The program for a bachelor's degree of Psychology or of Psychological Sciences offers the theoretical basis of psychology as a subject matter. The program takes three years to complete and an optional fourth year of specialization (honors) that gives access to postgraduate studies. There are also combined degrees (psychology with law or with education) and double bachelor's degrees (psychology with health or business administration). These are five-year, and four-year respectively, full-time degree programs that give students the choice of the area of their postgraduate studies.
A master's degree takes two years of full-time study and it can be obtained in special areas of practice such as clinical, forensic or organizational psychology. The degree involves three major components: coursework, practice and a research thesis. Bachelor's degree honors students in another specialization than psychology, and international students must earn a one-year study graduate diploma or a two-year study postgraduate diploma to pursue a postgraduate degree program.
The Master of Philosophy in Psychology is awarded for original approaches on research in social, clinical or psychology areas. To be eligible in the program students need a bachelor's degree with honors. Some institutions may require additional coursework or research prior to the admission in the program. The MPhil degree program takes two years to complete and the students are assisted in their research by at least two supervisors. The thesis must be approximately 50,000 words long (approximately 100 pages) and is assessed in its written form by two examiners. (See Reference 4)
The Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology program takes three to four years to complete. The research thesis must bring an original contribution to the knowledge in the researched area, either by a new research topic or a different approach of an existing topic. The thesis must be between 75,000 and 100,000 words, according to the requirements of each department, and is evaluated by three examiners that are not professors at the university. An oral defense of the paper is not required. (See Reference 4)
To earn a Doctor of Psychology degree, students have to attend three-year full time courses or equivalent in part-time studies. The degree requires an elaborate research thesis and gives the possibility of specialization in areas like health, adult, and child and family psychology. Students earn the degree after extensive practice in clinical settings and a solid scientific coursework in psychology. Some possible specializations or majors are in clinical psychology or clinical psychology combined with neuropsychology, geropsychology or health psychology. (See Reference 5)