Interview tips

Interviews form an important part of the application process for many of our postgraduate courses. While they may seem a little intimidating, they are a great opportunity for you to get a feel for our style of teaching and learning, meet your future tutors or supervisors, and reflect on whether this is the right course for you.

To help you prepare, we’ve compiled some general tips and advice. Please also check the instructions provided by our admissions team via our MyTAP application portal, as some of our courses have specific interview processes or requirements.

You can find guidance on all stages of the application process on our how to apply page, and if you have any questions or experience any issues, please contact us or book a 1-1 online meeting with our admissions team.

What format will your interview take?

Most of our interviews are conducted individually, and online (via Zoom).

A small number of courses hold interviews in-person and/or in groups, including:

• Consulting and Leading in Organisations: Psychodynamic and Systemic Approaches (D10/ED10): Online interviews, group and individual
• Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy DPsych (M80): In-person interviews, group and individual
• Child, Community and Educational Psychology DProf (M4): Individual and panel interviews, with timed group and written assessments

Interview logistics

Invitations to interview are issued via our MyTAP application portal. If you are successful in securing an interview, you will be contacted using the email address that you used to register with MyTAP. You will be given the option to select an interview date and time from a list of those available. If you are unable to attend any of the available slots, you are invited to contact us for information on additional dates and times.

We aim to shortlist candidates for interview within four weeks of application where possible.

If your interview is taking place online, it is a good idea to test your internet connection, Zoom account, camera and microphone beforehand, but if you experience any technical issues on the day, our admissions team will be on hand to help, and contactable via the details provided in your interview invitation.

If you need to change the date or time of your interview, please contact us.

Preparing for interview

It is important to prepare for an interview, as entry to our courses is competitive, and this is your opportunity to show why you should be made an offer of study.

Set aside some time beforehand to read over the course entry requirements and your application, including any personal statements and submissions, to ensure that this is all fresh in your mind. You may be asked to elaborate on what you’ve said about yourself and your aspirations for the course, or to discuss your submitted work in more detail.

You may wish to practice answering some common interview questions, such as:

• What drew you to this course in particular?
• What theorist(s) or text(s) have you found particularly interesting in your reading so far?
• Can you tell me about your clinical/professional experience? How has this informed your decision to apply for this course?
• Working in the field of mental health can be emotionally challenging. How would you manage difficult feelings that might arise?
• How have you used your personal therapy, and what have you learned about yourself through that process? [For courses with a requirement to undertake personal therapy]
• What do you hope to do in the future, following this course?

In your responses, try to express yourself as clearly as possible, giving specific examples.

As personal suitability is a significant factor in recruitment to many of our courses, it is important that you are able to show how your experience, thoughtfulness and skills would be particularly suited to your chosen course. You may be asked more personal questions that will challenge your ability to be reflective, so that the interviewer can get a better sense of you as a person, and of your perception of yourself. It’s not about having the “right answers”, but rather showing who you are, and how you think about things.

Your interviewer may also ask practical questions about your availability and work/life context – checking how the course might fit alongside your existing commitments.

It is also a good idea to consider any questions you may have for your interviewer.

It is natural to feel a little nervous before an interview, but rest assured that our teaching staff are all genuinely interested in getting to know you, hearing about your experiences and discussing what you will bring to your studies with us.

Requesting reasonable adjustments

Our MyTAP application form contains space for you to provide information about yourself, including any accessibility requirements or reasonable adjustments that you may request from your interviewer. For example, these might include requests to view interview questions in advance or to have specific room types for in-person interviews.

You can learn more about our reasonable adjustments processes and contact our Student Support team with any further questions.  

What happens after interview?

After your interview, you will receive a response, detailing the outcome of your interview, through our MyTAP application portal. We aim to provide responses within four weeks.

If you are successful in securing an offer of study, you will be sent instructions on how to accept your offer via our MyTAP application portal. It is important that you read the details of your offer carefully as it will set out any conditions and/or requirements that you may need to address.

If you are not successful on this occasion, try not to feel disheartened – you will be given the opportunity to discuss alternative courses with our Admissions team, and support with submitting a new application, if you wish. You are also welcome to request individual feedback from interviewers, though this will not be available for all our courses.