This document summarizes the education system and requirements for psychology programs in South Africa. It discusses: 1) The structure of pre-university education and matriculation requirements for university entrance. It notes the legacy of apartheid era policies that limited educational access. 2) Requirements for undergraduate and graduate psychology programs at the University of Cape Town, including coursework, points thresholds, and pathways to registration as a psychologist. 3) The process for international students to apply to South African universities, which requires proof of language proficiency and financial support.

1. Education in the Republic of South Africa -based on University of Cape Town Admissions
to Department of Psychology
I. Pre-university Years
School life in the Republic of South Africa spans thirteen years - or grades – however,
the the last three years, grade 10, 11 and grade 12 or "matric" are not mandatory. For university
entrance, a "Matriculation Endorsement" is a minimum requirement, although some universities
set their own additional verbal and quantitative tests. The matric exams are government-
administered. The qualification obtained at the end of high school is called the National Senior
Certificate.
Let’s, for a minute, go back in time to apartheid times since they effect education
nowadays. Until 1994 education was governed by the Bantu Act, many elements of which were
adopted from National Socialist (Nazi) philosophy. The white administration claimed black
Africans "should be educated for THEIR opportunities in life," which they didn’t have many at
that time and there was no place for them "above the level of certain forms of labor." Eventually
the act was blasted as “crime against humanity” and was revoked after apartheid collapsed. As a
result of the above policy only 14% of Blacks have an education of high school or higher,
compared to 40% of Indians and 65% of Whites. Present university student population
comprises roughly 50% Whites and the remaining 50% represents Blacks, Coloreds,
Indians, and Chinese.

2. III. University Requirements to Psychology Programs
The following is based mostly on the curriculum of University of Cape Town ranked in
200 best universities in the world. University of Cape Town offers several psychology programs
at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels.
All courses are taught by internationally published and recognized experts in the relevant
areas. Students are encouraged to sample as many of these areas as possible during their
undergraduate degrees, as UCT does not recognize specialization at the undergraduate level.
A. Bachelor’s of Art in Psychology
The undergraduate studies offer four principal areas of expertise:
1. Social psychology
2. Developmental psychology
3. Clinical psychology
4. Cognitive Neuropsychology.
The undergraduate courses offered by the department prepare students for entry into both
clinical and research based postgraduate programs. The undergraduate psychology degree from
UCT is internationally recognized, and many of the department's graduates have gone on to
postgraduate studies in other universities around the world. The degree doesn’t give a specialty
in specific area of psychology. It provides background for Honor’s and Master’s in psychology.

3. South African citizens or residents interested in applying to the undergraduate studies
(Bachelor’s degree) follow these steps (international students need to contact Faculty of
Humanities):
1. The high school diploma has to score at least 40 points in NSC – National Senior
Certificate (Adequate Achievement, 50 - 59 %) or better in four subjects chosen from a
list of subjects : Accounting, Agricultural Sciences, Business Studies, Dramatic Arts,
Economics, Engineering Graphics and Design, Geography, History, Consumer Studies,
Information Technology, Languages (one language of learning and teaching at a higher
education institution and two other recognized language subjects), Life Sciences,
Mathematics, Mathematical Literacy, Music, Physical Sciences, Religion studies, Visual
Arts. 7 points = 80%. Anything below makes the admissions less possible; however, it
could be subject to individual consideration. The highest requirements are placed on
international students: 47 NSC points, and the lowest on South African Blacks, Colored,
Chinese, and Indians – 40 points. Again, however, The Head of the Department of
Psychology may admit students who do not satisfy the conditions above. No points
guarantee admission to any program. Points make admission probable.
2. You need to take English placement test and Quantitative placement test.
To major in Psychology at undergraduate level, a student has to pass the following courses:
First year
One of the following:
PSY1001W Psychology I
PSY1003W Psychology Foundation (Extended Degree Program students only)
Mathematics 1014 and 1016 are required

