phd in psychology ireland

Explore UCD

• (opens in a new window) University Strategy
• University Governance
• President's Office
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
• Campus Development
• Course Catalogue
• Study at UCD
• Current Students
• Campus Accommodation
• International Student Experience
• Access & Lifelong Learning
• Careers Network
• Sports Clubs
• (opens in a new window) Student Societies

Research & Innovation

• Innovation at NovaUCD
• Graduate Studies
• Support for Researchers
• (opens in a new window) Find a UCD Researcher
• UCD College of Arts and Humanities
• UCD College of Business
• UCD College of Engineering and Architecture
• UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences
• UCD College of Science
• UCD College of Social Sciences and Law
• All Colleges and Schools
• News & Opinion
• Work at UCD
• UCD in the Community
• Global Partnerships
• (opens in a new window) UCD Foundation
• University Relations

Key Services

• Staff Directory
• Sport & Fitness
• IT Services
• (opens in a new window) Commuting
• (opens in a new window) UCD Map
• (opens in a new window)

Doctoral programme in Clinical Psychology

Doctoral programme in clinical psychology.

Please note the closing date for receipt of applications is

Monday 27 th January 2025 at 12.00 noon

We recognise and welcome the need for the Profession of Clinical Psychology, and training in Clinical Psychology, to be inclusive of diversity. 

The Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology is a 3-year research degree and professional training programme in clinical psychology. The course is fully accredited by the Psychological Society of Ireland.

The course runs over three calendar years and includes three interrelated elements:

• 2,000 hours of research over 200-250 days
• 500 hours academic coursework over 100-150 days
• 3,000 hours of supervised clinical practice over 390 days

The central objective of the course is to train postgraduates to a level which will enable them to work safely, competently and ethically as a basic grade clinical psychologist and to provide a foundation for later specialization through continuing professional development.

Postgraduates graduating from the course should be able to

• provide assessment and treatment services to a wide range of client groups including children and adults with psychological problems and disabilities
• use their academic knowledge to solve clinical problems and provide consultancy and teaching services to colleagues and clients
• use their research skills to answer questions, raised within the health services, which require an empirically based answer.

Within the Clinical Programme, the psychologist's role is conceptualized as that of a professional scientist-practitioner who works within a shared care model of multidisciplinary health service delivery. The psychologist as a  professional  is guided by codes of ethics and practice such as those laid down by the Psychological Society of Ireland.

As a  scientist,  the psychologist brings knowledge of the findings of the science of psychology and the methods used to investigate problems scientifically to bear on clinical practice and health service delivery.

As a  practitioner , the psychologist is skilled in specific assessment and intervention methods and is sensitive to the way in which personal psychological strengths and vulnerabilities impinge upon skilled clinical practice.

The importance of contributing a uniquely psychological perspective to multidisciplinary  team practice  is a central part of the clinical psychologists role.

Am I eligible for this course

Applicants are selected on the basis of their academic record; their basic clinical skills and potential; their research skills; and their personal suitability for the role of clinical psychologist. Academic requirements.

Applicants for the course must hold an honours degree in psychology or an honours diploma in psychology making them eligible for graduate membership of The Psychological Society of Ireland or the British Psychological Society. In judging academic suitability for the programme, account is taken of the honours grade of the primary degree and also of additional degrees in related fields such as counselling or health psychology.

Relevant clinical experience requirements.

Applicants must have at least a year’s relevant clinical experience during which they have developed the basic clinical skills required for establishing working relationships with clients or patients on the one hand and professional colleagues on the other. Clinical skills and potential are judged by taking into account the way in which candidates have made use of the opportunities available to them to engage in relevant clinical experiences. Work as a psychological assistant, a care assistant, a nursing assistant, a research assistant on a clinical research project, or a post-graduate research degree where the project was conducted in a clinical area are typical examples of the types of experience that are considered to be relevant in this context. Completion of short courses and workshops which have contributed to the development of clinical skills are also taken into account in judging clinical skill and potential.

Research skills.

An applicant's research skills are taken into account in judging their suitability for the programme. In judging research skills, account is taken of completion of clinical or other research projects as part of postgraduate degrees; participation in clinical research projects; publication of research reports; presentation of research at conferences; development of computing skills; and of qualifications obtained in related fields such as research psychology or statistics.

Personal suitability for the role of clinical psychologist and working in health service organisations.

An applicant's personal characteristics relevant to the role of clinical psychologist and working in health service organisations are taken into account in judging their suitability for the programme. These include a knowledge of the role of psychologists within the HSE and other health service organizations; a commitment to public service provision; potential for developing a capacity for self-reflection; and potential for developing interpersonal skills essential for working in health service organizations. In judging personal characteristics account is taken of steps applicants have taken to learn about the role of clinical psychologists in the health service and to begin to develop as reflective practitioners. This includes participating in self-reflective workshops and personal therapy or counseling.

