theoretical psychology phd

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Theoretical Psychologist Career and Degree Guide [2024]

When explaining human behavior, which psychological theory is most appropriate? Do humans behave the way they do because of choice or biology? Is there an evolutionary component or is behavior influenced more by society? What is to be made of the widely diverse theoretical orientations that attempt to explain behavior? Are they all right, to some degree? Or are they best used in tandem, taking a metatheoretical approach to the study of behavior?

These all questions that have dogged psychologists for decades. These questions also form the basis for much of the work of theoretical psychologists.

What is a Theoretical Psychologist?

Theoretical psychologists study the relationship between psychology, philosophy, and theory. Theoretical psychologists examine human behavior through the lens of multiple theories, and, in turn, examine those theories through a scientific lens as well as a philosophical one.

Theoretical psychologists operate from a metatheoretical standpoint, meaning, they reflect on the contributions of a theory, it’s history, and it’s strengths and weaknesses. Common areas of study include ethics, morals, cultural psychology, and phenomenology.

Conceptual and theoretical research, historical research, literary research, and cultural research are popular topics among theoretical psychologists as well.

Theoretical psychologists do not operate from one strict point of view, nor do they have training specific to the field of theoretical psychology. Instead, theoretical psychologists represent a diverse group of professionals from all kinds of backgrounds, including those in school psychology , experimental psychology , clinical psychology , and biological psychology , to name a few.

Essentially, theoretical psychologists use their background knowledge to assess whether or not a particular theory is effective in explaining human behavior. They also strive to integrate research from various psychological disciplines such that psychological questions can be resolved with an interdisciplinary approach.

What Does a Theoretical Psychologist Do?

The vast majority of theoretical psychologists are employed in research, be that in an academic or private setting. An essential component of this research is examining the situations in which one theory is particularly useful or not useful.

For example, in examining the degeneration of memory in old age, a theoretical psychologist would devise experiments in which they attempt to explain memory loss via a particular psychological theory.

So, the first experiment may seek answers using a biological perspective. The next experiment may utilize a humanistic point of view. Yet another experiment might be conducted from the perspective of evolutionary psychology, and so on.

As a result of these studies, theoretical psychologists are able to examine theories for their applicability in a variety of situations. Doing so establishes the boundaries with which a certain theory can justifiably predict human behavior. It also informs theoretical psychologists about ways to improve existing theories or even discover new ways of thinking about why people behave the way they do.

Another primary duty of theoretical psychologists is to teach at the college or university level. In this case, much of their day-to-day activities would revolve around teaching courses to undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students, assisting students with research, such as dissertations, and overseeing other teaching and learning activities, such as grading papers, exams, and other assignments.

Theoretical psychologists that work in academia would also devote a significant amount of their time to research. Research in an academic setting is not unlike research in a private setting: The primary focus is to investigate various psychological theories, determine their ability to explain behavior, and revise existing theories or propose new ones to better account for the way in which humans behave.

Academic researchers in this field have several end-goals. First would be to get published and become a recognized authority in the field of theoretical psychology. A second goal is to provide learning opportunities for advanced students, such as those in graduate school, who often assist professors with their research.

Why Do We Need Theoretical Psychologists?

Theoretical psychologists play an important role in examining how and why we seek to explain human behavior. Their focus isn’t so much on the actual behavior itself, but instead on the various theories that have been posited over the years to explain that behavior. Their work is multidisciplinary and metatheoretical in nature, thus providing us with a comprehensive examination of both psychology as a science and of the philosophical underpinnings of the field of psychology.

In this regard, theoretical psychologists serve to improve the study and application of psychology as a result of their research and evaluations of existing theories. The improvements they propose, and the new theories they posit, can lead to better explanations of the human condition and why we act the way we do.

Likewise, their examinations of the history of psychology, as well as their predictions of the future of the discipline, give context to how human behavior has, is, and will be explained.

What are the Career Opportunities for a Theoretical Psychologist?

As noted above, most theoretical psychologists are employed in the research sector. Many theoretical psychologists are employed in private research firms, although a good number also conduct research either in an academic setting or independently.

Because much of their work deals with the philosophical underpinnings of psychological theory, some theoretical psychologists teach at the collegiate level. Having a deep understanding of psychological theory makes theoretical psychologists excellent candidates to teach a variety of courses at a college or university, including psychology, philosophy, research, and social science, to name a few.

What are the Educational Requirements to Become a Theoretical Psychologist?

The pathway to becoming a theoretical psychologist begins with undergraduate studies in psychology or other field. Undergraduate psychology programs are intended to introduce students to a broad range of topics within the discipline.

Common coursework includes introductory courses in statistics and research design, the psychology of learning, social psychology , biological psychology, and a survey of careers in psychology .

As one of the most popular undergraduate choices, psychology programs are available at most four-year colleges and universities. There are also robust online options for obtaining a bachelor’s degree in this field.

While having a bachelor’s degree might be adequate for procuring entry-level employment in other areas of psychology, a more advanced degree is necessary to enter the field of theoretical psychology.

Graduate studies focus on helping students develop advanced understanding of psychological theory, research strategies, and human behavior. Graduate programs in this field are usually around 30-36 credit hours and typically include a thesis option that requires extensive research on a topic selected by the student and his or her faculty advisors. There are many graduate programs in the U.S. that focus specifically on theoretical psychology.

Having a terminal degree, in this case a Ph.D. or Psy.D ., is most beneficial for individuals that wish to work in the field of theoretical psychology. This level of education provides the greatest amount of training and preparation for a successful career in this field.

Doctorate programs focus heavily on research, and in this case, specialized research in the field of theoretical psychology. Students often must complete a doctoral dissertation that requires years of research and a defense of the dissertation to one’s faculty committee. These programs often take around five years to complete.

Licensure as a theoretical psychologist is typically not required because workers in this specific field do not engage in therapy with clients. Work in research and academia, as is so often the case for theoretical psychologists, generally does not require state licensure or certification. However, requirements to hold state licensure may vary from employer to employer.

What Personality Traits are Required for a Theoretical Psychologist?

There are some personal skills and qualities that equip one to be an effective theoretical psychologist. To determine whether or not this is a career area for you, ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you inquisitive? Because of the nature of the job that focuses on asking questions and seeking answers about many different aspects of psychology, having a natural propensity for being inquisitive is a highly helpful trait.
• Are you analytical? Research is all about having the ability to gather, analyze, interpret, and report data. As a result, strong analytical and problem-solving skills are necessary for success in this field of work.
• Can you communicate effectively? When research is conducted, theoretical psychologists must be able to communicate their findings in written and verbal form. They must also be able to explain highly complex concepts, some of which may be extremely abstract and difficult for laypersons to understand.
• Are you intrinsically motivated? The bulk of a theoretical psychologist’s work is the kind that does not necessarily receive much recognition. Likewise, theoretical psychologists do not work with clients, and, therefore, do not get to experience the satisfaction of having a client make a significant breakthrough. As a result, theoretical psychologists should be more intrinsically motivated such that they retain a high level of job satisfaction.

What Careers are Similar to Theoretical Psychology?

Because of its unique, multidisciplinary perspective on studying psychology, theoretical psychology has many similar careers, including:

Philosophical counselor – Philosophical counselors are closely related to theoretical psychologists in that they both seek to combine the practice of psychology with the underlying philosophical ideas of psychology to examine behavior in a greater context. Philosophical counselors put that information to practice, seeking to help their clients move towards being more satisfied with themselves and their lives.

Because philosophical counselors work with clients, they must have at least a master’s degree and be licensed by the state in which they practice.

Research psychologist – The common link between theoretical psychologists and research psychologists is the emphasis on psychological research. Where research psychologists differ, however, is in the subject matter in which they are interested. They study actual behavior – human feelings, thoughts, emotions, and the like – whereas theoretical psychologists study the theories that seek to explain behavior. The aim of research psychology is to discover explanations for psychological phenomena, as well as potential treatments to address psychological problems.

To enter this field of work, research psychologists typically must have at least a master’s degree, although many go on to get a doctorate.

Experimental psychologist – Like research psychologists and theoretical psychologists, experimental psychologists work to uncover the mysteries of human behavior and the human mind. The experiments that they design and conduct often focus on perception, sensation, memory, motivation, and learning. Although many of their studies require human subjects, many researchers in this field work with animals and generalize their findings to humans in the context of comparative psychology .

A career in experimental psychology typically requires at least a doctorate, although junior research positions may be found at the bachelor’s and master’s degree levels.

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Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology

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The Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology ® is devoted to fostering discussion at the interface of psychology, philosophy, and metatheory. The journal addresses ontological, epistemological, ethical, and critical issues in psychological theory and inquiry as well as the implications of psychological theory and inquiry for philosophical issues.

In keeping with the journal's interdisciplinary mission, both psychology and philosophy are construed broadly to encompass a diversity of forms of inquiry such as conceptual, speculative, theoretical, empirical, clinical, historical, literary, and cultural research. The Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology encourages and facilitates the informed, innovative, and critical exploration and discussion of psychological ideas and practices in both their scientific and philosophical dimensions and interrelationships. The journal welcomes original articles and commentaries with philosophical or metatheoretical import from all disciplines concerned with human psychology.

Note that submissions should clearly engage with scholarship in theoretical and philosophical psychology, broadly conceived. That is, successful manuscripts usually engage in some kind of current issue linked to ongoing scholarship or clearly engage some kind of social or cultural discussion or disciplinary debate. Manuscripts that pontificate on a particular idea or theory without making clear to readers the necessity of the discussion usually do not go for peer review. As such, authors are encouraged to be familiar with scholarship in theoretical and philosophical psychology prior to submission. Authors without access to journals or specific articles in the field are welcome to reach out to the editors-in-chief for support.

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• Chapter in an edited book: Gill, M. J., & Sypher, B. D. (2009). Workplace incivility and organizational trust. In P. Lutgen-Sandvik & B. D. Sypher (Eds.), Destructive organizational communication: Processes, consequences, and constructive ways of organizing (pp. 53–73). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

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James Cresswell, PhD Ambrose University, Canada

Bruce Jennings, MA Vanderbilt University, United States

Associate editors

Arthur Arruda Leal Ferreira, PhD Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Tim Beck, PhD Landmark College, United States

Sunil Bhatia, PhD Connecticut College, United States

Basia Ellis, PhD California State University, Sacramento, United States

Sebastienne Grant, PhD Prescott College, United States

Mary Beth Morrissey, PhD Yeshiva University, United States

Frank C. Richardson, PhD University of Texas, United States

Ditte Alexandra Winther-Lindqvist, PhD Aarhus University, Denmark

Stephen C. Yanchar, PhD Brigham Young University, United States

Book review editor

Edwin E. Gantt, PhD Brigham Young University, United States

Student review editor

Chase O’gwin Northwest Missouri State University, United States

Consulting editors

Robert C. Bishop Wheaton College, United States

Camille Castelyn University of Pretoria, South Africa

Hernán Camilo Pulido Pontifica Universidad Javeriana, Columbia

Mark Freeman, PhD College of the Holy Cross, United States

Kenneth J. Gergen, PhD Swarthmore College, United States

Paulo Jesus Lisbon University, Portugal

Suzanne R. Kirschner, EdD College of the Holy Cross, United States

Rashelle Litchmore Connecticut College ,  United States

José Carlos Loredo-Narciandi Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain

Lisa M. Osbeck, PhD University of West Georgia, United States

Soohyoung Rain Lee, PhD, MSW Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University

John Z. Sadler, PhD The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, United States

Suraj Sood Autism Behavior Consultants, United States

Paul Henry Dunning Stenner, PhD The Open University, United Kingdom

Jeff Sugarman, PhD Simon Fraser University, Canada

Thomas Teo, PhD York University, Canada

Alan C. Tjeltveit, PhD Muhlenberg College, United States

Honorary board of advisors

Aaron T. Beck, MD University of Pennsylvania, United States

Scott Churchill, PhD University of Dallas, United States

Kurt Danzinger, PhD York University, Canada

John M. Darley, PhD Princeton University, United States

Rachel Joffe Falmagne, PhD Clark University, United States

Constance T. Fischer, PhD Duquesne University, United States

Daniel Fishman, MD Rutgers University, United States

Adelbert Jenkins, PhD New York University, United States

Jack Martin, PhD Simon Fraser University, Canada

Robert Sternberg, PhD Cornell University, United States

Stephen Stich, PhD Rutgers University, United States

Charles Taylor, DPhil McGill University, Canada

Michael Wetheimer, PhD University of Colorado at Boulder, United States

Abstracting and indexing services providing coverage of Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology ®

• Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Psychology
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• Philosopher's Index
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Special issue of APA's Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 44, No. 4, August 2024. This special issue presents how psychology as a discipline and culture are products of modernity and they do so through analysis based upon the tools provided by the post- and decolonial frameworks.

This is a special issue of APA's Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 44, No. 1, May 2024. It is dedicated to the work and memory of Philip Cushman, whose contributions to the theory, philosophy, history, and application of psychology are highly significant.

Special issue of APA's Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 43, No. 3, August 2023. This issue presents important themes related to decolonialism.

Special issue of APA’s Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 40, No. 1, February 2020. The articles represent an opportunity to take stock of roles for women in their engagement with the tasks of scientific inquiry in psychology and its subdisciplines, as well as across disciplines.

Special issue of APA's Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 39, No. 2, May 2019. Contributors are indigenous psychologists coming from 4 cultures (Chinese, Indian, African, and Western) and 4 geographical locations (Taiwan, United States, Sweden, and Africa).

Special issue of APA's Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 36, No. 2, May 2016. The articles explore the ecology of care and themes of relationality, suffering, and autonomous agency that arise in the broad contexts of health and healing.

