Master's level – 2 years
MSc in Clinical Psychology
Two years to become a mental health professional: 800 to 1,800 hours of placements and practice, including at the school's training centre, supervised by experienced psychologists.
- Duration
- 2 years
- Language
- French
- Degree
- Master's level
- 120 ECTS credits
- Campus
- Paris — La Défense
- Tuition
- €9,000 per year
The essentials
ESPÉ's Master of Science in Clinical Psychology lasts two years, taught in French in Paris-La Défense. It costs €9,000 per year, is applied for outside the national Mon Master platform with a psychology degree, and offers two second-year specialisations: clinical work with excluded populations, or therapeutic approaches.
What sets this programme apart
An in-house training centre
Inspired by Quebec's model of the university clinic: students practise under supervision before practising alone.
Teachers who practise
The teaching staff are practising psychologists and researchers who have kept a clinical activity.
Two career specialisations
Clinical work with excluded populations, or therapeutic approaches: the choice is made in the second year, once the foundations are in place.
Preparing to set up in practice
Legal framework, business management, communication and supervision: what most graduates lack when they open a practice.
Why choose this programme
- Intense professional immersion, through the school's training centre and a clinical supervision scheme.
- Final-year specialisations built around real professional needs.
- A demanding programme, grounded in research and taught by practising mental health professionals.
- An international dimension, with the option of a semester or a year abroad.
- Personal career support, including courses devoted to setting up a private practice.
The programme, year by year
Year 1 — assess, diagnose, intervene
- Advanced psychopathology
- Psychological assessment and testing
- Thematic seminars: psychology and autism, psychology and justice
- Psychology of career guidance, psychology of adolescence
- Supervised clinical placement
In between — optional professional year
- 1,000 hours of placement
- Or a semester abroad and 500 hours of placement
- Or a full year abroad
- Our partner universities on the International experience page
Year 2 — specialise
- Specialisation in clinical work with excluded populations, or in therapeutic approaches
- Supervised practice at the school's training centre
- Applied research dissertation
- Preparation for private practice or institutional work
Semester by semester
Two years, four semesters, with an optional professional year in between. The first year sets the therapeutic approaches against one another and comes with clinical placement; the second specialises and puts students into practice at the school's own training centre.
| Year 1 | S1 | The foundations | + | At least 300 hours of placement alongside classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | ||||
| Optional year | Professional year: ten months of placement, or a semester abroad then six months of placement, or a full academic exchange (Optional, outside the tuition fees of the programme) | |||
| Year 2 | S3 | Career specialisation | + | Up to 700 hours of placement or practice at ESPÉ's training centre |
| S4 | ||||
| Final stage | Final dissertation and oral defence | |||
Professional experience
Year one: setting the approaches against one another
The year confronts psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural and humanistic approaches in an integrative spirit: choosing the tool that fits the patient and the moment, rather than defending a school of thought. Practical classes build operational skills, such as running a therapy group or spotting a gifted child. Alongside classes, grouped on dedicated days, students complete 300 hours of clinical placement with supervision provided by the school.
The optional professional year
Between the two years, three formats are possible: ten months of placement, roughly a thousand hours; a semester abroad at a partner university followed by six months of placement; or a full year of academic exchange. Supervision takes place in groups of no more than fifteen students with experienced clinical psychologists. The experience produces a report, discussed in supervision sessions the following year.
Year two: practising and preparing to set up
Several courses prepare students to set up in practice, testing their ideas with peers and teachers. Practice takes place on dedicated days, on placement and at the school's training centre, inspired by Quebec's university clinics: students see patients under the supervision of experienced psychologists, then review filmed consultations in groups and individually, with participants' consent. The year ends with an optional further placement and the defence of the dissertation.
