Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology)/Doctor of Philosophy

The clinical psychology program at the University of Melbourne began in the early 1970s. The program enjoys an excellent reputation and is one of the premier clinical psychology programs in the country. The program aims to produce students with a strong knowledge base in 'organic' and 'functional' psychopathologies, combined with a high level of skill and acumen in the detection, assessment and diagnosis and treatment of various 'psychological' conditions. Therapeutic skills are taught primarily within a broad cognitive-behavioural framework and developed over time within didactic, individual and group-based contexts. In their second year, all students see patients referred to the Psychology Clinic based at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. In addition to this, all students undergo compulsory field placements in psychiatry in their first year in the program. Field placements in second and third year are tailored to a student's interests. Access to a variety of placement opportunities within hospital and community settings is considered to be one of the strengths of the program.

The academic members of the clinical teaching staff are active in both clinical work and research. Students are expected to conduct both high quality research and submit articles based on their research for publication in peer-refereed national and international journals. The expectation is that graduates of the clinical psychology program will not only become excellent clinicians but will go on to be leaders in the professional clinical psychology community.

This stream aims to provide graduates with the skills to work as professional clinical psychologists as well as a thorough grounding in the discipline of clinical psychology, particularly in the area of mental illness.

This course consists of the coursework and placement components of the Master of Psychology (Clinical) together with a full PhD research thesis in Psychology.

Coursework consists of 14 classroom-based subjects taken over the first three years of this four-year course (see below) and 115 days of Placement (20 days in the first-year and 95 days spread over second and third-years).

Master of Psychology/PhD

Completion of an Australian Psychological Accreditation Council (APAC) accredited four-year undergraduate sequence in Psychology, namely a three-year major in Psychology as part of an undergraduage degree plus a fourth-year Honours specialisation in Psychology.

For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements, Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

The Clinical programme aims to produce graduates with a strong knowledge base in "organic" and "functional" psychopathologies, combined with a high level of skills and acumen in the detection, assessment and diagnosis and treatment of various "psychological" conditions.

The expectation is that graduates of the clinical psychology programme will not only become excellent clinicians but will go on to be leaders in the professional clinical psychology community.

• Written and spoken communication skills
• Analytic skills