Doctor of Forensic Psychology (DForenPsy)

At the application stage, you can upload a reference if you have been provided one (on letterhead and signed). If you have not got a reference yet, or your referee would prefer to send it to the university direct, you can provide your referee’s email address. When your application is submitted, you will receive a generic email reminding you to upload your reference ASAP, the application portal will remain open to you after the deadline to add a reference.

It is preferred that you provide a reference via the application portal, or via email to PGR Admissions by the time applications close. If it is not possible, that is ok. The university will be in touch. If you are successful, your offer might be on the condition of your reference however so do bear this in mind.

Not for this year (2024). Please comment on the applicant’s suitability using the entry requirements on this page. Please cover academic ability and working experiences with you.

Tuition fees per year 2025/26

Home:

• £14,600 (tbc) per year for 3 years

International:

• £26,000 (tbc) per year for 3 years

Funding opportunities will be provided by the programme as they become available. Please email dforenpsy-exeter-selection@exter.ac.uk for further details.

Tuition fees per year 2024/25

Home:

• £14,000 per year for 3 years

International:

• £25,000 per year for 3 years

Funding opportunities will be provided by the programme as they become available. Please email dforenpsy-exeter-selection@exter.ac.uk for further details.

We are expecting to offer a maximum of 25 places in our first year. Future offers will depend on demand, resources and placements.

Please do not let competition dissuade you from applying; we're really looking forward to hearing from you... and ultimately developing a strong forensic psychologist workforce in the South West and nationally!

First, you will complete your application online, including a personal statement and reference or referees’ details to comment on your academic and work experience suitability.

Applications will be screened against eligibility criteria, and successful applicants will be invited to an in-person interview via email.

If you are an international student, we can hold the interview online but please note that this is an exceptional circumstance.

Shortly after interviewing, you will hear the outcome of your interview.  If you are successful at this stage, you will be given a conditional offer and will have a short timeframe to accept your place.

Offers are subject to satisfactory completion of a DBS and occupational health check, which must be completed prior to starting the programme.

There is no maximum number of times you can apply to the programme.

A minimum of 6 months in a forensic or forensic-relevant setting that includes experience beyond purely shadowing/observation of a psychologist’s work.

This work could include experience within a variety of settings, voluntary or paid.  For example, within prisons, mental health services, public, private or third-sector organisations.

You do not have to have held an Assistant Psychologist position.

Yes! We have placements across Devon, the South East of England into Kent, London, the Midlands, Oxford, Birmingham, and Staffordshire. Once we establish which area trainees are based in, we can identify placements in an area suited to you.

We encourage you to apply early to facilitate the process of identifying placements.

Yes! You could discuss this with your line manager and ask whether they are able to amend your Assistant Psychologist post into a Trainee Forensic Psychologist post.

This would be dependent on your organisation.

Initiate the discussion with them and then put us in touch if we are not already, and we can take the discussions into partnership further.

Do bear in mind that you will need a breadth of experience on placement across the doctorate, which is likely to include working in different settings, and working with different clients, so this may not work for the full programme.

What if my current role is not as an Assistant Psychologist: could this be a placement?

People will arrive at this programme from different circumstances, backgrounds, and employment. We want to support you as best as we can to secure you a place on the programme.

You could be volunteering with an organisation that may wish to take you on as a trainee forensic psychologist, unpaid or sponsored in some way. We can assess each workplace setting as to whether they would meet the criteria to be a placement.

Do bear in mind that you will need a breadth of experience on placement across the doctorate, which is likely to include working in different settings, and working with different clients, so this may not work for the full programme.

The best first step is to initiate the discussion with your organisation to see what they could offer.

Ask them to email the programme’s admin team at dforenpsy-exeter-selection@exeter.ac.uk.

Currently, no.

However, we are continually liaising with our placement providers about sponsoring and funding trainees.

You may be able to negotiate support from your employer if you are working in a relevant setting.

We will try our best to locate your placement as close as possible to where you are based. However, there is an expectation that you travel to your placement, much like with placements on other professional doctorates and clinical training programmes.

Not yet. We have started discussions about offering a part-time provision in future. Watch this space!

I am an international student: how do I find out about funding opportunities specific to me?

While we cannot offer advice on funding to all potential trainees, if you are an international student, we can offer a discussion to see what funding is available to you, as each experience is unique. Sometimes your government might be able to provide funding. Sometimes there are different organisations that support international students. Have a look around, talk to your current employer and then get in touch with us: dforenpsy-exeter-selection@exeter.ac.uk.

I am an international student: would I be able to complete placements in my country?

You can complete placements in your own country, however, you do need to do this with an approved supervisor, following the course guidance.  We would also need to approve the placement and check that it is appropriate for gaining competencies.

You may wish to register in a different country on completion.  In these circumstances, we would need to discuss this with you individually.

What if I have an MSc (BPS Stage 1) in Forensic Psychology?

We have developed routes into the programme.

If you have a BPS-accredited MSc in Forensic Psychology /BPS Stage 1, you can join our programme and ‘fast-track’ into year 2.

We will not be able to accept trainees in this circumstance into the programme in 2024, as we will only have a year 1 cohort. However, you can apply now for year 2.

Please note, this might impact on your eligibility for the doctoral loan.

Are you offering a route into the doctorate for people who have Stage 1 and Stage 2?

Yes. You can join the programme and skip certain modules, depending on your prior learning.

For trainees who have completed Stage 1 and Stage 2, you will likely need to enrol onto the research modules of the professional doctorate only.

We’ll be uploading a document onto this webpage detailing pathways onto the programme in due course.

But if you have any queries, email us at dforenpsy-exeter-selection@exeter.ac.uk.

Yes.

You can join the programme and skip certain modules, depending on your prior learning.

We’ll be uploading a document onto this webpage detailing pathways onto the programme in due course.

Meanwhile if you have any queries, email us at dforenpsy-exeter-selection@exeter.ac.uk.

Like our other professional doctorate programmes here at Exeter, we provide a pack of information about supervisors and potential projects/interests on arrival.

We also hold a research fair where you can find out about the research topics and supervisors available.

You will identify your preferences and we will use this to allocate you a suitable supervisor before the end of the first term.

Allocations will depend on the capacity and popularity of supervisors. We endeavour to give everyone their top 3 options.

We have spaced out three in-person weeks of teaching throughout the year, one per term, to support building relationships within your cohort. Our experience suggests that these regularly-spaced face-to-face events support the bonding of students online.

We use a range of online approaches including break-out rooms to facilitate relationships.

We hope you will look forward to the block weeks to catch up and arrange any social events.

We work with you to identify trainee reps, and will hold regular Post Graduate Liaison Forums to discuss how learning is working.

Throughout the rest of the year, you will meet with your cohort online for teaching sessions (live, not recorded), which will include seminars and group discussions.  We will hold regular peer reflective practice spaces online throughout the year.

We are keen to develop the best programme possible, so will be regularly asking for trainee feedback as well.

Please do email the programme’s admin team at dforenpsy-exeter-selection@exeter.ac.uk.