Student Support

The Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology is a sponsored programme and the sponsorship entails the payment of a trainee clinical psychology salary for the duration of the programme.

To date sponsorship has also included the partial payment of fees on behalf of the sponsored trainee and health care agencies have made a 60% contribution towards fees on behalf of the trainee clinical psychologist for each of their three years on the programme.

Fees for the UCD Clinical Psychology programme are €15,920 for the 24/25 academic year. This breaks down as follows: 60% sponsor - €9,552 40% trainee - €6,368

Students in a multi-year programme (like this one) are subject to fee increases year to year, the average increase can be 4%. 

Please note: these arrangements are all subject to review in light of current and future national developments in the funding of clinical psychology training. All offers of trainee clinical psychology places are made subject to funding. Most sponsorships are (opens in a new window) HSE funded and trainee funded through such sponsorships complete placements of supervised clinical practice outside the greater Dublin area within the geographical area serviced by the sponsoring agency. Placements outside the sponsoring agency are only undertaken in exceptional circumstances and with the permission of the sponsor. An exception is usually made for the final specialist placement which may be undertaken outside the country. Successful applicants should therefore consider re-location to the sponsoring region or make arrangements to commute to that region.

Evaluation and Assessment

A day per week over 3 years is set aside for research and the final six week academic block is set aside in third year for writing the final draft of the major research project. Psychologists in clinical training receive a minimum of 30 hours individual supervision for their thesis during their second and third years. In addition they complete coursework on research methods, statistics and computing listed below under academic course work. Altogether 2000 hours are available for research over 200-250 days, and postgraduates are expected to devote some evenings and some weekends to research.

The following projects are completed: A 25,000 word report on a major doctoral research project. The research must make an original publishable contribution to knowledge in the broad field of clinical psychology. Before conducting the doctoral research project, postgraduates write and defend a 2000 word thesis proposal. When the 25,000 word report is complete, postgraduates summarize key findings in a publishable 4,000 word journal article. Two 2,000 word service-based research projects are completed in the first year to demonstrate competence in both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Academic Coursework

Academic coursework is covered in six six-week academic blocks each containing at least 36 half-day teaching sessions or approximately 100 hours coursework per block, except the final block which is reserved largely for writing the final draft of the major research project. Thus, overall there are 500 hours of coursework in the programme spanning 100-150 days. Academic courses are grouped into the following conceptual areas:

• Child and adolescent clinical psychology
• Adult clinical psychology (including the psychology of the older adult)
• The psychology of intellectual disabilities
• Neuropsychology
• Personal and professional development

Four 4,000 word essays (one each in the areas of child and adolescent clinical psychology, adult clinical psychology, the clinical psychology of older adults, and the clinical psychology of intellectual disabilities) to demonstrate competence in systematically reviewing literature and drawing conclusions to inform clinical practice. Three 4,000 word case studies (one each in the areas of child and adolescent clinical psychology, adult clinical psychology, and the clinical psychology of intellectual disabilities) to demonstrate competence in applying theory and research to clinical practice.

Supervised Clinical Practice

Each psychologist in clinical training completes six  4.5 month placements of supervised clinical practice. All placements contain a minimum of 65 days (or 500 hours) yielding a total of 390 days (or 3,000 hours). These placements provide training and clinical experience in the following areas:

• Adult clinical psychology
• The clinical psychology of intellectual disabilities
• The clinical psychology of older adulthood
• Specialist areas.

Course Fees

Students in a multi-year programme (like this one) are subject to fee increases year to year, the average increase can be 4%.

Most trainees take a bank/credit union loan in order to fund their fee payments.

Financial Support

The Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology is a sponsored programme and the sponsorship entails the payment of a trainee clinical psychology salary for the duration of the programme.  A place on the programme is tied to the offer of employment with a sponsor for the three years of the programme.   

The current trainee clinical psychology salary is as follows:

Point One:        €40,673 (year one) Point Two:       €42,841 (year two) Point Three:     €46,566 (year three)

Please note: these arrangements are all subject to review in light of current and future national developments in the funding of clinical psychology training. All offers of trainee clinical psychology places are made subject to funding.

Most sponsorships are (opens in a new window) HSE funded and trainee funded through such sponsorships complete placements of supervised clinical practice outside the greater Dublin area within the geographical area serviced by the sponsoring agency. Placements outside the sponsoring agency are only undertaken in exceptional circumstances and with the permission of the sponsor. An exception is usually made for the final specialist placement which may be undertaken outside the country. Successful applicants should therefore consider re-location to the sponsoring region or make arrangements to commute to that region.

Application Details

Intake for 2025

All offers of trainee clinical psychology places are made subject to funding.

