CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM - INFORMATION ON ADMISSIONS

A clinical psychology peers through a wooden bookshelf at a young child as they engage in play activity

We are now accepting applications for Fall 2025!

We are looking for students to help advance our understanding of mental health difficulties, and are motivated to use empirical methods to satisfy their curiosity through research.

GRE scores are NOT required for applicants seeking Fall 2025 admission.

The clinical psychology program typically only considers applicants who list “clinical” as their first choice. It is okay for applicants who are primarily interested in the clinical psychology program to list another area as their second choice.

Unfortunately, for the Fall 2025 admissions, we are unable to admit any international students into our Clinical Psychology graduate program due to funding limitations. International students would not receive funding for the length of our six-year program. Please check back next year.

Admissions Values Statement:

The University of Waterloo Clinical Program is committed to continual evaluation and improvement in admission processes such that equity and diversity are promoted. Having diversity in our graduate program will support a broader process of creating a socially responsive clinical psychology profession that addresses the needs of our society, including those who have historically been underserved. Moreover, diversity in life experiences and perspectives within our program will enrich the learning of all individuals involved in our training community. To this end, we are committed to adopting a more holistic approach to our admission process wherein applicant suitability is defined by a broad set of criteria that go beyond narrow markers of aptitude that may exclude those students with less privilege (e.g., volunteer experiences such as unpaid research experiences). We value aspects of applicants’ life experience and community engagement that would enhance their application. Within our application procedures, we seek to identify and reduce biases (e.g., group interviews, standardized questions), as well as to ensure accessibility (e.g., virtual interviews). We encourage and welcome Canadian citizens and permanent residents from a diverse range of backgrounds to apply to our program.

Checklist for preparing your application to our program:

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1. Review Admission Requirements and our Advice for Potential Applicants.

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2. Apply for External Scholarships (e.g., SSHRC, OGS) the fall before you hope to start graduate school.

This is not required, but highly recommended.

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 3. Identify one or more prospective supervisor(s) by checking which faculty members will be accepting a clinical psychology student

Please see the list of which faculty members will be accepting clinical psychology students

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4. Check and make note of application deadlines.

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 5. Review and make note of all application procedures.

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6. Attend to clinical psychology-specific application instructions.

See below for details.

Clinical Psychology-Specific Application Instructions

In addition to the broader departmental application requirements and following the departmental application procedures applicants to the clinical psychology program should follow the guidelines below in relation to the supplementary information form, which includes the personal statement:

Supplementary Information Form/Personal Statement

As described in the departmental application procedures, you are asked to upload a Letter - Personal Statement of no more than 2,000 words total in a PDF document. These 2,000 words should include:

  1. your letter (see details below) – 1,500 words maximum for clinical psychology applicants
  2. a list of scholarships, prizes, honours, recognitions, publications, presentations, and theses at the end of the document – in bullet point-form at the end of the document (NOTE: this list is instead of a CV)

Letter portion of statement:

For clinical psychology applicants, we ask that the letter portion of your statement be no more than 1,500 words and touch on the following:

  • Reasons for pursuing graduate studies in clinical psychology, and at the University of Waterloo specifically. Please tell us what makes you want to pursue graduate school and a career in clinical psychology. What makes you want to join our program at the University of Waterloo?
  • Experiences, qualities, and accomplishments: Please describe research, academic, professional, extracurricular, and/or personal experiences and accomplishments that make you interested in, well-suited for, and prepared for a graduate degree in clinical psychology at the University of Waterloo. Please be sure to describe the nature of your past research experiences, and also any leadership, community service, and/or clinically-relevant experience (e.g., crisis line). If relevant, you should also list any awards, honours, and distinctions you have received, and any knowledge translation activities/outputs you have been involved with (e.g., publications, presentations, blogs).
  • Research interests: We encourage you to highlight your interest in one or more clinical psychology faculty members (first checking they are accepting a student; see below), and ideally a second or third if possible. You may comment on what appeals to you about each faculty member’s research and how you might like to build on this work.
  • Lived experience and diversity (optional): We invite you to describe the unique perspectives you may bring to our program and the field through your lived experience. You may also describe your vision for how research and practice in clinical psychology can become more inclusive, just, and equitable.

