Assessment

The DClinPsy course has four examined components: 1) 3 clinical reports and 1 service-related project, 2) 4 written exams, 3) 6 clinical placement periods and 4) A research thesis.

In this section you will find information about our assessment procedures for trainees, staff and supervisors. You can also find links to our formal regulations relating to the passing and failing of examined course work.

Trainees

Submission Deadlines

 

Course Submission Deadlines and Exam Dates 2022-23

2022 INTAKE	SUBMISSION DEADLINE	DATE RETURNED
Clinical Report 1	26 January 2023	2 March 2023
Clinical Report 2	20 April 2023	6 June 2023
Research Statement of Intent	4 May 2023	n/a
Research Proposal	6 October 2023	n/a
Exam Paper 1	(tbc by exams section)	TBC
Exam Paper 2	(tbc by exams section)	TBC

2021 INTAKE	SUBMISSION DEADLINE	DATE RETURNED
Research Proposal	7 October 2022	n/a
Clinical Report 3	11 November 2022	20 December 2022
1st Research Progress Review & Supervisor Appraisal	10 February 2023	n/a
Research Expense Proposal	17 February 2023	n/a
Exam Paper 3	(tbc by exams section)	TBC
Exam Paper 4	(tbc by exams section)	TBC
2nd Research Progress Review & Supervisor Appraisal	7 July 2023	n/a
Literature Review	24 November 2023	n/a

2020 INTAKE	SUBMISSION DEADLINE	DATE RETURNED
Literature Review	25 November 2022	n/a
Clinical Report 4	14 October 2022	25 November 2022
3rd Research Progress Review & Supervisor Appraisal	27 January 2023	n/a
Thesis Title/Abstract	3 March 2023	n/a
Thesis Submission	16 June 2023	n/a
Vivas	7 - 8 September 2023	n/a

For Clinical Placement Deadlines, Please Click Here

 

Clinical Report Guidelines

The work clinical psychologists undertake is underpinned by their ability to apply models and theories, used in a reflective and an iterative way. Most clinical work can be seen as a process - assessment leads to hypotheses about how best to intervene, and monitoring the way the intervention unfolds gives feedback about how well these hypotheses fit the clinical picture. A sense of openness to this feedback and a capacity to reflect on one's own practice (often through supervision) is also central. All of this represents clinical competence, and clinical reports are a chance for you to demonstrate this and your development as a clinician. As such, the course uses them as one of the indicators of your capacity to function as a Chartered Clinical Psychologist.

Overall they give us a chance to look at:

a) your developing clinical competence across a range of different types of work and setting, in the context of a range of theoretical perspectives

b) your ability to integrate academic and theoretical ideas with your clinical experience

c) your ability to reflect on the way in which clinical, professional and ethical issues interact and impact on your work

For general information on aims, format and breadth of content click here

For information on the Service Related Project click here

For information on submission, marking, passing and failing of clinical reports and service related project click here

Sample past DClinPsy clinical reports can be accessed in the Moodle tab 'Clinical Report and Thesis Submission', or directly from here 

(The heading 'Clinical Report Examples' takes you to a page with sample reports for all CR formats.)

 

 

 

Clinical Report - Forms

Consent form for clinical report/audio recording work with a client

Accessible Consent Form

Confirmation of Clinical Report Details Form

Confirmation of Clinical Report Details Form

Exams

Examination information can be found here

Details on passing and failing examinations

Study Time

In order to minimise disruption to placement work, we provide study time in the lead-up to the exams in what would otherwise be college teaching time. This means you will not have any automatic entitlement for leave from placement for exam revision and would have to take this as annual leave in negotiation with your supervisor.

Examination Dates

Times, location and candidate ID will be confirmed by UCL Exams Section via Portico

Year 1
Paper 1   Please see Portico for exam details
Paper 2    Please see Portico for exam details

Year 2
Paper 3   Please see Portico for exam details
Paper 4   TBC - paper is not set via the exams office and all communiation will be via course and not Portico

Past Exam Papers

Paper 1

Paper 2

Paper 3

 

Statistics Papers

paper 1

stats exam data files 1

paper 2

Stats Exam Data Files 2

Plagiarism

Plagiarism refers to passing off someone else's work as your own. It is a serious offence with potentially serious consequences.

UCL guidelines on plagiarism can be viewed here

Extensions and Extenuating Circumstances

Extenuating Circumstances (ECs) are defined by UCL as “events which are sudden, unexpected, significantly disruptive and beyond your control and which may affect your performance at summative assessment.” Common examples include illness, bereavement, or some practical impediment on placement that delays producing a clinical report. The UCL webpages on ECs contain a wealth of information on this matter.