For the September 2025 intake the deadline is 12.00pm Monday 27 th January, 2025.

After short-listing successful applicants will be called for first round interviews on Wednesday 12 th and Thursday 13 th March and second round interviews on Thursday 20 th and Friday 21 st  March 2025. .

How to Apply for the Clinical Psychology Programme 2025 – please follow these instructions carefully.

Please download and carefully read the Notes for Applicants 2025 and the   Clinical Psychology Application Form 2025 . (Please note the 2025 application form and notes have been amended, only the 2025 application form will be accepted).

Obtain a payment reference for your application fee here ' page" href="https://sisweb.ucd.ie/usis/W_CR_DISPLAY.P_WEB_PAYMENT?p_linked=Y&p_rsrc_code=FIN076" target="_blank" rel="noopener" tabindex="0"> (opens in a new window) here . You will need this in order to submit your application via the portal, the application fee is 50 euro.

Some applicants experience difficulties obtaining a payment reference number.  There are some reasons for this a) it may be as a result of too much traffic on the website (it is strongly advised that you submit your application well in advance of the deadline); b) try using another browser (Safari, Firefox, Google Chrome), c) use an alternative device phone, tablet or laptop (do not use a work device as that may block any attempted payments).  Should you continue to  experience issues and if you have attempted payment using other browsers and/or devices without success we would ask you to click on the below link to obtain a workaround reference code, you will receive an automated response that will give you a reference code (for 2025)  this code will allow you upload your application.  This Payment Workaround ' page" target="_blank" rel="noopener" tabindex="0"> (opens in a new window) Workaround will only be activated from Friday 24 th January 2025.

Once your application has been submitted please continue to attempt payment as we manually reconcile application payments before the shortlisting process is completed remember the entire application must be complete including the application fee. 

Step three:

Fill in your application form (using the Notes for Applicants 2025 as your guide).  Once your application is complete save it as one Pdf file naming it as follows: Surname, Forename (i.e. Blogs, Jane) , if you have not studied in UCD before you should include ID and transcripts (these should be included in the single pdf you are uploading). 

Submit your application here via the Clinical Psychology Application Portal 2025 ' page" target="_blank" rel="noopener" tabindex="0"> (opens in a new window) Clinical Psychology Application Portal 2025

Please note you can only submit your application once.

EXPEREINCING PROBLEMS UPLOADING YOUR CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY APPLICATION?

If you experience difficulties with either payment or uploading your completed application form you should ensure that you are not using a HSE laptop or computer (or indeed any type of work computer) as most likely a firewall is preventing you from continuing.  You should use your personal email address using your phone or personal laptop, some people will find that if they use a different browser the problem resolves.  The closing date is Monday 27 th January at 12.00 (noon). 

Who to contact

Programme Administrator, Muriel Keegan (opens in a new window) [email protected] (7168120) or (opens in a new window) [email protected] (7168363)

Professor Alan Carr ' page"> Professor Alan Carr , and Professor Gary O’Reilly ' page"> Professor Gary O’Reilly are Joint Programme Directors

Professor Jessica Bramham ' page"> Professor Jessica Bramham , Clinical Neuropsychology Lecturer ' page"> Dr. Keith Gaynor ' page" target="_blank" rel="noopener" tabindex="0"> (opens in a new window) Dr. Keith Gaynor , Clinical Psychology Lecturer Dr. Kathy Looney ' page" target="_blank" rel="noopener" tabindex="0"> (opens in a new window) Dr. Kathy Looney , Clinical Psychology Lecturer

Dr. Paul Dalton, Clinical Psychology Lecturer Ms. Sara Hollwey, ' page"> Ms. Sara Hollwey, Clinical Placement Director/Director of Personal & Professional Development Dr. Jacintha McLauglin, Senior Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Sarah Carroll, Senior Clinical Psychologist Dr. Niki Nearchou, Research Director

Academic staff from the School of Psychology and clinical supervisors from the course placements are involved in teaching, research supervision and the supervision of clinical practice.

Information for Non-EU applicants

University College Dublin (UCD) welcomes applications from EU and EEA students. Prospective applicants with UK citizenship and who meet the criteria for EU/EEA fees may apply to the course. Applications from Non-EU students are possible. As clinical psychology trainees are employees of the Health Service Executive (HSE) or other approved Health Care Agencies, we require that all applicants have the right to work in Ireland without restriction at the time of application, for the duration of the course, and for three years post-graduation to fulfil their obligations to their sponsoring agency.  Non-EU applicants are therefore not considered unless they provide evidence at the time of application of an existing right to work (and the right to residency) in Ireland for the duration of the course and the required post-qualification three years.   

Please also note that the current Non-EU university fee for the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology is currently €30,320 for each year of the programme.

