PhD Clinical Psychology

Admission
Applicants must meet the requirements of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. In addition to the general test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), the psychology subject test is also required of all applicants.

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:

Minor 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 doctoral dissertation is required of all students in the PhD degree program. This project 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, as a second-year project, 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.

Time to program completion
The expected time to program completion is 5 years, plus an additional year for the predoctoral internship.

Course requirements
While working on the dissertation, candidates must complete two units of PSYC 604 Advanced Topics in Multivariate Analysis, at least 36 units of doctoral research (PSYC 697), and 4 units of PSYC 699.

Financial
There are federal grants and student loans available through student finance and 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. Your first year you don't want to get too overwhelmed since it will be graduate school level studies.

We are on Block Tuition: Fall quarter costs $6,750, Winter quarter costs $6,750, Spring quarter costs $6,750, and Summer quarter costs $4,250. The total annual cost is $24,500. One year of internship costs is $1,535 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 load will end up spending more money for his/her degree.

In addition to tuition, the University charges a quarterly fee of $430.00 that includes student health insurance and membership to Drayson Center (the University's health fitness center).

Example, based on normal progression through the program:
Ph.D. degree, 5 years x $24,500 = $122,500.00, plus 1 year of internship at $6,140.00, plus 6 years of university fees = $10,320.00 = Total cost of $138,960.00.

At a glance | Apply | Research | Clinical | Emphases | Email us |