3Applying2027 entry
Filling in the application form
One online form for up to four NHS-funded courses.
You fill it in on the Clearing House’s own site.
The form
14 screens
Course questions
5 questions, 750 to 3,500 characters
Closes
18 November 2026, 1:00 pm, UK time
Sources, all from the Clearing House: Sample form and Start your Application, checked ; Submit your application, checked .
What it asks
- Your details
- Funding
- Course centres
- Basics
- Suitability statements
- Qualifications
- Experience
- Publications
- Background info
- Course questions
- Contextual admissions
- Documents
- Equal opportunities
- Consent and declarations
- The Clearing House says the form is long, and suggests filling it in on a desktop or laptop.
- Character limits count every character, spaces included.
- You can save a draft that goes over a character limit. To save a screen as complete, every answer must be within its limit.
- Once you submit, you can change only your contact details and add some documents.
Sources: Clearing House sample form, checked ; Clearing House, Start your Application, checked .
The questions courses choose
Each course chooses which form questions it asks. Check the Course Questions section of the sample form on the Clearing House’s Start your Application page.
Reflection: In what way have your clinical work experiences, and/or your research experiences, and/or your personal experiences, made you a good candidate for training in clinical psychology?
3,500 characters. Asked by 28 courses.
Reflection means what you learned from an experience and what you now do differently. Reflexivity, which some courses also look for, means how you, your background and your position shape the work. Staffordshire’s criteria name
self-reflexivity
.If a project you describe evaluated a service, call it a service evaluation. The Health Research Authority separates research, service evaluation and audit.
Sources: HCPC Standards of proficiency (10.1), checked ; Staffordshire’s selection procedure, checked ; Health Research Authority, checked .
What would you hope to gain from training?
750 characters. Asked by 24 courses.
Other information about yourself e.g. activities/interests apart from psychology
750 characters. Asked by 23 courses.
What do you see as your biggest areas for development on training?
750 characters. Asked by 6 courses.
Why do you want to be a clinical psychologist?
750 characters. Asked by 4 courses.
Source: Clearing House sample form, checked .
What courses say the form is for
14 of the 30 courses below say they rate, score or mark the form.
From each course’s selection procedure on the Clearing House, checked , quoted with its link below.
How each of the 30 courses uses it, and which questions it asks
Bangor University
Your application is assessed by the programme team members, People Panel members (our expert by experience advisory group) and local clinical psychologists, who only see the relevant sections to be marked.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
Cardiff University
Each application is read by two short-listers (usually a member of the course team and a service representative).
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you, areas for development, why clinical psychology.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
Coventry and Warwick
Coventry and Warwick are not using the Clearing House to process applications.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
King's College London
Each application is scored blindly by two members of the panel.
Contextual information provided within text of the application form will not be given any weighting in the shortlisting process.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
Lancaster University
It is only the results of this test which define who will proceed to subsequent stages of our admissions process and no other information from the application form is used.
Asks none of the five course questions.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
Newcastle University
Forms are double rated using a standardised proforma that considers academic performance, relevant clinical experience, the personal statement, and references.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
Oxford
Generative AI should not be used by applicants in their application form.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
Royal Holloway
Preliminary, paper-based selection is undertaken by course staff and regional psychologists.
All candidates are interviewed without their short-listing score having any impact on the final selection decision at interview.
Asks: reflection.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
Salomons
We only use application forms to establish whether applicants meet our minimum selection criteria
Asks: reflection.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
Trent
All applicants are long-listed against our essential criteria: GBC, Suitability Statements, degree class, clinical experience and Right to Work (see our Entry Requirements page for more details). All who meet these criteria are invited to the written task.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University College London
Applications meeting minimum criteria are then rated by two clinical psychologists against clinical, personal, academic and research criteria.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Bath
Final decisions are made following the interview process and will be largely based on candidate performance during the interview but also considering other factors such as previous academic performance, application form, references and positive action initiatives where relevant.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Birmingham
Application forms are anonymised and rated against a set of criteria
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you, areas for development.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of East Anglia
Each form is considered and rated independently by two experienced Clinical Psychologists, one representing UEA and one representing local NHS services.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of East London
For applicants achieving high scores on our Assessment Day tests, application forms are then reviewed in detail by programme staff and/or local NHS clinical psychologists, and rated for the essential and desirable entry criteria
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Edinburgh
Members of the academic programme team and clinical psychologists from the NHS Board areas participate in the short-listing process using anonymised application forms and answers to the additional questions.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Essex
Following initial screening, applicants meeting the Entry Requirements are independently rated and ranked by a panel of programme staff and local clinical psychologists. All applications are fully anonymised.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Exeter
Scores from the first round of shortlisting are rank-ordered and the top 50% are sent to our second stage of shortlisting, where forms are reviewed by our shortlisting panels.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Glasgow
Panellists rate each application independently using standardised scoring criteria.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Hertfordshire
Eligible applications are then independently rated by the Programme Team and local stakeholders with respect to demonstration of academic ability; relevant experience (and the application of learning gained from this experience); and personal and professional suitability.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Leeds
Selection is by application and interview only; we have no plans to introduce any extra tests at screening, short-listing, or interview stages.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Leicester
All applicants meeting the minimum criteria will have their applications reviewed and rated for factors such as relevant experience, academic credentials and their personal statement.
Asks: reflection, areas for development, why clinical psychology.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Liverpool
Shortlisting involves programme staff, local NHS clinical psychologists and experts by experience applying pre-determined criteria, to produce a list of applicants for interview and a reserve list.
Asks: reflection, areas for development, why clinical psychology.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Manchester
Short-listing of candidates is carried out by members of the Executive Training Programme Committee in conjunction with regional NHS Clinical Psychologists.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Plymouth
Every application we receive is assessed carefully by at least one member of the course team and one local clinical psychologist.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Sheffield
All application forms are shortlisted by course staff to check whether they meet the minimum criteria.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you, areas for development.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Southampton
Each application is screened independently by two people.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Staffordshire
All applications are reviewed anonymously by programme staff which is followed by a moderation process.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you, areas for development, why clinical psychology.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Surrey
Applications are read by a programme staff team member and scored according to the person specification for the role of Trainee Clinical Psychologist
We strongly discourage the use of AI in preparing application as this often homogenises applications and weakens the authentic voice of the applicant
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
University of Teesside
All applications are anonymised prior to screening and short-listing.
Asks: reflection, what you hope to gain, other information about you.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, checked .
Each course’s record quotes what it publishes about short-listing.
Sources
All 34 sources
- Clearing House, Start your Application. Updated ; checked .
- Clearing House sample form. Updated ; checked .
- Bangor University: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- Cardiff University: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- Coventry and Warwick: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- King's College London: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- Lancaster University: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- Newcastle University: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- Oxford: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- Royal Holloway: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- Salomons: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- Trent: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University College London: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Bath: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Birmingham: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of East Anglia: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of East London: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Edinburgh: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Essex: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Exeter: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Glasgow: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Hertfordshire: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Leeds: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Leicester: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Liverpool: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Manchester: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Plymouth: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Sheffield: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Southampton: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Staffordshire: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Surrey: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- University of Teesside: Clearing House, selection procedure. Updated ; checked .
- HCPC Standards of proficiency (10.1). Checked .
- Health Research Authority. Checked .