet eligibility requirements for general registration as a psychologist, as well as eligibility to commence a clinical psychology registrar program for Area of Practice Endorsement. The Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology contains a substantially larger research component than the Master of Clinical Psychology program. It is not possible to transfer from the Master of Clinical Psychology to the Doctor of Clinical Psychology program once study has commenced.

Students who complete the Master of Clinical Psychology program may also be interested in undertaking further research qualifications, through the Doctor of Philosophy (6001) program. The Doctor of Philosophy is a research only higher degree with a substantially larger research component than the Master of Clinical Psychology program.