Information for Applicants

Doctorate in Educational Psychology

UEA Educational Psychology Doctorate Virtual Open Evening 2026 for September 2027 entry.

Our Virtual Open Evening took place on 28 September 2026. If you were unable to join us, or would like to revisit the information shared, you can view the slides from the event.

Please contact the team on edpsyd@uea.ac.uk for queries related to applying for the Doctorate in Educational Psychology at UEA.

Information for funded applicants

The Educational Psychology Funded Training (EPFT) scheme provides government funding in partnership with employers for 204 trainee educational psychologists. It is a six-year commitment made up of a three-year doctorate degree course, followed, by a period of employment immediately after graduation as an educational psychologist within a local authority (or alternative setting which supports the statutory work within a local authority) within England for at least three years. If you do not complete the training course or if you fail to spend the three years immediately after graduation employed as an educational psychologist within a local authority, or in a capacity which supports the statutory work of a local authority service, in England you may have to repay some or all of the funding associated with your training place.

The Department for Education (DfE) works with the participating universities to manage the funded element of the EPFT scheme.

We conduct our interviews with small panels that consist of an academic member of the course team and a senior member of one of the Eastern Region Educational Psychology Services.

The written task, the interview and the short task during the interview are weighted differently to inform a candidate’s overall final score. These weightings and scores are as follows:

• Written task – 40%

• Short task during interview – 10%

• Interview – 50%

For information on how to apply please see the Association of Educational Psychologists website.

Desirable Criteria

Shortlisting of applications is based on how well the candidate demonstrates:

1. Strong interpersonal skills.

2. The capacity for doctoral-level study and research.

3. The ability to apply psychological theory and research to contexts relevant to children and young people.

4. The ability to think critically about complex situations.

5. A good understanding of the role of an educational psychologist, including the nature of day-to-day practice within a local authority setting.

6. A commitment to the profession of educational psychology.

7. Commitment to the programme’s core values.

8. Knowledge and understanding of the education system in England and awareness of the wider children’s services context.

9. Awareness of key legislation and policy relevant to educational psychology practice in England, and an understanding of their implications for practice.

10. An understanding of their responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people, including an awareness of professional boundaries, appropriate information sharing and the importance of recognising, responding to and escalating concerns appropriately.

11. An informed commitment to undertaking training and placements across the Eastern Region of England and to contributing to educational psychology services within the region. This may be evidenced through relevant experience, knowledge of the regional context and services, or a clearly articulated motivation for training and working within the region.