4. Second year
PSY2006F Research in Psychology I
TWO of the following:
PSY2003S Social Psychology and Intergroup Relations
PSY2008F Psychopathology
PSY2009F Developmental Psychology (was PSY207F)
PSY2010S Cognition and Neuroscience (was PSY2005S)
Third year
PSY3007S Research in Psychology II
TWO of the following:
PSY3004S Clinical and Community Psychology
PSY3005S Critical Psychology
PSY3008F Health Psychology (was PSY306F)
PSY3009F Applied Cognitive Science
PSY3010S Introduction to Clinical Neuropsychology
Students who have completed their degrees with Psychology as a major are eligible to apply for
Honors in Psychology
B. Honors - an In-between Level in Psychology B.SOCSC. (HONS) (between BA
and MA)
Although useful in itself, the Psychology Honor’s degree provides an essential bridge between
the undergraduate program and several specialised Master’s programs in the field of psychology.
Admissions into honours – an applicant has to hold a Bachelor's degree with a Major in
Psychology. ALL candidates are carefully considered in terms of the two criteria listed below.
1. Academic performance - A bachelor's degree with a major in Psychology (or equivalent
number of modules in Psychology). As a general guideline, an upper second class pass
in third-year level Psychology is a basic requirement. In addition, the general level of
the entire academic transcript is considered, as well as the award of distinctions, honors
and bursaries. Consistency in academic performance is important.

5. 2. Equity - In line with the UCT mission of equity and excellence, the selection committee
will deliberately seek to ensure that the class will reflect the diversity of talent available
in the country.
3. Other achievements - such as previous employment, extra-curricular activities and
similar activities do not play a role in the selection process.
Program Structure
The first year comprises six semester courses and a research project.
Compulsory courses
• Philosophical & Theoretical Issues in Psychology
• Research Methods in Psychology
• Statistics for Psychological Research
Elective courses
The remaining three courses may be selected from the list of electives set out below.
• Developmental Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Psychology and Law
• Clinical Assessment
• Psychodiagnostics
• Neuropsychology

6. • The Psychology and Politics of Trauma
• Counseling & Communication
C. Graduate Studies in Psychology – Master’s degree
The following types of Master’s degree are offered:
1. MA in Clinical Psychology – takes one year of full time study and professional training
plus minor dissertation; second year involves paid internship; it gives the student basic
competence in the field and therefore it is essential that graduates continue education in
the field.
2. MA in Psychological Research – available only to students who achieved their Honors
degree with minimum of 68% or more in the year of Honors. The course ends with a
dissertation which gives 75% of the final mark. (40,000 words)
3. MA in MSOCSC – it is MA in Psychology by dissertation only and takes from
eighteen to twenty four months to complete. It is open to any applicant with a suitable (?)
academic background, the dissertation shouldn’t exceed 50.000 word.
D. Ph D in Psychology or postgraduate studies is by dissertation only!
It takes between three and five years to complete the degree. It is open to any applicant
with a suitable academic background, typically with MA in psychology, but other disciplines are
also recognized. It gears towards research oriented applicants. In the beginning of this year the
University of Witwatersrand launched a doctoral program in Clinical Psychotherapy. The

7. degree will include publications based on clinical case studies as a recognized way to produce
the thesis. It is unique among formal doctoral programs in South Africa.
The following are the requirements for the admission at this level:
1. Write your Resume to the Head of Department, and brief Research proposal. The proposal
should be about 5 – 8 pages long, and is considered a preliminary outline of the proposed
research. YOU need to find an advisor in the department – he/she is not assigned to you.
The proposed research has to be presented to the Departmental Research Committee within
6 months.
Doctoral thesis should not exceed 80,000 words.
International Applicants to South African universities
The following are the basic/fundamental requirements to any international applicants in any
country:
• proof of English proficiency (TOEFL)
• a proven ability to support yourself financially and to settle your fees.
IV. How to Become a Registered Psychologist
A. Accreditation of Honor’s degree. The Professional Board for Psychology equivalent
to American Psychological Association has accredited the Honours degree in Psychology at
UCT for the education and training of registered counsellors in the following fields of practice:
trauma counseling, primary mental health, sport counselling, and HIV/AIDS counselling.

