In Australia, becoming a psychologist involves at least six years of combined education and supervised practice. First, there are four years of undergraduate and Honours level study, which involves the completion of a research project and thesis. Then, the current pathways include at least two years of additional postgraduate study and supervised practice.
There are currently two main options for this: a Master of Professional Psychology (also known as the 5+1 pathway) and a Masters of Psychology in an area of practice (such as Educational & Developmental, Forensic, Clinical, Organisational etc.). While enrolled in these programs, you hold the title ‘provisional psychologist’.
The Master of Professional Psychology (“5+1”) involves one year of education and practicum placement at a university (the 5th year) and then one year of supervised practice in an approved role (the +1 year). During the +1 year, provisional psychologists must complete many requirements including a national exam, case reports, and carefully supervised practice. At the completion of this, you are able to apply for your full registration as a psychologist.
The Master of Psychology in an area of practice (E.g., Clinical, Forensic, Organisational etc.) is a two year Masters program of education and supervised practice. It includes additional education in the specified area – educational, forensic, clinical. At the completion of these two years, you are able to apply for your full registration as a psychologist, and if you choose to, to start a specialised program called the ‘Registrar program’ where you complete further professional development and supervised practice in the area. This is how some psychologists will eventually hold endorsement in and the title of ‘Clinical Psychologist’ or ‘Forensic Psychologist’ for example.
Previous pathways that have started to be phased out in recent years include the “4+2 pathway”, which involved four years of undergraduate study plus two years of supervised practice in a workplace. During these two years of practice, provisional psychologists would be required to complete many assessments and case reports, the national psychology exam, and many hours of supervised practice. Because of the thorough nature of the two year internship, many psychologists found it would take much longer than two years to complete. This pathway has more recently been phased out and there are various pros and cons to this – which could be addressed in their own article!
In recent years an additional pathway has been added which is for fully registered psychologists to return to postgraduate study and complete further study in one of the areas of endorsed practice (E.g., Clinical, Forensic). Many psychologists will choose to pursue this after having been working for a few years, and deciding to go back and focus in on a specific area. This can be helpful for opening up new job opportunities as well as learning new skills.
This article outlines the typical pathways for becoming a psychologist within Australia, however it barely scrapes the surface on all the things they don’t tell you about becoming a psychologist! To learn more about the things you might like to know about that aren’t so widely advertised – click here.