Requirement 1:

• have earned a Bachelor degree in Psychology from a research university and possess the skills, understanding and knowledge that are required for earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Leiden University, and;
• possess the skills, understanding and knowledge that are required for earning the bachelor’s degree; more specifically knowledge on university level of the following topics:
  • Introduction to Psychology
  • Social and Organisational Psychology
  • Personality Psychology
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuropsychology and/or Psychophysiology and/or Biopsychology
  • Clinical and Abnormal Psychology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Theory or training in interpersonal skills, such as interview, counselling, discussion techniques
  • Theory or training in psychodiagnostics

Note: if you have not obtained a degree in Psychology but an equivalent degree (equivalent to the bachelor degree in Psychology at Leiden University), you may also submit an application for admissions. The Board of Admissions will then assess your admissibility.

Requirement 2*:

• have obtained at least 30 ec in advanced courses on topics pertaining to this master specialisation,

Requirement 3*:

• have sufficient knowledge of Methodology and Statistics (at least 20 EC): introductory and more advanced courses in methods and statistics of psychological research (including psychometrics, multivariate data analysis) and the use of statistical software.

*An internship and/or thesis do not count towards this requirement.

Applicants who meet the admission requirements, will need to take part in the selection process for the master's specialisation Child and Adolescent Psychology. Note: only applicants who meet the admission requirements will participate in the selection process, these are two separate and consecutive steps in the whole admission process.

In addition to the admission requirements, students who want to apply to the master’s specialisation Clinical Psychology need to demonstrate how they score on the following two selection criteria:

Selection criterium 1

Selection criterium 1 is a good academic record as indicator for academic excellence. Applicants can use the 'Application Form' (see Required documents) to show their achievements in three domains (1.a, 1.b and 1.c).

1.a The results earned in the bachelor on general psychology courses on the following topics:

• Introduction to Psychology
• Social and Organisational Psychology
• Personality Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuropsychology and/or Psychophysiology and/or Biopsychology
• Clinical and Abnormal Psychology
• Developmental and Educational Psychology

1.b The results earned in the bachelor on courses pertaining to the Clinical Psychology (at least 3 courses) on the following topics:

• Psychodiagnostics
• Interpersonal skills, such as interview, counselling

Psychopathology and/or Psychological treatment1.c The results earned in the bachelor on courses pertaining to on knowledge and skills in Methodology and Statistics (total at least 20 EC on basic and advanced level), including the following topics:

• Psychometrics
• Multivariate Data Analysis
• Statistical Software such as SPSS

Selection criterium 2

Selection criterium 2 is a motivational statement for the master’s specialisation Clinical Psychology. Applicants must use the 'Motivation Letter Form' (see Required documents) to describe their motivation.

For detailed information about which English qualifications are accepted, as well as the relevant exemption criteria, refer to English language proficiency.

Clinical Psychology has a limited capacity (60 in February).

With regard to admission to the programme, the Admissions Committee evaluates the knowledge and skills of the applicants on the basis of the documents they have submitted with their application. On the basis of this evaluation the Admissions Committee decides:

1. which applicants meet the admission requirements and can participate in the selection procedure;
2. which applicants cannot be admitted because they do not meet the requirements.

Only after it has been decided that the applicant meets the admission requirements are the qualitative selection criteria checked:

• Selection criterium 1 is a good academic record as indicator for academic excellence. The weighted average grade for each of the three domains (General Psychology, the Clinical domain and Methodology and Statistics) will be ranked as Excellent (≥8.0) or Sufficient (6-7.98) (Dutch grading system; or international equivalent based on conversion by Central Admissions Office Leiden University). All three criteria must be scored Excellent for criterium 1 to be Excellent.
• Selection criterium 2 is a motivational statement, this will be scored based on:
  • quality and structure of the reasoning;
  • connection of personal interests and motivation with the content of the programme;
  • language skills and use of language.

Possible scores: Excellent, Sufficient, Insufficient. All three criteria must be scored Excellent for criterium 2 to be Excellent.

If an applicant scores Excellent on both selection criterium 1 and 2 their application is marked as excellent, and they will be admitted to the programme. If there are more Excellent applications than available positions, the positions will be distributed by a draw from the Excellent applications.

For the remaining open positions, a draw will be made from the applications marked as Sufficient. Candidates classified in the Sufficient category who didn’t get a position will be put on a waiting list. The ranking for this list will be based on a draw.

Note that this applies for applicants who chose a specialisation as their first choice in Studielink. The waiting list per specialisation consists of 1. Excellent candidates for whom the specialisation is the first choice, 2. Sufficient candidates for whom the specialisation is the first choice, 3. Excellent and Satisfactory candidates who have entered the specialisation as a second choice. For more information see 'How does the ranking work' on the FAQ.

Applicants with an insufficient application won’t be admitted.

The draw is done by the Selection Committee. Candidates will be notified before May 31 (September intake) December 15 (February intake) whether they are selected and placed into the programme or placed on the waiting list. In case of cancellation by selected candidates, candidates from the waiting list are placed up to the maximum capacity.