Careers › People & society

How to become a Clinical Psychologist

Diagnoses and treats mental illness through therapy - one of the longest routes on this site.

This needs more than the degree

A bachelor’s degree with psychology as a major is just the first step. The realistic route is: 3-year bachelor’s → Honours (1 year) → HPCSA-accredited Master’s in Clinical Psychology (where you register as a student psychologist) → a National Board Examination → a 12-month internship → 12 months of compulsory community service → registration for independent practice. That’s about seven years minimum, and usually longer, because Master’s places in clinical psychology are very limited and competition for them is intense.

Apply early

The bottleneck isn’t your undergraduate marks – it’s the Master’s. Clinical Psychology Master’s programmes take a small, fixed number of students each year, so start building your application (research experience, strong Honours marks) well before your final undergraduate year. See the Dates page for the exact closing dates.

What does a Clinical Psychologist actually do?

More about this career

Assesses and treats mental illness and psychological distress through therapy, working in hospitals, clinics, private practice or specialised settings (trauma, addiction, child psychology). It is one of the most demanding routes on this site to get into, not because the undergraduate degree is hard to be admitted to, but because so few people who start a psychology degree end up with one of the scarce clinical Master’s places.

Where this degree can take you

  • Trauma Counsellor
  • Child Clinical Psychologist
  • Neuropsychologist
  • Private Practice Psychologist

This is our general description of the role and related jobs, not from an official source – it’s here to give you a fuller picture, not as a careers-counselling guarantee.

Not from an official source

Subjects that usually help

  • English
  • Life Sciences (helpful)
  • Mathematics (helpful for the research/stats components)

This is our general guidance about which school subjects suit this career. It is not an admission requirement and not from an official source – the real requirements are on the degrees below.

Not from an official source

Where to check this yourself

What the programmes we’ve captured actually ask for

  • Mathematics – asked for by 3 of 12 programmes
  • Mathematical Literacy – asked for by 2 of 12 programmes

Counted from the requirements below (an “or” alternative counts for each subject named). Each programme links to the page it came from.

Programmes that lead here

12 programmes at 12 universities. More are added as we verify them.

Rhodes University

BA (Psychology)

Humanities · 3 years

Rhodes points 45 points

  • English: 60% if it is your Home Language, 65% if it is your First Additional Language
  • Life Orientation: level 4 (50% or more)

Read 2026-10-04 from the Rhodes 2026 Undergraduate Prospectus (18 March 2026): this is a major offered inside the degree named, so entry is the degree’s own. BA/BSS: Rhodes points of 34-44 are at the Dean’s discretion and 45+ gets a provisional offer. Life Orientation is not scored, but you need at least 50% in it.

Source: View the official page (ru.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of Cape Town

BA / BSocSc (with Psychology as a major)

Humanities · 3 years

UCT Faculty Points Score 450 out of 600 (band a)

  • English: 50% if it is your Home Language, 60% if it is your First Additional Language
  • Life Orientation: 50%
  • Mathematics: 50%
  • NBT – An NBT Academic Literacy result of Lower Intermediate or Basic normally rules an applicant out. UCT’s own page says a Psychology major specifically accepts Maths 50% OR a Proficient NBT Quantitative Literacy result instead - we show the Maths route above since it’s the one we can check from marks alone.

Band A (guaranteed offer) is an FPS of 450. Band B (likely offer) is a WPS of 450 - the WPS adds a 0-10% disadvantage factor that we cannot work out from your marks, so we only check you against Band A. Band C (380) applies to redress categories only. You’re admitted to the general BA/BSocSc (same entry point as humanities-generalist) and choose Psychology as a major from second year - UCT is one of the few universities that publishes a major-specific subject note for Psychology, which is why the Maths requirement above is more specific than the general BA entry. This is the undergraduate entry point only - see the career page for the Honours/Master’s route required to actually practise.

Source: View the official page (uct.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of KwaZulu-Natal

From an older documentNot fully verified

BA / BSocSc (with Psychology as a major)

Humanities · 3 years

UKZN APS 28 points out of 48

  • English: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Life Orientation: level 4 (50% or more)
  • One listed subject – One subject from UKZN’s designated list at level 5.

UKZN does not list Psychology as its own admission line - you’re admitted to the general BA/BSocSc (shown here) and choose Psychology as a major from second year. This is the undergraduate entry point only - see the career page for the Honours/Master’s route required to actually practise. The published APS range is 48-28. This comes from the Study@UKZN 2026 brochure, the most recent official source we could find. UKZN had not published a 2027 table when we checked, so treat these as 2026 figures pending a 2027 update. Applications go through the CAO.

Source: View the official page (studyatukzn.ukzn.ac.za) (opens the official page)

University of Limpopo

Selection programme

Bachelor of Psychology (BPsych)

Humanities · 4 years

UL APS 23 points

  • English: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Additional language – An additional language at level 4.
  • Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 5 (60% or more)
  • 3 more subjects – Three further subjects at level 4 or better contribute to the minimum APS total.

