Board of Coursework Studies - Postgraduate Coursework Course Proposal Recommendation Proposer (Faculty): Science Name of course: Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation (Extended) 120-points degree Type of Course: Named Master s course Name of specialisation (if applicable): NA Course status: New Name of award conferred: Master of Clinical Psychology (Extended) Abbreviation of award conferred: MPsych Clin Extended Award available with distinction: Yes Year of offering: 2013 TRIM File Type of Reference Proposal Level Name of Proposal Feedback F42789 Named Master s course N/A Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation (Extended) That the proposed Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation (Extended) be approved for offering, as a 120-point degree based on national and international best practice, from 2013 Existing Core 5 PHYC5672 Foundations in Clinical Skills I Existing Core 5 PSYC5673 Foundations in Clinical Skills II That the existing PHYC5672 Foundations in Clinical Skills I be offered as a That the existing PSYC5673 Foundations in Clinical Skills II be offered as a F42781 Core 5 PSYCXXX Applied Research Methods That the proposed PSYCXXX Applied Research Methods be offered as a core in the Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation Existing Core 5 PSYC5674 Assessment and Intervention Childhood Disorders Existing Core 5 PSYC5675 Assessment and Intervention Emotional Disorders F42782 Core 5 PSYCXXX Assessment and Intervention Adult Complex Disorders That the existing PHYC5672 Foundations in Clinical Skills I be offered as a That the existing PSYC5675 Assessment and Intervention Emotional Disorders be offered as a core in the Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation That the proposed PSYCXXX Assessment and Intervention Adult Complex Disorders be offered as a core in the Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation F42775 Core 5 PSYCXXX Pediatric Psychology I That the proposed PSYCXXX Pediatric Psychology I be offered as a core in the Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation F42784 Core 5 PSYCXXX Pediatric Psychology II That the proposed PSYCXXX Pediatric Psychology II be offered as a core in the Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation F42776 Core 5 PSYCXXX Neuropsychology I That the proposed PSYCXXX Neuropsychology I be offered as a core in the Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation Attachment O1
F42777 Core 5 PSYCXXX Neuropsychology II That the proposed PSYCXXX Neuropsychology II be offered as a core in the Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation F42774 Core 5 PSYCXXX Clinical Psychology and Health I That the proposed PSYCXXX Clinical Psychology and Health I be offered as a F42783 Core 5 PSYCXXX Clinical Psychology and Health II That the proposed PSYCXXX Clinical Psychology and Health II be offered as a Existing Core 5 PSYC5678 Practicum I That the existing PSYC5678 Practicum I be offered as a core in the Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation Existing Core 5 PSYC5679 Practicum II That the existing PSYC5679 Practicum II be offered as a core in the Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation Existing Core 5 PSYC5663 External Practicum 1 That the existing PSYC5663 External Practicum 1 be offered as a core in the Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation Existing Core 5 PSYC5664 External Practicum II That the existing PSYC5664 External Practicum II be offered as a core in the Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation F42518 Core 5 PSYCXXXX Master of Psychology Dissertation Parts 1 4 (24 points) That the proposed PSYCXXXX Master of Psychology Dissertation Parts 1 4 (24 points)be offered as a core in the Master of Clinical Psychology by coursework and dissertation Attachment O2
Master of Clinical Psychology (Extended) (5XXXX) Applicability of the Student Rules, policies and procedures (1) The Student Rules in the Students Procedures, Rules and Policies section apply to students in this course. (2) The policies and procedures in the Students Procedures, Rules and Policies section apply except as otherwise indicated in the rules for this course. Academic Conduct Essentials module 1.A(1) Except as stated in (2), a student who enrols in this course for the first time irrespective of whether they have previously been enrolled in another course of the University, must undertake the Academic Conduct Essentials module (the ACE module). (2) A student who has previously achieved a result of Ungraded Pass (UP) for the ACE module is not required to repeat the module. (3) A student who has not achieved a