University of Exeter

The Programme seeks to select trainees who have the capacity to complete a highly demanding professional doctorate level training programme. Our expectation is that during training and after graduation, Exeter trainees will maintain and advance the standards of the Profession, providing excellent services within the NHS and other health and social care settings.

We therefore want to attract and select trainees who have the required competencies, as well as being able to demonstrate that their values and behaviours align with the values of the NHS Constitution.

Short-listing

Please see the Selection Procedure section on our website for the most up-to-date information at the time you make your application.

Assessment questionnaires

All applicants who meet the minimum application criteria will be invited to undertake a battery of questionnaires which ask about various relevant capacities (such as self-reflection, receptivity to feedback, compassion and team working). These questionnaires are not tests of intelligence or mental ability.

Fairness and equality of access is our priority at Exeter.  The questionnaires used have been rigorously tested for validity and reliability across a range of populations and we have undertaken our own internal checks to ensure that their use has not shown bias towards any particular group.  We will continue to review this every year.

You will be sent a link to complete these questionnaires at home; they are not timed, and you can complete them at any point during the assessment window (Wednesday 5 to Monday 10 February 2025).

• If you have not received an email by Friday 31 January inviting you to complete the assessment please email [email protected]

Application form review

Scores on the assessment questionnaires are rank-ordered and the top 50% are sent to our second stage of shortlisting, where forms are reviewed by our shortlisting panels.  After this, applicants will be informed if they have been invited to interview.  We shortlist 90 applicants to interview for 30 places.

Positive Action

Due to the underrepresentation of people from the global majority in the profession of clinical psychology and the demonstrated bias towards white applicants in the shortlisting process, we have devised a Positive Action route for applicants who identify as being from a racially minoritised group; this has been used for the past two years.

Following the application form review, all those who are not shortlisted for interview and who identify as from a racially minoritised group, will be considered under the Positive Action policy.  Eligible applications are reviewed and if they meet the minimum interview criteria (a minimum score across our standard shortlisting criteria), they will be offered interview.  Additionally, any applicants eligible for Positive Action who are placed on the reserve interview list during the shortlisting process, will be automatically offered interview.

Positive Action interviews are offered in addition to the 90 short-listed interviews.  Positive Action interviews are randomly allocated to interview panels throughout the interview days and are undertaken in exactly the same way as other interviews; panel members do not know who has come from the Positive Action route and application forms are not made available to interview panels.  In the two years we have used Positive Action, people coming from this route have been amongst those who received first-offers and reserve-offers to our cohort.

If you would like to make use of our positive action processes you will need to provide consent for your Equal Opportunities data to be shared with the course at the time of application.  The data you provide in your application is used in the following ways:

• for processing your application and for the selection processes we use as a programme;
• for audit, research and service enhancement, which may include making anonymised data public;
• for producing and reporting monitoring statistics, which may include making anonymised data public.

Please note that when making anonymised data public, this will always be reporting data as a group and never for individuals.

Interviews

We have a two-stage interview process - one interview will focus on research knowledge and ability, the other will focus on clinical knowledge and ability, and readiness for training.  Interviews will take place on the same day with a break in between and will be undertaken by different interview panels, allowing for multiple and diverse perspectives to feed into the outcome.  Interview panels will be made up of course team members, clinicians and experts by experience.

We intend the interview process to be respectful, constructive and supportive, and all candidates will be given a clear brief about what to expect when they are invited for interview.

All those invited to interview will be allocated a buddy who is a current trainee at Exeter; candidates are encouraged to discuss with the buddy what it is like to train at Exeter and live in the South West. For our candidates from racially minoritised groups, we also run a discussion group with our current trainees from racially minoritised groups about what it is like to live and study in the South West.

Feedback from a current Trainee:

“My interview with Exeter was a really welcoming experience. The panel were so supportive and encouraging. I felt like I could be myself while showing them what I know and am capable of.”

Feedback

Due to the high numbers of applicants, the Programme does not give feedback to applicants who are not interviewed. Feedback on interview performance is given to all those interviewed.

Fitness to practise

Fitness to practise is a requirement of all professions registered with the Health & Care Professions Council.

All offers of a place on a course are dependent on satisfactory criminal record and health checks.

Training as a clinical psychologist involves working with children and vulnerable adults. Safeguarding is therefore taken very seriously and the highest standards of behaviour are expected from clinical psychology trainees. Throughout the selection process and the training programme we will take stringent measures to ensure that the clients that trainees work with are kept safe.

English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language, and your degree was not taught and examined in English, we require you to provide evidence that you meet the HCPC standard. The English language ability requirement for entry to the programme is a score of at least 7.0 with no elements below 6.5 on International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Internet Based Test (IBT) with a minimum score of 100/120 (Health & Care Professions Council Standard of Proficiency).

Applicants who have completed a full degree in the UK or in a majority English-speaking country are not required to submit evidence of English language proficiency if you have:

• Completed it no more than two years before the intended start of the programme

The degree certificate is successfully verified with the issuing body on receipt. Any applicant found to have submitted a fraudulent score will have their application withdrawn.

Canadian nationals are exempt from English language requirements but non-Canadian nationals who have studied in Canada are required to meet standard English language requirements due to Home Office policy.

Equal opportunities

The benefits of diversity within profession are well understood, and the Exeter Programme is committed to proactively improving equality, diversity and inclusion both within the training community and the wider profession.

Our selection procedures are designed to be fair and informed by current thinking on widening participation, thereby enabling the Exeter Programme to select the strongest candidates. We welcome applicants from diverse cultural and personal contexts, mature applicants with extensive life experience, and applicants with disabilities. Applicants will not be discriminated against on the basis of racialised identity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.

We undertake continuous audit and review of our selection processes in partnership with the University legal department and relevant stakeholders, to maintain best practice in this area.

Contextual admissions 

Our programme is committed to widening participation and ensuring that all those with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply.

This is based on evidence that contextualising individuals' achievements using additional information about their educational, social and economic background can lead to fairer and more inclusive selection processes. This information could help us to recognise individuals with strong potential for success at doctoral level and within the profession, who otherwise might not have been identified. 

We will review our Contextual Admissions processes in partnership with the University legal department and relevant stakeholders, to ensure best practice in this area.  Please see our website for the most up to date information on this.

If you would like us to take Contextual Information into consideration, you will need to complete the contextual admissions section of your application.

Applicants with disabilities

Candidates with disabilities are welcome to contact us to discuss the programme's capacity to meet their training needs. If you need support during any stage of the selection process, please do not hesitate to contact us on [email protected] and we will work with you to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that you are given a fair opportunity to show your potential. We have an active Disability Peer Support group within our trainee cohort, who work with the course and selection team to provide support and guidance to those applicants and trainees with disabilities and long-term health conditions.