PhD Clinical Psychology

Program Fact Sheet
PhD Program Description
PhD Goals, Objectives & Competencies

Admission
Applicants must meet the requirements of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required of all applicants.

Guidelines for Admission
Letter from Admissions and Records Coordinator
Department Policy for Transfer of MA Units

Prerequisites
Undergraduate preparation for the doctoral program in clinical psychology varies by student. Recommended coursework includes: a course in history and systems of psychology; one course in biology (anatomy and physiology is recommended); one course in physics or chemistry; one course in anthropology or sociology; one course in statistics and one course in mathematics; two courses from learning, physiological psychology, cognition, or sensation and perception; and two courses from developmental, personality, or social psychology. Students are required to demonstrate proficiency using a computer operating system and at least one of the packages for statistical analysis (e.g., SPSS). Students can take a course offered by the department of psychology in order to meet this requirement.

Course of Study

Clinical Emphasis
The course of study for the doctor of philosophy degree with a clinical emphasis includes a minimum of 204 units of academic credit. In addition to the general requirements and the clinical curriculum detailed above, the student will complete the requirements that follow:

Professional Concentration (12)
PhD students will complete 12 units in an area other than their major concentration relevant to psychological research and therapy.

Doctoral Dissertation
A masters thesis and a doctoral dissertation is required of all students in the PhD degree program. This requirement should involve an original research contribution to the field and must be developed in consultation with the student's supervisory committee.

In preparation for the doctoral dissertation, students must complete PSYC 503 Advanced Multivariate Statistics and 12 units of PSYC 595 Directed Research. These units normally will be completed by the beginning of the third year of study.

Advancement to Candidacy
Students may apply for doctoral candidacy upon (1) completion of the core curriculum, (2) minimum specialty coursework, (3) completion of practicum (PSYC 782-785), (4) successful completion of the comprehensive examination, (5) acceptance of the doctoral dissertation proposal, and (6) recommendation of the faculty.

Eligibility to Apply for Internship
Eligibility to apply for internship requires that all Ph.D. students successfully complete the following requirements: All required coursework, thesis, all sections of the comprehensive exam, and the dissertation proposal defense.  The dissertation cannot be proposed until the thesis has been completed.  Students are strongly encouraged to complete the dissertation and final defense prior to departing for pre-doctoral internship. 

Time to Degree Completion
The expected time to degree completion is 5 years of coursework, plus an additional year for the predoctoral internship (with a maximum of 28 quarters permitted for degree completion). 

Course Requirements
While working on the dissertation, candidates must complete two units of PSYC 604 Advanced Topics in Multivariate Analysis and 30 units of doctoral research (PSYC 697).

Financial Information
There are student loans available through LLU Financial Aid. You can work as a research assistant or teaching assistant on an hourly basis with one of the professors in his/her lab. These positions become available after acceptance and arrival here on campus following orientation in the Fall. If/when you are accepted you might want to contact the professor in your research area of interest and approach them by phone or e-mail showing your interest for a TA or RA job. There are numerous part-time jobs, campus wide and in the nearby communities that could be worked into a busy student schedule. Students are encouraged to limit their work hours to no more than 10 hours per week.

The program is on Block Tuition: Fall quarter costs $7,370.75, Winter quarter costs $7,370.75, Spring quarter costs $7,370.75, and Summer quarter costs $7,370.75 (tuition subject to change each academic school year). The total annual cost is $29,483. One year of internship costs $660.00 per quarter, times 4 quarters. The advantages of block tuition are: a) students can take a full academic load or more each quarter, b) consistency from quarter to quarter with Financial Aid, and c) will expedite the completion of the degree program in a timely manner. However, the disadvantage will be that a student who does not take a full academic load will end up spending more time and money for his/her degree.

In addition to tuition, the University charges a quarterly enrollment fee of $738.00 that includes student health insurance and membership to Drayson Center (the University's health fitness center).

Example, based on normal progression through the program:
PhD degree, $29,483.00 x 5 years = $147,415.00, plus 1 year of internship at $2,640.00, plus 6 years of University fees = $15,576.00 = Total cost of $165,631.00.

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