Special issue of APA's Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 35, No. 2, May 2015. The purpose of the four position papers and the three commentaries on them is to discuss some relatively undeveloped historical, philosophical, and social–contextual issues that the authors discern in the APA and Canadian Psychological Association codes of ethics.

Special issue of APA's Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 34, No. 1, February 2014. Major themes include the relationship between the individual and the community, psychology's role in the development of more equitable social and political institutions, and the way that different forms of universalism inform the struggle for social justice.

Special issue of APA's Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 33, No. 3, August 2013. The collection of several in-depth essays looks at various aspects of the relation between colonialism and its psychic legacies, culture and society in the postcolonial era - and psychology and psychoanalysis.

Special issue of APA's Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 32, No. 4, November 2012. Includes articles about aesthetics, ethics, and erotics; difference, dialogue, and context:; futurity in empathy; and hermeneutics and language.

Special issue of APA's Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 32, No. 1, February 2012. Articles discuss virtue, human good, ethics, and subjectivity in psychology.

Special issue of APA's Journal of Theoretical & Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 31, No. 2, May 2011. The issue presents a target article about using concepts in psychology, followed by several commentaries on the target article and a response by the authors of the target article.

Special issue of APA's Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 29, No. 2, Fall 2009. Includes articles and comments about theism in psychology; prejudice against prejudice; the burden of proof; prejudice in plural worlds; psychology, religion, and world loyalty; and naturalism.

Journal equity, diversity, and inclusion statement

The editorial staff of the Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology ( JTPP ) are committed to the goals and values of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Achieving anti-racism, nondiscrimination, and social justice has long been the aim of the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (APA Division 24). Through the intellectual leadership and scholarship its publication provides, JTPP strives to further that goal.

JTPP is committed to work that gives voice to those who have gone unheard and who have been rendered socially invisible. We also recognize the danger of more subtle forms of marginalization in which superficially inclusive affirmations actually deflect attention away from underlying structures of power and privilege. These structures are the causes of injustice and exposing them can also help to bring about effective social change.

We will work with those who publish with us, and who submit their work for peer review, to refine the critical theorizing skills that the field of philosophical psychology will offer in the next generation.

Inclusive study designs

• Collaborative research models

Definitions and further details on inclusive study designs are available on the Journals EDI homepage .

Inclusive reporting standards

• Bias-free language and community-driven language guidelines (required)
• Author contribution roles using CRediT (required)
• Reflexivity (required)
• Positionality statements (required)
• Impact statements (required)
• Inclusive reference lists (required)

More information on this journal’s reporting standards is listed under the submission guidelines tab .

Pathways to authorship and editorship

Reviewer mentorship program.

This journal encourages reviewers to submit co-reviews with their students and trainees. The journal likewise offers a formal reviewer mentorship program where graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from historically excluded groups are matched with a senior reviewer to produce an integrated review.

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Psychology, PhD

Graduate study in Psychology at Penn emphasizes scholarship and research accomplishment.  The first-year program is divided between courses that introduce various areas of psychology and a focused research experience.  A deep involvement in research continues throughout the graduate program, and is supplemented by participation in seminars, teaching, and general intellectual give-and-take.  Students are admitted into the graduate program as a whole, not into specific subfields. Students and faculty are free to define their fields of interest.  A high level of interaction between students and faculty helps generate both a shared set of interests in the theoretical, historical, and philosophical foundations of psychology and active collaboration in research projects.

The Graduate Group in Psychology is highly distinguished and represents a broad range of work in psychology and includes an APA-approved clinical program. Two regular faculty and two emeritus professors are members of the National Academy of Sciences, and three regular faculty are Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Department also includes past presidents of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Judgment and Decision Making, and of the Linguistics Society of America.

Many other faculty, graduate students, and former students have received national awards for excellence in research and teaching. We have strong connections with other disciplines at the University. Our members play pivotal roles in two of the most important interdisciplinary areas on campus, the cognitive sciences and the neurosciences, both of which have been fostered by the Department as a matter of policy.

For more information: http://psychology.sas.upenn.edu/graduate

View the University’s Academic Rules for PhD Programs .

Required Courses

A total of 20 course units are required for graduation.

By the end of Year 2, you must have taken one in each of the following areas: The Mind, The Brain, The Individual & The Group.

The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2024 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.

Clinical Program Requirements

The clinical training program, nested in the Department, is intended to prepare students for research/academic careers in Clinical Psychology, Psychopathology, or Personality. Clinical training (in assessment, diagnosis and psychotherapy) is seen as an integral part of the education of highly qualified, creative clinical scientists.  Nevertheless, the principal goal of Penn clinical students is to become expert psychologists, not simply expert clinicians, and the program is designed to support that goal. Our program is a member of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science, a coalition of doctoral training programs that emphasize the scientific basis of clinical psychology and is accredited by the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System. Our membership in the Academy indicates our commitment to empirical research as the basis of theory, assessment, and intervention, and our PCSAS accreditation attests to our success in training clinical students. The program is also accredited by the American Psychological Association. 

For more clinical information:   http://psychology.sas.upenn.edu/training-programs/clinical-training-program . 

Must be approved by Director of Graduate Studies. 

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The goal of the Psychology Department's doctoral program is to familiarize students with the theories and methods of psychology in their own and other specialties, so they will be able to make original contributions in research, teaching, and applied work.

The Ph.D. is a research and scholarly degree, and it is expected that students will be engaged in research throughout their graduate program. The ultimate goal of the graduate curriculum is to enable students to formulate interesting research questions and to put those questions to adequate empirical test. Therefore, student research is a basic and integral component of graduate work.

The research areas of study include:

• Cognitive/Neuroscience
• Developmental
• Social/Personality
• Systems Neuroscience

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Professional Ethics: Demonstrate knowledge of ethical and professional behavior related to academic and research integrity.
• Core Knowledge: Demonstrate a broad working knowledge of major theories, research findings and methodological approaches in multiple content areas within Psychology (Developmental Psychology, Social/Personality, Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Systems Neuroscience).
• Data Analysis: Demonstrate a broad working knowledge of analytical and statistical techniques.
• Scientific Inquiry: Achieve a deep fluency in the scientific literature and compelling questions within a primary field of research, and achieve proficiency in relevant experimental design, methodology, and data analysis/statistical methods.
• Scientific Communication: Demonstrate effective oral and written scientific communication skills.
• Teaching and Mentoring: Gain experience and skills in teaching and mentoring.

In addition to the learning outcomes specified above for all Ph.D. students, the Clinical Psychology Graduate Program has additional (somewhat overlapping) learning outcomes that are specified by the American Psychological Association's Commission on Accreditation. These additional learning outcomes are split into two categories, Discipline Specific Knowledge and Profession-wide Competencies: 

Discipline Specific Knowledge&

• History and Systems of Psychology: Demonstrate a broad working knowledge of the intellectual and social history of Psychology, including the origins and development of major ideas within the discipline. 
• Basic Content Areas in Scientific Psychology: Demonstrate a broad working knowledge of major theories, research findings and methodological approaches in basic content areas within Psychology (Affective, Biological, Cognitive, Developmental and Social aspects of behavior). 
• Advance Integrative Knowledge: Demonstrate a broad working knowledge of the manner in which the basic content areas within Psychology interrelate. 
• Research Methods, Statistical Analysis, and Psychometrics: Demonstrate a broad working knowledge of research methods, analytical and statistical techniques, and the theories and techniques of psychological measurement. 

Profession-Wide Competencies 

• Demonstrate the substantially independent ability to formulate research or other scholarly activities (e.g., critical literature reviews, dissertation, efficacy studies, clinical case studies, theoretical papers, program evaluation projects, program development projects) that are of sufficient quality and rigor to have the potential to contribute to the scientific, psychological, or professional knowledge base.  
• Conduct research or other scholarly activities. 
• Critically evaluate and disseminate research or other scholarly activity via professional publication and presentation at the local (including the host institution), regional, or national level. 
• Be knowledgeable of and act in accordance with each of the following:  
• The current version of the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct;  
• Relevant laws, regulations, rules, and policies governing health service psychology at the organizational, local, state, regional, and federal levels; and  
• Relevant professional standards and guidelines.
• Recognize ethical dilemmas as they arise, and apply ethical decision-making processes in order to resolve the dilemmas. 
• Conduct self in an ethical manner in all professional activities. 
• An understanding of how their own personal/cultural history, attitudes, and biases may affect how they understand and interact with people different from themselves. 
• Knowledge of the current theoretical and empirical knowledge base as it relates to addressing diversity in all professional activities including research, training, supervision/consultation, and service.  
• The ability to integrate awareness and knowledge of individual and cultural differences in the conduct of professional roles (e.g., research, services, and other professional activities). This includes the ability apply a framework for working effectively with areas of individual and cultural diversity not previously encountered over the course of their careers. Also included is the ability to work effectively with individuals whose group membership, demographic characteristics, or worldviews create conflict with their own. 
• Demonstrate the requisite knowledge base, ability to articulate an approach to working effectively with diverse individuals and groups, and apply this approach effectively in their professional work. 
• Behave in ways that reflect the values and attitudes of psychology, including integrity, deportment, professional identity, accountability, lifelong learning, and concern for the welfare of others.
• Engage in self-reflection regarding one's personal and professional functioning; engage in activities to maintain and improve performance, well-being, and professional effectiveness. 
• Actively seek and demonstrate openness and responsiveness to feedback and supervision. 
• Respond professionally in increasingly complex situations with a greater degree of independence as they progress across levels of training. 
• Develop and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of individuals, including colleagues, communities, organizations, supervisors, supervisees, and those receiving professional services. 
• Produce and comprehend oral, nonverbal, and written communications that are informative and well-integrated; demonstrate a thorough grasp of professional language and concepts. 
• Demonstrate effective interpersonal skills and the ability to manage difficult communication well. 
• Select and apply assessment methods that draw from the best available empirical literature and that reflect the science of measurement and psychometrics; collect relevant data using multiple sources and methods appropriate to the identified goals and questions of the assessment as well as relevant diversity characteristics of the service recipient. 
• Interpret assessment results, following current research and professional standards and guidelines, to inform case conceptualization, classification, and recommendations, while guarding against decision-making biases, distinguishing the aspects of assessment that are subjective from those that are objective. 
• Communicate orally and in written documents the findings and implications of the assessment in an accurate and effective manner sensitive to a range of audiences. 
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with the recipients of psychological services. 
• Develop evidence-based intervention plans specific to the service delivery goals. 
• Implement interventions informed by the current scientific literature, assessment findings, diversity characteristics, and contextual variables. 
• Demonstrate the ability to apply the relevant research literature to clinical decision making. 
• Modify and adapt evidence-based approaches effectively when a clear evidence-base is lacking. 
• Evaluate intervention effectiveness, and adapt intervention goals and methods consistent with ongoing evaluation. 
• Demonstrate knowledge of supervision models and practices. 
• Demonstrate knowledge and respect for the roles and perspectives of other professions. 
• Demonstrate knowledge of consultation models and practices.  

Doctoral Degree Programs

The five chief PhD program options are clinical, cognitive-neuroscience, systems neuroscience, developmental, and social-personality.

The department maintains a psychology clinic; specialized facilities for child and social research; experimental laboratories for human research, and well-equipped animal laboratories.

Applicants must provide three letters of recommendation, curriculum vitae, writing sample, statement of purpose, diversity statement, and official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. Instructions, deadlines, and a complete list of required materials may be obtained from the department website.

During the first year of graduate work, students acquire a broad background in psychology and are introduced to methods, research, and ethics. Each student’s program is planned in relation to background, current interests, and future goals. Research experience and a dissertation are required of PhD candidates; teaching experience is recommended, and opportunities to teach are available. 

Requirements for Doctoral Students

See the Guide to the Clinical Psychology Program .

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PhD Program

The PhD is conferred upon candidates who have demonstrated substantial scholarship and the ability to conduct independent research and analysis in Psychology.

A student typically concentrates in one of several areas within Psychology. Across all areas, the training program emphasizes the development of research competence, and students are encouraged to develop skills and attitudes that are appropriate to a career of continuing research productivity.

Two kinds of experience are necessary for this purpose. One is the learning of substantial amounts of theoretical, empirical, computational and methods information . A number of courses and seminars are provided to assist in this learning, and students are expected to construct a program in consultation with their advisor(s) to obtain this knowledge in the most stimulating and economical fashion.

A second aspect of training is one that cannot be gained from the courses or seminars. This is first-hand knowledge of, and practical experience with, the methods of psychological investigation and study . Therefore, students are expected to spend half of their time on research and to take no more than 10 units of course work per quarter, beginning in the first quarter.

Students achieve competence in unique ways and at different rates. Students and advisors work together to plan a program to accomplish these objectives.

If current students have any questions about the PhD program, please email the Student Services Manager, Dena Zlatunich, at  denamz [at] stanford.edu (denamz[at]stanford[dot]edu) . The current Director of Graduate Studies is Professor Hyo Gwoen.

If you are interested in applying for our PhD program, please carefully review the information on the  PhD Admissions website . Follow-up questions can be directed to the admissions staff at  psych-admissions [at] stanford.edu (psych-admissions[at]stanford[dot]edu) .

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General Theoretical Psychology MA

The general-theoretical program is designed to provide preparation for (a) further study at the doctoral level in more specialized substantive areas or (b) careers in industry (e.g., advertising/market research, organizational consulting), government (e.g., program evaluation, criminal justice research), education, or health sectors. The program is expected to take two years to complete for full-time students, but can be completed on a part-time basis for those working full-time. Students can be accepted for either the Fall or Spring semester; there are no application deadlines.

Admission Requirements

General theoretical psychology.

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. Applicants must submit official transcripts from all post-secondary school academic work. (Note: All former undergraduates of Fairleigh Dickinson University must request their official transcripts from their campus Office of Enrollment Services).
• Applicants must have taken (1) general/introductory psychology, (2) statistics, and (3) experimental psychology/research methods on either the undergraduate or graduate level or equivalent courses.
• Two letters of recommendation.

Behavioral Research Scholar Track

• A bachelor’s degree and official transcript from an accredited college or university. It is recommended that applicants have a 3.25 GPA or higher.
• Applicants must submit an official score report for the verbal and quantitative sections of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the equivalent sections in the GMAT. It is recommended that applicants score at the 50th percentile or higher in these sections.
• Applicants must have taken general psychology, statistics and experimental psychology/research methods on either the undergraduate or graduate level with grades of “B” or better.
• Three letters of recommendation.

All applicants must submit a graduate studies application and a nonrefundable application fee. When the credentials supporting an application are complete, the applicant may be requested to have a personal interview with the M.A. program director. Selection for graduate study is based on academic and personal qualifications for graduate study.

Materials can be sent to the Graduate Admissions Office, Fairleigh Dickinson University, 1000 River Road, T-KB1, Teaneck, NJ 07666. Applicants who have not completed all requirements for admission to the degree program may be permitted to enroll in classes for credit on a non matriculated or non degree basis.

Degree Plan

All MA students can tailor their elective courses to fit their areas of interest. The following are example elective concentrations (note, up to 6 credits can be taken outside of psychology).

Core Courses (6 credits)

• PSYC6121      Statistics and Research Methods
• PSYC6129      Research Methods & Psychometrics

Required Courses (15 credits)

Students, with an adviser’s approval, will elect an additional 15 credits (minimum) from the following list of courses. Up to 6 of these 15 credits may consist of independent research/Master’s Thesis research (which is an option to the Comprehensive Examination – see below). Several courses (*) are offered jointly with the Ph.D. program.

• PSYC6109      Social Psychological Applications
• PSYC6111      Theories of Personality
• PSYC6114      Psychopathology
• PSYC6128      Computer Applications & Report Writing
• PSYC7122      Developmental Psychology PSYC7130 Biological Bases of Behavior
• PSYC7133      Learning, Cognition, and Emotion

Electives (partial listing) (15 credits)

Students will elect up to 15 credits from any 6000 or 7000 PSYC course

Comprehensive Exam

In addition to the course requirements, candidates for the master’s degree must meet the following requirements: The Comprehensive Examination may be taken a maximum of three times. Subsequent to an initial failure of the examination, the student must retake the entire examination. If this second examination results in failure, the student must petition the faculty for a third and final opportunity to sit for the exam. This opportunity is contingent upon the student entering into a written agreement, approved by the program director and school director, which specifies a program of remedial studies potentially including formal course audits in areas of deficiency. The individual will be allowed to sit for the third examination only after completion of the agreed remedial program. The final and binding nature of this examination also will be a part of this written agreement. 

The graduate program of studies should be completed within a period of five years.

Core Courses(18 credits)

• PSYC6122      Clinical Research Methods*
• PSYC7110      Statistical Analysis and Design I*
• PSYC7111      Statistical Analysis and Design I*
• PSYC7810      Master’s Thesis Research I
• PSYC7812      Master’s Thesis Research II

Required Courses(9 credits)

Students, with an adviser’s approval, will select a minimum of 9 credits from the following list of courses.

• PSYC7133      Learning, Cognition and Emotion*
• PSYC7122      Developmental Psychology
• PSYC7125      Applied Social Psychology
• PSYC7130      Biological Bases of Behavior *

Electives (partial listing)(9 credits)

Students will elect up to 9 credits from the following list of courses.

• PSYC6624       Introduction to Psychotherapy
• PSYC6230      Introduction to Forensic Psychology
• PSYC6630      Counseling and Interviewing
• PSYC6115      Child Psychopathology
• PSYC6130       Interviewing Techniques
• PSYC6231      Psych  Bases for Criminal Behavior

The graduate program of studies should be completed within a period of five years. Students in the Behavioral Research Scholar Track do not have to take the Comprehensive Examination. *Courses taken in our Clinical Ph.D. program.

Suggested course schedule for BRST.

Fall (year 1).

• Comp Applications and Report Writing (online)
• Statistical Analysis and Design I
• Clinical Research Methods

Spring (Year 1)

• Statistical Analysis and Design II
• Required/Elective

Fall (Year 2)

• Master’s Thesis Research I

Spring (Year 2)

• Master’s Thesis Research II

Special Information

• Clinical Psychology: students interested in applying for doctoral programs in clinical psychology could take Psychopathology, Theories of Personality, Developmental Psychology, Biological Bases of Behavior
• Social/consumer psychology: students interested in careers in market research could take Applied Social Psychology along with courses from the Silberman College of Business such as Marketing Research and Consumer Behavior
• Organizational psychology: students interested in applying for doctoral programs in industrial/organizational psychology or in obtaining research-related careers in industry could take Applied Social Psychology along with courses from the Silberman College of Business such as Organizational Behavior and Strategic Human Resource Management
• Behavioral Research Scholar Track. The Behavioral Research Scholar track (BRST) in the general-theoretical program is a selective, research-focused track for MA students with superior academic qualifications (i.e., GRE scores, undergraduate GPA, research experience). The BRST is differentiated form the standard MA program in that BRST students take the same sequence of research-related courses (research methods and two statistics courses) as students in our clinical Ph.D. program (this option is exclusive to students in the BRST). BRST students are also encouraged to complete a master’s thesis. Admission into the BRST is limited to the Fall semester only; the application deadline is May 1st

Course Descriptions

PSYC6109 This course focuses on applications of social psychological theory and research techniques in understanding and alleviating problems encountered in legal, business, community and mental health domains. Topics include, but are not limited to, attitude formation, attitude change, prejudice and discrimination, altruism and attribution theory

PSYC6111 Overview of nature of personality theory; summaries of theories of personality selected because of influence upon clinical practice, psychological research. Freud, Adler, Jung, Murray, G.W. Allport, Rogers, Maslow, Fromm; some existentialists, some social behavioral or learning approaches included.

PSYC6114 Detailed consideration of psychopathology with respect to physiological cognitive, motivational, affective and interpersonal variables and their roles in etiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.

PSYC6115 Examination of behavior disorders most likely to have childhood onsets or variants. Variables such as effects of age onset, treatment modalities that are age specific, approaches or techniques, recovery rates and adult correlates are considered.

PSYC6121 Review of issues related to research design, psychometrics, and descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistical topics include, but are not limited to, parametric techniques such as t-tests, analysis of variance, and simple and multiple regression analysis. Heavy emphasis will be placed on application of techniques using statistical software and interpretation of results.

PSYC6122 Introduces the student to the domain of personality assessment. This includes a discussion of basic concepts and issues in the field of assessment such as acturial versus clinical prediction, the clinical utility of testing, and the consideration of diversity in the testing situation. The student is introduced to important measures of personality functioning, particularly the interpretation of MMPI profiles and the administration and scoring of Comprehensive System Rorschachs.

PSYC6128 This course will cover using PASW (SPSS) statistical software and related programs (e.g. EXCEL) for data management, analysis and graphing. Emphasis will be placed on using graphical interface of PASW software, but the program syntax for various applications also will be covered. This course will also cover scientific report writing (i.e. summarizing PASW output) with emphasis placed on APA style.

PSYC6129 This covers basic topics and issues in psychometrics and research design. In addition to review of basis statistical concepts, topics include: classical true core theory and scale creation, scale reliability and validity assessment, experimental design validity (internal, external, statistical, construct), major threats to valid inferences in research, and ethical issues in behavioral research.

PSYC6130 Survey of interviewing principles and techniques as they relate to various counseling theories, with an emphasis on the clinical interview as a means for gathering pertinent information about a client, in the context of conducting a forensic evaluation. Focuses on unique issues encountered within forensic contexts.

PSYC6230 Introduction to the application of psychological principles to legal (civil and criminal) problems. Review of historical and contemporary issues, such as the interface of the mental health system and the criminal system, civil commitment, diminished capacity, the insanity defense, sentencing, capital punishment, competency to stand trial, use of research in court.

PSYC6231 An in-depth analysis of research on the psychological bases and dynamics of criminal, aggressive and antisocial behavior. Review of multiple theoretical and explanatory aspects of criminal behavior, with emphasis on the relationships between psychopathological states, personality disorders, psychodiagnostics, and antisocial behavior.

PSYC6624 This course provides for an understanding of the principal theories of counseling and psychotherapy; and understanding of the similarities and differences in the various major theories and techniques; and for a development of the ability to evaluate the need for counseling and/or psychotherapy in problem areas.

PSYC6630 Techniques of interviewing including the intake, diagnostic and developmental approaches. Major approaches to counseling brief interventions and crisis intervention are presented. The course provides opportunity for practice of interview techniques.

PSYC7110 Focuses on univariate models for the analysis of data of pure experiments,quasi-experiments and observational studies. Topics include univariate analysis of variance and covariance models for designs with between-subject and/or within subject factors; predictive and explanatory applications of simple and multiple regression analysis; path analysis. SYSTAT data analysis of archival data sets is demonstrated for most of the methods.

PSYC7111 Focuses primarily on multivariate methods that have been used extensively in clinical research, and on some methods whose use in clinical research has rapidly increased in the past few years. The former methods include principal components analysis, factor analysis, multivariate analysis of variance and covariance, discriminant function analysis, and linear classification functions. The latter methods include canonical correlation analysis, logistic regression analysis, logistic classification models, Bayesian classification, log-linear models, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. SYSTAT analysis of data of archival data sets is demonstrated for most of the methods.

PSYC7122 Childhood, adolescence and early to mid-adulthood, including major theories of development (Piaget, Freud, and social learning theories), research and application. Special emphasis on research concerning the development of prosocial behavior, internalization and sex typing.

PSYC7125 Developing understanding of social underpinnings of psychological phenomena. Topics include attitude formation, attitude change, prejudice and discrimination, altruism, attribution theory, emotions, research techniques and applications of social psychology to clinical practice. Research project included.

PSYC7130 Functional neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neuropharmacology, emphasizing the relationship of brain mechanisms and synaptic chemistry to behavior. Special topics include: techniques for studying brain-behavior relationships; sensory and motor systems; homeostasis and regulation of internal states; emotions, aggression and stress; learning and memory; and the biological bases of mental illness.

PSYC7133 This course provides an introduction to the cognitive and affective bases of behavior. Topics to be addressed include basic principles of learning theory and alternative theoretical perspectives on the nature of emotion. The nature of cognitive processes such as memory and decision-making will also be addressed. The course is designed to be particularly relevant to the application of these topics to clinical psychology.

PSYC7810 An experimental research project. Can be used in place of the Master's Comprehensive Examination.

PSYC7812 The continuation of an independent research project. (Chapters 3 & 4 of thesis: Results & discussion sections). Can be used in place of the Master's Comprehensive Examination.

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Historical, Theoretical, and Critical Studies of Psychology

The Historical, Theoretical, and Critical Studies of Psychology Program is one of only a few graduate psychology programs in Canada and internationally available to students wishing to conduct specialized research on historical topics in psychology, in psychological theory and metatheory, and in critical psychology.

Students in the program employ a wide range of research methods, including the interpretation of primary texts, the collection and interpretation of archival material, the conduct and use of oral history, discourse analysis, thematic analysis, and digital history methods such as network analysis.

Primary and adjunct faculty members with interests in a wide range of areas including: psychologies of race/ethnicity and gender, sexuality, cognitive psychology, behavioral psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology, digital history, statistics and methodology, and philosophical psychology are available to act as supervisors and committee members.

Faculty members in the program are actively engaged in grant-funded research and serve in leadership roles across a number of national and international organizations devoted to the history and theory of the social and behavioral sciences. A monthly colloquium series draws on the rich array of expertise in history/theory/critique of psychology, science and technology studies, and history and philosophy of science available in the York University community, the greater Toronto area, and internationally.

Applicants should have a solid grounding in psychology (usually a BA or BSc in Psychology), as well as some experience in the conduct of psychological research. As part of their program of study, students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of opportunities to train in teaching and pedagogy through the Teaching Commons, and to establish competence in the content area of psychology that is complementary to their historical/ theoretical/critical interests. Our graduates have successfully procured postdoctoral fellowships and tenure-track academic appointments in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

Faculty members in the Historical, Theoretical, and Critical Studies of Psychology stand in solidarity with the protests against anti-Blackness, systematic racism, and police brutality. We are committed to examining and changing our own practices in light of psychology’s historic and current role in perpetuating anti-black racism and racist science. We are working to ensure that the HTC program curriculum (course syllabi, reading lists, etc.), at both undergraduate and graduate levels, incorporates anti-racist and decolonial scholarship and critically interrogates the racist and colonial foundations on which institutional Psychology is based. As a small start, we are building bibliographies of relevant history of psychology literature that can be drawn on to facilitate these goals. A draft of the first bibliography, on race and racism in the history of psychology, is available  here . Work on these resources is ongoing. We welcome suggestions.

For questions about the program, please contact the Area Coordinator Dr. Christopher Green . For admissions queries, please e-mail  [email protected] .

To apply online, please visit How to Apply .

Additional Program Information

Faculty Member

• Brown, Donald
• Green, Christopher
• Pettit, Michael
• Rutherford, Alexandra
• Teo, Thomas
• Bay-Cheng, Laina
• Hynie, Michaela

Psychology Research Labs

• Psychology’s Feminist Voices

The program runs a monthly colloquium series in which graduate students workshop their projects and local and international speakers are invited to present. Please visit HT Talks for more information.