result of Ungraded Pass (UP) for the ACE module when their progress status is assessed will not have made satisfactory progress even if they have met the other requirements for satisfactory progress in the rules for this course. (4) A student who does not make satisfactory progress in terms of (3) is assigned the progress status of 'On Probation'. Admission 2. To be considered for admission to this course an applicant must have a bachelor's degree with honours in Psychology of this University, or equivalent as recognised by the Faculty; Course structure 3. The course consists of units to a total value of 120 points comprising all units in Table a [Master of Clinical Psychology (Extended) core units] 120 points Exemptions 4.(1) In exceptional circumstances, and on the recommendation of the Head of the School of Psychology, the Faculty may approve exemptions for units to a total value of 30 points in the case of applicants who have successfully completed postgraduate studies and/or practical training equivalent to components of the course as follows: (a) coursework units to a total value of 24 points; and (b) one placement unit to the total value of 6 points. Satisfactory progress 5. A students who does not pass units to a value of at least half the total points value of units for which they are enrolled, or who fails the same unit twice, will not have made satisfactory progress. Progress status 6. Unless the Faculty determines otherwise in exceptional circumstances (a) the Faculty will assign a progress status of 'On Probation' to a student who has failed to make satisfactory progress but has been permitted to re-enrol in recognition of exceptional circumstances; (b) the Faculty will assign a progress status of 'Suspended' to a student who has failed to make satisfactory progress for the first time; (c) the Faculty will assign a progress status of 'Excluded' to a student who has failed to make satisfactory progress for the second time. Award of degree with distinction 7. To be awarded the degree with distinction a student must achieve a course weighted average mark (WAM) of at least 80 per cent in (a) all units attempted as part of the course that are awarded a final percentage mark; and (b) all relevant units undertaken in articulating courses of this University that are awarded a final percentage mark. Table a Master of Clinical Psychology (Extended) Key to availability of units:s1 = Semester 1; S2 = Semester 2; S3 = Semester 3 or summer teaching period T1 = Trimester 1; T2 = Trimester 2; T3 = Trimester 3 NS = non-standard teaching period; OS = offshore teaching period; * = to be advised Note that the unit availability does not form part of the rules. As availability may be subject to change, for the most up-to-date information consult the Timetable at http://www.timetable.uwa.edu.au/. All units have a value of six points unless otherwise stated. Attachment O3
S1 PSYC5672 Foundations in Clinical Skills I S1 PSYC5673 Foundations in Clinical Skills II S1 PSYCXXXX Applied research methods S2 PSYC5674 Assessment and Intervention Childhood Disorders S2 PSYC5675 Assessment and Intervention Emotional Disorders S2 PSYCXXXX Assessment and intervention Adult Complex Disorders S1 PSYCXXXX Pediatric Psychology 1 S2 PSYCXXXX Pediatric Psychology 2 S1 PSYCXXXX Neuropsychology 1 S2 PSYCXXXX Neuropsychology 2 S1 PSYCXXXX Clinical Psychology and Health 1 S2 PSYCXXXX Clinical Psychology and Health 2 S1 PSYC5678 Practicum I S1, S2 PSYC5679 Practicum II S1, S2 PSYC5663 External Practicum S1, S2 PSYC5664 External Practicum S1, S2 PSYCXXXX Masters of Psychology Dissertation Parts 1 to 4 (24 points) Attachment O4
School of Psychology The University of Western Australia M304, 35 Stirling Highway Crawley, WA 6009, Australia Your ref: F33879 T +61 8 6488 3240 F +61 8 6488 1006 E davdm@psy.uwa.edu.au www.psychology.uwa.edu.au CRICOS Provider Code: 00126G 12 June 2012 Dr Kabilan Krishnasamy Education Policy Officer Academic Policy Services curriculum-aps@uwa.edu.au Dear Kabilan Thank you for your email of 8 June with the news that the proposal to offer the Master of Clinical Psychology (Extended) from 2013 was accepted (R22/12) by the Standing Working Party of the Board of Coursework Studies subject to faculty arguing the case for a 120 point degree under the best practice criterion. The University policy states that a Master s course needs to comprise of units to a value of 96 points unless a case is presented. Here is that case. In Australia two years of fulltime postgraduate study following completion of Honours is the minimum requirement for an accredited program leading to membership of the Australian College of Clinical Psychologists. However