American School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University | San Francisco Bay Area is not currently enrolling students and the campus will be closing. If you are a current student with questions, please call 855-758-5660. If you are interested in an Argosy University program of study at another location or online, please call 855-758-5664.

San Francisco Clinical Psychology: PsyD Degree Program

The Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology program, located in the greater San Francisco Bay Area in California, has been designed to educate and train students so that they will be able to function effectively as clinical psychologists. To ensure that students are adequately prepared, the curriculum is designed to provide for the meaningful integration of psychological science, theory, and clinical practice.

Clinical Training Overview

Students begin formal practicum training in their second year in the program, allowing them to integrate their classroom curriculum with real world clinical experience. In their first year, students are encouraged to engage as volunteers in order to gain exposure to clinical service delivery in clinical settings. This first year work usually occurs either through our on-site Intensive Clinic or through volunteer positions in community agencies. Practicum training proceeds through the second, third, and fourth years in the PsyD program, allowing for a solid foundation of clinical experience that lead to internship.

Practicum training sites affiliated with the ASPP, San Francisco Bay Area are located throughout the Bay Area and provide our students hand-on learning opportunities in a wide array of settings with our diverse and multicultural community. Sites are chosen based on their ability to provide students the appropriate breadth and depth in training per American Psychological Association (APA) criteria, as well as on the quality of supervision that serves to foster and further integrate necessary learning.

Practicum sites at ASPP, San Francisco Bay Area, are generally all located in the greater Bay Area and are members of the Bay Area Practicum Information Collaborative (BAPIC; http://www.bapic.info), of which we are a founding member. BAPIC is a partnership between Bay Area doctoral psychology programs and practicum agencies. BAPIC was organized in 2008 with the primary goal of centralizing practicum training information and streamlining the practicum application process for doctoral students and agencies. This partnership simplifies the application process for students and provides ease of access to the best practicum training opportunities in the Bay Area.

Students at ASPP, San Francisco Bay Area train in settings that include community mental health centers, VAs, hospitals, colleges, school districts and other non-profit agencies, all supervised by licensed psychologists. In addition, students have the opportunity to train in our on-campus Argosy Assessment Clinic providing assessment services to the surrounding community under the supervision of program faculty, or to complete supplemental clinical training through our Intensive Clinical Training program that features the use of our program’s one-way mirror.

For internship training beginning in the fifth year, students are expected to seek internships that are APA accredited (APPIC; http://www.appic.org). Students also have the option of applying to our own San Francisco Bay Area Internship Consortium – a great benefit to students who must remain in the area – or applying broadly in California and nationally. As a member of the California Psychology Internship Council (CAPIC; http://www.capic.net), our students also gain access, when approved, to a network of internship training sites throughout California in addition to those found through the national Association of Psychology Postdoctoral & Internship Centers (APPIC) match. Students also have the option of completing internship part-time over two years, requiring a sixth year in the program. Regardless of which type of internships our students pursue (APA, APPIC or CAPIC), our faculty are prepared to support students through every step of the internship application and selection process.

Argosy University does not guarantee third-party certification/licensure. Outside agencies control the requirements for taking and passing certification/licensing exams, and are subject to change without notice to Argosy University.

Programs, credential levels, technology, and scheduling options vary by school and are subject to change. Not all online programs are available to residents of all U.S. states. Argosy University, San Francisco Bay Area, 1005 Atlantic Ave., Alameda, CA 94501 © 2017 Argosy University. All rights reserved. Our email address is materialsreview@argosy.edu.

Gainful Employment Information

Program Aims and Competencies

Program Aims

The aim of the American School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco’s clinical psychology program is to educate and train students employing a practitioner-scholar model so that they will eventually be able to function effectively as clinical psychologists. To ensure that students are adequately prepared, the curriculum is designed to provide for the meaningful integration of psychological science, theory, and clinical practice. The clinical psychology program is designed to emphasize the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential in the training of health service psychologists who are committed to the ethical provision of quality, evidence based services to diverse populations.

Program Competencies

The American School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco, PsyD in Clinical Psychology program subscribes to the APA Standards of Accreditation. As such, students are expected to establish an identity in and orientation to health service psychology by acquiring the necessary discipline-specific knowledge and profession-wide competencies as follows:

  1. Students will demonstrate competency in research, including knowledge of research and quantitative methods, as well as psychometrics.
  2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of ethical and legal standards, and will conduct themselves in an ethical manner.
  3. Students will demonstrate competency in individual and cultural diversity, including the ability to apply the theoretical and empirical knowledge base.
  4. Students will demonstrate professional values, attitudes, and behavior, as well as self-reflective practice and openness to feedback and supervision.
  5. Students will evidence competency in communication and interpersonal skills, including producing clear, informative, and well-integrated written and oral reports, and effective interpersonal and professional interactions.
  6. Students will demonstrate competency in assessment, including the ability to choose, administer, and interpret psychological tests, and communicate their findings in the assessment process.
  7. Students will demonstrate competency in intervention, including developing, applying, and adapting evidence based treatment plans, and evaluating treatment effectiveness.
  8. Students will evidence knowledge of supervision models and practices.
  9. Students will evidence knowledge of consultation models and practices, and demonstrate interprofessional/interdisciplinary skills.
  10. Students will have knowledge of basic areas in scientific psychology, including affective, biological, cognitive, developmental, and social aspects of behavior; and the history and systems of psychology.
  11. Students will demonstrate advanced skills in integrating knowledge in scientific psychology.