Description and Requirements

This doctoral program builds upon ULV's well established tradition of community service and prepares its graduates to function competently and responsibly in multicultural, diverse, and pluralistic societies. It is anchored in an integration of clinical and community psychology and grounded in the promotion of an ecological perspective where human behavior is understood within the context of interacting systems that are multi-level, multidimensional, and multi-directional. Its core mission is to train scholarpractitioners who will think critically, promote social justice, apply their knowledge diligently, and practice ethically and compassionately as culturally competent providers of clinical and prevention services and as agents of social change for individuals, groups, communities, and organizations. The program is accredited by the American Psychological Association as a program in clinical psychology. For information regarding this accreditation consult:

American Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation
50 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20002
(202) 336-5979
http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

Philosophy of Training

The philosophy of training for the Psy.D. Program is based upon the value that the needs of a multicultural society are best served by a psychology profession that is both culturally competent and inclusive. In accordance with this value, the Program seeks to provide students with a rich exposure to culturally and individually diverse populations through its academic training and applied experiences. It also seeks to train students that have been underrepresented in the field.

Training Model

ULV's Psy.D. in Clinical-Community Psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association. It follows the scholarpractitioner and competency-based models and is one of few programs in the nation where students learn interactively about the social, interpersonal, and intrapersonal factors that influence social justice and affect people's well being and quality of life. Students learn to think about psychological factors at the individual, family, and community levels. The Psy.D. program is designed to prepare students as clinicalcommunity psychologists to provide comprehensive prevention and community interventions and psychotherapeutic and psychodiagnostic services, to assume administrative and supervisory positions in mental health and/or community programs, and to provide professional psychological consultation. The program infuses multicultural competencies into its curriculum and trains students in the theories and concepts of cultural and individual diversity and in their application to the practice of professional psychology. It also trains students to be consumers of research and base their work on the foundation of scientific evidence and scholarly works.

The program is secular in orientation and is designed to be completed in five years of full-time study, at least four of which must be in residence. It develops competence in the scientific foundations of psychology, clinical-community professional areas of practice, research methods, and data analysis. It includes an empirical dissertation as well as clinical training, the latter of which consists of clinical practica and an internship. The practica occur during years 2 and 3 of the program, and consist of a minimum of 1,500 hours of training at two different sites. The dissertation proposal is designed during year 3 and completed during year 4, prior to the clinical internship. The clinical internship in year 5 consists of 1500 clinical hours and can be completed either during one year of full-time training or in two years of half-time training. The internship meets the predoctoral licensure requirements in California.

Admission Requirements

Applicants are admitted with a bachelor's degree. All applicants must submit the following:

1. Academic preparation. Official transcripts documenting receipt of a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning. Primary consideration is afforded to applicants with a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.00, and nearly all applicants who are admitted will meet this standard. Although an undergraduate major in psychology is not required, all applicants must have completed at least 18 hours of psychology distributed across the following core areas: introductory psychology, statistics, experimental psychology or research methods, physiological psychology, and abnormal psychology. In addition, one course from among the following is required: history and systems, social psychology, human development, theories of personality, and clinical or community psychology. Applicants with graduate degrees must submit transcripts showing these degrees and documenting a minimum graduate GPA of 3.
2. Three letters of recommendation from individuals who are sufficiently familiar with the applicant's academic and/or clinical fieldwork to provide a valid and objective assessment of the applicant's potential to function competently as a professional psychologist.
3. A statement of purpose, not to exceed 500 words, addressing the applicant's reasons for pursuing doctoral work in clinical-community psychology.
4. An autobiographical statement, not to exceed 1000 words, addressing ways in which life experiences have influenced the decision to pursue doctoral studies in professional psychology.
5. A current curriculum vitae.

Transfer Credit

Individuals with graduate-level coursework may petition for a maximum of 30 transfer credits. Transfer credit will not be awarded for prior clinical experience or practicum work.

Program Progress, Doctoral Candidacy, and the Clinical Competency Examination

Individuals are admitted into the program as pre-candidates. To be eligible to apply for doctoral candidacy, pre-candidates must at a minimum (a) complete 58 semester hours of coursework in the program and (b) complete 500 clinical practicum hours. Evaluation for candidacy normally occurs in the fall of year 3. All students must earn candidacy status and pass the Year 3 Clinical- Community Competency Examination in order to complete the program. Dismissal of a student may occur even after the conferring of candidacy and passing the Clinical-Community Competency Examination, if the student's personal or professional behavior does not continue to meet required standards for the profession.

M.S. in Psychology

An M.S. in Psychology will be awarded at the completion of the second year of the Psy.D. program (60 semester hours for students entering the program with a bachelor's degree; at least 45 semester hours for students entering with transfer credit) to students in good academic standing who have successfully completed PSY 635 and PSY 636 (Practicum I and II). This degree is intended only as an en route degree toward completion of the Psy.D., not as a terminal master's degree.

Personal Psychotherapy Requirement

Each student is required to complete a minimum of 20 hours of personal psychotherapy during the program. Students must complete a minimum of 10 hours of personal psychotherapy during each year of required practica (PSY 635-636, 655-656). Students must complete their 20 hours of personal psychotherapy by the end of PSY 656 and prior to taking the Year 3 Clinical-Community Competency Exam.

Licensure

Courses in the Psy.D. curriculum are consistent with educational requirements for licensure in California. However, because licensure requirements vary among states, students interested in practicing outside of California are encouraged to consult the licensing boards in the states where they intend to practice.

I. Breadth of Scientific Psychology

Biological Aspects of Behavior:

Cognitive and Affective Aspects:

Social Aspects:

History and Systems:

Psychological Measurement:

Research Methodology:

Techniques of Data Analysis:

II. Foundations of Practice

Individual Differences in Behavior:

Human Development:

Dysfunctional Behavior/Psychopathology:

Professional Standards and Ethics:

Community Psychology:

III. Diagnosis, Assessment, and Intervention Strategies

Theories & Methods of Assessment & Diagnosis:

Interventions:

Two of the following:

Consultation and Supervision:

Evaluating the Efficacy of Interventions:

IV. Cultural and individual diversity

V. Electives

A minimum of 10 semester hours from the following:

VI. Qualifying Examination: