Doctor Of Psychology Curriculum

Our Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology degree program curriculum has been carefully constructed to prepare you for clinical work. Thus, your classroom experiences help you to develop a strong knowledge base of theory and research, while your training experiences allow you to apply these important skills and concepts.

Clinical Training Overview

Clinical training is supervised, out-of-class work experience in clinical settings. Through this contact, you’ll have an opportunity to apply your theoretical knowledge, implement clinical techniques based on this knowledge, and develop the professional and personal attitudes important to the identity of a professional psychologist. By the end of clinical training, you’ll be expected to possess effective assessment and intervention skills, cultural competence, relational competence, and the ability to practice in a highly ethical manner.

During clinical training, you’ll advance through progressively challenging levels of training. At each level, your progress is assessed in multiple ways by multiple faculty members and field supervisors. To advance to the next level of clinical training, you must pass certain courses, complete practicum and internship, and demonstrate competency in specific clinical tasks.

Course Listing

The PsyD in Clinical Psychology degree program requires the satisfactory completion of 98 semester credit hours, distributed as follows: core course requirements, 69 credit hours; elective requirements, 12 credit hours; professionalization group requirements, 2 credit hours; practicum and practicum seminar requirements, 12 credit hours; and clinical research project requirements, 3 credit hours. All courses other than electives are considered core courses. Students are required to retake a core course if they receive a grade below "B-." The course must be retaken no later than the end of the next calendar year with an earned grade of "B-" or better.

Full Course Sequence

Graduation Requirements

Students who are admitted into the Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology degree program will be responsible for completing the program requirements that are in effect at the time of their admission. The school retains the right to modify these requirements in accordance with the demands of the profession of psychology. To be eligible for graduation, students must meet the following requirements.

• The satisfactory completion of 98 semester credit hours. The total credit hours must include:
  • 69 credit hours of core courses.
  • 2 credit hours of Professionalization Group.
  • 12 credit hours (two years) of practicum and practicum seminar groups.
  • A minimum of 12 credit hours of general electives.
  • 3 credit hours of Clinical Research Project.
• Successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination no later than the beginning of the fifth year.
• Successful completion of all sections of the Clinical Competency Evaluation (CCE).
• Successful completion of a 2,000-hour internship, in not less than 12 and not more than 24 months.
• Successful completion of the Clinical Research Project.
• GPA of at least "B" (3.0 on a scale of 4.0).
• Completion of these requirements within seven years of matriculation into the program.
• A completed Petition to Graduate submitted to campus administration

Research Training

Consistent with our practitioner-scholar model and goals, this program can help you learn the knowledge and skills needed to critically evaluate professional literature, use this literature to inform your professional practice, and engage in research that aligns with your career objectives. Students’ learning is informed by current empirical research, and they are taught to critically evaluate literature and to assess outcomes in a manner consistent with the model of the local clinical scientist. Informal research training is embedded across the curriculum. Formal training in research methods and statistical analysis occurs in two required semester-long courses; with this knowledge and experience, you may then begin work on your Clinical Research Project (CRP).

The Clinical Research Project (CRP)

The CRP is an opportunity for you to produce an original, scholarly research contribution in an area of clinical psychology, while simultaneously developing and refining the skills necessary to integrate your clinical knowledge with research literature. During this project, you are expected to:

• Significantly deepen your knowledge about a particular area (or areas) of clinical psychology
• Sharpen your critical thinking and writing skills
• Develop and apply skills in research methodology

The CRP requires you to analyze and synthesize psychological literature, to develop and investigate original research questions, and to discuss how that investigation can be integrated back into the psychological literature. CRPs may involve original empirical research using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methodologies, or other approaches appropriate to the topic area.

The Clinical Research Project can serve as a launching point for students and alumni to pursue further scholarship such as publications and presentations, often in collaboration with program faculty. Recent examples of such collaboration include:

• Brandt, C. (2012). Equine-facilitated psychotherapy as a complimentary treatment intervention. Minnesota School of Professional Psychology. Presented at the Minnesota Psychological Association Annual Convention: Minneapolis, MN.
• Hobbs, J.D.J., Kushner, M.G., Lee, S.S., Reardon, S.M., & Maurer, E.W. (2011). Meta-analysis of supplemental treatment for depressive and anxiety disorders in patients being treated for alcohol dependence. The American Journal on Addictions, 00, 1-11.
• Shrode, T., Poe, T., Pileggi, B., Brennan, E., McLeod, J., & Romero, R. (2014). Virtual reality exposure therapy for combat-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A meta-analysis. Manuscript submitted for publication.
• Young, R., Boys, C. & Bennett, M. A. (2013). Comparing externalizing behaviors of children diagnosed with FASD versus ADHD. Poster session presented at the Research Society on Alcoholism's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting, Orlando, FL.