8. To register with the Board, students have to complete the prescribed Honours courses, complete
an approved six months’ internship at an appropriate training institution, complete the research
project, and write the Board’s examination.
B. To become a psychologist in one of the recognized areas of psychology, namely
Clinical, Counseling, Educational, Organizational and Research Psychology, a student must
complete a recognized Master’s degree in Psychology and an appropriate 12 month-internship
at a recognized training institution – hospitals registered with universities. In addition, they will
have to write an examination set by the Professional Board for Psychology. Some universities
provide training leading towards registration in (Clinical) Psychology.
V. What are the practical or applied fields in which you will find psychologists? These are
just a few less commonly known areas:
Organizational Psychology
Psychological Assessment and Evaluation
Psychology and National Development
Environmental Psychology
Educational, Instructional and School Psychology
Applied Gerontology
Psychology and Law
Sport Psychology
Economic Psychology
Traffic and Transportation Psychology
Program Evaluation and Monitoring

9. The following is a sample of jobs held by South African psychology graduates:
Vice-chancellors of universities
Director-general of the National Department of Education
A director in the National Intelligence Agency
Consultant to Investec Bank
Recruitment officers – Truworth’s (department store similar to JC Penny)
Project manager – Ackerman’s (department store)
VI. Skills Trained by Programs in Psychology
A. General: Action oriented, take initiative, bright, energetic, learn quickly, understand and
know how to deal with people, are good team workers, are dependable and get things done,
can negotiate effectively.
1. Information Gathering and Reporting Skills: Literature searches (paper and
electronic), structuring conversations (e.g., interviews) to obtain information, designing
instruments (e.g., questionnaires) to obtain information, observational techniques for obtaining
information, preparing and delivering oral and written reports.
2. General Analysis and Synthesis Skills: Reading critically, synthesizing and
summarizing information from multiple sources, interpreting both qualitative and quantitative
data, imposing structure on ambiguous, messy data, structuring and evaluating arguments.
3. Project Planning Skills: Identifying the steps in a project from beginning to end,
identifying potential problems ahead of time.
4. Problem Definition: Identifying central issues and key questions, ability to solve
general problems and focus on details, understanding that there may be more than one route to
problem solving.

10. 5. Understanding that People May Have Different Perspectives: Realizing the
advantage to understanding the different perspectives, having the ability to take the different
perspective (e.g., of clients), ability to coordinate or facilitate action among individuals with
diverse perspectives.
6. Methodological Skills: Ability to detect confounded variables, ability to conceptualize
in terms of cause and effect.
7. Statistical and Inferential Skills: Statistical reasoning skills, statistical analysis skills,
ability to draw appropriate inferences from numerical data, computer literacy/familiarity with
appropriate software, ability to present data to non-technical audience.
8. Knowledge of Capabilities and Limitations of People: cognitive, perceptual, social,
personality differences.
B. Distinctive Skills of a Psychology Graduate:
1. Literacy: Highly literate, trained to write in more than one literary format, concise
writing within a pre-set format.
2. Numeracy: Highly numerate, interpret data summaries, understand probability
statements, familiar with a wide range of statistical procedures and processes.
3. Information Finding Skills: Trained to search through a range of ways of obtaining
information.
4. Research Skills: Explicitly trained in research methods. A range of different techniques:
experimental methods, observational methods, survey and sampling techniques,
qualitative analyses.

11. 5. Environmental Awareness: Know how someone's environment can influence their
behavior, such as stimulus-response perspectives, nonverbal signaling, habit formation,
social appropriateness.
6. Interpersonal Awareness: know mechanisms of social communication, potential sources
of interpersonal conflict.
7. Problem Solving Skills
8. Critical Evaluation
9. Perspectives
10. Higher Order Analysis: Skilled at spotting recurrent patterns in human activity, notice
similarities between situations that seem to be quite different, able to extract general principles
11. Pragmatism: A pragmatic approach to work and problem-solving.