Master of Professional Psychology

The postgraduate psychology programs are highly competitive and there are many more applicants than places available. Therefore, at Griffith there is a highly structured application process. Admission to the Master of Professional Psychology is restricted to students who are eligible for provisional registration with the Psychology Board of Australia. The application process involves three stages.

Stage 1: The application

All applicants are required to demonstrate their capability for training in psychology as follows:

• Academic Achievement/Intellectual Ability: Applicants must have completed a program in Psychology extending over four years and accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) or equivalent as determined by the Australian Psychological Society. The Grade Point Average (GPA) in the undergraduate degree, fourth year and relevant courses will be taken into account. A minimum of an Honours Second Class Division B (or equivalent) is required.
• Interpersonal and Counselling Capability: Given the interpersonal sensitivity and awareness required for effective psychological practice, successful applicants will be expected to demonstrate a high level of interpersonal skills. Furthermore, in order for the program to build on a reasonably advanced applied skill baseline, successful applicants will be expected to demonstrate at least a basic level of competence in the counselling context, evidence of warmth and empathic responding and an openness to a range of approaches. This may be demonstrated by evidence of previous counselling training and relevant volunteer or work experience.
• Support from Referees: Two referee reports are required - one from an academic who knows your work well and a second from a professional referee who can attest to your interpersonal and counselling capabilities. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure the form is completed by their nominated referees. See below for the Australian Psychology Postgraduate Program Reference Request System process. 

Stage 2: The interview

• Please note that, given the competitive nature of this program, only those applicants who have been evaluated by a panel of the clinical team as having demonstrated their suitability for training in psychology (according to the above criteria and ranked sufficiently high enough relative to others) will be shortlisted for interview.
• The interview itself consists of a multi-station assessment process. Applicants are required to attend a face-to-face session that takes around half a day to complete. Applicants will be required to demonstrate sound interpersonal and emotion management skills as they respond to the various tasks at each station. Tasks include, for example, responding to an ethical dilemma, roleplaying an interview, roleplaying a supervision session, discussing research, responding to questions relating to their own reasons for applying for training in psychology and a written task.
• Applicants are assessed by a panel of program staff who are registered psychologists in the multi-station interview process. Applicants will be ranked according to their performance at each station and those ranked highly enough will be offered a place in the program.

Stage 3: The offer

• First round offers will be made by mid-November to applicants who are ranked at a sufficiently high level. A waitlist of applicants will be retained as second and third round offers may be made as late as January. Unsuccessful applicants will be advised as soon as is practically possible.
• Note: Applicants are not permitted to defer an offer. Should you be unable to accept an offer, you must re-apply for entry in the following intake.

Inherent requirements

There are some essential skills and abilities you'll need to perform to meet the core learning outcomes of your program and courses. They're not something you need to gain admission into the program, but they'll be assessed throughout your program, and they'll be required for you to succeed in your career when you graduate.

Discover more about the inherent requirements for the Master of Professional Psychology.

An international student is a person who is not Australian citizen, a New Zealand citizen, a Pacific Engagement visa holder or the holder of a permanent resident/humanitarian visa.

This program is available to International students for study in Australia at Griffith University.

International students applying to study on-campus in Australia will require a student visa or another type of visa which does not preclude them from studying in Australia.

You can apply for admission online OR via a Griffith University registered agent.

International applicants who hold overseas Psychology qualifications must have their Psychology qualification assessed as equivalent to an Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) accredited degree prior to applying for entry to the Master of Professional Psychology program at Griffith University. Applicants must apply to the Australian Psychological Society (APS) for assessment of their overseas qualification in Psychology before applying and include the APS Notice of Assessment with the application.

International - Application process

All applications must be received by Griffith International before 17 September 2024 (AEST) to be considered for entry into this program in 2025 and must include English language test results (if required), referee reports and APS Notice of Assessment if you hold overseas Psychology qualifications.

There are limited places available for this program. Selection for admission is competitive as the number of applicants generally exceeds the places available.

Applicants awarded an offer are not permitted to defer an offer and should reapply for the next available intake.

Applicants awarded a confirmed place are not permitted to defer or change campus. Should you be unable to arrive on time to commence this program, you must re-apply for entry in the next available intake.

In addition to your online application, applicants who apply for the Master of Professional Psychology are required to use the Australian Psychology Postgraduate Program Reference Request System . This system allows applicants for Australian higher degree programs in Psychology to apply for a reference from academic and/or professional referees and for these references to be shared with the nominated institutions.

The process is as follows:

• The applicant registers online via the Australian Psychology Postgraduate Program Reference Request System and pays the subscription fee.
• The applicant nominates referees and indicates the programs and institutions to which they are applying. The applicant is required to provide two references.
• The referees complete a reference online.
• The applicant then allows the completed references to be shared with the programs to which they have applied.
• This system is the same across all Australian Universities. To be able to use the system, you will need to have an active subscription which can be paid through the 'My Account' section in the payment tab. 

English language requirements apply to International applicants and other applicants whose previous study was undertaken in a country other than Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom, the United States of America or South Africa or undertaken in a language other than English. The minimum English language requirements for such applicants for admission to this program are as follows:

• A minimum overall band score of 7.0 on IELTS (Academic) with a minimum of 7.0 in each sub-score;
• OR the OET with a minimum score of B in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking);
• OR an internet-based (iBT) TOEFL score of 94 (minimum score of 24 for listening and reading, 27 for writing and 23 for speaking);
• OR a minimum overall score of 65 in the Pearson Test of English (Academic) with no score less than 65;
• OR successful completion of at least two years of secondary education and your entire tertiary studies in psychology taught and assessed solely in English from a recognised country*;
• OR successful completion of at least six years (full time equivalent) continuous education, including your tertiary qualifications in psychology, that were taught and assessed solely in English from a recognised country* prior to commencement.

English test results must be no more than two years old.

* Recognised countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Applicants should refer to the Psychology Board of Australia website for the English Language Skills Registration Standard that is required for registration or provisional registration as a psychologist. If there is any conflict between the summary wording in this site and the current Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) English Language Skills Registration Standard, it is the current PBA standard that applies.

The Direct Entry Program (DEP) pathway is not accepted for this program.

Informal Learning

Credit for informal prior learning is not available in this program in accordance with Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) standards. For more information see below.

Coursework

Credit for coursework may only be awarded if a substantially similar course has been completed in an Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) accredited postgraduate psychology program and the credit application has been approved by the Program Director.

Placement

Credit for placements cannot be awarded unless the placement has been completed as part of an Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) accredited postgraduate psychology program and the credit application has been approved by the Program Director.