The entry requirements for the Master’s in General Health Psychology are set out in Section C) of Order ECD/1070/2013 of 12^th July that establishes the requirements for verifying official university master’s qualifications in General Health Psychology that enable professional practice for graduates in the certified and regulated profession of general health psychologist, in accordance with what is set out in General Act 33/2011 of 4^th October on Public Health.

Final provision four in Organic Law 2/2023 of 22^nd March on the university system amends Act 33/2011 and rewords paragraph a) in Section 3 of additional disposition seven as follows:

‘a) The undergraduate degree in psychology, which does not by itself enable holders to professionally practise psychology in the health sector, shall be an obligatory entry requirement for the Master’s in General Health Psychology, as well as any other official university qualification in psychology from overseas that complies with the requirements set out in Order CNU/1309/2018 of 5^th December that governs the general conditions for the curricula on degree programmes in psychology, specifically mandatory subjects linked to health psychology.’

Considering current regulations, the following instances may arise:

For holders of five-year undergraduate degrees in psychology from the UIB, all those who took and passed the specialisation in clinical and health psychology (Psicología Clínica y de la Salud), taught since the 2007/2008 academic year, and who, in addition to the core and mandatory courses on the programme, passed at least 42.5 credits of elective credits (from the 63 offered across 13 subjects) meet all eligibility requirements. For more information, please see: http://fpsicologia.uib.cat/itinerari.

For UIB graduates with four-year undergraduate degrees in psychology, the requirement to have 90 healthcare-related credits is amply fulfilled in the following way:

1. All core training credits included in the curriculum are accepted, as the undergraduate degree programme in psychology pertains to health sciences (60 credits)
2. The following mandatory subject credits are accepted (inherent to the area of personality, assessment and psychology treatments): Psychological Intervention Techniques; Psychological Evaluation and Diagnosis I and II; Personality Psychology; Personality and Adaptation; Psychopathology; Psychological Intervention in Psycho-Pathological Disorders in Adults and Educational Intervention. In total, they add up to 36 credits
3. Credits are accepted from the following mandatory subjects (from the area of psychobiology): biological psychology and neuropsychology. In total, they add up to 12 credits
4. Credits from external placements and final degree projects are accepted as long as it is clear that they were completed in a field directly related to general psychology or clinical and health psychology. They are worth 12 and 6 credits, respectively
5. Credits from other subjects that do not specifically fall into the previously mentioned areas are accepted as long as they address issues inherent to the field, e.g. psycho-social intervention, epidemiology, psychological measurement, etc.

Students five-year undergraduate degrees from other universities will be considered as fulfilling eligibility requirements if they are able to demonstrate that they completed a specialisation similar to the one offered by the UIB.

Students with four-year degrees from other Spanish universities will be deemed as fulfilling the eligibility requirements if they have studied psychology in a health sciences department and are able to demonstrate that their training meets the 90-ECTS credit requirement in a similar way to what is set out for UIB graduates.

Additionally, students with degrees from any member state in the European Higher Education Area that are equivalent to five- or four-year undergraduate degrees in psychology and who are able to accredit that they have completed at least 90 ECTS credits specifically related to healthcare or similar will be eligible for this programme.

Finally, students with degrees issued by an institution outside of the European Higher Education Area that are validated as Spanish five- or four-year undergraduate degrees in psychology and who are able to demonstrate that their training included at least 90 ECTS credits specifically related to healthcare or similar will be eligible for this programme.

In any event, overseas students shall, as indicated in the Admission section of the Support Guide for Preparing Official University Qualification Accreditation Reports (undergraduate and masters) from ANECA (Spain's National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation), accredit at least a B2 level (or equivalent) in one of the official languages of the Balearic Islands (Spanish or Catalan).

For students who wish to participate in the Master's programme without having obtained the 90 ECTS credits in healthcare-related education during their licentiate or bachelor's degree studies, the university will consider taking elective healthcare-related subjects from the current bachelor's programme in psychology at the UIB, prior to admission into the Master's programme, as supplementary education for reaching the required number of credits. The Academic Committee of the Master's programme will define the number of credits needed to be taken in order to reach the 90-credit requirement based on the student's transcript. Section 4.6 of this proposal expands on how this procedure is to be carried out.

Given that it is impossible to offer an adequate practical education to large groups of students, a numerus clausus policy has been established, and students will be considered for admission as follows:

• If the number of applications that meet the admission requirements is equal to or less than the numerus clausus, all applicants will be admitted.
• If the number of applications that meet the admission requirements exceeds the numerus clausus, the following admission criteria will be applied along with their respective stated weights:
  • Academic transcript: 50%;
  • Other merits (work experience, a B2 level of English, scientific publications, scholarships, attending scientific meetings/congresses, etc.): 30%; and
  • A personal interview: 20%; the contents of this interview will focus on exploring applicants' personal abilities (e.g., social skills, etc.), previous knowledge in matters related to health and clinical psychology, and applicants' levels of motivation. Applicants' academic transcripts and other merits undoubtedly contribute to their training later on in a general sense, i.e., in any area of psychology. In our case, the goal of the interview is to ensure that we choose the students who really have principles, abilities, and knowledge that will allow them, in as much as is possible, to be successful in their clinical and health-related training, as this degree programme will enable them to practice a regulated profession and there are a limited number of seats in the programme. The objective is to minimize instances of dropout and failure because in addition to the negativity inherent to these occurrences, many other students will not have been admitted into the programme.

The Academic Committee of the Master's programme will be in charge of the admission process (see section a) in point 5.1. Descripción del Plan de Estudios [Description of the curriculum]).

If a student disagrees with any of the decisions that are made, he/she may make an appeal to the director of the programme who will issue a report after gathering relevant findings and proof. The student may then appeal the decision of the report to the UIB itself, via Student Services.

The objective of the Master's degree in general health psychology is to qualify General Health Psychologists, a profession defined by Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport Order of 12 June (Official State Gazette [BOE] of 14 June).

Students holding Master's degrees in General Health Psychology are able to practice the profession of General Health Psychologist, regulated by Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport Order ECD/1070/2013 of 12 June (Official State Gazette [BOE] of 14 June).

The study programme follows the guidelines established in Official State Gazette 142, resolution 6412 (BOE Núm. 142 de 14 de junio de 2013 - resolución 6412). The Master's in General Psychology Sanitaria concentrates the teaching of the four modules (basic, specific 1, specific 2 and specific 3) in two blocks of 11 weeks each.

The structure and subjects in the programme can be found in the subjects section of this web page.

 Public presentation and defence of the Master's thesis (TFM)

Assessment criteria and exam information can be found in the course syllabi in the subjects section.

Dr María Balle Cabot

Further information on the credit transfer and recognition system, regulations and procedure