Frequently Asked Questions

Are you a student visa sponsor?

No, Metanoia Institute does not hold a sponsorship license for international students. We therefore cannot accept applications from anyone requiring a student visa.

 

What is the application process for international students?

With the exception of our fully on-line programmes, applicants must be a UK citizen or already hold a visa which allows them to live and study in the UK.  If you are not a UK citizen or do not already hold a relevant visa, please check your preferred programme is delivered fully on-line before applying.

Applicants who live abroad, but have the right to live and study in the UK, can be accepted onto our programmes, as long as they are able to attend all on-site teaching session.

We very strongly encourage applicants for clinical courses who plan to live abroad during their studies to speak to the programme team about the practicalities of meeting the clinical requirements of the programme outside of the UK. It may not be possible to meet requirement in other countries depending on local laws, professional regulations and services. It is the applicant’s responsibility to check to ensure that they are able to obtain and access appropriate therapy, supervision and clinical placements in line with Metanoia and accrediting body requirements.

 

How many degree courses can I apply to?

The Apply Online application for our programmes leading to a degree or professional award permits students to apply for one programme of study on the application form. We ask that you please check admissions requirements for the programme carefully before you apply to avoid disappointment. Admission requirements for each programme are set out in the coloured box at the bottom of their webpage. If you are having difficulty in deciding which programme is right for you, we strongly recommend you attend one of our open events to learn more about our programmes and meet the programme teams. 

Book and Pay applications for our introductory workshops, continuing professional development and short clinical courses permit applications for a single course only. However, you can make multiple book and pay applications if there is more than one course you would wish to attend.   

 

Can I save a partially completed application and come back to it?

Yes, when you start your application, you will be asked to set up an account, once you complete your account set up an email will be sent to you with your account details and the link to use to enable you to log into your application.

As you work through your application you will see that there is a “save & exit” button at the bottom of each page. This button will enable you to save your in-progress application and log you out of the system. You can log back in and out of your application as many times as you need, using your account details, until you finish it. However, please be aware that once applications close, you will no longer be able to submit your application.  

 

Can I apply directly into a later year of a programme?

 Advance entry is available for only a few of our programmes MSc Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes and Doctorate in Counselling Psychology and the Doctorate Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy by Professional Studies (DCPsych). If you wish to apply for entry into a later year of the programme you will need to make both an application for admission to the programme and then complete a portfolio to allow  Metanoia to assess your previous learning and experience to enable an Assessment of Prior Learning (APL) and allow your advanced entry to a higher year of study. While we wait for and assess your portfolio, we will progress your application for normal entry.

Please be aware that there is a charge for applications for APL, which must be paid at the time of submitting your supporting portfolio. The portfolio cannot be assessed until the fee is paid and this fee in non-refundable regardless of the outcome of the assessment.

If your portfolio is assessed as being sufficient to permit advanced entry, you will be notified and at the point of enrolment, you will be permitted to enrol into a higher year of study.

Applicants can request to speak with a member of the academic team to discuss their previous training and experience and receive indicative guidance on whether an application for APL is likely to be successful. However, no guarantee of APL can be given prior to submission of the portfolio, APL can only be fully assessed upon the detailed examination of the portfolio.

 

Can you give guidance on the application process?

Applications are first reviewed by our Admissions team to check that the standard entry requirements for the programme(s) applied for have been met.

Applicants who are judged to meet the entry requirements for the programme will then be invited to interview.  The specific details of the interview varies between undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research programmes.

For undergraduate BSc Counselling and postgraduate taught UKCP Preparatory Year and MSc programme there will be group interview. This will normally include 3-7 other applicants for the same level of study (BSc/MSc), and at least two members of teaching staff from the programme teams.  Interviews are not programme specific, but a member of the programme team to which you have applied will be present. All group interviews will be online.

For BSc Reflective Therapeutic Practice, MSc Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes and the Doctoral programmes there will be an individual online interview, the structure of which will depend upon the programme.

In a few rare cases, where the programme team don’t feel they were able to obtain enough information to make a decision about a candidate during the initial interview, they may ask the candidate back for an exceptional second interview.

Following interviews the programme team will tell the Admissions Team which candidates they wish to offer places to. The Admissions Team will then contact applicants with the outcome.

Where an offer of a place is made, this will normally be either unconditional – which means the applicant has met all admission requirements for the programme, or conditional – which means the applicant has not yet met all the admission requirements for the programme. Where an offer is conditional, the offer letter will set out what conditions still need to be met, for example: receipt of satisfactory reference; completion of skills course, etc.  Applicants must meet all conditions prior to the start of the programme, or they will not be permitted to register.

 

Can I apply for student finance for my course?

This depends on several factors including, which programme you have applied for, your previous study, and your previous receipt of student loans. 

Detailed information about student finance and eligibility requirements is available from the relevant government websites. For English students  this is gov.uk

 

Who can I use as a reference?

Your reference should be someone who has known you for at least 18 months, but preferably longer, and within the last three years.

They should be someone who knows you well enough to be able to confirm your suitability for the course you are applying to.

They should be someone independent who has known you in a professional or academic capacity, for example: a manager at your work, a tutor from a degree or professional programme, a supervisor or manager at an organisation you volunteer for.

We will not accept a reference from a family member, a friend, or someone you employ or pay for services (for example a therapist, personal trainer, financial advisor etc)

 

Do I need to include my full reference in my application?

No, you need to provide the name and contact details for your referee on the application. Please ensure that the details provided are correct, as errors will likely delay your application. Metanoia’s Admissions will contact your referee directly and ask for a reference. We will not accept references received directly from applicants.

You should let your referee know that Metanoia will be emailing them to request a reference for you.  We will ask them about their relationship to you, how long they have known you and your suitability for your chosen programme of study.

It is important that you are confident that the referee you provide on your application is willing to act as a reference for you and will respond to Metanoia.  Any offer of a place on our programmes will be conditional until a satisfactory reference is received. Applicants unable to provide a suitable reference by the start of their programme will not be permitted to register.

 

What should I include in my personal statements?

The personal statement questions on the application are designed to give you an opportunity to tell us about why you are wishing to undertake the programme you have applied for and what attributes and experience you think makes you a good candidate for admissions to the programme.

There is guidance on the maximum number of words for each response on the application form. Please note that you will get an error message if you exceed the maximum of 2000 characters permitted by our system.  We want you to focus on what you think is most important for the programme team to know about you.

 

Entry to my programme requires completion of the Metanoia Certificate in Therapeutic Skills and Studies or an equivalent. What are the accepted equivalents?

The Certificate in Therapeutic Skills and Studies is required for entry onto our Doctorate Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy by Professional Studies (DCPsych) programme. However, we do consider that it could be a useful course for students interested in any of our other clinical programmes.

Applicants to the DCPsych programme may use a counselling skills qualification from another institution to meet this entry requirement, as long as the programme you studied had 35 hours or more of contact time. You will need to provide a certificate or official transcript with your application to demonstrate that you have successfully completed an equivalent course.

If you have not completed an equivalent course, you must take the Metanoia Certificate. You can find more information about it on the webisite.

 

The entry requirements for the programme say I need GBC. What does this mean?

One of the entry requirement for our Doctorate in Counselling Psychology by Professional Practice is that applicants must have a Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) to the British Psychological Society (BPS). You will need to provide proof of this on your application form.

To demonstrate that you have GBC status you can either provide an email from BPS confirming you have Graduate membership or you can provide a university transcript stating that your qualification is BPS-accredited for GBC.

Further information is available from BPS on their website:  What does the Graduate Basis for Chartered membership (GBC) mean? | BPS