Given annually to an outstanding graduate student in the program, this award was established by one of the program’s founders, Dr. Raymond E. Fancher, and includes a prize of $1000. For more information including how to donate, please visit Raymond E. Fancher Award .

Past Winners

• Tal Davidson – 2020
• Shayna Lee Fox – 2019
• Ian J. Davidson – 2018
• Zhipeng Gao – 2017

The program has hosted a variety of international visiting scholars who enrich the intellectual life of the program and often become collaborators. Here is a partial list of current and recent visitors:

• Bo Wang – Nanjing University, China
• Nora Ruck – Sigmund Freud University, Vienna
• Gisele Toassa – Universidade Federal de Goiás, Brazil
• Adriana Kaulino – Diego Portales University of Santiago-Chile
• Neelam Kumar – National Institute of Science, Technology & Development Studies, New Delhi
• Verena Lehmbrock – Universitat Erfurt, Germany
• Carlos Lopes – Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Brazil
• Carolina Laurenti – Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Brazil

The Graduate Program in Psychology at York is an exciting environment to pursue innovative, socially engaging, career-ready education. Contact our Graduate Program Assistant to learn more.

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Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD-PSY)

100% online phd-psy.

Complete your studies on your own time.

New start date every Monday

Start your first course when it’s convenient for you.

46 Months to your PhD-PSY

Finish your PhD-PSY in just 20 courses.

National and Northcentral have merged, and this program is now offered by NU.  Learn more .

PhD-PSY in Psychology

Prepare for leadership roles in psychology with the 100% online Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD-PSY) degree program at National University. As a student, you’ll hone your critical thinking skills and expand your knowledge base to evaluate individual, social, organizational, and global problems. You’ll also learn and practice research methods as you make the transition from doctoral student to independent scholar in your field.

In NU’s online PhD in Psychology, you’ll be prepared to excel in your profession with applied learning in case studies, scenarios, vignettes, and real-life situations. You’ll gain a wealth of experience from your paired mentoring professors in NU’s PhD-PSY program.

Prepare for Careers in Advanced Psychology and Earn Your PhD Online

As it concerns psychology, PhD programs can’t be found anywhere else to match National University’s uniquely flexible approach, which includes weekly course starts to fit your schedule. Start today!

Tailor your online PhD in Psychology to match your interests with one of these specializations: 

Counseling Psychology

General psychology.

• Gerontology 
• Health Psychology 
• Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Psychology of Gender and Sexual Fluidity

Social policy and behavioral health administration, sport and performance psychology.

• Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders 

Trauma and Disaster Relief

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accredits public and private schools, colleges, and universities in the U.S.

Course Details

• Credit Hours: 60
• Courses: 20
• Estimated Time to Complete: 46 months

The Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD-PSY) degree program can be completed in 60 credits. Each course runs 8 weeks, except for the research, dissertation, and internship courses which run 12 weeks. You’ll receive 3 semester credits per course but  may require additional credit hours , depending on the time required to complete the dissertation research. If granted, additional courses will be added to the student degree program in alignment with the SAP and Academic Maximum Time to Completion policies. Students who do not complete their program in accordance with these policies may be dismissed.

Course Sequence

Students in this course will be prepared for success in the psychology doctoral program at the University. Students are introduced to relevant academic communities, professional standards, and doctoral-level expectations. Essential skills needed to pursue a doctoral degree in psychology are emphasized, including critical thinking, comprehending complex scholarly texts and research articles, and effective written communications. Students will identify and begin to explore potential research topics for use in their doctoral studies and complete the course with a roadmap to navigate their way to degree completion.

This course focuses on scholarly and academic writing with an overarching goal of critically analyzing and thoughtfully synthesizing research findings while adhering to APA style and the principles of Academic Integrity. The emphases in this course are on how to (a) conduct effective literature searches; (b) critically review and summarize research studies; (c) write comprehensive, critical, and synthesized reviews of research literature; (d) formulate ideas and convey them in an ethical fashion; and (e) use feedback to revise and improve one’s work.

This doctoral-level course focuses on the fundamentals of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches to psychological research. Students gain an understanding of the strengths and limitations of each approach, and how these methods apply to a research topic. The concepts of critical evaluating, published research, research ethics, and developing a research proposal will also be explored and practiced. In addition, it provides a foundation for subsequent research courses in preparation for successfully completing a dissertation at the University.

This course provides an introductory exploration of statistics for the graduate student. It includes instruction on the calculation, use, and interpretation of descriptive statistics, and introduces inferential statistical analysis. The emphasis of this course is on providing a working knowledge of basic statistical concepts to help the student understand statistical methodology used in psychology, and also more generally, developing a working knowledge of statistical usage in everyday life.

This doctoral course in tests and measurements provides the student conceptual as well as practical guidelines in test and scale construction. This course will expose the students to concepts and theories including: the nature of psychological constructs and concepts, measurements and measurement error, item construction and analysis, Classical Test Theory, and the different approaches to establishing instrument reliability and validity. Students will have the opportunity to apply the skills and concepts to a construct relevant to their own research interests.

This doctoral-level course will introduce the student to psychological test construction, administration and interpretation as well as current research in the area. Commonly used tests to assess cognition and personality will be studied.

In this course you will examine the principles of quantitative research methodologies. Specifically, you will take a deep dive into the different types of quantitative research methodologies, when to use each, strengths/weaknesses, associated reliability/validity issues, and sampling methods. You will learn how to identify appropriate statistical analyses based on research questions and data considerations, as well as use SPSS to run, analyze, and interpret statistical results. You will explore how to examine, analyze, and interpret psychometric properties for existing instruments/measures in psychological research. Additionally, you will examine feasibility issues and ethical principles related to quantitative research methodologies. Scholarly writing and appropriate use of scholarly literature will be reinforced throughout this course.

In this doctoral-level course, you will be immersed in the intricacies of qualitative research methods tailored for the psychology field. You will be introduced to a spectrum of methodological approaches and the foundational philosophical premises guiding them. Central to the course is hands-on application: you’ll gain the skills to adeptly navigate the stages of problem formulation, method selection, data collection, analysis, and interpretation. We place a strong emphasis on the ethical dimensions of research, ensuring you are well-versed in the ethical considerations intrinsic to qualitative studies. Moreover, we encourage you to adopt a critical lens when assessing study design, execution, and data interpretation. Research is not just about data; it is about sharing discoveries. This course ensures you develop advanced communication skills for disseminating your findings across diverse platforms. Plus, you’ll have opportunities to craft and present comprehensive qualitative research proposals. By the course’s conclusion, you’ll not only be proficient in methodologies but also gain a deeper appreciation for the depth and transformative potential of qualitative research in psychology.

This course focuses on how to conduct effective literature searches, specifically in preparation for the dissertation, develop a plan for writing comprehensive, critical, and synthesized reviews of research literature, and critically review and write about underlying theoretical frameworks that lay the foundation for future research. The overarching goal of this course is for students to conduct an extensive search of the peer-reviewed empirical and theoretical literature in their topic area and identify potential areas of inquiry for their dissertation.

The Pre-Candidacy Prospectus is intended to ensure students have mastered knowledge of their discipline prior to candidacy status and demonstrated the ability to design empirical research as an investigator before moving on to the dissertation research coursework. Students will demonstrate the ability to synthesize empirical, peer-reviewed research to support all assignments in this course. The Pre-Candidacy Prospectus is completed only after all foundation, specialization, and research courses have been completed.

Students in this course will be required to complete Chapter 1 of their dissertation proposal including a review of literature with substantiating evidence of the problem, the research purpose and questions, the intended methodological design and approach, and the significance of the study. A completed, committee approved (against the minimum rubric standards) Chapter 1 is required to pass this course successfully. Students who do not receive approval of Chapter 1 to minimum standards will be able to take up to three supplementary 8-week courses to finalize and gain approval of Chapter 1.

Students in this course will be required to work on completing Chapters 1-3 of their dissertation proposal and receive committee approval for the Dissertation Proposal (DP) in order to pass the class. Chapter 2 consists of the literature review. Chapter 3 covers the research methodology method and design and to includes population, sample, measurement instruments, data collection and analysis, limitations, and ethical considerations. In this course, a completed, committee-approved Chapters 2 and 3 are required and, by the end of the course, a final approved dissertation proposal (against the minimum rubric standards). Students who do not receive approval of the dissertation proposal will be able to take up to three supplementary 8-week courses to finalize and gain approval of these requirements.

Students in this course will be required to prepare, submit, and obtain approval of their IRB application, collect data, and submit a final study closure form to the IRB. Students still in data collection at the end of the 12-week course will be able to take up to three supplementary 8-week courses to complete data collection and file an IRB study closure form.

In this dissertation course students work on completing Chapters 4 and 5 and the final Dissertation Manuscript. Specifically, students will complete their data analysis, prepare their study results, and present their findings in an Oral Defense and a completed manuscript. A completed, Committee approved (against the minimum rubric standards) Dissertation Manuscript and successful Oral Defense are required to complete the course and graduate. Students who do not receive approval for either or both their Dissertation Manuscript or defense can take up to three supplementary 8-week courses to finalize and gain approval of either or both items as needed.

*The Elective course in the PhD in Psychology degree can be satisfied by any 8000-level course in the Department of Psychology.

Exceptions:

• The elective for both counseling specializations is PSY-8606 Clinical Supervision.
• The preferred elective course for the Industrial/Organizational Psychology specialization is PSY-8413. Students that would like to work with the I/O Psychology Internship Coordinator to participate in an internship will need to enroll in PSY-7118 Internship in I/O Psychology, after the I/O Psychology Internship Coordinator approves the internship site and plan
• The preferred elective course for Substance-Related Disorders is PSY-8118 Grant Writing in Psychology or PSY-8511 Behavioral Health Administration and Management or PUB-7005 Public Budgeting and Finance.
• The preferred elective course for Social Policy and Behavioral Health Administration is PSY-8118 Grant Writing in Psychology or PSY-8140 Community Psychology. Students that would like to work with the Internship Coordinator to participate in an internship will need to use this elective to enroll in PSY-8508 Internship in Social Policy and Mental Health Administration, after the Internship Coordinator approves the internship site and plan. 

Degree Requirements

The PhD in Psychology degree requires a minimum of 60 credit hours at the graduate level beyond the master’s degree.

The University may accept a maximum of 12 semester credit hours in transfer toward the doctoral degree for graduate coursework completed at an accredited college or university while enrolled in a doctoral program with a grade of “B” or better.

The PhD degree programs in psychology have the following graduation requirements:

• A minimum of 48 credit hours of graduate instruction must be completed through NU
• Grade Point Average of 3.0 (letter grade of “B”) or higher
• Satisfactory completion of the Pre-Candidacy Prospectus course 
• University approval of dissertation manuscript and successful completion of the dissertation defense
• Submission of the approved final dissertation manuscript to the University Registrar, including the original unbound dissertation manuscript and an electronic copy
• Official documents on file for basis of admission: a conferred master’s degree from an accredited academic institution
• Official transcripts on file for all transfer credit hours accepted by the University
• All financial obligations must be met before the student will be issued their complimentary diploma and/or degree posted transcript

Graduates of the National University PhD in Psychology program have a diverse array of work opportunities to grow professionally. Depending on students’ interests, possible career pathways include*:

• College Professor / Instructor
• College / University Administrator
• Health Information Manager / Director
• Medical Office / Practice Manger
• Researcher (government or private business / organizations)
• Government positions (advocacy, interventions, eldercare, crisis intervention, etc.)
• Non-profit organizations (support services, educational services, etc.)
• And many more, in public and private facilities of all different sizes!

*Positions may require additional experience, training, and other factors beyond successfully completing this degree program. Depending on where you reside, many positions may also require state licensure, and it is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all licensure requirements are met. We encourage you to also review program specific requirements with an NU advisor. Any data provided on this page is for informational purposes only and does not guarantee that completion of any degree program will achieve the underlying occupation or commensurate salary.

Specializations

Substance-related and addictive disorders.

Substance-related and addictive disorders remain a public health concern with all ages. Looking on current data on the staggering demand for treatment for substance use and addictive disorders, the demand for professionals who understand the theoretical underpinnings and are able to conduct research in this field becomes clear. The purpose of the substance-related and addictive disorders specialization is to provide mental health professionals, providers and researchers knowledge and expertise in the area of substance related and addictive disorders. Dynamics of substance-use and addictive disorders, with an emphasis on assessment and treatment planning will be explored. Coursework also examines research and theories related to substance use and addictive disorders, as well as co-occurring disorders.

Specialization Courses – 18 Credit Hours Total. Each course is 3 semester credits and runs 8 weeks.

The purpose of the Psychology of Gender and Sexual Fluidity specialization is to provide an in-depth understanding of the social, cultural, and biological foundations of human sexuality, gender, and sexual orientation, prepare students to apply principles of psychology related to gender diversity in a variety of settings, and carry out research related to gender diversity in a variety of settings. Eighteen (18) credit hours of coursework are devoted to Psychology of Gender and Sexual Fluidity studies.

The General Psychology specialization allows students to select courses from a broad range of electives to fit their personal and professional goals. This specialization also prepares students to apply principles of psychology and conduct research related to their area of interest in a variety of settings.

*Courses listed are examples and upon acceptance to the program, the initial degree plan will include these courses. Students in the General Psychology specialization are encouraged to choose six courses (18 credit hours) based on personal and professional goals and will work with their Academic and Finance Advisor to revise their degree plan. Students can select any PSY-8000 level course for this specialization. Courses from other disciplines may fill this requirement, with Department of Psychology approval. Please consult the course descriptions for a full list of available courses. Note: an internship course cannot count towards the degree program. 

Specialization Courses – 18 Credit Hours Total. Each course is 3 semester credits and runs 8 weeks. 

