UCD School of Psychology

Scoil na Síceolaíochta UCD

Structure & content

The programme spans three calendar years and runs from September in first year to September in third year. It is full-time, inclusive of academic holidays. It consists of an integrated programme of research, academic study, and supervised clinical practice in a variety of clinical settings.

OVERVIEW OF THE D PSYCH SC IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Programme Component

First Year

Second Year

Third Year

Autumn six week academic block

September to mid-October
3-5 days in class per week
20-25 days or 120-150 hours tuition

Child and adolescent clinical psychology academic programme

Quantitative service based research skills training

Adult and older adult clinical psychology academic programme

Neuropsychology academic programme

Intellectual disability academic programme

Late autumn assessment

Assignments due by 3rd week of December

Essay on topic in child and adolescent clinical psychology (4,000 words)

Essay on topic in adult clinical psychology (4,000 words)

Ethics approval for major research project due by mid-September

Essay on topic in psychology of intellectual disabilities (4,000 words)

Winter 4.5 month clinical placement

Mid-October to early March
Four days per week with 10 days leave for Xmas
500 hours of supervised clinical practice - at least 65 placement days

Child and adolescent mental health placement

Adult mental health placement

Intellectual disabilities placement

Early spring assessment

Assignments due by early March

Case study in child and adolescent clinical psychology (4,000 words and verbal presentation)

Quantitative service based research project (PowerPoint presentation and 2,000 word summary)

Case study in adult clinical psychology (4,000 words)

Case study in intellectual disabilities (4,000 words)

Spring six week academic block

Early March to mid-April
3-5 days in class per week
20-25 days or 120-150 hours tuition

Child and adolescent clinical psychology academic programme

Qualitative service based research skills training

Major research project proposal preparation seminar

Adult clinical psychology academic programme

Neuropsychology academic programme

Research and data analysis consultancy

Writing final draft of major research project

Late spring assessment
Assignments due in April or May

Major research project (thesis) proposal

Essay on psychology of the older adult (4,000 words)

Soft bound thesis due in May.
Vol 1. Major research project (100 pages)
Vol 2. Portfolio of assignments (excluding article based on Vol 1)

Summer 4.5 month clinical placement

Mid-April to early September
Four days per week with 2 weeks leave for holidays & 1 week leave for study
500 hours of supervised clinical practice – at least 65 placement days

Advanced child and adolescent mental health placement

Advanced adult mental health placement

Specialist elective placement in Ireland or abroad

Early autumn assessment

Assignments due in August or September

Qualitative service based research project (2, 000 words)

Introduction, method & references for major research project (10,000)

Journal article based on thesis (5,000 words) due on 1st August

Viva voce exam

Examination of the D Psych Sc
The six placements of supervised clinical practice must be passed and candidates must submit a 64,000 word thesis in 2 volumes comprising these elements:
Volume 1.	A major research report (25K words).
Volume 2.	4 X 4K word essays (child, adult, older adult, intellectual disabilities)
	3 X 4K word case studies (child, adult, intellectual disabilities)
	2 X 2K word service based research projects (quantitative and qualitative)
	1 X major research project proposal (2K words) & 1 X 5K word article based on major research project.

Reading for each of the three years of the programme may be found in the handbooks below:

Cover of The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology: A Contextual Approach

Cover of The Handbook of Adult Clinical Psychology

Cover of The Handbook of Intellectual Disability and Clinical Psychology Practice

Research
Postgraduates complete a major doctoral research project, which makes a contribution to knowledge in the field of clinical psychology, along with a series of minor projects, essays, and case studies over the three years of the programme. All of this work is presented as a two volume doctoral thesis and is examined by viva voce examination in the third year. 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 thesis completion. Psychologists in clinical training receive individual academic supervision for their theses and complete coursework on research methods, statistics and computing.

Academic Coursework
Academic teaching is provided in six-week blocks that occur twice a year in the autumn and spring before each of the relevant placements. Academic coursework covers the following 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

Clinical Placements
Postgraduates complete six 4.5 month placements of supervised clinical practice which provide training and clinical experience in the following areas:

Child and adolescent clinical psychology
Adult clinical psychology
The clinical psychology of intellectual disabilities
The clinical psychology of older adulthood
Specialist areas.

Postgraduates complete most of their six placements in their sponsoring agency. In addition, through elective placements, postgraduates may gain experience in a variety of specialist areas including neuropsychology, paediatric psychology, health psychology, psychology of addiction, psychology of physical disabilities, forensic psychology, psychotherapy, and psychology of terminal illness. Elective placements may be arranged outside Ireland in the UK, North America and elsewhere with permission of sponsors. At present the UCD course participates in an EU programme with a clinical psychology course at the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London.