Program Overview

Introduction to the PsyD in Clinical Psychology Program

The PsyD in Clinical Psychology program at the University of La Verne is designed to prepare students for careers as licensed psychologists. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA) and is committed to creating a positive training climate that allows for open inquiry, free expression, and effective conflict resolution.

Program Overview

The program is a five-year, full-time doctoral program that consists of a total of 120 semester hours. The program requires all students to be enrolled on a full-time basis for four years of coursework, followed by a one-year, full-time predoctoral internship in the fifth year.

Mission, Philosophy, Principles, and Aims

The primary mission of the program is to prepare doctoral students to become multiculturally competent professionals in the specialty of clinical psychology. The program's philosophy is that clinical practice is based on the scientific foundations of psychology, and that the science of psychology is informed by effective clinical practice. The program is guided by an overarching set of principles designed to integrate theory, research, and practice, and to infuse multicultural issues throughout.

Discipline-Specific Knowledge and Profession-Wide Competencies

The program is designed to ensure that students have attained the necessary discipline-specific knowledge and profession-wide competencies to practice as health service psychologists. The program includes coursework and training in areas such as:

• Comprehensive understanding of the history and systems of psychology
• Comprehensive understanding of the affective, biological, cognitive, developmental, and social aspects of behavior
• Research methods and quantitative methods
• Psychometrics and assessment
• Intervention and supervision

Program Requirements and Progression

Students are continuously evaluated on their professional, ethical, and legal conduct while in the program. The program includes a variety of activities to measure students' competency, including course grades, practicum performance, completion of peer supervision requirement, completion of the personal psychotherapy requirement, performance on the clinical competency exam, progression and performance on the dissertation, and performance during the predoctoral internship.

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the PsyD program must submit documentation of having earned a bachelor's degree in psychology or a closely related field from a regionally-accredited institution. A minimum overall undergraduate GPA of 3.00 is required. Prerequisite coursework with a grade of B-/credit or better must include introductory or general psychology, statistics, experimental psychology or research methods, abnormal psychology or psychopathology, and two additional psychology courses.

Grading Policies

The PsyD program uses the following grades in evaluation of students' performance: A, A-, B+, B, B-, and F, or Credit, No Credit. The minimal passing grade for all letter grade courses is B-, and the minimal passing grade for all Credit/No Credit courses is "Credit."

Degree Requirements

The program requires completion of a total of 120 semester hours, including coursework, practicum, and dissertation. Students must also complete a one-year, full-time predoctoral internship in their fifth year.

Curriculum Plan of Study

The program includes a variety of coursework, including:

Year 1 Coursework

• PSYD 600 Professional Development Seminar I
• PSYD 601 Professional Development Seminar II
• PSYD 602 Advanced Statistics I
• PSYD 602L SPSS Lab I
• PSYD 603 Advanced Statistics II
• PSYD 603L SPSS Lab II
• PSYD 604 Advanced Multicultural Competency I
• PSYD 605 Advanced Multicultural Competency II
• PSYD 606 Advanced Psychopathology
• PSYD 607 Psychotherapy Efficacy & Outcome
• PSYD 608 Professional Issues & Ethics
• PSYD 609 Clinical Skills & Interviewing Techniques
• PSYD 610 Cognitive & Intellectual Assessment
• PSYD 611 Personality Assessment I

Year 2 Coursework

• PSYD 612 Practicum I
• PSYD 612L Supervision Lab I
• PSYD 613 Practicum II
• PSYD 613L Supervision Lab II
• PSYD 620 Psychological Measurement
• PSYD 621 Advanced Human Development
• PSYD 622 Quantitative Research Methods
• PSYD 623 Qualitative Research Methods
• PSYD 624 Evidence-Based Practice I
• PSYD 625 Evidence-Based Practice II
• PSYD 626 Personality Assessment II
• PSYD 627 Full Battery Assessment
• PSYD 629 Competency Exam

Year 3 Coursework

• PSYD 630 Practicum III
• PSYD 631 Practicum IV
• PSYD 632 Biological Bases of Behavior
• PSYD 633 Cognitive & Affective Bases of Behavior
• PSYD 634 Advanced History & Systems
• PSYD 635 Advanced Social Psychology
• PSYD 636 Aging and Long-term Care
• PSYD 637 Child Abuse Assessment and Reporting
• PSYD 638 Advanced Human Sexuality
• PSYD 639 Spousal/Partner Abuse Assessment, Detection, & Intervention
• PSYD 640 Dissertation I
• PSYD 641 Dissertation II

Year 4 Coursework

• PSYD 642 Advanced Supervision Skills I
• PSYD 642L Supervision Lab III
• PSYD 643 Advanced Supervision Skills II
• PSYD 643L Supervision Lab IV
• PSYD 644 Advanced Consultation Skills
• PSYD 646 or PSYD 699 Practicum V or Independent Study
• PSYD 647 or PSYD 699 Practicum VI or Independent Study
• PSYD 649 Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention
• PSYD 651 Substance Abuse Detection and Treatment
• PSYD 660 Dissertation III
• PSYD 661 Dissertation IV
• PSYD 690A Selected Topics in Clinical Psychology

Year 5 Coursework

• PSYD 680 Full-time Internship I
• PSYD 681 Full-time Internship II

Electives

Students must complete 2 elective units. Students electing to take a third year of practicum must enroll in PSYD 646 Practicum V and PSYD 647 Practicum VI as their electives. Students not taking a third year of practicum take PSYD 699 Independent Study. PSYD 690 Selected Topics will vary depending on faculty interest and availability and may be substituted with PSYD 699 Independent Study.