Gerontology

The Gerontology specialization is designed to assist in training individuals interested in working with older adults and their families. As the world’s population continues to age, the demand will continue for individuals trained in gerontology. Coursework in this certificate prepares individuals for career opportunities in health facilities, mental health clinics, numerous government agencies, and community organizations.

Health Psychology

The purpose of the Health Psychology specialization is to provide an in-depth understanding of the total matrix of factors influencing psychological and physical health and illness, prepare students to apply biopsychosocial principles in a variety of settings, and carry out research related to health psychology in a variety of settings. Eighteen (18) credit hours of coursework are devoted to Health Psychology.

Industrial Organizational Psychology

In the PhD-PSY in Industrial-Organizational Psychology specialization, you will learn to apply psychological theories to critical issues in the fields of business and industry. Specifically, you’ll gain expertise in the dynamics of leadership and management, the best practices for enhancing employee motivation and engagement, and the structure and procedures of organizational development. You will become adept at applying the scientific method to investigate issues of critical relevance to individuals, businesses, and society; including employee stress and well-being, workforce diversity, and work-life balance. The application of tests and measurements and the interpretation of their results as applied to employee selection, performance appraisals, and training evaluations will also be addressed. 

During the program, you will have the option to complete an internship, where you can apply your newly gained knowledge and skills in an organizational setting. The internship course offers you the opportunity to train in the field, build your professional resume, and network with organizational practitioners. This I/O specialization was created to align with the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology’s (SIOP) guidelines for education and training, and thus it offers course work which allows for the development of key competencies required for success in the field. In particular, the I/O specialization will prepare you to assume leadership positions in industry, government, consulting, and education.

Social Policy and Behavioral Health Administration Specialization will focus on two areas: social policy and behavioral health administration. These two areas are highly related in the field and will allow future psychologists the ability to be leaders in the field in different settings (e.g., government, community-based organizations, etc.) and influence decision-making. The specialization contains 21 credits with 4 required courses and 3 electives from a list of 7 courses in PSY, DMFT, and PUB. Students will have the ability to design their specialization with the electives. For example, they may choose organizational-focused courses or complete a supervised internship experience.

Specialization and Elective Courses – 21 Credit Hours Total. Each course is 3 semester credits and runs 8 weeks.

Increasing natural disasters, incidents of abuse and neglect, terrorism, war, violence, and conflict on a local, national, and global level have created a demand for individuals trained in identifying and treating the aftermath of trauma. Victims, witnesses, and relief workers who experience trauma may also find themselves facing a variety of psychological issues, difficulties in interpersonal relationships, physical health problems and be placed at future risk. Mental health workers would benefit from understanding the various facets of trauma, its impact on coping skills, and treatment, intervention, and prevention strategies.

Exposure to trauma and disaster can lead to emotional and behavioral issues for victims, survivors, relief workers, and bystanders. The Trauma and Disaster Relief specialization prepares students to work with individuals who have witnessed natural disasters, accidents, abuse, physical injury, bullying, etc., and who are now grappling with how to cope or to integrate memories or feelings related to that experience.

The Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology specialization in counseling psychology is designed for mental health professionals who are licensed or pre-licensed having a foundation of clinical knowledge and skills at the master level. The program is intended for professionals who seek to improve their theoretical knowledge and clinical skills, while preparing them to advance their career in the mental health field. In addition, the program is designed to provide for the meaningful integration of theory, practical application, research, and scholarship, culminating in a dissertation.

PhD-PSY specialization students will learn about clinical supervision, psychopharmacology, program evaluation, research, and cognitive and personality assessment. In addition, students in this program can choose to deepen their knowledge and skills in several areas of their interest. For example, students can choose courses in psychopathology, addictions assessment and treatment, multicultural psychology, and other areas of interest.

The PhD Specialization in Sport and Performance Psychology offers a strong base in theory and research, promotes an awareness of ethics and a respect for diversity, and will help you advance your critical thinking and mental performance coaching skills. Taught by professors who all hold doctoral degrees, you will analyze the latest theories and trends in sport psychology literature and gain an in-depth understanding of the essential applied strategies for enhancing performance. In addition, you will gain advanced knowledge about leadership, motivation, and ethics in sport and performance psychology. Also, you will explore topics related to sport injury and rehabilitation and diversity in sport.

Program Learning Outcomes

As a graduate of National University’s Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD-PSY) degree program, you’ll be able to:

• Appraise theories and principles in psychology to inform professional contexts
• Evaluate research methods and data analysis in psychology
• Select psychological principles and research for application to personal, social, and organizational issues
• Evaluate ethical principles of psychology in academic and professional issues
• Critique diversity issues in professional contexts
• Design clear and effective communication for fellow professionals and the public

Enrolling in a university is a big decision. That’s why our dedicated admissions team is here to guide you through the admissions process and help you find the right program for you and your career goals.

To that end, we’ve simplified and streamlined our application process, so you can get enrolled in your program right away. Because we accept and review applications year round, you can begin class as soon as next month, depending on your program and location of choice.

Learn more about undergraduate, graduate, military, and international student admissions, plus admissions information for transfer students. You can also learn more about our tuition rates and financial aid opportunities.

To speak with our admissions team, call  (855) 355-6288  or request information and an advisor will contact you shortly. If you’re ready to apply to the Psychology PhD program, simply  start your application today .

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Dissertation Completion Pathway (DCP) is a 100% online pathway helping students “All But Dissertation” finish their doctoral degree.

• Block transfer of credit from your previous institution
• Flexible monthly start dates
• Highly trained faculty providing feedback each week on your dissertation
• Strategic support and targeted resources to help you finish

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We’re proud to be a Veteran-founded, San Diego-based nonprofit. Since 1971, our mission has been to provide accessible, achievable higher education to adult learners. Today, we educate students from across the U.S. and around the globe, with over 240,000 alumni worldwide.

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Do you qualify for a needs-based scholarship? Learn more about the NU Key Grant Scholarship and other scholarship opportunities to unlock the door to your dreams!

Frequently Asked Questions

A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a doctoral degree that can be awarded in various fields of study, including psychology, while a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) is a professional degree focused specifically on psychology. The primary difference between the two is that PhD programs tend to focus on research and theoretical knowledge, while PsyD programs focus more on practical, hands-on experience.

Both PsyD and PhD degrees are highly respected and valued in the field of psychology. The choice between the two depends on individual career goals and interests. If the focus is on clinical practice and practical experience, a PsyD may be a better fit. If the goal is to conduct research and teach at the university level, a PhD may be a better choice.

The value of earning a PhD in Psychology depends on your career goals and interests. A PhD in psychology can lead to a variety of career paths, including academic research, teaching, clinical practice, and more. However, a PhD requires a high level of dedication and commitment. Prospective students should carefully consider their goals and options before pursuing a degree in Psychology.

Program Disclosure

Successful completion and attainment of National University degrees do not lead to automatic or immediate licensure, employment, or certification in any state/country. The University cannot guarantee that any professional organization or business will accept a graduate’s application to sit for any certification, licensure, or related exam for the purpose of professional certification.

Program availability varies by state. Many disciplines, professions, and jobs require disclosure of an individual’s criminal history, and a variety of states require background checks to apply to, or be eligible for, certain certificates, registrations, and licenses. Existence of a criminal history may also subject an individual to denial of an initial application for a certificate, registration, or license and/or result in the revocation or suspension of an existing certificate, registration, or license. Requirements can vary by state, occupation, and/or licensing authority.

NU graduates will be subject to additional requirements on a program, certification/licensure, employment, and state-by-state basis that can include one or more of the following items: internships, practicum experience, additional coursework, exams, tests, drug testing, earning an additional degree, and/or other training/education requirements.

All prospective students are advised to review employment, certification, and/or licensure requirements in their state, and to contact the certification/licensing body of the state and/or country where they intend to obtain certification/licensure to verify that these courses/programs qualify in that state/country, prior to enrolling. Prospective students are also advised to regularly review the state’s/country’s policies and procedures relating to certification/licensure, as those policies are subject to change.

National University degrees do not guarantee employment or salary of any kind. Prospective students are strongly encouraged to review desired job positions to review degrees, education, and/or training required to apply for desired positions. Prospective students should monitor these positions as requirements, salary, and other relevant factors can change over time.

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PhD in Clinical Psychology

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Fielding’s doctoral program in Clinical Psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association. It is the only distributed learning program accredited by the APA. The Psychology PhD serves adults, many of whom who have trained or worked in the mental health field. Our unique distributed learning model blends the best of in-person learning opportunities with digital formats.

Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation: Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association 750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002 Phone: (202) 336-5979 / E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

For questions regarding the Clinical Psychology PhD Program contact [email protected].

About the Clinical Psychology Program

Application requirements.

Earning your doctorate in Clinical Psychology includes online and in-person seminars, meetings with faculty and other students in your region, weeklong residential sessions, as well as research and clinical training experiences.

The unique mix of online and residential learning provides flexible opportunities for individuals with career, family, and community responsibilities to achieve their advanced educational goals. Faculty are active scholars and practitioners with a wide variety of expertise, making it possible to offer training in a variety of therapeutic orientations and specialized concentrations in some of the most exciting growth areas of psychology.

• Conferred Bachelor’s Degree
• Minimum GPA of 3.0
• Online Application Form
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Statement of Purpose
• Critical Thinking Writing Sample
• 3 Letters of Recommendation
• Official Transcript
• No GRE Required

Start your application NOW!  

Apply now for fall 2025, student admissions, outcomes, and other data.

In accordance with requirements of the American Psychological Association (APA), Fielding Graduate University provides Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data pertaining to the education of our graduate students.

The Fielding Experience

• Become a member of a dynamic and diverse community of colleagues
• Interact with and learn from our expert faculty located all across the country
• Attend monthly professional development seminar in your geographic area
• Engage with alumni, faculty, and other students at sessions

Mission & Aims of the Program

Fielding’s APA accredited Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program is strongly aligned with the university’s mission to create a more humane, just, and sustainable world, and the university’s values that include academic excellence, community, diversity, and social justice.

Consistent with these values, a core mission of our program is to foster the inclusion of students from under-represented populations. These populations include students living in small communities, rural, or remote locations of the United States, students currently in the military or spouses of military members, adult learners with families, and students whose ongoing participation in their current communities cannot be halted for doctoral study elsewhere. These are student populations who are often unable to enter the field through preparation at a traditional university campus, yet these are the future psychologists for which the discipline and profession have expressed an urgent need.

In addition, our program aims to graduate entry-level scholar-practitioner psychologists who bring social justice values to their work as licensed health service professionals. Consistent with this overarching aim, we have four specific aims for our students, which must be achieved by the time of graduation.

• Students will demonstrate doctoral-level discipline-specific knowledge that represents the scientific and theoretical knowledge areas of the discipline of psychology (i.e., history and systems of psychology and the affective, biological, cognitive, developmental, and social bases of behavior).
• Students will demonstrate doctoral-level conceptualization, evaluation, analysis, and integration of discipline-specific knowledge across the curriculum.
• Students will demonstrate doctoral-level ability to understand and critique research; design, conduct, analyze, and communicate theoretically informed research; and conduct research in a manner that is culturally sensitive and consistent with legal code and ethical standards, including the APA ethics code.
• Students will demonstrate doctoral-level competence in the profession-wide competencies, including conducting an evidence-based diagnosis, assessment, and psychotherapy; and applying theory and research to develop case conceptualizations, treatment plans, and interventions that are consistent with legal and ethical standards and individual and cultural diversity factors.

Serving adults, many of whom have trained or worked in the mental health field, our unique distributed learning model blends the best of face-to-face learning opportunities with digital formats.

Faculty are active scholars and practitioners with a wide variety of expertise, which allows us to offer specialized concentrations and training in a variety of therapeutic orientations.

Geographic Eligibility

The program only considers applicants who reside in the contiguous United States and Canada. The program is not available to those residing internationally (except Canada). Applicants from Alaska and Hawaii may be considered pending confirmation of their ability and resources to attend local professional development seminars in contiguous U.S. on a regular basis, access to acceptable practicum training sites, and ability to relocate for internship. (Contact [email protected] to be put in touch with the Program Director for consideration prior to applying.)

Due to state licensing requirements, graduates of the program are not eligible for licensure in Oklahoma. For licensure information on your particular state of interest, please visit our Professional Licensure page [CLICK HERE].

School of Psychology News

The latest news, announcements, and special events from Fielding’s School of Psychology.

• Alums Celebrate the Retirement of Clinical Psychology Faculty Member Ray Hawkins, Ph.D.

By Fielding News | 2024-09-04T10:46:17-07:00 September 4th, 2024 |

Dr. Lauren Mizock Appointed 2024-25 Ruthellen Josselson Chair in Qualitative Inquiry

By Kaylin Staten | 2024-07-08T11:18:31-07:00 July 8th, 2024 |

Fielding University Press’ Struggling with Infertility Explores Devasting Effects of Infertility

By Kaylin Staten | 2024-05-10T07:48:56-07:00 May 10th, 2024 |

Why Choose Fielding for Your Psychology Degree?

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PhD Program in Clinical Psychology

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General Admission Contact The New School for Social Research Office of Admission 72 Fifth Avenue, 1st floor New York, NY 10011 212.229.5600 or 800.523.5411 [email protected]

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Department of Psychology The New School for Social Research 80 Fifth Avenue, 7th floor New York, NY 10011 212.229.5727 x3119 or x3223 (for Clinical Psychology) Fax: 212.989.0846

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The PhD in Clinical Psychology is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. It is one of the few clinical programs that combine a psychoanalytic emphasis with adherence to the scientist-practitioner model.

It also recognizes the importance of understanding the roles of culture and context in mediating healthy psychological development, psychopathology, and psychotherapeutic change.