Raw-read 2026-10-04 from UL’s own 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus faculty tables (images of the table, since the PDF’s text layer cannot be read reliably). APS 23 with Mathematics, 25 with Mathematical Literacy. This replaces the earlier "BA (Psychology)" row - the 2027 prospectus lists a four-year Bachelor of Psychology and Psychology only inside the BA streams. UL says meeting the minimum APS does not guarantee admission. No 2027 closing date appears in the prospectus - see the dates page.

Source: View the official page (ul.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of Pretoria

Not fully verified

BA (with Psychology as a major)

Humanities · 3 years

UP APS 28 points

  • English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language

UP’s official table does not list Psychology as its own admission line - like most SA universities, you’re admitted to the general BA (shown here, APS corrected to the NSC/IEB-completed figure of 28 per the Humanities Yearbook) and choose Psychology as a major from second year. This is the undergraduate entry point only - see the career page for the Honours/Master’s route required to actually practise. Most UP closing dates are 30 June; Veterinary Science closes 31 May. Grade 12 applicants apply with their final Grade 11 results.

Source: View the official page (drupalwebprod-files.up.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of South Africa

BA in Psychology

Human Sciences

Unisa APS 20 points

  • English: 50%

Re-read 2026-10-04 against Unisa’s live qualification page: APS, language/Mathematics percentages and the 17 August - 9 October 2026 window all match. At least half of this degree’s 30 modules must be Psychology courses. This is the undergraduate entry point only - see the career page for the Honours/Master’s route required to actually practise. NSC with Bachelor’s Degree endorsement required. Maximum 8 years to complete. Confirmed current for the 2027 intake: Unisa’s own pages state its 2027 application window as 17 August - 9 October 2026.

Source: View the official page (unisa.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of the Free State

BSocSci (with Psychology as a major)

Humanities · 3 years

UFS AP score 30 points out of 49

  • English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language

Read 2026-10-04 from the table on the faculty’s page in the UFS 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus (page images). Same entry as the general BSocSci (plan code BC138000); Psychology is one of the two majors. Becoming a psychologist needs postgraduate study.

Source: View the official page (ufs.ac.za) (opens the official page)

University of the Western Cape

BA (Psychology major)

Arts & Humanities · 3 years

UWC weighted points 35 points out of 65

  • English: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Another subject – One other subject at level 4.
  • Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 4 (50% or more)

Raw-read 2026-10-04 from UWC’s own 2026 programme rules (the "Program Overview" PDF on the programme page, Calendar 2026). UWC points are its own weighted score (see the calculator note). Same admission as the BA; the Psychology major needs Mathematics level 3 or Mathematical Literacy level 4. This replaces the earlier row filed under Community & Health Sciences.

Source: View the official page (uwc.ac.za) (opens the official page)

University of the Witwatersrand

Not fully verified

BA (General, with Psychology as a major)

Humanities · 3 years

Wits APS 36 points

  • English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language

Wits does not list Psychology as its own admission line - you’re admitted to the general BA (confirmed unchanged by a direct fetch, 2026-10-02 spot-check) and choose Psychology as a major from second year. This is the undergraduate entry point only - see the career page for the Honours/Master’s route required to actually practise.

Source: View the official page (wits.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of Venda

Selection programme

Bachelor of Psychology

Health Sciences · 4 years

Univen APS 36

  • English: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Selection test – A selection test applies.

Raw-read 2026-10-04 from Univen’s 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus (April 2026), faculty programme tables. Online applications are free and run 1 May - 30 September 2026.

Source: View the official page (univen.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of Zululand

From an older document

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Humanities & Social Sciences · 3 years

UniZulu APS 26 points out of 48

  • English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Designated subjects – Level 4 (50-59%) in five subjects from the designated list: Business Studies, Dramatic Arts, Geography, History, Tourism, Visual Art, and languages (a language of learning and teaching plus two other recognised languages).

Read 2026-10-04 from UniZulu’s 2026 Humanities & Social Sciences handbook (Table 1): minimum entry for a Bachelor’s degree is 26 points. Becoming a psychologist needs postgraduate study. From UniZulu’s own 2026-labelled faculty handbooks, which contain no 2027-specific intake or closing-date information at all - do not assume a date, and treat this as the most recent official figures available rather than confirmed-current for 2027.

Source: View the official page (unizulu.ac.za) (opens the official page)

Walter Sisulu University

Selection programme

Bachelor of Psychology

Law, Humanities & Social Sciences · 4 years

WSU APS 26 points out of 48 (56 for Education programmes)

  • Two of three subjects – Level 4 in any two of: English, any other African language, Life Sciences.

Raw-read 2026-10-04 from WSU’s own 2027 Undergraduate Information Brochure & Admission Requirements (main-stream figures; Extended Curriculum Programmes accept a lower APS, noted where the brochure gives one). Mthatha. NQF level 8 professional degree. Applications: the brochure lists no closing date - check wsu.ac.za.

Source: View the official page (wsu.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

Are your marks enough?

Put your subjects in once and we’ll check them against every programme above – scored each university’s own way.

What do I qualify for?