I secured 82 per cent marks in my Plus Two and I’m doing my graduation (first year) in psychology. I want to specialise in clinical psychology. Do let me know about universities in Canada that offer courses in this subject. When and how can I apply?

N. RAY

Acadia University (www.acadiau.ca) in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, offers an MSc degree in clinical psychology. Concordia University (www.concordia.ca) in Montreal, Lakehead University (www.lakeheadu.ca) at Thunder Bay, Ontario and University of British Columbia (www.ubc.ca) in Vancouver are some of the universities that offer MA and PhD programmes in clinical psychology. Universities such as Laurentian University (www.laurentian.ca) at Sudbury, Ontario, offer a PhD in clinical psychology. Many universities prefer students who plan to complete their doctorate rather than those who want to do only a masters.

Admission criteria may vary but most universities require applicants to have very good marks in their graduation (BA or BSc honours in psychology or related subjects), a good TOEFL score and excellent scores in general and subject GRE (psychology). Most universities also call for non-objective criteria like previous research activity, work experience, clinically-related public service or publications, and letters of recommendation.

Visit the university websites and find out the specific deadlines for applications, which could be between December 15 and March 1. Then determine when you need to take the GRE and TOEFL so that your score gets delivered to the department(s) before the admission deadline(s). GRE scores take about 10-15 days to be delivered to the university. Give the authorities at the GRE test centre a list of names of university departments to which you want to apply and they will send across your scores.

I am a student of Class XII (commerce) and would like to study journalism. Could you tell me about reputed foreign institutions, preferably in the UK, which offer a course. Will I have to take any special tests?

Siddharth Maloo

The School of Arts, Media and Design under University of Westminster, UK, is renowned for its journalism courses. It offers a bachelors course in media studies and journalism as well as one in medical journalism at the University of Westminster’s Harrow campus. According to a Guardian survey, these courses have been featuring among the top five journalism courses in the UK for the last few years.

The bachelors courses in journalism, in music and lifestyle journalism and in fashion journalism offered by the University College for the Creative Arts also feature in The Guardian survey.

Apart from a good score in Plus Two, most universities require international students to take the IELTS (International English Language Test) which is regularly administered by the British Council. Some universities may accept TOEFL scores instead.

If you have studied in English medium throughout and can convince university authorities that you are proficient in English, they may waive the IELTS. However, you should check the websites of universities of your choice for any specific requirements.

Some of the best journalism courses in Australia are offered by the University of Sunshine Coast and Murdoch University at the undergraduate level. In the US, the Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia and the Madison School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Wisconsin Madison offer world class degrees in journalism.

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