• Degree Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• Credits 90 credits
• Format Full-time or part-time, on-campus
• Start Term Fall

View current tuition and fees View fellowship and funding opportunities

The mission of the Clinical Psychology doctoral program at The New School for Social Research is to train scientist-practitioners who:

• Are competent in clinical practice, including diagnostic assessment, case formulation, and intervention
• Are engaged in contributing to scholarship in all its forms 
• Are grounded in the broader field of scientific psychology and can integrate scientific knowledge with clinical research and practice 
• Can communicate about psychology effectively with a wide range of individuals
• Are respectful of the influence of context, culture, development, and individual differences
• Act ethically throughout their professional conduct

While introducing students to full range of evidence-based practice, we provide a foundation in psychodynamic theory and practice, whose core tenets we identify as 1) recognition of the importance of context and development for psychological trajectories; 2) acknowledgment of intrapsychic influences on behavior which may lay outside awareness; 3) appreciation of the fact that individuals attempt to manage difficult emotions through complex means; and 4) respect for the impact of relational factors on the amelioration of distress, including the therapist’s and client’s reactions to each other. It is expected that graduates will implement these skills in a variety of settings.

Consistent with The New School for Social Research’s institutional goals, we value progressive social thought, critical analysis, pluralism, diversity, and interdisciplinary dialogue and recognize the importance of pursuing and maintaining integration between scholarship and real-world concerns.

Approach to Training

Our overall ethos is a realistic take on the challenges to the scientist-practitioner model: Researchers sometimes fail to take into account the realities of clinical practice, and as surveys indicate, many practitioners are not interested in research findings. An important goal is thus to train students to think critically about the causes of the researcher-practitioner gap and to explore ways of reducing it. We attempt to create an atmosphere in which a critical spirit will flourish. Ongoing questioning and dialogue are encouraged, formally and informally, not only in classes and seminars but also at guest lectures, case conferences, research conferences, and various faculty and student meetings.

The program achieves mission through three primary modes of educational experiences: coursework, clinical placements, and research mentorship.

Coursework:  Students in the MA program undertake broad, foundational, and graduate-level study of psychological science, in the areas of affective, biological, cognitive, social, and developmental psychology, as well as research methods and statistics. As they move into the doctoral program, they integrate their acquired basic science learning into clinical skills coursework.

Clinical Placements and Supervision: In clinical placements, doctoral students participate in didactics on up-to-date clinical research, which their supervisors then help them incorporate into their interventions. An important element of the integration of science and practice is the clinical experience in the Safran Center for Psychological Services, in which students employ evidence-based interventions and actively participate in psychotherapy process and outcomes research.

Research Mentorship: Students are guided by mentors in their research labs in generating research that integrates the theoretical and clinical implications of their proposed research and its subsequent findings.  

For full details of the program curriculum, as well as all policies and procedures, please see the Psychology student handbook .

Program Ethos

Psychodynamic Roots: Many of our basic clinical skills courses have a broad-based psychodynamic emphasis. Others have a cognitive-behavioral emphasis. Students are also exposed to other therapeutic orientations, such as humanistic and existential approaches. They are encouraged to approach clinical practice with an open and inquiring mind and avoid a doctrinaire outlook.

In its clinical training, the program is pluralistic, with an emphasis on psychoanalytically informed practice. The psychoanalytic legacy of our program can be traced back to 1926, when Sándor Ferenczi, one of Freud's closest colleagues, taught a course at The New School. Other psychoanalytic pioneers who have taught at The New School include Alfred Adler, Ernst Kris, Karen Horney, and Erich Fromm. Our psychoanalytic legacy can also be traced to the World War II–era origins of The New School for Social Research, of which a number of founding faculty members were interested in the synthesis of social and political thought, psychoanalysis, and the humanities.

Critical Thinking: Critical inquiry and debate are encouraged, and students seek out training experiences in a range of different orientations during externship placements. Students are exposed to diverse orientations and taught to examine similarities, differences, and points of complementarity between them. They are taught to think critically about the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and to explore different approaches to integrating both interventions and theories from different perspectives (e.g., technical eclecticism, theoretical integration, common factors approaches, assimilative integration).

Integration of Science and Practice: In accordance with the scientist-practitioner model of training for clinical psychology, we are committed to teaching our students to integrate research and practice in a meaningful way. We teach them to view the activities of conducting research and engaging in clinical practice as mutually enhancing—that is, to understand that clinical practice generates important questions and insights that can have a significant influence on the conceptualization and execution of research and that both research findings and the process of conducting research can have an important impact on clinical practice.

Consistent with the National Conference on Scientist-Practitioner Education and Training for the Professional Practice of Psychology, the emphasis in our training model is on the integration of science and practice in all activities a clinical psychologist undertakes. From this perspective, the hallmark of the scientist-practitioner model is not publishing in scientific journals but rather bringing the integrative perspective of the scientific-practitioner model to all professional activities.

Many of our graduates choose to work in clinical settings, and when they do, we expect them to approach their work with the critical sensibility that is the hallmark of science; to value and seek out up-to-date information, including expertise in both clinical techniques and empirical findings regarding assessment, psychopathology, and therapeutic methods; and to evaluate this information critically. When they do research, we expect them to be attuned to real-world clinical concerns and to use their clinical experience to generate meaningful hypotheses.

We also believe it is important for students to be aware from the outset that the practice of clinical psychology often falls short of the ideals of the scientist-practitioner model, and that there is an increasing recognition in the field of a gap between researchers and clinicians. Researchers sometimes fail to take into account the realities of clinical practice, and, as surveys indicate, many practitioners are not interested in research findings. An important goal is thus to train students to think critically about the causes of the researcher-practitioner gap and to explore ways of reducing it. We attempt to create an atmosphere in which a critical spirit will flourish. Ongoing questioning and dialogue are encouraged, formally and informally, not only in class and seminar rooms but also at guest lectures, case conferences, research conferences, and various faculty and student meetings.

A full account of degree requirements and procedures is contained in the Psychology student handbook .

PhD candidates must earn 60 credits in addition to the 30 credits taken in the General Psychology MA program, for a total of 90 credits. 

Once admitted to the Clinical Psychology doctoral program:

• Students are expected to take courses in clinical theory and technique, diagnostic testing, evidence-based practice, culture and ethnicity, ethics, and statistics, and others
• Students must also complete a practicum at the program's training site, the Safran Center for Psychological Services, in their first year, followed by two full years of externship and externship seminars
• The clinical component of training culminates in a paid, full-time, APA-accredited internship, procured through a national match process. 

Timeline to Completion:  It is possible to complete the PhD degree in four years (not including the two-year MA program). The program is structured so that students spend three years completing academic and practicum requirements and one year completing an APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship. It is not unusual for students to take longer than four years, given the many concurrent academic, clinical, and research experiences that the program affords, and given many students' desire to gain additional clinical experience in light of the current internship match imbalance.

Graduate Minors

Students can use elective courses toward completing one of the university’s  graduate minors . These structured pathways of study immerse master's and doctoral students in disciplines outside their primary field and expose them to alternative modes of research and practice. Completed graduate minors are officially recorded on students' transcript.

Dissertation

The dissertation itself consists of two separate but related portions:

• Literature Review: The first portion is a stand-alone literature review article that is submitted in a form that is potentially acceptable to a peer-reviewed journal. This article should be approximately 10,000 words or 25-30 double-spaced pages in length (including references), and will review theoretical and empirical research relevant to the topic on which the dissertation research focuses.
• Empirical Article: The second portion consists of a stand-alone empirical article written in a form that would be acceptable to a peer-reviewed journal. This article should be approximately 10,000 words or 25-30 pages double spaced in length (including references). Students should familiarize themselves with the types of articles that appear in quality journals relevant to their area of research, and use these as models when writing their dissertation.  

See Dissertation Requirements in the Psychology student handbook for complete information.

Assistantships

A limited number of research and teaching assistantships are available in the Psychology department. Teaching assistantships are usually restricted to doctoral candidates.

Faculty Research Interests

The following Clinical Psychology faculty members typically serve as the primary research supervisors for Clinical Psychology doctoral students. However, all Cognitive, Social, and Development Psychology faculty members may also serve as primary research supervisors.

The most recent American Psychological Association site visit, in December 2013, resulted in the PhD program's accreditation for a full seven years. The program continues to be accredited, with its next site visit scheduled to take place in 2021.

Site visitors commented on the excellence of the program's training in scholarship, research, and practice, and on our success in integrating the three realms. 

To quote the site visit report:

“The focus of the program is not only on present knowledge available but on understanding the value of developing a stance of lifelong scholarly inquiry and the basic value of science as an important part of clinical practice. There is an emphasis on the constant change in knowledge and ideas that occur in the field and on the importance of both being aware of these changes and of being involved in them. The advanced students appear to have developed a very strong attitude of lifelong learning and also assist in the development of this attitude by being models and passing on the attitude to the new students.

"The program excels in the area of clinical training. The New School Psychotherapy Research Program provides a strong beginning to the students' clinical experience. A wide range of agencies are used for advanced practica and all are required to provide adequate supervision and appropriate professional supervisors. The clinical training experience is integrated with all appropriate courses. The practica from the very first year New School Psychotherapy Research Program placement on throughout the program are designed to fit with and be part of developing competencies and to meet both immediate and long term training during each year of the program. Since practicum training is part of the training during each year in the program, the amount, intensity and breadth of experience is well beyond what is expected by most internship sites.

"The program tracks placements of its graduates and is justly proud of the excellent jobs its students regularly obtain. In our interviews with supervisors in sites that support student placements and internships we learned that most of them consider New School graduate students to be the best graduate students they see."

Questions related to the program's accredited status should be directed to:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation 750 First Street NE Washington, DC 20002-4242

202.336.5979 [email protected] apa.org/ed/accreditation

Detailed policies and procedures for admissions can be found in the Psychology student handbook .

Students begin their studies toward the PhD by obtaining an MA in General Psychology, which includes courses in cognition, social psychology, developmental psychology, neuroscience, psychopathology, and research methods and statistics, as well as three electives. For these electives, students may take the three-course module in Substance Abuse Counseling and Mental Health. In the middle of the second year of the MA, students with a GPA of 3.50 or higher, who are also pursuing research with faculty guidance, may apply for admission to the Clinical Psychology doctoral program. The Clinical program admits approximately 15 students per year. Successful completion of the MA in General Psychology does not guarantee admission to the PhD program.

Students with MA degrees in psychology from other universities  may be eligible for "Advanced Standing" status in the New School for Social Research MA program. Accepted students are informed of whether or not they will be admitted with Advanced Standing status prior to beginning the MA program. Once accepted, eligible students may apply to enter the Clinical Psychology PhD after at least one semester of study here at the MA level, depending on how many of their credits transfer and assuming they have successfully completed requisite courses to meet eligibility for doctoral application. Students in this situation should consult the "Advanced Standing" section in the department handbook for additional information.

Admission Data

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  Licensure

This program has been designed to meet educational requirements for professional licensure or certification in New York State. As such, a determination has not been made regarding whether this program will meet educational requirements for licensure or certification in other states or U.S. territories. Students who are considering enrolling in this program and who intend to pursue professional licensure or certification in a state other than New York should contact the appropriate agency to seek guidance and information confirming licensing or certification requirements before beginning the program. Students should be aware that licensure and certification requirements are subject to change periodically and may include educational or degree requirements, professional examinations, background checks, character and fitness qualifications, work experience, fingerprinting, and other requirements.

Disclaimer: The links below lead to websites created and maintained by other organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The New School does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Furthermore, the inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance or to endorse the organizations sponsoring the websites nor to endorse the views expressed or the products or services offered on the websites. Please note that privacy policies on these websites may differ from those of The New School. Psychology Licensure Information by Profession

New School for Social Research Psychology faculty members regularly discuss their research in the media and receive honors for their work. Examples include:

• New School press release on the appointment of Miriam Steele to the Alfred J. and Monette C. Marrow Professorship in Psychology
• New York Times article , "What Can Be Learned From Differing Rates of Suicide Among Groups," featuring Lillian Polanco-Roman, assistant professor of psychology
• USA Today article , "Hurricane Fiona, natural disasters expose mental health crisis in Puerto Rico," featuring Daniel Gaztambide, assistant professor of clinical practice
• VeryWell Health article , "People With Mental Health Conditions Should Be Screened for Heart Disease Earlier," featuring McWelling Todman, professor of clinical practice
• New School News article , "Trauma and Global Mental Health Psychology Lab Partners with Danish Red Cross to Provide Short-Term Mental Health Interventions to New Yorkers," featuring Adam Brown, associate professor of psychology and vice provost for Research
• New School News article , "Psychology Professors Miriam and Howard Steele Discuss How Families Can Cope with Grief and Stress During the Pandemic," featuring Miriam Steele, Alfred J. and Monette C. Marrow Professor of Psychology, and Howard Steele, professor of psychology
• Psychology research conversation  between Wendy D'Andrea, associate professor of psychology, and Nadia Nieves, PhD Clinical Psychology '20

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Prof. Alexander Batthyány, Ph.D

His presentation is entitled: Meaning Here, Now: Lessons from Logotherapy and the Psychology of Death and Dying. It will focus on what it means to live a life worth living, and a life worth leaving behind when the time has come. In this talk, ten insights or lessons learned on this path – lessons for everyday life, to find and fulfill meaning right here and now will be discussed

Prof. Alexander Batthyány

Prof. Alexander Batthyány, PhD, holds the Viktor Frankl Chair for Philosophy and Psychology at the International Academy of Philosophy in the Principality of Liechtenstein and is Director of the newly established Research Institute for Theoretical Psychology and Personalist Studies at Pázmány University, Budapest. Since 2012, Batthyány is Visiting Professor for existential psychotherapy at the Moscow University Institute of Psychoanalysis, Russia. He is Director of the Viktor Frankl Institute and the Viktor Frankl Archives in Vienna and first editor of the 14-volume edition of the Collected Works of Viktor Frankl. Batthyány has published over fifteen books and articles which have been translated into eleven languages. He lectures widely on philosophical and existential psychology, theory of cognitive science, and the psychology of death and dying.

