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Applicants from overseas

Please read the following carefully if you are applying from - or considering applying from - overseas, as different arrangements apply regarding:

• Fees
• Application method and deadline
• Placement in years 2 and 3

Placement arrangements for overseas applicants

The first year of training is primarily based within the University, with placements provided in linked Local Authorities and supervised by UCL Practice Tutors. In years 2 and 3 two placement options are available, with different fee levels

1. The Home Country option. On this option applicants from overseas will be required to organise a placement of 270 days (approximately 3 days per week) for Years 2 and 3. The placement will need to be arranged with a supervisor who is eligible for Chartered Educational Psychology status with the British Psychological Society (or equivalent with the Psychological Society of your home country). A copy of the current Year 2 Placement Guidelines will provide information for potential supervisors about what is required in relation to placement experiences in order to ensure that the HPC Statements of Proficiency can all be evidenced by the end of the programme. A Supervisors Training Day is held at UCL in London during July each year.
2. The UK placement option. On this option the overseas trainee will undertake an unpaid placement in a UK Educational Psychology Service, supervised by one of the UCL course tutors.

Fees for overseas applicants

Students from overseas are not eligible for funding, and so would need to pay course fees estimated as follows:

• EU: £14,260 for Year 1 (Academic Year 2012-2013). On the UK placement option the fees will also be £14,260 in Years 2 and 3 (increased by approximately 4.5% each year). On the home country placement option the fees will be £7,590 for Year 2 and approximately £7,905 for Year 3
• Overseas: £27,640 for Year 1 (Academic Year 2012-2013). On the UK placement option the fees will also be £27,640 in Years 2 and 3 (increased by approximately 4.5% each year). On the home country placement option the fees will be as follows: £21,054 for Year 2 and approximately £21,900 for Year 3
• In addition living expenses and travelling expenses associated with the placement will need to be budgeted for.

2012 Application deadline, method and requirements for overseas applicants

It is essential that prospective applicants are eligible for the BPS Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) and have a good honours degree in Psychology or equivalent. Your degree needs to be recognised by the BPS and evidence of this should be included in your application. You will need to have been awarded your degree by the time you apply. You should also provide evidence of relevant experience of applying psychology in work with children in community settings and/or the educational/childcare system. For more information see the Relevant Work Experience section on the UK Application page.

•A good command of written and spoken English is also essential. For all applicants the assessment of written English begins at the shortlisting stage (see point 5 in the list of Desirable Criteria below) and both are assessed in detail through the activities undertaken in the interview process. Applicants whose first language is not English must be able at the shortlisting stage to provide recent evidence that their spoken and written command of English is of the required standard. Evidence must be submitted with the application. The only acceptable English qualification for this programme is the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Academic. An overall grade of at least 7.0, with a minimum of 7.0 in each of the sub tests, is required. Click here for further information.

Your personal statement should provide evidence of the following desirable selection criteria:

1) Knowledge of psychological theory and research on children's development and learning and the ability to apply it to practice contexts. It is better to focus on one or two clear and reflective examples where you have information from a specific recent research article than to make vague references, e.g. to 'using behaviourist principles'.

2) Knowledge about the work of Educational Psychologists and evidence of commitment to the profession. You need to show that you have detailed knowledge about the range of work educational psychologist do, obtained from a variety of credible sources and that your commitment to the profession is sufficiently strong that you can be relied upon to invest the effort needed to complete a challenging and intensive 3 year training programme. In addition to reading relevant BPS and other publications applicants often contact Educational Psychology Services in the area in which they live to seek opportunities to talk to an educational psychologist. Due to the volume of such requests many services are unable to offer opportunities to 'Work Shadow' an Educational Psychologist although some services provide open evenings where EPs are available to talk with prospective applicants. In some cases EP Services may be more amenable to an offer to undertake voluntary work for the service for a one week period or more. Requests to services to meet with an EP, work shadow or undertake voluntary work should be made by letter or e-mail and should contain information which demonstrates that you have the right qualifications, have already done substantial research on the role of an EP and are a serious applicant for professional training.

3) Ability to identify skills/ knowledge especially relevant to training as an educational psychologist and explain their relevance. These may have been developed through professional, voluntary or personal experience but you need to able to provide a clear description of the skills involved and a logical explanation of their relevance to training as an educational psychologist.

4) Clear and coherent written communication skills. This will be judged from your personal statement. Word processed personal statements are to be preferred as they allow more opportunity for the level of re-drafting and editing that characterise the best applications. They are also easier to read.

If you are eligible to apply for the course and wish to apply for a self-funded place, download a graduate application form here:

This should be returned to the main UCL admissions office (not the Educational Psychology office), to :

ADMISSIONS, UCL REGISTRY, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON, GOWER STREET, LONDON WC1E 6BT, UNITED KINGDOM

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