4585 Doctor of Philosophy (Clinical Psychology)

Students will have to meet the English Language Proficiency requirements for a doctoral degree at Monash University. 

Full documentary evidence in support of English Language Proficiency (ELP) must be submitted with applications for admission and scholarship. Monash University reserves the right to seek further documentary evidence of ELP.

Graduates are eligible for general registration as a psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia, part of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). The course is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council. In order to gain endorsement as a clinical psychologist, an additional minimum 18 months of approved, supervised, full-time equivalent practice with a board-approved supervisor is required. Further information is available on the Psychology Board of Australia website.

Conditions of enrolment

You will be required to complete:

• Monash Graduate Research Induction (online)
• Research Integrity (online)
• Respectful Research at Monash (online)
• any faculty or program induction requirements.

In addition, students may be required to undertake occupational health and safety training. As a student of the university, you will be required to abide by all relevant statutes, regulations, policies and procedures. This includes maintaining satisfactory progress via regular milestone reviews in accordance with the Graduate Research Progress Management policy and procedures, ensuring you are undertaking research of an appropriate quality and scale as required by your course. You should refer to the University's current statutes and the University Policy Bank for links to relevant policies, procedures and guidelines.

Special requirements

You must refer to the information available on the special requirements outlined below. It is your responsibility to ensure you have the correct documentation.

Police checks

You must have a current Police check regarding your suitability to undertake placements. Refer to the faculty's Police checks webpage.

Working with Children checks

You must have a current Working with Children check regarding your suitability to undertake placements. Refer to the faculty's Working with Children checks webpage.

Health requirements

For the protection of other students, patients and themselves, doctoral students in clinical psychology should comply with certain precautionary procedures. This policy is in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council advice that educational institutions training students in health sciences should ensure that such students are protected as far as possible by vaccination against risks of infection. The faculty's own policy requires that all students accept responsibility for having a satisfactory immunisation status at the commencement of the course.

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency

In keeping with a student's professional responsibilities, all doctoral students in clinical psychology must be provisionally registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and must keep the School of Psychological Sciences informed of any matters that would impact on that registration. Students may apply for general registration as a psychologist in Australia upon successful completion of the degree.

Practicum placements

Our dedicated clinical placement coordinator works with each student to ensure that their individual training needs are met both within and across placements. All of our students have their first placement at the Turner Clinics, with close supervision from one of our members of staff (board-accredited supervisors). Our placement coordinator then facilitates external placements with a diverse range of clinical populations in both public and private mental health care settings, who are partnered with Monash.

The Doctor of Philosophy (Clinical Psychology) is a graduate research degree which adheres to a scientist practitioner/clinical science model of training, with a dual emphasis on clinical research and training for professional practice. It prepares graduates to work as clinical psychologists in both research and clinical contexts. This program is committed to training the next generation of leaders in clinical psychology, by enabling our trainees to conduct research that advances our scientific knowledge of psychiatric disorders, and advances understanding of how to deliver evidence-based methods of assessment and clinical intervention for those with mental health problems.

The program is driven by a set of values that guide every aspect of our work. We believe we will be successful if our students are successful in developing and meaningfully contributing to policy and advancements to the profession. We adhere to the highest professional standards in training clinical psychologists, and through our international and national networks we create the highest quality research experience for all our students. We also build and maintain relationships with students based on trust, are non-hierarchical and inclusive, and sustain a commitment to a duty of care to our students.

Our teaching and research team comprises accomplished clinical researchers who have been internationally recognised through prestigious awards, as well as accomplished practitioners and clinical supervisors. Many of our staff maintain leadership positions for professional organisations in Australia and internationally.

Our program integrates research, coursework, and clinical placements. Candidates are required to conduct a program of research in an area directly relevant to clinical psychology with close mentorship/supervision provided by academic staff members. The program includes intensive skills-based coursework, as well as a minimum of 1000 supervised placement hours. Our placements provide comprehensive experience with a diverse range of clinical populations in both public and private mental health care settings, including our renowned clinic, the Turner Clinics.