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PhD in Clinical Psychology

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Accredited by the American Psychological Association , the clinical psychology PhD program follows a scientist-practitioner model. Students are trained as applied researchers and scientists, developing skills in research and practical methods used to advance knowledge of the causes, prevention and treatment of emotional, behavioral and physical health problems within diverse communities.

We embrace a community psychology orientation that emphasizes multiple influences on the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities and values engaging communities in all aspects of the work that we do.

Our training is grounded in developmental and social-ecological perspectives that attend to the intersection of multiple forms of diversity and recognize the impacts of systemic oppression on individuals and communities. We aspire to train behavioral scientists who are able to identify, implement and evaluate strategies to promote equity and social justice and to reduce health and mental health disparities in a variety of settings.

Faculty subscribe to a range of theoretical orientations, including cognitive-behavioral, family systems, social-ecological and community frameworks. These perspectives enable students to develop a broad base of knowledge and the opportunity to specialize in particular areas of research and evidence-based application.

  Apply to GW

  Resources for Current Students

  Clinical Doctoral Student Handbook for Fall 2024 (PDF)

Faculty Mentor Requirement

The clinical program follows a mentorship model. Qualified applicants are chosen based on how their interests fit with the overall goals of the program and with the research interests of specific faculty members. These faculty will be available to mentor students beginning in the 2025-26 academic year: Dr. Sarah Calabrese , Dr. Fallon Goodman and Dr. Sharon Lambert .

Applicants should review bios for these core faculty and indicate their ranking on the online application for the PhD program in clinical psychology.

Faculty Preference Ranking (PDF)

Program Information

American psychological association accreditation.

The clinical psychology program has been accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Accreditation (COA) since 1970. COA is part of the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation (OPCA).

View Student Admissions, Outcomes and Other Data

Further information on the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences’ accreditation status and the accreditation process may be obtained from the American Psychological Association:

American Psychological Association Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation 750 First St. NE Washington, DC 20002-4242 202-336-5979  [email protected]

The clinical psychology program is also recognized by the Society for Community Research and Action as a doctoral clinical-community training program.

To build real-world clinical experience, students in the PhD program complete a minimum of two assessment practica and two therapy practica in the  Meltzer Psychological and Community-Based Services Center.

Additionally, students complete two externship placements in community settings. Clinical practice is supervised by licensed faculty members and clinicians at field placements.

Finally, as part of the PhD program in Clinical Psychology, students are also required to complete a one-year Psychology Internship Training Program. In almost all cases this will be an APA- approved pre-doctoral internship program.

Our Clinical Psychology program trains graduates who are successfully licensed in many states. No graduate from our program has been turned down for licensure due to insufficiencies in our program’s education and training. However, the practice of psychology (licensure) is regulated at the state level. State licensing authorities, commonly referred to as “State Boards,” determine the specific educational and training requirements for licensure in their State. Licensure requires more training than our degree’s educational requirements and may vary by state. Most states have post-doctoral clinical supervision requirements, and some states have specific training requirements that may not be automatically covered in GWU’s program. For a general description of the licensing processes in clinical psychology and a state by state listing of our recent understanding of educational requirements and how GWU’s program aligns with the requirements of each state, please review our Consumer Disclosure Information report (PDF) .

The program develops students into well-rounded, confident professionals in several roles:

• Researchers and applied scientists
• Interventionists who use methods and substantive findings to inform assessment, prevention and treatment
• Professionals who consider applied problems from a lifespan developmental perspective and from multiple levels within human social ecology
• Clinical psychologists equipped with the specialized skills necessary for implementing promotion, prevention and treatment programs for diverse clients

Clinical Doctoral Student Handbook for Fall 2024 (PDF)

NIMH T32 Training Program for Select Students

The George Washington University is offering full doctoral scholarships* to prepare the next generation of community-engaged researchers to develop and lead social-structural and intersectional approaches to promote equity and improve HIV and related health outcomes. The training program is supported by 18 multi-disciplinary faculty conducting both global and domestic research on HIV, mental health, substance use, and violence.

Trainees will receive instruction and mentorship in:

• Social and structural, critical, and intersectional theory
• Community-engaged research design and methods
• Multi-level intervention development and evaluation

Trainees must apply and be accepted to the PhD program. Individuals from underrepresented populations are strongly encouraged to apply. To learn more about TASHI, visit the website or email [email protected] .​

*Full scholarships include tuition, living expenses, and health insurance.

"Through class discussion, research and clinical experiences, I learned that the symptom is never bigger than the story. This has been a cornerstone of my work as a clinician."

Henry Prempeh PhD '13

Clinical Psychology News

Meet the Columbian Distinguished Fellows

July 14, 2021

Across disciplines and research fields, these Columbian College PhD fellows are leading scholarly studies and making real-world impacts.

Alumnus Doctor Takes Care Abroad

June 23, 2020

For more than 45 years, Dr. Bill Goldman, BA ’72, MD ’75, has brought care and kindness to his patients. After retiring from his pediatric practice, he found a new home for his passion:...

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Course Requirements

The following requirements must be fulfilled:

The general requirements stated under  Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate Programs .

The requirements for the  Doctor of Philosophy Program .

72 credits, including 54 credits in required courses, at least 6 credits in dissertation courses, and 15 credits in dissertation or elective courses. Students also take five 0-credit courses and successfully complete a comprehensive examination.

In addition, students are required to obtain clinical training, including a minimum of two assessment practica and two therapy practica in the  Meltzer Center ’s Psychological and Community-Based Services, and to complete a one-year psychology internship training program. In almost all cases this will be an APA- approved pre-doctoral internship program.

The Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology Digest

• Browse All Issues

Hidden in the spotlight: Philosophy to the rescue

Mainstream efforts turn to philosophical psychology

From the leadership

• President’s letter to the membership Prioritizing epistemic access in this year’s conversations By Joshua W. Clegg, PhD
• STPP Programming at APA 2022, the annual convention in Minneapolis Call for proposals and convention details
• STPP Programming for 2022 Midwinter Meeting Call for papers for midwinter meeting
• Awards and recognition for Div. 24 members Div. 24 congratulates award winners By Ayurdhi Dhar, PhD

From the membership

• Liberation psychotherapy: Addressing power dynamics in clinical practice with a critical-experiential epistemology Theoretical psychology’s possible contribution to decolonial practice By Zenobia Morrill
• Practicing creative theoretical/philosophical approaches in science Courage in research: Bringing back the relational, cooperative, and phenomenological By Mary Rees, PhD
• The role of uncertainty in science’s web of belief Celebrating science’s inherent improvability By George S. Howard, PhD
• Short film based on award-winning book, "Breaking the Cycle" "Breaking the Cycle", is based on the multi-award-winning book (including the APA William James Book Award), "Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture and Wisdom" By Darcia Narvaez, PhD
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Frequently Asked Questions

How long do these programs typically take to complete.

The PhD in Clinical Psychology program takes an average of seven (7) years to complete. The PhD programs in Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology and Social-Personality Psychology take approximately five (5) years.

Are all the PhD programs APA accredited?

Only the Clinical Psychology PhD Program is currently APA accredited. Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to:

The Commission on Accreditation Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association 750 1st Street, NE Washington, DC 20002

Phone: (202) 336-5979 E-mail: [email protected]   www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

I'm interested in a counseling career. Is this the right department for me?

Although the Clinical Psychology PhD Program is APA accredited and includes training in clinical practice, the program has a far stronger research emphasis. The program is designed to develop the skills necessary for becoming a clinical researcher and to prepare students for careers in academic settings, such as psychology and psychiatry departments.

Applicants who do not have a strong interest in research may want to consider the counseling-based doctoral and master’s level psychology programs offered at UB within the Graduate School of Education , along with the graduate programs offered by UB’s School of Social Work . Our Cognitive Psychology PhD, Social-Personality PhD, Behavioral Neuroscience PhD and General Psychology MA programs do not offer clinical training, nor provide the credentials necessary for graduates to be eligible to be a licensed therapist or counselor.

Theoretical Perspectives of Psychology (Psychological Approaches)

Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

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There may be several theories within an approach, but they all share these assumptions.

The five major psychological perspectives are biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and humanistic, and provide different lenses through which phenomena are explained and analyzed.

You may wonder why there are so many different psychological approaches and whether one approach is correct and another wrong.

Most psychologists would agree that no one approach is correct, although in the past, in the early days of psychology, the behaviorist would have said their perspective was the only truly scientific one.

Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses, and brings something different to our understanding of human behavior.  For this reason, it is important that psychology does have different perspectives on the understanding and study of human and animal behavior.

Below is a summary of the six main psychological approaches (sometimes called perspectives) in psychology.

Behaviorist Perspective

If your layperson’s idea of psychology has always been about people in laboratories wearing white coats and watching hapless rats try to negotiate mazes in order to get to their dinner, then you are probably thinking about behavioral psychology.

Behaviorism is different from most other approaches because they view people (and animals) as controlled by their environment and specifically that we are the result of what we have learned from our environment.

The behaviorist perspective is concerned with how environmental factors (called stimuli) affect observable behavior (called the response).

The behaviorist perspective proposes two main processes whereby people learn from their environment: namely classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves learning by association, and operant conditioning involves learning from the consequences of behavior.

Classical conditioning (CC) was studied by the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov . Though looking into natural reflexes and neutral stimuli he managed to condition dogs to salivate to the sound of a bell through repeated associated with the sound of the bell and food.

The principles of CC have been applied in many therapies. These include systematic desensitization for phobias (step-by-step exposed to a feared stimulus at once) and aversion therapy.

B.F. Skinner investigated operant conditioning of voluntary and involuntary behavior. Skinner felt that some behavior could be explained by the person’s motive. Therefore behavior occurs for a reason, and the three main behavior shaping techniques are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment.

Behaviorism also believes in scientific methodology (e.g., controlled experiments), and that only observable behavior should be studied because this can be objectively measured. Behaviorism rejects the idea that people have free will, and believes that the environment determines all behavior.

Behaviorism is the scientific study of observable behavior working on the basis that behavior can be reduced to learned S-R (Stimulus-Response) units.

Behaviorism has been criticized in the way it under-estimates the complexity of human behavior. Many studies used animals which are hard to generalize to humans, and it cannot explain, for example, the speed in which we pick up language. There must be biological factors involved.

Psychodynamic Perspective

Who hasn’t heard of Sigmund Freud ? So many expressions of our daily life come from Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis – subconscious, denial, repression, and anal personality, to name only a few.

Freud believes that events in our childhood can have a significant impact on our behavior as adults. He also believed that people have little free will to make choices in life. Instead, our behavior is determined by the unconscious mind and childhood experiences.

Freud’s psychoanalysis is both a theory and therapy. It is the original psychodynamic theory and inspired psychologists such as Jung and Erikson to develop their own psychodynamic theories. Freud’s work is vast, and he has contributed greatly to psychology as a discipline.

Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis , explained the human mind as like an iceberg, with only a small amount of it being visible, that is our observable behavior, but it is the unconscious, submerged mind that has the most, underlying influence on our behavior.

Freud used three main methods of accessing the unconscious mind : free association, dream analysis and slips of the tongue .

He believed that the unconscious mind consisted of three components: the “ id” the “ego” and the “superego.”   The “id” contains two main instincts: “Eros”, which is the life instinct, which involves self-preservation and sex which is fuelled by the “libido” energy force. “Thanatos” is the death instinct, whose energies, because they are less powerful than those of “Eros” are channeled away from ourselves and into aggression towards others.

The “id” and the “superego” are constantly in conflict with each other, and the “ego” tries to resolve the discord. If this conflict is not resolved, we tend to use defense mechanisms to reduce our anxiety. Psychoanalysis attempts to help patients resolve their inner conflicts.

An aspect of psychoanalysis is Freud’s theory of psychosexual development . It shows how early experiences affect adult personality. Stimulation of different areas of the body is important as the child progresses through the important developmental stages. Too much or too little can have bad consequences later.

The most important stage is the phallic stage where the focus of the libido is on the genitals.  During this stage little boys experience the “ Oedipus complex “, and little girls experience the “ Electra complex .” These complexes result in children identifying with their same-sex parent, which enables them to learn sex-appropriate behavior and a moral code of conduct.

However, it has been criticized in the way that it over emphasizes the importance of sexuality and under emphasized the role of social relationships. The theory is not scientific, and can’t be proved as it is circular.

Nevertheless, psychoanalysis has been greatly contributory to psychology in that it has encouraged many modern theorists to modify it for the better, using its basic principles, but eliminating its major flaws.

Humanistic Perspective

Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective that emphasizes the study of the whole person (know as holism).  Humanistic psychologists look at human behavior, not only through the eyes of the observer, but through the eyes of the person doing the behaving.

Humanistic psychologists believe that an individual’s behavior is connected to his inner feelings and self-image . The humanistic perspective centers on the view that each person is unique and individual, and has the free will to change at any time in his or her life.

The humanistic perspective suggests that we are each responsible for our own happiness and well-being as humans. We have the innate (i.e., inborn) capacity for self-actualization, which is our unique desire to achieve our highest potential as people.

Because of this focus on the person and his or her personal experiences and subjective perception of the world the humanists regarded scientific methods as inappropriate for studying behavior.