Trainees can submit EC claims to request mitigation. Usually this involves asking for an extended deadline on an assessment or, occasionally, the deferral of an exam.

The process to follow depends on the assessment. For all clinical reports and examinations, EC requests need to be submitted via Portico by navigating to the “My Studies” tab and selecting “My Extenuating Circumstances.” A guide to using Portico to submit claims is available here.

The assessments requiring formal EC processes are:
PSYC0182    Clinical Report 1
PSYC0183    Clinical Report 2
PSYC0184    Paper 1: Theory and Application of Clinical Psychology Methods
PSYC0185    Paper 2: Research Methods in Clinical Psychology
PSYC0186    Clinical Report 3
PSYC0187    Paper 3: Theory and Application of Clinical Psychology Methods (Advanced Level)
PSYC0188    Paper 4: Practical Statistics
PSYC0190    Clinical Report 4 (listed as Case Report 5 on Portico)

For other pieces of work (eg. project proposals, thesis hand-in, or work related to the BABCP pathway), we handle mitigation requests internally and there is no need to use UCL’s formal EC system.

The flowchart of extension and extenuating circumstances procedures provides an overview of relevant procedures, and further details are provided below.

CLINICAL REPORTS AND SERVICE-RELATED PROJECTS
Extenuating Circumstances may mean an extension to the date by which work must be handed in can be negotiated – this may be the first submission date, or the date for stipulated revisions. ECs may be requested on the grounds of personal circumstances, or placement-related barriers. Further information on ECs for Clinical Report or Service-Related Project submissions can be found in Section 25 of the handbook.

The usual grounds for an extension due to personal circumstances would be serious illness or major life events, and extensions are not granted due to pressure of work or minor ailments. UCL’s policy on grounds for ECs is available here. An extension on the basis of placement barriers would be considered if there are practical issues that prevent a report from being completed (eg. where a crucial session for a report has been postponed until after the submission deadline).

All EC claims for Clinical Reports and Service-Related Projects must be submitted through UCL’s formal mitigation process via Portico. Extensions of up to one week can be “self-certified” (i.e. submitted without supporting evidence such as a medical certificate). There is further information about self-certification here. Trainees do not need to discuss self-certifying EC requests with their course tutors, and claims must be submitted prior to the date at which the work is due to be handed in. You can self-certify for up to two separate periods of up to two weeks (ten working days) within an academic session.
If an extension longer than one week is needed, EC claims will need to be supported by evidence. Trainees should contact their course tutors at the earliest opportunity to discuss the type of mitigation and the kinds of evidence they will need to provide. Course tutors will also be able to provide general guidance on the EC process and whether trainees should self-certify.

Retrospective EC requests should normally be submitted no later than one week after the first affected assessment deadline, and should be accompanied by supporting evidence.

EXAMS
If trainees know in advance that significant personal circumstances might seriously impact on their ability to sit an exam, it is essential to discuss this with your course tutor before submitting an EC request via Portico.

If extenuating circumstances took effect suddenly and unpredictably (e.g., during the exam), trainees should contact their course tutor as soon as possible and arrange to meet to discuss a formal EC procedure after the exam.

THESIS OR CLINICAL VIVAS
If a trainee requires an extension to their thesis submission date or clinical viva owing to exceptional personal circumstances, they do not need to use the formal EC procedure outlined above and this is handled internally. Trainees should discuss this at the earliest opportunity with their thesis supervisor, or course tutor in relation to clinical vivas. Further guidance on research extensions and deferrals is available here.

Flowchart of extension and extenuating circumstances procedures

Flowchart of extension and extenuating circumstances procedures

PORTICO OUTAGES
The Portico system that is used for processing EC claims may experiences outages (either planned or unplanned). During these times, you will be unable to submit EC claims. Please follow the guidance below in these instances:

• Where possible, submit your EC claim in advance of any planned Portico outages. You will also be able to submit your EC claim once Portico is restored.
• If you are submitting a self-certifying claim, you should notify your course tutor by e-mail as soon as possible of your intention to self-certify an EC request and the Portico outage. This should be in advance of the assessment deadline.
•  Once Portico is back online, if the deadline has passed you can submit your EC claim as an evidenced claim. Select the option that you will attach evidence later and add a note in the Summary of Circumstances field to explain this is a retrospective self-certification claim for (specify date) due to the Portico outage.
•  If you are submitting an evidenced claim, you should follow the usual process once Portico service is restored, as these can be submitted after an assessment deadline.

