Admission to apply for the Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology programme is open to candidates in possession of an Honours degree in Psychology or an accredited BPsych degree, with a minimum of 60% average. International students must meet the English language requirement. The candidate must have obtained a minimum of 60% average for their honours in psychology / BPsych Degree to be eligible to apply. The programme is competitive, and we have many applicants each year, so only those applicants with a minimum of 60% average will be considered. According to the HPCSA, candidates with a criminal record, or criminal charges against them, are not eligible to apply, and therefore cannot be admitted to the programme. You will be required to submit a police clearance certificate, from the South African Police Services (SAPS) directly, with your application (no third-party certificates will be accepted). A candidate should live within easy reach of the main campus in Muckleneuk, Pretoria (Gauteng), for the duration of the course as students are required to be available for training purposes five days a week, from Monday to Friday from 08h00-until the close of the working day. While some theoretical modules may conduct lectures online, all practical work and clinic work is conducted in person, on campus, or in the surrounding areas. Therefore, if selected, applicants should be prepared to relocate.

Students who are interested in applying for the course must complete the online application form first and ensure that all the relevant documentation is submitted on time. Instructions will be provided on the online application form, and you will be guided through the online application process and the submission of supporting documents. Remember, incomplete applications will not be considered. Please do not wait until the last minute to submit your applications, as we cannot allow any applications beyond the closing date. Also, please make sure you do not submit more than one application. All duplicates will be deleted.

The selections interviews will be conducted face-to-face in 2024, however, if necessary, selections may be conducted online. Internet access for online selections is the responsibility of applicants. Applicants will be informed of any changes and the logistics of selection week if invited for interviews (if invited for selections, you will be notified by email approximately 2 weeks before the interviews). Selection week will be conducted from the 8^th -12^th of July 2024. Due to the intensive nature of the course, only a limited number of applicants are selected annually (approximately 10 annually).

Understandably, the selection process can be stressful and challenging, however, to ensure a fair process, the selection procedures are rigorous. This section attempts to outline the selection procedures transparently.

The first round of selections entails a thorough review of your application forms by several members of the selection and training team. This is our first introduction to you as potential applicants, so keep this in mind when you complete the application form. Applicants who are short-listed from their online application forms will be invited for the second round of selection interviews to be held at the Unisa main campus in Muckleneuk, Pretoria, Gauteng. Being short-listed at this stage does not imply, nor guarantee a successful application. The initial group invited to round two will be split into two smaller groups, each group will then be interviewed either on the Monday or the Tuesday of selection week (not both days). Applicants will be informed as to the relevant day that they should be present for the second round of the selection process, if they have been short-listed. Being short-listed at this stage does not imply, nor guarantee a successful application. If successful, applicants from both groups (Monday and Tuesday groups) will then be invited back to attend round three of selections, which will be held on Wednesday. Being short-listed at this stage does not imply, nor guarantee a successful application. Only those applicants who are short-listed on Wednesday will be invited back for the fourth round of selections, to be held on Thursday (and possibly Friday). A full week, Monday to Friday, is reserved for the selection process in Pretoria, and so applicants therefore need to make themselves available for the entire week should they be invited for the follow-up rounds. We will continue the selection process until a final decision has been made as to the successful applicants. Should you be short-listed at any time, you will be informed in writing, via email. The interviews conducted on campus range from group interviews, group activities, written tasks and individual interviews. These are at the discretion of the selection and training team. Remember, being short- listed on any given day does not imply, nor guarantee a successful application. As a reminder, applicants who are selected for interviews will be informed closer to the time regarding whether the interviews will be conducted in person on campus, or online.

Due to the significantly large number of candidates who apply, you are not guaranteed a place on the course even if you meet the minimum requirements. Our selection process involves scrutiny of the application forms, your academic record, and the referee letters, and evaluation of the potential candidate’s performance in the selection interviews. In addition, we ensure that we adhere to policies of transformation and diversity in selecting the final successful group of applicants.

Application forms can be accessed online: (https://unisapsychology.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a4X2d88Gj7glng1). All applications must be done online, and no hard-copy applications will be accepted.

Referee forms can be accessed online at https://unisapsychology.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1YLHcA29DnWLACF . All referee forms must be done online, and no hard-copy applications will be accepted. 

Applications and referee forms must reach the University by no later than 16:00 on the 22^nd of May 2024. Late applications will not be considered. Also note that it is your responsibility to ensure that the referee forms have been submitted. An incomplete application will not be considered.
NOTE: as part of the application process, we do require a recent police clearance certificate from SAPS (no third-party certificates will be accepted). We know that this process can take time, so we encourage you to apply for your police clearance in the meantime. Police clearance certificates should be no older than six (6 months).