Psychology careers: an international student perspective

As an international student, you may be thinking about pursuing a career in the psychological professions/workforce in the UK following graduation.

Popular options for graduates entering this sector include the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner or Youth Intensive Psychological Practitioner roles. However, due to the way training for these roles are funded in the UK, they can be difficult to secure as an international graduate.

Graduates undertaking NHS-funded psychological professions training are employed by the NHS as a Trainee while they study. To apply for an NHS-funded place, you need to have the right to work in the UK without restriction and be eligible for Home Fees Status (NHS Healthcareers, 2024). This means that many new international graduates on a graduate visa or skilled worker visa, will not be eligible for these training schemes.

For a list of NHS-funded training schemes please follow the link below and scroll down to the section “Affected NHS-Funded Psychological Professions Training Programmes”:

The above link includes roles such as the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (which can be a popular route to qualifying as a Clinical Psychologist or High Intensity Therapist) as well as training in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and the Clinical Associate in Psychology (CAP) apprenticeship role.

The professional doctorate in Clinical Psychology (ClinPsyD) is also NHS-funded and international students would need to be eligible for Home Fee status unless you are planning on self-funding.

Alternative ways of working in the psychological professions

If you are thinking about remaining in the UK following graduation, you can still explore careers in mental health in other areas.

  • Working for a mental health charity could offer you opportunities to work in therapeutic settings with a range of client groups and work on a variety of mental health and wellbeing projects. Many roles are listed on charityjob.com.
  • PhD study that involves psychological/mental health research. Findaphd.com lists a range of funded and self-funded projects you may be eligible to apply for, and the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at The University of Manchester has some opportunities for international post-graduate researchers in terms of funding opportunities and scholarships: International postgraduate researchers | Biology, Medicine and Health | University of Manchester
  • If your goal is to become a Clinical Psychologist and are unable to fund this, exploring opportunities outside of the UK might be an option. As a starting point, the European Federation of Psychologist’s Associations contains a list of organisations that are similar to the British Psychological Society where you might find accredited courses/training routes. To begin searching more generally for careers outside of the UK, you may find our international jobs pages useful.
  • There are other post-graduate courses related to mental health and wellbeing that may lead to roles in a variety of mental health and wellbeing settings. If you wanted to work in a clinical setting, for example, you could explore the possibility of an accelerated master’s programme in Mental Health Nursing which would lead to a full nursing qualification and eligibility to enter the Nursing and Midwifery Council Professional Register. Or, if you wanted to explore an array of post-graduate courses linked to applied mental health, psychology, and wellbeing then there are many listed on findamasters.com. There may also be qualifications in Social Work you could explore which would also link well with the skill set you have developed throughout studying psychology.
  • If you are interested in genetics and counselling, the NHS Scientist Training Programme (STP) recruits trainee Genetic Counsellors each year. The STP is very competitive and to be successful you need to have some counselling experience and perhaps consider further training in genetics (e.g. a master's degree). Find out more about the STP for Manchester students here.

By being aware of the challenges and exploring alternative paths, you can still find fulfilling career opportunities in psychology. If you would like to discuss your options, then please see our support pages for details on booking an appointment with someone from the careers service.