Assessment Regulations

The Doctorate in Clinical Psychology has four examined components (case reports/service related project, exams, placements, thesis), all of which must be passed in order to qualify for the degree of DClinPsy. To read our Scheme of Award, which describes our assessed course work, please click this link.

All course work is overseen by the DClinPsy Exam Board, which consists of course staff and external examiners. The regulations concerning the role of the Board and the procedures that lay out the rules for passing and failing course work can be found in the Course Handbook.

Staff

Clinical Reports: Guidance and Marking

For general information on aims, format and breadth of content click here

For information on the Service Related Project click here

For details of marking, passing and failing clinical reports click here 

Exam Marking

Guidelines for Marking Exam Papers

Guidance and Forms for Thesis and Clinical Viva Examinations

This section contains password protected access for staff examining trainee theses and clinical vivas.

Research Theses

1. Guidelines for internal examiners
2. Guidelines for external examiners
3. Internal examiner preliminary thesis report form
4. External examiner preliminary thesis report form
5. Joint thesis report form

Clinical Vivas

1. Guidelines for examiners
2. Joint viva report form

Extensions and Extenuating Circumstances

What are Extenuating Circumstances (ECs)?

ECs are defined by UCL as “events which are sudden, unexpected, significantly disruptive and beyond your control and which may affect your performance at summative assessment.” Common examples include illness, bereavement, or some practical impediment on placement that delays producing a clinical report. The UCL webpages on ECs contain a wealth of information on this matter.

Trainees can submit EC claims to request mitigation. Usually this involves asking for an extended deadline on an assessment or, occasionally, the deferral of an exam.

For DClinPsy students, which assessments require an EC request if the trainee needs to delay or defer?

On the DClinPsy course, the following assessments need a formal EC request via Portico in order to get a deadline extension or deferral:

1. All Clinical Reports (including the Service-Related Project), and including submitting stipulated revisions.

2. All examinations.

The assessments requiring formal EC processes are:

PSYC0182            Clinical Report 1

PSYC0183            Clinical Report 2

PSYC0184            Paper 1: Theory and Application of Clinical Psychology Methods

PSYC0185            Paper 2: Research Methods in Clinical Psychology

PSYC0186            Clinical Report 3

PSYC0187            Paper 3: Theory and Application of Clinical Psychology Methods (Advanced Level)

PSYC0188            Paper 4: Practical Statistics

PSYC0190            Clinical Report 4 (listed as Case Report 5 on Portico)

What do I do if one of my tutees is considering an EC request?

The UCL webpages on ECs contain a wealth of information on this matter, so please consult these.

If your tutee needs up to one week of extension to a Clinical Report deadline, they are advised that there is no obligation to consult you – they can simply submit the EC request themselves, most likely under the self-certification policy.

If your tutee might need longer than a one-week extension, they are advised they should discuss the matter with you before submitting their EC request. In the case of self-certifying exam ECs, trainees are advised it is essential to discuss this with you. There is more information on this in the Trainee EC tab above.

Submitting an EC request

If you and your tutee decide they need to submit an EC claim to request mitigation, they will submit this via Portico. Guidance on the process is available in the Trainee EC tab above.

A summary flowchart of applicable procedures is available here:

Flowchart of extension and extenuating circumstances procedures

PORTICO OUTAGES

The Portico system that is used for processing EC claims may experience outages (either planned or unplanned). During these times, trainees will be unable to submit EC claims and are advised to contact their course tutor for guidance and as a record of the interruption affecting their claim. Please follow the UCL guidance below in these instances:

• Advise students that they will be able to submit new applications as soon as the service is restored.
• FOR SELF-CERTIFICATION CLAIMS: Allow students to submit retrospective self-certification claims for the days of the outage. To do this, you should advise them to follow these steps:
•  Contact course tutors via email before the deadline to inform them that they wish to submit a self-certifying claim.
• Once Portico is back online, submit the claim as an evidenced claim, select that you will attach evidence later and add a note in the Summary of circumstances field that this is a retrospective self-certification claim for (specify date) due to the Portico outage.

The panel will then be able to review the claim and convert it to self-certification where appropriate.

• FOR EVIDENCED CLAIMS: Students wishing to submit evidenced claims should follow the usual process once the service is restored as these can be submitted after an assessment deadline.

Supervisors