1Course record · London
University of East London
Does UEL test before interview? Yes, but it has not published the format.
The record
Before you apply
What you must meet to apply, in the course’s own words.
Right to work and fee status
Applications for NHS Funded places are only accepted from candidates who:
are entitled to work full-time in the UK for the duration of the programme (3years)
and are eligible for Home Fees status with the university
and have full UK residency, which includes EU Settlement Scheme settled or pre-settled status, and not require a work permit.
To be considered for entry to the course in September 2027, applicants must normally have been resident in the UK from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2027 for a purpose that is not wholly or mainly related to receiving full-time education during any part of this 3-year period.
Source: Clearing House entry requirements, updated ; checked .
GBC when you apply
All qualifications and statuses listed in your application must have been obtained at the point of applying.
Applications are not accepted from candidates who have yet to attain graduate basis for chartered membership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society.
Source: Clearing House entry requirements, updated ; checked .
DegreeOur summary: A lower second (2:2): Asks for a 2:1 or first with at least 60% overall. Says nothing about a 2:2.
The undergraduate degree (as above, or degree in another subject plus conversion qualification in psychology) must be with either first class honours or upper-second class honours (2:1) with overall attainment of 60% or greater.
We cannot consider applications where it is not clear from the transcript, module results, or by other means, what was the overall level of attainment.
Source: Clearing House entry requirements, updated ; checked .
ExperienceOur summary: 12 months minimum. Must be paid.
Accordingly, applicants must have at least 12 months whole time equivalent (WTE, 1800 hours or more) of paid employment in a post of direct relevance to clinical psychology practice, in the NHS or an equivalent setting, either:
undertaking direct or indirect clinical work (e.g. assistant psychologist, clinical associate psychologist, community psychologist); or
conducting research in the clinical applications of psychology (e.g., as research assistant, research psychologist, PhD studentship).
Unpaid posts (honorary, intern or voluntary contracts) do not count towards the 12-month minimum required.
Source: Clearing House entry requirements, updated ; checked .
Research
Applicants must have research experience as a postgraduate: either postgraduate level training (e.g. PhD) or conducting applied or service-related research in clinical settings.
Applicants must have knowledge of data analysis procedures employed within the field of psychology including multivariate statistical and qualitative approaches.
Source: Clearing House entry requirements, updated ; checked .
English language
Applicants who have any qualifications, that they rely upon in their application, that were taught or examined in a language other than English, must provide a PDF of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic) certificate, at level 7 or above with no subcomponent below 6.5, and undertaken within two years prior to the date of entry.
Source: Clearing House entry requirements, updated ; checked .
Earlier NHS-funded training
Applications are not accepted from candidates who have undertaken NHS-funded psychological professions training (started after 1 April 2022), until two years after the training was completed and the associated qualification awarded.
Source: Clearing House entry requirements, updated ; checked .
Suitability statements
Some healthcare organisations have a policy of providing only standardised references for all employees and will not provide personal references. We do not accept these references.
Source: Clearing House entry requirements, updated ; checked .
Not mentioned on these pages: driving licence, getting to placements, other study and other conditions.
Pages read: Clearing House entry requirements, updated ; Clearing House selection procedure, updated ; UEL course page; all checked .
Before interview
Test, format not published
WhenFebruary or March 2027
Tests are used and the format is not published.
More about the test
Applicants meeting the basic eligibility criteria are invited to an Assessment Day and “must achieve scores on these tests that place them in approximately the upper 50th percentile of the cohort of applicants” to progress. Test scores are then combined with a detailed application rating.
Sources: Clearing House, checked ; Clearing House test list, checked .
At interview
A panel interview.
When“Monday 10 to Friday 14 May”
Source: Clearing House list of 2027 interview dates for NHS places, updated ; checked .
An Admissions Day of several tasks assessed against the Trainee Person Specification, involving programme staff, regional clinical supervisors and the People's Committee, a group of service users and carers with lived experience of mental health difficulties in the borough. Offers are ranked on the combined Assessment Day, application rating and Admissions Day scores.
Source: Clearing House, checked .
What your form is rated on
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, including:
- capacity to undertake full time work and study over the course duration;
- research appraisal skills and project or service development experience;
The rest of the passage
- relevant paid clinical or research employment experience, settings, and range;
- commitment to work in the UK NHS and realism regarding the challenges of training;
- satisfactory completion and preparation of the application; and
- respectful communication with the programme and admissions team.