Courses, year by year
Year 1
Therapeutic traditions
- Psychodynamic therapy
- Cognitive and behavioural therapies
- Systemic and humanistic approaches
- Comparative study of psychotherapies
Assessment, diagnosis and intervention
- Psychological assessment
- Therapeutic mediation
- Psychological trauma
- Suicide risk
- WISC V
Research: methods and tools
- Statistical analysis
- Dissertation seminars
Options
- Semester 1: psychology and autism, or psychology and justice
- Semester 2: psychology of career guidance, or psychology of adolescence
Year 2
Clinical psychology
- Cognitive and behavioural therapies and trauma
- Introduction to EMDR and lifespan integration
- Intervention strategy and timing
Methods and tools
- Ethics and professional conduct
- Clinical pharmacology
- Mental health: prevention and intervention
Track: integrative therapeutic approaches
- Supporting parenthood
- Systemic therapies in practice
- Building the therapeutic alliance
- Introduction to sexology
- Tools for private practice
- Legal framework and private law
Track: clinical work with excluded populations
- Crisis intervention with victims and carers
- Mental health in the charity sector
- Exile and its psychological consequences
- Clinical work on addiction
- Supporting reintegration
Specialisation options
Therapeutic approaches
Specialising in issues within the family unit and the techniques that address them, through to the tools of private practice.
Clinical work with excluded populations
A continuation of the option offered in the third year of the Bachelor: understanding mental health care in crisis settings and in the health and social sector.
After the degree
Setting up in private practice
Around a quarter of psychology graduates open their own practice. The therapeutic approaches track prepares that step, from the legal framework to communication.
Working in institutions or charities
Medico-social institutions, the charity sector, humanitarian and social action: mental health roles outside the civil service are numerous.
Working in companies
Psychosocial risks, quality of working life, skills assessment, recruitment: clinical psychology is a distinctive asset there.
See also careers in psychology and what our degrees grant.
Admission
Who can apply
- Hold a psychology degree from a French university, or a bachelor in psychology for international students.
- Graduates of ESPÉ's Bachelor have facilitated access.
- Entry is in the first year only: the programme cannot be joined later, given its teaching sequence.
The steps
- Apply on the school's own platform, outside Mon Master. As an alternative to a university master's, admission is handled directly by the school.
- First selection on the application: motivation letter, results from the first two years of the degree and the first semester of the third.
- Interview before a panel including at least one psychologist.
- Answer after the panel meets, monthly from January for the September intake.
What the panel looks for
The panel weighs academic results, the quality of written expression and reasoning in the documents provided, and the human qualities shown at interview. That second dimension is decisive: studying psychology engages the person as much as the intellect.
Fees
- Tuition
- €9,000 per year That is €18,000 for the two academic years, excluding the professional year and exchange. 2026 rate.
- Application fee
- €50 Non-refundable.
- Enrolment deposit
- €1,800 Deducted from tuition.
Financial support exists. Merit scholarships, means-tested scholarships of up to 50% of tuition, a state-guaranteed student loan and payment in nine instalments. Everything is set out on the funding page.
Frequently asked questions
Does this degree grant the French title of psychologist?
No. The title is protected by the law of 25 July 1985 and reserved to graduates of a five-year state-approved university programme or of the École de Psychologues Praticiens. The school states this plainly and has started the recognition process, which requires tracking two graduating cohorts.
Do I have to go through Mon Master?
No. Applications are made directly on ESPÉ's platform.
The jury selects people, not just files: it combines academic results, the quality of writing and reasoning in the documents provided, and the personal qualities assessed at interview. That second dimension is decisive: studying psychology engages the person as much as the intellect.
Which specialisations are offered?
Two, in the second year.
Therapeutic approaches, to set up in private practice with the techniques that are genuinely useful in the consulting room.
Clinical work with excluded populations, to work in the charity and humanitarian sector.
Can I join in the second year?
No. The teaching sequence requires completing the first year at the school.
Is there a January intake?
Yes. Applications for that intake are made on the same platform. Dates and conditions are on the January intake page.
Request the brochure
The full programme, calendar and fees, sent by email.
Prefer to talk? Come to an open day or write to us.