many universities in Australia (including the Go8 universities) offer more extended training, currently either in the form of a 4-year MPsych (Clinical) / PhD combined degree or a DPsych (Clinical) degree of at least 3 years duration. In their review of accredited Australian DPsych programs, Voudouris and Hunter (June 2011 issue of InPsych) provided the rationale for this form of extended training: These degrees are primarily professional coursework (i.e., practitioner) training courses with advanced practice components in at least one specialised area of psychology, along with a substantial research project. Professional coursework Doctorates in psychology have been well established in Australia for over 15 years; they represent a strong feature of the education pathways for the professional psychology workforce and are a well-recognised pathway for psychologist training internationally. In order to meet accreditation requirements, these degrees must offer advanced coursework, including training in sophisticated research methods and a strong emphasis throughout on evidence-based approaches. Similarly, in most developed countries, training in Clinical Psychology involves more than 2 years of fulltime postgraduate study. For instance, in the UK all of the postgraduate programs in Clinical Psychology are structured to lead to a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and last for 3 years (full time). That is, in the UK, the DPsych is the only pathway to accredited training. Thus it is generally accepted that best practice in the training of Clinical Psychologists requires more than 2 years of postgraduate study. Currently, our School offers a 3-year DPsych (Clinical Psychology) program and a 4-year MPsych (Clinical Psychology)/PhD program. The DPsych program (which contains 96 points of extended coursework or placement units and 48 points of research) can no longer be continued because of the AQF ruling that Level 10 programs require at least two years of research. With the advent of the new AQF framework we were left with two choices: (1) upgrade our current DPsych to a 4-year RTS-compatible professional doctorate; or (2) close the DPsych and refashion our current Masters (MPsych-Clinical) Attachment O5
program. An extensive process of consultation within the School determined that option (1) would conflict with the goals of our very successful MPsych/PhD program and that alterations to the MPsych would provide a better fit to our teaching and research goals. The main feature of the proposed new course is to change the MPsych (Clinical) program from 2 years to 2.5 years to allow for 96 points of coursework and placement training, that is, the same number of points as in the current DPsych. In addition, to satisfy accreditation, students will complete 24 points of research, instead of the 48 points in the DPsych. We propose to call this degree the MPsych (Extended) with a total value of 120 points. By making these changes, this program represents best practice for the training of students who wish to work as Clinical Psychologists. An additional feature of the proposed new MPsych (Extended) course is that it allows a greater degree of depth and breadth than the MPsych in three areas - neuropsychology, paediatric psychology and health psychology - which are all growing areas of specialisation for practicing clinical psychologists. Enabling in-depth study in areas in which the student is likely to practice as a clinical psychologist represents another aspect of best practice for the MPsych (Extended) course that would not be feasible with a 96-point course. The areas of greater depth are also aligned with areas of research strength in the School, and so the research component of the course will also be strong. Note that several other Go8 universities offer similar advanced units focusing on their areas of research/practice strength. While the MPsych/PhD (Clinical) program will use a subset of the units offered in the MPsych (Extended) it will still be a 4-year program, largely unaffected by this structural change. The combined program will continue to offer best practice for those students who wish to obtain advanced training in research in addition to coursework and placement training sufficient to enable registration as a Clinical Psychologist. We trust that this additional information makes a sufficient case for best practice for the 120- point MPsych (Extended) course. Please contact myself, the Clinical Program Director, Romola Bucks (6488 3232) or Administrator, John Fisher (6488 7860) if we can be of any assistance with detail. Yours sincerely, Professor Murray Maybery Head of School Attachment O6