Students can apply for RPL and, where previous studies are directly comparable to our accredited units of study RPL may be granted for up to 50% of the course.
For Psychology courses, RPL and credit can normally only be granted if your prior studies were in an APAC accredited program of the same or higher level than the one you are applying to, or have been assessed as equivalent by the APS for overseas study. This means you cannot get credit for 4th-year psychology units in a 5th-year course and so on.
The full ACA014 Policy can be found on our website here
Important: Students must apply before the start of your first teaching period (e.g. before your first class in the course). This is to allow enough time to process the RPL before the census date.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
To apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), please fill out this online form
You will need to supply relevant evidence, at a minimum you will need transcripts and course or unit outlines for prior studies. If you are applying for credit based on professional experience then additional evidence such as client or employer testimonials may be required. We recommend that you speak with one of your Course Coordinators before applying for RPL to confirm what evidence may be required for your situation and what credit might apply.
RPL Processes per Course
| Counselling and Psychotherapy programs | Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) |
| Masters of Psychology (Clinical) and Doctor of Psychology (Clinical) – Standard Pathways | Master of Professional Psychology |
| Master of Clinical Psychology (Post Registration) |
Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science – Coming soon For now please contact your Course Coordinator for advice |
| Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling |
Note: The above processes are due for review. For any references to Moodle, please visit Canvas or search the my.CMI knowledgebase / FAQs. Please speak to your Course Director to seek any further clarification.
APAC Accredited Course Credit Transfer
There are some additional rules for the transfer of credit and RPL in APAC accredited courses. For credit from other APAC accredited courses you normally only need to supply an official transcript as evidence if the original program was at exactly equivalent APAC accreditation status (the exception for this is the Post Registration program where there are no exact equivalent programs pitched at this level, so you will always need to provide more information such as unit outlines and assessment documentation if possible). For RPL for overseas study further evidence is required.
Students may only be given credit for any coursework from an accredited APAC course. This strictly equivalent to coursework in the current course;
- Students may only be given credit for a placement completed as part of current employments if:
- It is of direct relevance to the course
- If the work would ordinarily be done by a qualified psychologist
- If supervision is arranged and equivalent to the usual placement supervision
- Students cannot be given credit for previous employment experience prior to entry to the course.
- Current employment cannot be used as a placement experience in the first year of the Master of Professional Psychology Practice
- Students cannot be given any credit for any previous research experience (unless it was an equivalent thesis or research project in an exactly equivalent course)
- Exemptions for overseas students may impact on any subsequent application for visas, which may require students to be enrolled in full time study.