Overview
On Brunel's Clinical Psychology MSc, you'll build real clinical skills, learning through hands‑on experience with the option of a year‑long professional placement, alongside research‑informed teaching to understand how psychological theory works in practice.
You’ll develop reflective, ethical and culturally informed practice, alongside strong communication and critical‑thinking skills - all essential for clinical roles and postgraduate training.
From the start, you’ll learn actively. You’ll work with clinical case material, take part in role‑plays and simulated scenarios, and build reflective practice as a core professional skill. Teaching brings together cognitive‑behavioural, third‑wave and counselling‑informed approaches, with a strong focus on formulation‑driven decision‑making in complex, real‑world contexts.
Research is embedded throughout the course. You’ll explore how evidence is generated, analysed, and applied in clinical settings, with Brunel’s advanced research facilities in cognitive and clinical neuroscience at your fingertips.
Optional year‑long placement
A standout feature of the programme is the optional year‑long placement pathway - a rare opportunity within clinical psychology postgraduate degrees. If you choose the placement pathway, you’ll gain sustained, meaningful experience in clinical or mental health settings, developing your professional skills through supervised practice. You’ll also receive dedicated academic and careers support. This extended real-world experience, combined with structured support, gives you a strong platform for competitive applications to clinical training and related careers.
You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.
Course content
Our programme gives you a strong foundation in clinical psychology, combining applied skills, research expertise and real‑world learning that prepares you for clinical training and mental health careers.
The course explores three key areas of clinical psychology:
- how depression and anxiety develop and are treated
- how brain chemistry, psychopharmacology and addiction shape behaviour
- how cognitive rehabilitation and neuroplasticity support recovery across the lifespan
This helps you understand the psychological, cognitive and biological factors that influence mental health.
You’ll learn how to assess psychological difficulties, formulate cases and plan evidence‑informed interventions. Through case‑based learning, role‑play and simulated scenarios, you’ll practise applying cognitive‑behavioural, third‑wave and counselling‑informed approaches to real‑world challenges.
During your degree, you'll gain advanced training in research design, quantitative and qualitative methods, data analysis and evidence evaluation. You'll bring these skills together in your independent research project, exploring a clinically relevant question.
Compulsory
- PY56**a - Introduction to Applied Clinical Psychology: Models of Psychopathology and Core Treatment Skills
The module aims to provide students with both theoretical knowledge and applied skills in understanding and applying models of psychopathology and psychological interventions in Clinical Psychology. Through experiential learning methods, including video-based learning and structured role-plays, students will develop practical competencies relevant to psychological practice. The module covers common mental health presentations, diagnostic classification, major theoretical models of psychopathology, and transdiagnostic concepts. It introduces core principles such as cognitive-behavioural approaches, third-wave CBT approaches (e.g. mindfulness-based and acceptance-based therapies), and counselling-based models.
- PY56**b - Psychopathology and Interventions for Depression and Anxiety Disorders
This module examines the application of psychological interventions for common mental health presentations, with a particular focus on anxiety disorders and depression. Students will develop an understanding of key theoretical models, assessment approaches, and evidence-based psychological interventions used in the treatment of anxiety and depression across different therapeutic traditions. The module explores psychological, neurobiological, and psychosocial mechanisms implicated in these conditions, and how such mechanisms inform intervention planning across therapeutic models.
- PY56_c - Advanced Approaches to Clinical and Cognitive Research
This module aims to develop students’ advanced knowledge of research methodology in clinical psychology and cognitive neuroscience. It focuses on enabling students to critically review, synthesise, and appraise scientific literature, evaluate the methodological quality and ethical integrity of research designs, analytical methods, and data interpretation, and apply approaches including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, clinical study designs, and secondary data analysis. Emphasis is placed on scientific and professional ethics and on the effective communication of research findings to academic, clinical, and lay audiences, in preparation for evidence-based professional practice and doctoral-level research.
- PY5635 - Cognitive Psychopharmacology and Addiction
This module provides students with an understanding of major neurotransmitter systems in the human brain, an insight into cognitive enhancement using pharmacological agents and an in-depth critical overview of the theories of addiction and the bio-behavioural effects of chronic drug abuse.
- PY5636 - Cognitive Rehabilitation and Plasticity
This module will provide its students with insight into cognitive enhancement in normal and atypical populations using psychological interventions. Students will explore the environmental and lifestyle factors that may promote, or have adverse effects on, brain functions, as well as the current / potential psychological interventions to promote neuroplasticity in health and disease.