What to expect after you submit your application

Our admissions process operates in a rolling manner. You could be contacted as soon as early January about an interview, or as late as April. Unless you receive a letter that your application has been denied, you can assume that your application is still under consideration. Although we hope to be in touch with top applicants in January, various factors make it such that some outstanding applicants may hear from us until later in the winter.

Centre for Mental Health Research and Treatment

Through our Centre for Mental Health Research and Treatment, our students receive state-of-the-art training and supervision in assessment and treatment across the lifespan. Our program has strong partnerships with agencies and service providers in the community. In addition to core faculty, our students receive supervision from highly talented adjunct faculty who practice in a variety of clinical settings. All students receive carefully supervised in-house training in psychoeducational and diagnostic assessment, and evidence-based treatment of a wide range of difficulties in children, adolescents, and adults. We are also proud to offer opportunities for training in family therapy, couples therapy and group therapy, and specialized rotations in operational stress injuries, in assessment of people newly arrived in Canada who are seeking refugee status, and in gold-standard assessment of autism spectrum disorders.

Clinical Psychology Faculty

CHILD PSYCHOLOGY

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Faculty Researcher: Dillon Browne

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Influence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), trauma, and socioeconomic status on human development

*May be accepting new students in 2025*

Faculty Researcher: Tara McAuley

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Nature and development of executive control in children, and the relation of executive skills to psychopathology

*May be accepting new students in 2025*

Faculty Researcher: Elizabeth Nilsen

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Development of cognitive and communication skills in typically and atypically developing children  

*Not accepting new students in 2025*

ADULT ANXIETY STUDIES

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Faculty Researcher: David Moscovitch

Moscovitch

Cognitive-behavioural mechanisms underlying the nature and treatment of social anxiety

*May be accepting new students in 2025*

Faculty Researcher: Christine Purdon

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Development and persistence of anxiety and compulsions

*Not accepting new students in 2025*

TREATMENT AND INTERACTION

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Faculty Researcher: Allison Kelly

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Predictors and consequences of self-compassion and self-criticism, often in relation to body and eating disorders

*May be accepting new students in 2025*

Faculty  Researcher: Uzma Rehman

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The role of interpersonal processes in sexual satisfaction and functioning

*Not accepting new students in 2025*

Faculty Researcher: Jonathan Oakman

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Scientific and practical utility of single-case designs in psychotherapy

*Not accepting new students in 2025*

Clinical faculty members welcome e-mail inquiries from prospective applicants. However, applicants should know that their application materials will only be reviewed through the formal admissions process in December. Similarly, due to the volume of applicants, faculty can only meet with applicants who are short-listed to receive an interview during this process.

Please note that it may be the case that non-clinical faculty are open to supervising clinical students. For more information, please see our Clinical Psychology webpage, and scroll to the bottom for the names of potential faculty who are supervising clinical students.

Learning at Waterloo

Testimonials

I love the supportive and collaborative culture of the Clinical Psychology program at UW. This is a place where I instantly felt at home and it has been a privilege to work towards my goals alongside some of the nicest and brightest people I have ever met, under the expert guidance of leaders in this field!

Vanja

I’m appreciative of the psychotherapy supervision opportunities afforded to us at UWaterloo. Supervision (hour-for-hour and supported by video recording) is provided by both core faculty and adjuncts from the community, working from varied treatment modalities, and has been an immensely helpful training experience.

Beth

My favourite part of the Clinical Psychology program is the breadth of experiences we gain. I have had the opportunity to learn diverse methods of therapy, conduct independent research, and practice as a student clinician. I feel that the program has helped me to become a well-rounded scientist-practitioner.

Siobhan

The clinical faculty clearly care about students, appreciate student feedback, and work towards improving the program

Alex