Source: Clearing House, checked .
A note on this record
One of two courses that confirm tests exist without publishing the format for 2027. Salomons' own application page, describing 2026 entry, says Salomons and East London “work collaboratively over arrangements for completing the tests” and that applicants “may be invited to sit the tests hosted by either of the programmes”; Salomons' tests that year were a research multiple-choice test and a situational judgement test. East London does not say so on its own Clearing House page.
Dates for 2027 entry
- Applications close
- 18 November 2026, 1:00 pm
- Test, format not published
- February or March 2027
- Interviews
- “Monday 10 to Friday 14 May”
Sources: Clearing House, checked ; Clearing House, checked ; Clearing House test list, checked ; Clearing House 2027 list, NHS places, checked .
Prepare for this course
- Practise research methodsIs named by Salomons as sharing its 2026 test arrangements, which included a research multiple-choice test; East London has not said so itself.
The questions were written for this site.
- Practise interview questionsUses a panel interview. On lived experience and co-production, its record mentions “the People's Committee”.
Our own questions, on the themes courses name.
- Practise situational judgementThis course has not named filmed scenarios or values-based questions at interview, which the SJT practice rehearses.
The course has not published the test’s format, so no practice here is matched to it.
Checked Report an errorCorrections
Reported online by applicants, not confirmed by the course
What trainees and applicants have said in public about selection here, paraphrased. The process may have changed since.
Several, recent: 4 accounts
Applicants describe the pre-interview tests as including a research or statistics multiple-choice test. In 2020 the invitation also listed a situational judgement test. Takers found the research items specific and hard, with meta-analysis questions mentioned.
Sources: ClinPsy forum, 21 Mar 2026, checked ; ClinPsy forum, 6 Feb 2020, checked ; ClinPsy forum, 16 Feb 2020, checked ; ClinPsy forum, 16 Feb 2020, post 2, checked ; ClinPsy forum, 17 Feb 2020, checked .
Posted 2015 to 2026: 4 reports about earlier years or from single accounts
Several, older: 4 accounts
For 2016 entry, UEL sent three online tests in turn, the first an SJT and the third Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices. Several takers found the matrices hard or ran out of time.
Sources: ClinPsy forum, 12 Feb 2016, checked ; ClinPsy forum, 18 Feb 2016, checked ; ClinPsy forum, 18 Feb 2016, post 2, checked ; ClinPsy forum, 18 Feb 2016, post 3, checked .
Several, older: 3 accounts
For 2015 entry, several applicants said the interview was very quick and did not cover the clinical, research and future-goals topics they had been told to expect.
Sources: ClinPsy forum, 12 May 2015, checked ; ClinPsy forum, 12 May 2015, post 2, checked ; ClinPsy forum, 12 May 2015, post 3, checked .
One account
For 2026 entry, one applicant relayed an email from UEL: technical problems on the Assessment Day meant test results were not used, and interviews were allocated on application ratings alone.
Sources: ClinPsy forum, 21 Mar 2026, checked ; ClinPsy forum, 20 Mar 2026, checked ; ClinPsy forum, 21 Mar 2026, post 2, checked .
One account
For 2025 entry, an applicant reported sitting the UEL selection test around 1 March.
Source: ClinPsy forum, Feb 2025, checked .
If you have applied here
What UEL says about feedback
For applicants who attend an Admissions Day, we provide brief feedback on their performance in the outcome letter. Unfortunately, due to the large number of applications received each year, we cannot provide individual feedback for applicants who were not invited to an Admissions Day.
Source: Clearing House, selection procedure, updated ; checked .
Applying again: feedback from each course
This site is not affiliated with University of East London.
Sources
- clearing-house.org.uk: selection procedureUpdated 21 September 2026; checked 24 September 2026.
- clearing-house.org.uk: which courses use a short-listing testChecked 24 September 2026.
- clearing-house.org.uk: interview dates for 2027 by course, for NHS placesUpdated 5 October 2026; checked 22 October 2026.
- canterbury.ac.uk: Salomons, Canterbury Christ Church University: Application and selection (test arrangements for 2026)Checked 24 September 2026.