Fees, Scholarships and Financial Assistance
What fees am I required to pay?
For local students, the up-front fees to the DCP/MSc are payable per credit point, for the first two years of the degree. The research component of the combined degrees (either MSc or PhD) will be RTS-based therefore incur no cost from third year onwards. The level of fees may change on an annual basis, subject to University discretion. For local students, Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) HECS-based places may be available subject to University discretion. The number of CSP places available each year is determined by the Faculty of Science in consultation with the School of Psychology. The CSP places are awarded to the mostly highly ranked applicants as determined through the application evaluation and interview process. You may contact the Faculty of Science for further information on CSP places.
International students pay annual fees for each enrolled year.
What scholarships are available to students applying for the DCP/MSc?
The Clinical Psychology Unit Scholarships web page lists all scholarships available for local and international students applying for the DCP/MSc. At the time of application, students are only able to apply for postgraduate coursework scholarships. Students are not eligible to apply for postgraduate research scholarships until enrolled full time in the research degree in third year.
It is important to note for international students that any offer of a DCP/MSc place can not be made until December each year, which may affect which international scholarships you may apply for. Whilst it is possible to submit an application package earlier than the deadline, it is not possible to be given an offer until all applications have been assessed, interviews completed and a ranking of offering of places has been determined, that is in December.
Are there any other grants or financial assistance available to candidates?
The Tanya Sackville Scholarship is a postgraduate coursework scholarship available to all new and currently enrolled DCP/MSc students. Students are only eligible to apply for APA or UPA scholarships in third year, once they are enrolled full time in the research degree, MSc or PhD. This is because in the first year students only enrol in the DCP coursework degree, and in the second year second semester students are only enrolled part time in the MSc research degree, therefore they are first enrolled full time in the research degree in first semester of third year.
Subject to University discretion, each year there a limited number of HECS-based Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) available. CSP places will be offered to the top-ranking applicants as rated by the Clinical Psychology Unit.
Applicants are eligible to apply for HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP for the coursework component (DCP) of the double degree (DCP/MSc). FEE-HELP enables local postgraduate coursework students to secure a loan form the Commonwealth Government for all or part of their tuition fees. Please contact the Faculty of Science.
Can I apply for an APA scholarship?
DCP/MSc students are not eligible to apply for a scholarship at the initial stage of application. DCP/MSc students are only able to apply for a scholarship in their third year. Due to the structure of the DCP/MSc program, where students initially only enrol in the DCP, a coursework degree, students are not eligible to apply for a research scholarships. Students will first enrol part time in the MSc, a research degree, as of second year second semester, and at this point because not enrolled full time in a research degree, students are not eligible to apply for a research scholarships. However, as of third year, when students are enrolled full time in the MSc, they may apply for research scholarships.
Eligible students will be encouraged to apply for an APA scholarship prior to enrolling in the PhD component of the degree, following more than three semesters of enrolment in the DCP. APA scholarships cannot be deferred. APA scholarships are only available to students with first class honours.
What scholarships are available for International students?
The International Office provides information on scholarships available for international students.
As an international student applying for the DCP/MSc, can I receive a confirmation of a place in order to apply for a research scholarship?
No, this is not possible. Offers of a DCP/MSc place will not be made until at least the second week of December. Applications are not assessed until after the closing date of the last Friday in October, when all local and international applications have been received. Once the application evaluation is completed, during the first two weeks of November, successful applicants will be contacted to arrange an interview for the last Friday in November or the first Friday in December. Following the completion of interviews, a meeting is scheduled to rank all applicants and determine the offering of places.
Whilst it is possible to submit an application package earlier than the deadline, it is not possible to be given an offer until all applications have been assessed, interviews completed and a ranking of offering of places has been determined. It is not possible for the Faculty to determine who the highest ranked candidates are until all applications are received and ranked. As admission into the DCP/MSc is highly competitive and admission decisions are based on a ranking of all applications received by the published deadline, it is necessary to adhere to the application assessment timetable, in order to have a fair admissions process so as not to disadvantage any applicants.
As an international student if I submit my application early, can I be given an earlier indication as to whether my application would be successful?
No. Applications from international students are considered within the same timeframe as those from Australian applicants. While recognising that this may potentially cause problems for international applicants given the time required for visa processes, scholarship applications, relocation etc, because entry to the degree is highly competitive it would disadvantage local applicants if places were allocated early and independently of the applicant’s ranking within the complete set of applications. As an indication of interest for the program around 150 applications are received each year for the 15-20 places that we have available. Approximately 50 of those applicants are selected for interview on the basis of the specified selection criteria. A critical issue for international applicants is to ensure that their qualifications have been assessed for equivalence to an Australian 4-year Honours degree in psychology prior to applying for the DCP/MSc, which is an essential prerequisite for entry to any professional psychology postgraduate program. Please find further information available regarding admission and selection under Applying.
Will I be able to work during the DCP/MSc program to support myself?
The DCP/MSc is an intensive full time program, comprised of academic coursework, supervised clinical internships and a full research project and thesis. The time commitments for each of the coursework, internship and research components of the degree are outlined on the workload distribution web page. Students are not encouraged to work, however, it recognised that students need to support themselves financially. Some students manage to work casually one day a week, for example, finding employment as a tutor or research assistant in the School of Psychology. Living costs for local students and Living costs for international students are outlined on the University of Sydney website. You may also email currently enrolled students for a student perspective.
How do I find out further information on fees and CSP places?
Contact the Fees Office 8627 8239 or hecs.office@sydney.edu.au
HECS and Domestic fees
What coursework scholarships are available for the DCP/MSc?
Please note students commencing the DCP/MSc program, initially enrol in first year in the DCP coursework degree, therefore are not eligible for research scholarships, students are only eligible to apply for coursework scholarships. It is not until third year, students are eligible to apply for research scholarships when enrolled full time in the MSc research degree. The Tanya Sackville Scholarship is a $7000 scholarship for DCP/MSc students and is based on academic and financial need, you can only apply for this scholarship when offered a place on the DCP/MSc program. NAHSSS Clinical Psychology and APS Scholarships also offer coursework scholarships. All information regarding fees and scholarships is available on our website http://sydney.edu.au/science/psychology/clinical_psychology/future_stud/fees/scholarships.shtml
[[Can I receive a conditional offer for a scholarship application with a deadline prior to October?]]
Applications close 1 October for international students and 25 October for domestic students for admission in March 2014. There is no mid year intake. Applications are not assessed until after all international and domestic applications have been received on 25 October. The Direct Applications Team, International Office and Faculty of Science process the applications in the two weeks following the closing date for forwarding onto the Clinical Psychology Unit for assessment. Following evaluation and ranking, the top fifty ranked applicants are offered interviews on 27 and 29 November. First round offers are made during the first week of December and second round offers in the second week of December. Dependant on the rate of acceptance of offers, offers may continue into the third week of December or January.
An offer or conditional offer for a DCP/MSc place can not be made until at least December each year. Whilst it is possible to submit an application prior the closing date, it is not possible to receive an offer until after all applications have been assessed, interviews completed and rankings determined in December. Unfortunately this may have implications for international scholarships applications with early deadlines. Due to the competitive nature of the DCP/MSc program, students are not eligible to apply for such scholarships as places are not finalised until December.