Clinical Program Requirements

Important Information for Applicants

The Clinical Psychology Graduate Program at the University of Western Ontario is accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association. The Clinical Psychology Program is offered only as a full-time sequentially integrated program of study.

For detailed Clinical Program Information follow this link (to General Program Information)
Link to CPA Accreditation Office
Link to Statement of Program Philosophy, Mission and Goals

APPLICATION PROCEDURE FOR THE CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY GRADUATE PROGRAM

Students seeking admission at the Masters level should have completed an honors Bachelors degree in Psychology, or its equivalent.

Students seeking admission at the Ph.D. level should, in addition to the above requirement, have also  completed a Master's degree in Psychology whose content was primarily clinical psychology. 
This Master's degree must have included a thesis of good quality.

All applicants to the Clinical Psychology Graduate Program must indicate the academic supervisor (i.e., thesis supervisor) with whom they wish to work.  This supervisor is typically selected from the list of core clinical faculty that are available to take new graduate students (see list of Core Clinical Faculty and Research Interests).  Non-clinical faculty may also supervise students in the clinical program, though students should contact that faculty member in advance to inquire. It is highly recommended that an applicant to the clinical graduate program indicate (in order of preference) up to three potential thesis supervisors.

Further detailed information regarding application procedures, admission criteria, and graduate studies at UWO is provided in the following links:

Psychology Graduate Program Information for Prospective Applicants
Department of Psychology Website
School of Graduate Studies Website 

SELECTION PRODEDURES FOR THE CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY GRADUATE PROGRAM

Selection involves a number of steps in which applicants are considered for academic merit, acceptability by prospective thesis advisors, acceptability by the Clinical Psychology Program, and finally, for acceptability and funding by both the Department of Psychology Graduate Selection Committee and the School of Graduate Studies.

Over the past 5 years, the Clinical Psychology Program has received on average, over 110 applications per year; and makes offers of admission, on average, to around 10 applicants per year (although the number of offers made can vary considerably from year to year).  This is not to say that in a given year only 10 applicants meet our entry criteria.  Each year there are typically 15 to 20 applicants with very strong records who may have the ability to do quite well in our clinical psychology graduate program.  These 15 to 20 applicants are placed on our "short-list" for further consideration.

Applicants who are shortlisted are invited to visit us during our "Clinical Psychology Program Interview Day". This day provides both the faculty and the short-listed applicants the chance to determine the degree of fit between their research interests and career goals and the training opportunities we can provide. The Clinical Psychology Program Interview Day normally take place early in February.  Official offers of admission are only determined after the Interview Day is completed and it is not necessarily the case that all of the applicants on the short list receive offers of admission.  Official offers are made by the School of Graduate Studies based upon program recommendations.   

PROGRESSION AND ATTRITION

From year to year, we have approximately 35 graduate students in our program (at the Master's and Ph.D. level).  The vast majority of our Master's degree recipients go on to enroll in our Ph.D. program.  Over the past decade, 43 students have entered our graduate program. Of these individuals, there has been a 100% completion rate for the Master's degree.  During this time period we have not had any Master's students leave the program, prior to completion (0% attrition rate).  Furthermore, 80%-85% of our students progress to the Ph.D. program, whereas the remaining graduates go on to pursue a career in other related fields (e.g., clinical epidemiology) or at other universities.  At the Ph.D. level, we have a 97% retention rate.  The above attrition and progression rates are quite representative of our program, as prior surveys going back to 1990 have yielded very similar percentages to those reported here.

TIME TO COMPLETION

All of our students finish the Master's within the 2 year period. The time to completion for all of the Ph.D. degree requirements (including the predoctoral clinical residency) is longer, and varies somewhat across students. To illustrate, for the group of students who graduated in the past seven years, the average time to completion for the Ph.D. degree (including the residency year) was 5.32 years (median = 5.00; range = 4.67-8.00). The average total time to complete both the Master’s and Ph.D. degrees was 7.32 years. These reported times to completion are also quite representative for our program, as prior surveys going back to the year 1990 yield virtually identical completion times.

BACKGROUND CHECKS

Applicants should be aware that many of our practicum training sites and most residency/internship programs require prospective trainees to undergo criminal background checks and/or vulnerable sector screening checks.  These practicum sites and residency/internship programs control who they will accept and have the discretion to refuse prospective trainees on the basis of the information contained in those background checks.  Therefore, you should be aware that if the background checks reveal information that is of concern to these practicum sites and residency/internship programs you may be unable to complete the training experiences required for a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.  Moreover, you may be ineligible to be licensed/registered as a psychologist in many jurisdictions.  So even if you were able to complete our Ph.D. program, your future employment opportunities might be severely restricted.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT

Applicants should note that residencies are extremely competitive. Not obtaining a residency means that students would not meet the criteria for a Ph.D. in our CPA accredited program.

INTERVIEW DAY

Students who are short-listed will be invited to an Interview Day which is usually held early in the calendar year.  If you are short-listed you will be contacted via email around this time.

NOTE:  All policies and procedures of the clinical program are non discriminatory with regard to gender, cultural background, and physical disabilities.