Postgraduate Diploma in Psychodynamic Practice

Lecture/application sessions

Delivered by outside lecturers or course staff, these sessions will include topics in the areas of historical and contemporary theoretical perspectives, clinical approaches to psychotherapy, difference in the clinic, working with diversity, research and reflective practice, and short-term work.

The aim of the lecture/application sessions is to enable trainees to develop a detailed knowledge of psychodynamic theory, philosophy and its applications.

Clinical seminars

The aim of the clinical seminars is to enable trainees to integrate theoretical knowledge with practical clinical skills and experience gained through supervised clinical practice with clients and patients on placement. Trainees will meet weekly in small groups with a clinical seminar leader to discuss clinical topics and issues.

Experiential groups

These agenda-less groups will assist trainees to reflect in an unstructured way on their experience of learning and to increase their capacity for self-awareness in relation to others on the course. Although trainees may wish to bring personal material to the groups, these are not therapy groups. The groups are aimed at facilitating the development of trainees as reflective practitioners and encouraging the self-reflection central to the psychodynamic approach.

Saturday workshops

There will be four all-day workshops on a Saturday, normally one in Michaelmas Term and one in Trinity Term in each year of the course.

Supervised placement

Clinical placements, which must be approved by the Programme Director, are a central aspect of trainees’ learning on the Diploma in Psychodynamic Practice. A minimum of 100 hours of client work with supervision at a 1:6 ratio must be completed during the course. Placements provide clinical experience where trainees can integrate their theoretical learning on the course with the therapeutic understanding gained from placements and face-to-face clinical work.

They offer the opportunity, under regular clinical supervision, to establish and develop therapeutic relationships and to begin the practice of therapeutic work central to the establishment of clinical competence and reflective practice. Trainees are able, through the experience of working in a team or as part of an organisation offering a clinical service, to learn about the effect clinical environments have on the therapeutic process.

Placements provide the opportunity to develop professional and administrative skills, which are central to the development of independent practitioner status. Clinical placement providers will require students to undertake and pass an enhanced DBS check.

Personal therapy

Personal therapy is a cornerstone of the psychodynamic approach and trainees are required to complete a minimum of 80 hours with a course-approved therapist over the two years of the course.

The PGDip runs one evening a week over six terms at Oxford Lifelong Learning and consists of:

• term-time weekly lecture/application sessions, clinical seminars and experiential groups;
• two tutorials per term with an academic tutor, and one tutorial per term with a clinical tutor;
• four Saturday workshops;
• clinical placement, to complete a minimum total of 100 clinical hours, with supervision at a minimum 1:6 ratio to clinical hours; and
• a minimum of 40 hours of personal therapy each year, with a psychodynamically trained and course-approved therapist/counsellor.

Extensive regular reading and private study of at least ten hours per week between the taught periods is recommended. Additional time is required for the clinical placement. This would include sufficient time for the required clinical and supervision hours plus other commitments, such as placement team meetings and organisation-based training, as agreed between the student and the clinical placement provider.

The course tutors will support and guide you in regard to your academic work, and offer a forum for the discussion of personal and professional development.

The Course Director is Dr Jo Molle

All tutors are professionally qualified and accredited counsellors or psychotherapists.

The course is assessed by five written assignments and one dissertation, and end-of-year tutor and supervisor reports. The five assignments will each count for 14% of the final mark, and the dissertation will count for 30% of the final mark:

• A theoretical essay on a key psychodynamic concept
• Two case studies
• An elaborated extract(s) from the trainee’s placement log
• A reflective journal assignment
• A dissertation

Over the two-year duration of the course you must also complete the following:

• a minimum of 100 hours of clinical contact with patients/clients
• supervision sessions at a minimum 1:6 ratio to client hours
• a minimum of 80 hours of personal therapy with a psychodynamically trained and course-approved therapist/counsellor

Degree-level qualifications

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:

• a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in any subject; and
• the Postgraduate Certificate in Psychodynamic Counselling, or an equivalent course. It is strongly recommended that the course has been completed no more than three years before applying to the PG Diploma in Psychodynamic Practice.

For applicants with a bachelor’s degree from the USA, the minimum overall GPA that is normally required to meet the undergraduate-level requirement is 3.5 out of 4.0.

If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.

English language proficiency

This course requires proficiency in English at the University’s higher level. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. Further information on English language requirements can be found here.

Please visit the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychodynamic Practice page on the University of Oxford Graduate Admissions website for details of course fees and costs.

Please see our funding page for help and information with regard to funding postgraduate studies. We further recommend that applicants search for funding opportunities via the online Fees, Funding and Scholarship search tool.

In order to be considered for many scholarships, applicants are required to apply by the January deadline. However, applicants should note that some scholarships require additional application materials and may have different deadlines, so applicants should make sure they check the application process for each scholarship carefully.

Applications for this course should be made via the University of Oxford Graduate Admissions website. This website provides information on fees and entry requirements, along with help on preparing and submitting your application.

Application deadlines

12:00 midday UK time on:

• Stage 1: Friday 14 November 2025 (Applications more likely to receive earlier decisions)
• Stage 2: Wednesday 28 January 2026 (Latest deadline for most Oxford scholarships)
• Stage 3: Tuesday 3 March 2026

When to apply

Early application for the programme is strongly advised. After the March deadline, the course will only stay open for that year’s entry if places are still available.

Remember that it can take a number of weeks to obtain all of the documents you need and to prepare a competitive application. You should also allow your referees plenty of time to submit your references. We therefore recommend you apply as soon as possible.

Interviews are normally held as part of the admissions process within six weeks of the application deadline.