As is the case for all applicants, undergraduate and post-graduate qualification requirements must be PSI/BPS equivalent and evidence of their equivalence is necessary at application stage. Applications without this will not be considered.  If English is not the applicants first language, evidence of the ability speak, read and write English fluently is necessary at application stage. Again, applications without this will not be considered.  Following successful application to the course, Garda Clearance is sought for all trainees. It should be noted that Garda clearance can be delayed for people applying from outside of the ROI.

Expectations once enrolled

The course is a full time doctoral level training programme in clinical psychology. Students complete 6 clinical placements under the supervision of a Senior Clinical Psychologist in child, adult, intellectual disability and specialist clinical settings.  They also complete 6 related academic teaching blocks and a doctoral level piece of research. 

When something goes wrong

Students on the doctoral programme in clinical psychology are required to fulfil different roles during their training, including academic and clinical practice roles.  Consequently the course is governed by the University’s Fitness to Practice and Fitness to Study policies as well its regulations on the completion of academic coursework and assignments. If a student encounters a difficulty they should discuss it with a member of the course team in the first instance, who will support the student and ensure where appropriate the matter is resolved locally, and where necessary will direct the student to the correct procedure or policy.   

UCD School of Psychology

UCC University College Cork

School of applied psychology síceolaíocht fheidhmeach.

• Visited Pages
• Current Students
• Registration
• Job Vacancies
• Examinations
• Programme and Course Descriptions
• Undergraduate
• Postgraduate
• International Office
• Adult Continuing Education
• Online Courses
• Continuing Professional Development
• Micro-credentials
• Scholarships and Prizes
• Transition-In Programme
• Graduate Attributes
• Incoming First Year Students
• Apply to UCC
• Events for Prospective Students
• Parents and Guardians Information
• Apprenticeships
• UCC Innovation
• UCC Futures
• UCC in the world university rankings
• News and Views
• Leadership and Strategy
• Campus Life
• World's First Green Campus
• Cork City and Region
• UCC Arboretum
• Culture Night 2024
• Academic Schools and Departments
• Support and Service Departments
• Access Talent
• Skills for Work
• Advance Research
• Accelerate Innovation
• Support UCC
• Become a Partner
• Knowledge Centre
• Meet People
• Make an Impact
• Discover our Alumni
• Explore Benefits
• Register for UCC Alumni Online
• Make a Gift

You should be seeing some content in this space that is currently blocked due to cookie settings. Open the Cookie Management Tool to change your settings.

• Research News

PhD by Research

• Doctor of Clinical Psychology
• People and Technology
• Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Healthy Development and Ageing
• Supplementary Material for Research Publications
• Community News
• Previous Years
• Annual Transition Year Event
• BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition Mentoring
• The Power Threat Meaning Framework
• Taught Programmes
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Ethics Management
• School Policies & Forms
• Applied Psychology

14 Aug 2023

Save to Favourites

On this page

PhD in Applied Psychology (Research) Guide for Applicants:

Applications for our PhD programme are welcome throughout the year. However, the University has identified four official starting dates for PhDs: October, January, April and July. You are advised to apply at least two months before your desired start date to allow your application to be officially processed in time for the start date.

Perspective students are encouraged to have a look at our staff profiles and identify at least one supervisor they are interested in potentially working with https://www.ucc.ie/en/apsych/people/ .  Each student is required to have at least two academic supervisors. You may have a supervisor from Applied Psychology and another department or University.   Sending a brief CV and cover letter will help the staff member to get a sense of the background of the candidate.

This proposal will be reviewed by the School of Applied Psychology Graduate Studies Committee before a student can be accepted to the programme.

If the PhD Proposal is approved, applicants must then also apply formally through the UCC application process here:   www.ucc.ie/apply . 

Further information on fees may be found  here .

PhD Students can register on a full-time or part-time basis.

Studentships and External Funding

The School offers a small number of scholarships each year that cover EU Fees. You can submit an expression of interest to the School to be considered for a scholarship as part of your PhD application.

This studentship is awarded for one year in the first instance and may be renewed (on application) for a further three years. Renewal is based on a satisfactory annual review of progress, evidence of your scholarly contribution to your research area and submissions of funding applications.  You will also be expected to attend School seminars and where possible PSI conferences. It is mandatory for new PhD studentship holders to attend a one-day workshop at the start of the first term. You will also attend the Induction Sessions offered by the UCC Graduate Studies Office

Other external forms of research funding include the Irish Research Council funding  http://research.ie/funding-category/postgraduate/ . School supports are available to assist in the application process.

School of Applied Psychology

Síceolaíocht fheidhmeach.

Cork Enterprise Centre, North Mall, Cork.,

• [email protected]
• +353 (0)21 490 4551