Subjects and clinical placements

This course has a strong focus on clinical competence, cultural competence, diversity and individual differences, and helping students to understand and work within mental health in an evidence-based way.

The Master of Clinical Psychology is a two year full-time course offered on campus (Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm).  Part time and distance options are not available.  The course is comprised of clinical coursework, supervised clinical placements and a research project and thesis.

Subjects

You’ll complete coursework subjects in Autumn and Spring sessions of first and second year (Graduate School of Health (Calendar B)).  View the list of subjects in the course handbook.

Clinical placements

UTS Master of Clinical Psychology students experience a diverse range of clinical placement opportunities. You’ll complete a minimum of 1,000 placement hours over the two year program. These hours encompass face to face consultations with patients, supervision hours, and clinical activities.

You’ll gain practical experience during four clinical placements. You will complete two placements within the internal UTS psychology training clinic, and two external placements in hospital, community health and private practice settings. Each placement is 2 days per week for 18 – 24 weeks, running from mid-January to mid-June and mid-July to mid-December (extending beyond session dates).

The course adopts a Scientist-Practitioner model with an emphasis on cognitive-behavioural approaches. You will also be trained in other approaches, such as family therapy, mindfulness-integrated cognitive behaviour therapy, schema therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, and motivational interviewing among others.

On-campus UTS Psychology Clinic

The first two placements for all students will be undertaken in the custom-built, state of the art, multidisciplinary, on-campus UTS Psychology Clinic under the supervision of established and endorsed Clinical Psychologists.

The UTS Psychology Clinic is located at 100 Broadway in the Sydney CBD and is open to the community.

Off-campus clinical placements

You’ll complete over half of your placement hours at external placement sites in a range of key settings including hospital, specialist and private practices.

You may be allocated placements in key areas such as: adult mental health, child and family health, sexual health, oncology, rehabilitation, drug and alcohol.

You’ll also have the opportunity to discuss with the Placement Coordinator the areas of work that you are interested in.

Finding a placement

External placements are generally sourced for you by our Clinical Placement Coordinator utilising our wide network of connections with NSW Health, Non-Government Organisations, Private Hospitals, and other clinical facilities. 

Occasionally you may consult with the Placement Coordinator about sourcing your own clinical placement (around a particular area of interest or location, for example), but most students prefer to take advantage of provided placements as these sites are carefully selected to provide opportunity for high quality clinical work under the supervision of highly experienced board-approved field supervisors.

Clinical placement compliance

Visit Clinical Placements for detailed information on clinical placement requirements and logistics including AHPRA registration, NSW Health clinical compliance, and vaccinations for commencing students.

Research

You’ll complete a research thesis alongside their clinical work. There is an opportunity to discuss areas of particular interest with the Clinical Research Coordinator. These projects can range in scope from empirical studies, systematic reviews, and meta analyses.

View the research interests of our Clinical Psychology academic team.