M.A. studies in Psychology are aimed at encouraging study and research in the field of psychology as a basic science, and giving elementary training in preparation for an area in the application of psychology in the different areas.
Link to Psychologists Board website. The website shows the criteria for internship in the different areas of Psychology. Criteria regard internship in Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology, Medical Psychology, Rehabilitation Psychology and Social-Employment-Organizational Psychology.
The clinical area affords its students a theoretical and practical infrastructure that allows them to learn and develop as therapists with responsibility, concern, and understanding in therapeutic fieldwork and in the emotional processes that stand at its foundations. Our hope is that alumni of the area, as they continue down their professional paths, will contribute to the promotion of thought and practice in the field. The area's program encourages the development of the skills required to that end. Acquiring this infrastructure is accomplished through the combination of intensive fieldwork with close guidance, theoretical courses that allow for the learning of clinical skills, observing the emotional processes that are at the core of therapeutic work, and the acquisition of theoretical and empirical tools for investigation. Moreover, the research experience that the students must undergo during the course of their studies contributes to this aim. Our program is unique in that the research can be empirical (quantitative or narrative) or theoretical and clinical.
All of the educators and instructors in the area are experienced, senior clinical psychologists who are continuously and actively involved in treatment and diagnosis.
The area excels in two central branches of psychotherapy: psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
We are proud that the heads of the five clinical areas in the different Israeli universities (in 2010, for example) are alumni of the clinical area in Jerusalem. In addition, all the heads of psychological services in mental health institutions in Jerusalem (the city with the most mental health institutions in the country) are also alumni of the area at Hebrew University.
Area Coordinator: Prof. Orya Tishby, orya.tishby@mail.huji.ac.il
Prof. Eytan Bachar
Prof. Jonathan Huppert
Prof. Nilly Mor
Prof. Eyal Kalanthroff
Prof. Iftah Yovel
Dr. Laura Canetti
Dr. Gal Lazarus
The program of study is based on two consecutive years of theoretical studies and a practicum and cannot be divided. The program is built in a way that allows for the completion of all the academic requirements during those two years and we encourage our students to complete them in this timeframe in order to be free to continue their training in the framework of the clinical internship and/or doctoral studies.
The Masters degree in Psychology is awarded with the completion of the requirements of the program, which is necessary, according to the internship regulations of the Psychologists Board next to the Health Ministry, in order to complete the internship in clinical psychology and work as a therapist.
The number of credits required for the degree in this area is 56 credits.
Required clinical courses (including courses in psychotherapeutic intervention, foundations of clinical thought, psychopathology, interviewing and diagnosis.)
Clinical training in psychotherapy and psychodiagnostic diagnosis
Clinical workshop
Course in research methods common to all of the areas
Elective clinical courses include courses in specific topics and techniques, like group therapy, short-term therapy, self psychology, Winnicottian therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy in anxiety disorders, and more.
Writing a research seminar paper
Each Student is required to write one seminar paper. The writing of the seminar paper (in the first year) is done as part of a seminar paper course with personal guidance, by the supervisor of the dissertation
Writing the thesis
For details regarding the thesis, please press here (information in Hebrew).
Practical studies (practicum)
The practical part of the area's program is based on an intensive clinical practicum. The sites that are chosen for the practicum are among the best clinics and hospitals that deal with mental health in Jerusalem. The practicum is done only in those frameworks in Jerusalem that were chosen for that purpose by the area. During the first year, students will spend 12 weekly hours in the clinical framework and in the second year about 20 weekly hours in the same framework. The continuity is intended to allow for lasting learning and therapeutic experiences, and to minimize difficulties adjusting to frequent transitions. The educators and instructors in the area, in coordination with the mentors at the practicum sites, emphasize the developmental, growth and personal learning processes and the experiences the students go through, each person at his own pace and as a group.
Alumni of the clinical area in Jerusalem:
A. Gain vast clinical experience due to the fact that this the only area in which the practicum lasts for two consecutive years and in the same clinical framework.
B. The chance to finish the thesis relatively quickly is given to them. There is a variety of possibilities for writing the thesis in the department, which is characterized by excellence in research.
Doctoral studies
Students who have fulfilled the criteria of qualifications and achievements may start the "PhD Track for Outstanding Students” already during the first or second year of the M.A. See the Doctorate page for further details.
Acceptance to the area
See details regarding acceptance to the M.A. (information in Hebrew)
Studies in the area last for two and a half years at the end of which students may be accepted to internships in rehabilitation psychology according to the requirements of the Psychology Law in Israel. The applied track combines theoretical aspects and concepts in neuropsychology with clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic-rehabilitative aspects of this discipline. The courses involve brain structure and function and cognitive, emotional and social process connected to the nervous system when functioning normally and in situations of neurological damage. Those studying in the applied area also participate in different diagnostic and treatment courses and gain experience in fieldwork, including a practicum. Moreover, during the course of their studies, students join medical students for a few weeks of learning and clinical experience in the Neurology Department in Hadassah Hospital.
Area Coordinator: Dr. Tammy Pilowsky-Peleg tammy.pilowsky@mail.huji.ac.il
Prof. Hillel Aviezer
Prof. Leon Deouell
Dr. Shiri Ben David
Studies in the applied track last for two and a half years. The program of study is based on two consecutive years of theoretical studies and a practicum (begining in the secont semster) and cannot be divided. The program is built in a way that allows for the completion of all the academic requirements during those two years, and completion of the practicum in the first semester of the third year. We encourage our students to complete them in this timeframe in order to be free to continue their training in the framework of the rehabilitation psychology internship and/or doctoral studies.
The Masters degree in Psychology is awarded with the completion of the requirements of the program, which is necessary, according to the internship regulations of the Psychologists Board next to the Health Ministry, in order to complete the internship in rehabilitation psychologyand work as a therapist.
Required general studies of the first year - 10 credits
Required courses of the first year - 15 credits
Required courses of the second year - 19 credits (including experience in Neuropsychology (minipracticum) 0 credits)
Elective Courses - 6 credits
Required Courses of the third year – 4 credits: training seminar in Neuropsychology (practicum) 4 credits; Clinical experience in Neurology (held in Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem) 2 credits.
Total: 54 credits
Students who did not take the course "Neuropsychology” (51404) must take the course during their first year - the course will not count as part of the total credits. There is an option to obtain an exemption for students who took relevant courses based on the decision of the head of the program.
Every student must submit one research seminar paper
Every student must write a thesis.
Writing a research seminar paper
Each Student is required to write one seminar paper. The writing of the seminar paper (in the first year) is done as part of a seminar paper course with personal guidance, by the supervisor of the dissertation
Writing the thesis
For details regarding the thesis, please press here (information in Hebrew).
Doctoral studies
Students who have fulfilled the criteria of qualifications and achievements may start the "PhD Track for Outstanding Students” already during the first or second year of the M.A. See the Doctorate page for further details.
The program is intended for students who want to devote themselves to scientific exploration of the mind, with past experience in research. It includes methodological, statistical and theoretical courses that are required for conducting experiments in the 21st century. Students will be asked to find a MA supervisor and to start working on their thesis in the first semester of the first year. Students who will apply after being accepted to a laboratory will have an advantage. The program is aimed at students with BA in Psychology and related areas (e.g., neuroscience, cognitive science, etc.).
For details regarding the thesis, please press here (information in Hebrew)
Doctoral studies
Students who have fulfilled the criteria of qualifications and achievements may start the "PhD Track for Outstanding Students” already during the first or second year of the M.A. See the Doctorate page for further details.