Program Overview

PhD with a Specialization in Clinical Psychology

Overview

Clinical Psychology is a scientific discipline that aims to understand, prevent, and relieve psychological distress and dysfunctions, as well as to promote well-being and personal development. Clinical Psychologists are mostly employed in hospitals, government sectors, counseling services units, and voluntary organisations. Common duties of clinical psychologists include conducting psychological assessment, psychological intervention and counseling, giving public educational talks, providing staff training and consultation, as well as conducting scientific research. The Department of Psychology of HKU offers three postgraduate programmes in clinical psychology, including the Master of Social Science in the field of Clinical Psychology Programme, The Doctor of Psychology in the field of Clinical Psychology Programme, and the PhD with Specialization in Clinical Psychology Programme.

The emphasis of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) with a specialization in the field of Clinical Psychology is placed on a scientist-practitioner model of education to train professional clinical psychologists well prepared for research, university-level teaching, and clinical practice. We also offer a King’s College London and The University of Hong Kong joint PhD programme where high-caliber PhD students are given the opportunity to spend up to half of their time to be trained at each institution and be awarded PhD degrees from both universities on completion of this four-year programme.

Structure & Syllabus

The curriculum of PhD with a specialization in the field of Clinical Psychology extends over a minimum of four years full-time, including two years of coursework & clinical practicum. The courses cover theoretical and applied aspects of clinical psychology. Candidates are also expected to complete a doctoral-level research dissertation presenting original scientific work in a chosen area of clinical psychology.

For 4-year PhD students admitted in or after 2016/17, they are required to complete 18 compulsory courses and 1 elective course. (3-year PhD students are not required to take PSYC6010 and PSYC6011.) in addition to satisfying the Graduate School coursework requirements.

• Compulsory Courses:
  • PSYC7024 – Induction Programme
  • PSYC7029 – Practicum I
  • PSYC7030 – Practicum II
  • PSYC8011 – Practicum III
  • PSYC8012 – Practicum IV
  • PSYC8013 – Practicum V
  • PSYC7002 – Assessment of personality and psychopathology
  • PSYC7003 – Individual psychotherapy I
  • PSYC7004 – Individual psychotherapy II
  • PSYC7005 – Psychopathology I
  • PSYC7006 – Psychopathology II
  • PSYC7009 – Clinical seminar I
  • PSYC7018 – Cognitive assessment
  • PSYC8001 – Clinical seminar II
  • PSYC8002 – Community and health psychology
  • PSYC8003 – Family and group therapy
  • PSYC8004 – Clinical neuropsychology
  • PSYC8005 – Ethics and professional issues
  • PSYC6010 – Conceptual and Methodological Issues in Psychological Research I
  • PSYC6011 – Conceptual and Methodological Issues in Psychological Research II
  • PSYC6025 – Postgraduate Seminar in Scientific Writing for Psychology
• Elective courses:
  • PSYC7021 – Postgraduate Seminar in Cognitive Psychology
  • PSYC7022 – Postgraduate Seminar in Social Psychology
  • PSYC7023 – Postgraduate Seminar in Developmental Psychology

Entry Requirements

To be eligible for admission to the PhD with a specialization in the field of Clinical Psychology programme, a candidate shall satisfy both the University admission requirement and the programme-specific requirements as listed below:

1. Compliance with the General Regulations;
2. Holding an honour’s degree in Psychology or a recognized equivalent qualification; or
3. Having successfully completed the first-year curriculum of our MSocSc in Clinical Psychology programme (or its equivalent); and
4. Passing a qualifying examination prior to admission, if required; and taking other tests as may be prescribed.

Scholarship, Funding, and Fees

Please refer to the Graduate School for more details.

Admission

The programme admits students every year.

• Find a supervisor in the field of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology, HKU:
  • Prof. Tatia Mei-chun LEE
  • Prof. Shirley X. LI
  • Prof. Wai Sze CHAN
  • Prof. Frances Jingwen JIN
  • Prof. Charlene Lok-man LAM
  • Prof. Vanessa See Heng YIM

Enquiries

Enquiries regarding the application process should be directed to the General Office.

Programme Booklet

Programme Booklet - Doctor of Psychology in the field of Clinical Psychology.

Admission

Undergraduate

Taught Postgraduate

• Doctor of Psychology in the field of Clinical Psychology
• Doctor of Psychology in the field of Educational Psychology
• Master of Social Sciences in the field of Clinical Psychology
• Master of Social Sciences in the field of Educational Psychology
• Master of Social Sciences in the field of Psychology

Research Postgraduate

• Master of Philosophy (MPhil) & Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• PhD with a Specialization in Clinical Psychology
• PhD with a Specialization in Educational Psychology
• PhD in the field of Clinical Psychological Sciences

Programme Booklet

Research Areas

• Clinical psychology and neuropsychology
• Cognitive psychology and cognitive science
• Educational and developmental psychology
• Neuroscience
• Social and health psychology

Programmes

Undergraduate

Taught Postgraduate

MSocSc (Psychology)

MSocSc (Clinical Psychology)

MSocSc (Educational Psychology)

PsyD (Clinical Psychology)

PsyD (Educational Psychology)

Research Postgraduate

Research Degrees – MPhil & PhD

Research Degree – PhD with a specialization in Clinical Psychology

Research Degree – PhD with a specialization in Educational Psychology

Useful Information to Current Students

Admission Statement

HKU does not authorise any intermediary organisations to recruit or admit students. Applicants interested in applying to HKU must directly submit their applications to the University, and only eligible applicants who meet the necessary requirements will be considered for admission. Admissions are competitive and on merit basis. If students are found to have falsified their academic credentials, HKU will take disciplinary action against them in accordance with University Statutes to revoke their student status.