- PY56**d - Clinical Psychology Research Project
The module seeks to equip students with the skills required to systematically and critically synthesis empirical evidence across research studies, identify clinically and scientifically relevant gaps in the literature, and design a methodologically rigorous and ethically sound research proposal, consistent with Level 7 expectations and preparation for doctoral-level research training.
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This course has a placement option. Find out more about work placements available.
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel
Careers and your future
You’ll be well prepared for a wide range of clinically relevant roles across the NHS, charities, public health and community mental health services. Many of these roles involve supporting or delivering psychological interventions within structured, supervised settings - valuable experience if you want to work directly with people experiencing mental health difficulties.
The programme is designed as a strong foundation for roles such as Assistant Psychologist, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner and other early‑career therapeutic positions. The combination of academic training and optional placement experience supports progression into practitioner pathways, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and counselling‑based roles.
This course isn’t a professional training qualification and doesn’t lead to registration as a clinical psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). But it’s designed to help you take your next step. You’ll build the clinical knowledge, research skills and applied experience that employers and training providers are looking for. You’ll also have opportunities to gain real‑world experience through placements, helping you understand what working in clinical or applied settings is really like. On successful completion of the course, you could progress to:
- Clinical Psychology Doctorate (DClinPsy) programmes
- Professional training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Counselling Psychology Doctorates or accredited counselling training
- Other practitioner psychologist routes, including health psychology and specialist clinical training
The placement pathway plays a key role in this progression, offering clinically relevant, supervised and intervention‑focused experience that's essential for competitive applications.
You’ll also develop applied psychological skills that transfer well beyond traditional clinical roles - including assessment, formulation, low‑intensity intervention delivery, use of psychometric tools and foundational counselling skills.
These strengths open doors to careers in:
- Public health and wellbeing services
- Charities and third‑sector organisations
- Educational and school‑based support services
- Occupational and workplace wellbeing
- Community mental health and early intervention services
- Research, evaluation and service development roles
You’ll graduate with a versatile, practice‑oriented skill set that prepares you for a wide range of careers in applied psychology - and keeps you competitive for further professional training.
UK entry requirements
2026/7 entry
A UK (2:2) Honours degree or equivalent internationally recognised qualification in Psychology or in a closely related subject.
Applicants with other degrees, and/or with relevant work experience, will be considered on an individual basis.
EU and International entry requirements
If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.
English language requirements
- IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
- Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
- TOEFL: 5 (min 4.5 in all subscores)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2026/7 entry
UK
£13,280 full-time
£6,640 part-time
£1,385 placement year
International
£22,320 full-time
£11,159 part-time
£1,385 placement year
More information on any additional course-related costs.
Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.
See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.
Scholarships and bursaries
Teaching and learning
Teaching combines structured academic input with hands-on, applied learning, using a mix of lectures, seminars, workshops, and practical sessions.
Access to a laptop or desktop PC is required for joining online activities, completing coursework and digital exams, and a minimum specification can be found here.
We have computers available across campus for your use and laptop loan schemes to support you through your studies. You can find out more here.
You will engage with case-based teaching, group discussions, and interactive seminars, developing the ability to critically evaluate clinical material and research evidence. Workshops and practical sessions focus on building core clinical skills in assessment, formulation, and intervention planning through role-play and simulated scenarios.
A strong emphasis is placed on experiential learning and reflective practice, enabling you to apply knowledge in realistic clinical contexts and develop professional skills.
Research training is delivered through lectures, practical classes, and supervised project work, supporting the development of advanced skills in research design, data analysis, and the application of evidence to clinical practice.
Assessment and feedback
Your assessments are designed to feel like real clinical work. You’ll complete a mix of academic and applied tasks that reflect the kinds of decisions, analyses and reflections you’ll make in professional practice.
You’ll be assessed through written coursework, clinical case studies and examinations, as well as applied activities such as clinical vignettes, simulation‑based assessments and reflective reports. These tasks test how well you can apply psychological theory to complex, real‑world scenarios.
Your research skills are developed and assessed through data collection and analysis exercises, critical appraisal of scientific literature and your independent research project, which leads to your dissertation.
If you take the placement pathway, you’ll also complete a reflective placement report. This focuses on your clinical and professional development and helps you connect your academic learning with your experience in a real clinical or mental health setting.
Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.