# Studying Clinical Psychology in HK - NEED INFO PLEASE!



## pingu007

Hello guys!

I am currently living in London and have recently applied unsuccessfully at a DPhil in Psychiatry at the university of Oxford. I am planning on re-applying but as an alternative plan, I am thinking about continuing my studies at the University of Hong Kong. More specifically I am interested in the Clinical Psychology programs they offer.

I hope anyone on the forum who has any experience in the pursuit of a career in Clinical Psychology in HK can help me sort out some issues:

1. First off, I wanted to know about the chances of finding occupation in the field of Psychology in HK. I read on some forums that generally speaking the demand for clinicians in HK is quite high, but I really need to know some more specific info so any help would be greatly appreciated!

2. A second question pertains specifically to the University of HK. I wanted to ask if anyone has any idea/experience of whether it is hard to get accepted into PostGraduate Programmes (PhDs and Masters) for international students.

3. A third more general question about language issues in HK. I am an English and Italian speaker but can't speak any Cantonese at all! Statistics suggest that only 3.1 percent of the population speak English as an everyday language and that 34.9 percent of the population speaks English only as a second language. I would be certainly willing to study Cantonese but I am wondering whether this lack on my part could be really challenging in terms of everyday life and professional opportunities.

Any comment/help/idea is greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys!

Claudio


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## WordlyExpat

I am a native-English speaker living and working in Hong Kong currently. While it is true that English is not spoken regularly here, many businesses and people do understand at least a little as they were/are required to learn it (I teach English here). While you will find people that will not understand, most stores and offices should at least have a working knowledge (although not perfect) of the language.

As for Psychology, I, too, looked into Graduate degrees in Psychology here and although HKU is taught primary in English (with few exceptions mainly for Chinese-centric subjects), I heard from others that the main difficulty will be finding a placement for practicum due to language. However, I am willing to go out on a limb to say they have alternatives or certain placements that English speakers can do. Contacting the Social Sciences department at HKU would probably help in figuring out the certain requirements.

Finding a job here practicing can be a mixed bag because English is not the first language here. There are several practices scattered around that tend to cater more towards the expat community like medical and dental. I am sure there are mental health clinics that cater towards expats as well that would prefer to hire a qualified psychologist. In the job field, my opinion would be to focus your search in the private firms because of that. That is not to say to rule out hospitals, of course, but I would think that would be the best place to start looking when the time comes. Again, just my opinion.

As for getting admitted into a programme at HKU, I believe international students have a specific list of requirements to fulfill that are slightly different than local students. I believe they are based on transcripts and the first degree and possibly grad school entrance exams like the GRE.

Hopefully that helps even a little. If you have further questions, I can do my best to help you out.

Best of luck!


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## Laugh.love.smile

Hi Wordly Expat... I'm heading out to HK in august to teach in an international school be good to get some info and advice on what teaching is like out there? Whereabouts are you based? How you finding it?


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## yoshiya

pingu007 said:


> Hello guys!
> 
> I am currently living in London and have recently applied unsuccessfully at a DPhil in Psychiatry at the university of Oxford. I am planning on re-applying but as an alternative plan, I am thinking about continuing my studies at the University of Hong Kong. More specifically I am interested in the Clinical Psychology programs they offer.
> 
> I hope anyone on the forum who has any experience in the pursuit of a career in Clinical Psychology in HK can help me sort out some issues:
> 
> 1. First off, I wanted to know about the chances of finding occupation in the field of Psychology in HK. I read on some forums that generally speaking the demand for clinicians in HK is quite high, but I really need to know some more specific info so any help would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> 2. A second question pertains specifically to the University of HK. I wanted to ask if anyone has any idea/experience of whether it is hard to get accepted into PostGraduate Programmes (PhDs and Masters) for international students.
> 
> 3. A third more general question about language issues in HK. I am an English and Italian speaker but can't speak any Cantonese at all! Statistics suggest that only 3.1 percent of the population speak English as an everyday language and that 34.9 percent of the population speaks English only as a second language. I would be certainly willing to study Cantonese but I am wondering whether this lack on my part could be really challenging in terms of everyday life and professional opportunities.
> 
> Any comment/help/idea is greatly appreciated!
> 
> Thanks guys!
> 
> Claudio


Hi Claudio,

I am a Hongkonger and I want to pursue training in Clinical Psychology (CP) as well. There are two universities (HKU and CUHK) here offering CP programmes, both of which are competitive. While the teaching is all conducted in English, the five blocks of placement are in Cantonese, since most target clients are Cantonese-speaking. Whereas applicants from different countries may apply, they need to be able to speak Cantonese as some of the interview sessions are in Cantonese.

As for the job opportunities, the demand for clinical psychologists is high in Hong Kong. You will definitely find a job as a psychologist here. 

I hope the info will be useful.


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## Golda16

Hello 
I am a native French speaker living in london and going to settle down in Hong Kong
I was a chief accountant but I am interested by changing my career .
Do you think it’s manageable to be registered in HKU in psychology for expat ?
I hope you king give me some advices !!


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