Become a Psychologist

The Clinical program espouses a blend of the clinical-scientist model and the scientist-practitioner model, integrating the full range of research, teaching, and applied skills in training doctoral students. We view research and applied skills as interwoven rather than as two discrete sets of skills. As a result, our graduates acquire the foundation for pursuing a strong clinical scientist career in an academic or research setting, as well as a robust scientist-practitioner career in a medical or other training institution or serving in an administrative role in a service delivery agency.

The program is designed for completion in five years, the last year of which is the clinical internship. The first two years are relatively course intensive, during which students complete basic courses in research methodology, scientific domains of psychological inquiry, and core clinical courses in psychopathology, assessment, and psychosocial interventions.

Students become involved in faculty-led research teams during their first year, affording them the opportunity to collaborate with team members in developing research questions, designing empirical studies, collecting and analyzing data, writing manuscripts, and presenting scientific papers at national and regional conferences. By the end of their first year, students propose their master’s thesis research to be completed during their second year. The Clinical program emphasizes student involvement in collaborative research beyond their thesis research, providing a broad foundation in research methodology prior to formulating their dissertation research during their third year. We expect our students to have several scholarly publications and presentations at scientific meetings prior to applying for the pre-doctoral internship.

Students also acquire clinical skills in assessment and intervention beginning in their second year. All students serve as primary therapists for clients at our Department Clinic serving children, adolescents, and adults from the community (as individuals, couples, or families) under close faculty supervision. Advanced students may specialize in certain types of cases (e.g., eating disorders, chronic pain, substance abuse, attention-deficit disorders, or relationship problems) and may also involve themselves in one of the ongoing specialty training/research programs at the clinic, gaining intensive experience with a particular problem while participating in the design, conduct, and evaluation of a research project.