Two of the most influential and enduring theories in humanistic psychology that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s are those of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow .

Cognitive Perspective

Psychology was institutionalized as a science in 1879 by Wilhelm Wundt , who found the first psychological laboratory.

His initiative was soon followed by other European and American Universities. These early laboratories, through experiments, explored areas such as memory and sensory perception, both of which Wundt believed to be closely related to physiological processes in the brain.

The whole movement had evolved from the early philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plato. Today this approach is known as cognitive psychology .

Cognitive Psychology revolves around the notion that if we want to know what makes people tick then the way to do it is to figure out what processes are actually going on in their minds. In other words, psychologists from this perspective study cognition which is ‘the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired.’

The cognitive perspective is concerned with “mental” functions such as memory , perception , attention , etc. It views people as being similar to computers in the way we process information (e.g., input-process-output). For example, both human brains and computers process information, store data and have input an output procedure.

This had led cognitive psychologists to explain that memory comprises of three stages: encoding (where information is received and attended to), storage (where the information is retained) and retrieval (where the information is recalled).

It is an extremely scientific approach and typically uses lab experiments to study human behavior. The cognitive approach has many applications including cognitive therapy and eyewitness testimony .

Biological Perspective In Psychology

The biological perspective states that all thoughts, feeling & behavior ultimately have a biological cause. It is one of the major perspectives in psychology and involves such things as studying the brain, genetics, hormones, and the immune and nervous systems.

Theorists in the biological perspective who study behavioral genomics consider how genes affect behavior. Now that the human genome is mapped, perhaps, we will someday understand more precisely how behavior is affected by the DNA we inherit.

Biological factors such as chromosomes, hormones and the brain all have a significant influence on human behavior, for example, gender .

The biological approach believes that most behavior is inherited and has an adaptive (or evolutionary) function. For example, in the weeks immediately after the birth of a child, levels of testosterone in fathers drop by more than 30 percent.

This has an evolutionary function. Testosterone-deprived men are less likely to wander off in search of new mates to inseminate. They are also less aggressive, which is useful when there is a baby around.

Biological psychologists explain behaviors in neurological terms, i.e., the physiology and structure of the brain and how this influences behavior.

Many biological psychologists have concentrated on abnormal behavior and have tried to explain it.  For example, biological psychologists believe that schizophrenia is affected by levels of dopamine (a neurotransmitter).

These findings have helped psychiatry take off and help relieve the symptoms of mental illness through drugs. However, Freud and other disciplines would argue that this just treats the symptoms and not the cause.

This is where health psychologists take the finding that biological psychologists produce and look at the environmental factors that are involved to get a better picture.

Evolutionary Psychology

A central claim of evolutionary psychology is that the brain (and therefore the mind) evolved to solve problems encountered by our hunter-gatherer ancestors during the upper Pleistocene period over 10,000 years ago.

The Evolutionary approach explains behavior in terms of the selective pressures that shape behavior. Most behaviors that we see/display are believed to have developed during our EEA (environment of evolutionary adaptation) to help us survive.

Observed behavior is likely to have developed because it is adaptive. It has been naturally selected, i.e., individuals who are best adapted to survive and reproduce. behaviors may even be sexually selected, i.e., individuals who are most successful in gaining access to mates leave behind more offspring.

The mind is therefore equipped with ‘instincts’ that enabled our ancestors to survive and reproduce.

A strength of this approach is that it can explain behaviors that appear dysfunctional, such as anorexia, or behaviors that make little sense in a modern context, such as our biological stress response when finding out we are overdrawn at the bank.

Perspectives Conclusion

Therefore, in conclusion, there are so many different perspectives in psychology to explain the different types of behavior and give different angles.  No one perspective has explanatory powers over the rest.

Only with all the different types of psychology, which sometimes contradict one another (nature-nurture debate), overlap with each other (e.g. psychoanalysis and child psychology) or build upon one another (biological and health psychologist) can we understand and create effective solutions when problems arise, so we have a healthy body and a healthy mind.

The fact that there are different perspectives represents the complexity and richness of human (and animal) behavior. A scientific approach, such as Behaviorism or cognitive psychology, tends to ignore the subjective (i.e., personal) experiences that people have.

The humanistic perspective does recognize human experience, but largely at the expense of being non-scientific in its methods and ability to provide evidence.  The psychodynamic perspective concentrates too much on the unconscious mind and childhood. As such, it tends to lose sight of the role of socialization (which is different in each country) and the possibility of free will.

The biological perspective reduces humans to a set of mechanisms and physical structures that are clearly essential and important (e.g., genes).  However, it fails to account for consciousness and the influence of the environment on behavior.

What is the difference between a psychological perspective and a field in psychology?

Psychology approaches refer to theoretical perspectives or frameworks used to understand, explain, and predict human behavior, such as behaviorism, cognitive, or psychoanalytic approaches.

Branches of psychology are specialized fields or areas of study within psychology, like clinical psychology, developmental psychology, or school psychology.

UCL Psychology and Language Sciences

MPhil/PhD in Psychoanalytic Studies

Students may pursue PhDs under any aspect of the general rubric. A basic understanding of psychoanalytic concepts or, alternatively, methods of psychoanalytic research or methods of historical analysis will be required. These will be introduced in a series of seminars and workshops. Research may be theoretical (conceptual), empirical, or historical or a combination of these.  The PhD does not qualify students for clinical work although a clinical training is highly compatible with pursuing the programme. The programme aims to demonstrate how an academic understanding of psychoanalytic concepts (its theory or metapsychology) and/or the historical background to ideas should always be intertwined with its clinical precepts in line with the course’s principles that theory can only arise from a clinical and historical context.

First-year students are registered as MPhil students until they have qualified for an upgrading to PhD.  Both full-time and part-time students must attain 80 credits from courses to enable them to upgrade . These credit bearing courses can be selected from within those offered in the Psychoanalysis Unit or from the wider Psychology & Language Sciences Division or the Brain Sciences Faculty recognized courses. In addition students are required to complete 20 "Robert’s Points" per year by taking relevant courses run by the UCL Graduate School.

The requirement for the award of a PhD is the submission of a thesis of no more than 100,000 words (excluding references and appendices). Normally this reports an in-depth, original programme of work which makes a significant contribution to knowledge through the exercise of critical powers, and/or through the acquisition and interpretation of fresh data. Although publication is not a necessary criterion, it is expected that this work will be of sufficiently high quality to merit publication. The key requirement is the achievement of a significant contribution to knowledge.

Research topics should be linked the supervisor’s research topics. More information can be found here:

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychoanalysis/courses/phd/people

Whilst this PhD is not a clinical programme, it provides an interesting background to formal clinical training and some graduates pursue this option. Taking a PhD is always an important step in pursuing an academic career.

For information on UCL scholarship opportunities:  https://www.ucl.ac.uk/scholarships/

Helen King [email protected]

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Clinical Psychology

*WE ONLY HOLD ADMISSIONS IN THE FALL FOR ENTRY A YEAR LATER*

The UNT Clinical Psychology doctoral (Ph.D.) program is one of only a handful of APA-accredited clinical psychology doctoral programs nationwide that is housed in a top tier (R1) university that also holds the distinction of being a minority serving intitution (MSI). Over the past decade our program has transformed into a majority-minority student body. Additional information is provided in our Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data .

We are committed to a student-centered learning approach with close faculty mentorship. The program offers intensive research training in the science of Clinical Psychology via highly productive faculty research labs . Simultaneously, students obtain in-depth, closely supervised training in the practice of Clinical Psychology. Students begin clinical practicum internally within our psychology training clinic, which is located in a mental health professional shortage area, before advancing to high quality external practicum sites across the DFW Metroplex, gaining experience with underserved areas or populations. In addition to achievements among our graduates , our program is:

• ranked 14th nationally (top 6%) on its number of publications in the most influential assessment journals 1
• ranked 6th nationally (top 3%) on its impact as measured by its citations in the area of assessment 1
• ranked 5th nationally (top 3% on its adjusted passing rate on the national licensing exam (EPPP) 2
• home to one of the largest psychology training clinics in the country; offering high quality, low-cost services to a diverse clientele
• accredited by the American Psychological Association

Our Commitment to Diversity

Across research areas, our faculty evidence their commitment to diveristy, broadly defined (race/ethnicity, sex, language, age, country of origin, sexual orientation, religious/spiritual beliefs, social class, and physical disability). We are a proud member of the BRIDGE Psychology Network , which aims to connect prospective students to programs that collaborate and improve initiatives that nurture inclusivity and diversity in psychology graduate programs, and encourage students to utilize anti-racist resources as part of their multicultural competency development. Resources that inform our training and pertain to diversity include:

• Definitions
• Allies Resource List
• APA Presidential Task Force on Enhancing Diversity
• Guidelines on Multicultural Education
• Resource Guide for Graduate Students with Disabilities
• Resource Guide for Ethnic Minority Graduate Students
• Guide for LGBT Students Navigating Graduate Training
• Working with Immigrant-Origin Clients
• Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Low Income and Economically Marginalized Individuals
• Inclusion of Social Class in Psychology Curricula: Resources for Educators
• A Guide for Supporting Trans and Gender Diverse Students
• UNT Division of Institutional Equity & Diversity
• UNT Multicultural Center
• Resources for Elevating Voices to Address Racial Stress and Trauma

THECB Marketable Skills

• Assessment evaluations
• Psychological diagnostics
• Psychotherapy interventions
• Measurement and psychometrics
• Psychological consultation

Statement on Licensure

Our program adheres to APA accreditation standards and prepares students for entry into the profession of Clinical Psychology. Given the varied and changing requirements across jurisdictions, we cannot assure, nor is it our responsibility, that graduates will meet all requirements for licensure in all states, territories, or international locations. Doctoral trainess in this program are encouraged to become familiar with licensing laws applicable to their career plans and discuss their curricular plan with their major professor and/or the Director of Clinical Training (DCT) as needed. A compilation of licensure requirements, organized by jurisdictions, is available and updated annually via these links:

https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.asppb.net/resource/resmgr/docs/7.22.21_consume...

https://asppbcentre.org/additional-resources/survey-questions-and-answers/

• Morey, L.C. (2010). Leading North American programs in clinical assessment research: An assessment of productivity and impact. Journal of Personality Assessment, 92, 207-211. doi: 10.1080/00223891003670133
• Callahan, J.L., Ruggero, C.J., & Parent, M.C. (2013). Hidden gems among clinical psychology training programs. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 7, 278-284. doi: 10.1037/a0034233

The Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology at the University of North Texas is accredited by the American Psychological Association, Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. 202-336-5979 Email: [email protected] Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

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Wayne State University

Academic catalog, counseling psychology (ph.d.).

The Wayne State University Counseling Psychology (WSU-CP) Ph.D. prepares the scholar-practitioner to advance the practice of psychology and improve mental health recovery and wellness through research and reflective practice. The WSU-CP doctoral program was formally established in 2018.

The WSU-CP doctoral program resides within the Theoretical and Behavioral Foundations division of the College of Education. The training prepares practitioners to make professional judgments that take into consideration best practices derived from research and theory, social, political, and policy contexts, ethical principles, and multicultural awareness. Courses emphasize the broad applications of normal and abnormal development, multicultural and ecological approaches such as family and community. Students may also elect to take courses in couples, family therapy, and/or trauma to augment their clinical training. Training offers a balance of both urban and metropolitan experiences for all students to ensure familiarity with a range of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

The curriculum and practical experiences are designed to ensure professional competency and knowledge integration as it relates to scholarship, clinical practice, and advocacy. Program graduates will be prepared for employment within a variety of settings including academic departments, university counseling centers or clinics, community mental health agencies, hospitals, the non-profit sector, and/or independent practice. The program prepares students to meet the licensing requirements as a psychologist in the State of Michigan.

Admission Requirements

Admission to this program is contingent upon admission to the Graduate School . Applications are accepted after September 1 with a deadline of January 15. Applicants must complete a Counseling Psychology program application form, three letters of recommendation, curriculum vitae/resume, personal statement, transcripts, and online application required by the Graduate School. Applicants will not be considered for admission until all documents have been received and evaluated by the admissions committee. Admissions decisions are generally made by March 15 and applicants have until April 15 to notify of acceptance.

The program considers both direct admission from the baccalaureate degree and those with advanced degrees in psychology or a strongly related field. (If you are applying as a Canadian citizen and may be practicing in Canada, you are required to have a bachelor's degree in psychology to be considered for admission, based on Canadian psychology licensing requirements.) The work of students who had advanced degrees upon entering this program will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the directors to meet the required clinical experience and training.

Application policies and procedures are available on the Counseling Psychology program website . The General Record Exam is not required, but highly recommended. The admission committee uses a holistic review process that does not rely solely on standardized tests. Assessment of the applicant’s transcripts, letters of recommendation, writing sample, personal statement and research interests aligned with faculty, and availability of faculty mentorship are used to make admission decisions. Strong applicants will demonstrate academic promise in scholarship and practice, discipline and commitment to ethics and human rights, tolerance for professional and skill development, as well as an interest in social justice and multiculturalism. Review of applicants is based on combined holistic assessment including: (1) academic excellence; (2) writing skill; (3) alignment of academic, employment, and/or service-related experiences, and faculty research interests; (4) quality of recommendation and references. The number of applicants recommended for admission each year varies and is determined primarily by the availability of faculty advisors for incoming students.

Curriculum Overview

WSU-CP doctoral students will participate in coursework and training activities that to develop knowledge, skills, and professional competencies in core areas related to the discipline of psychology:

• Research Methods and Statistics
• Biological Bases of Behavior
• Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior
• Social Bases of Behavior
• Individual Behavior and Human Development
• History and Systems of Psychology
• Professional Issues and Ethics in Counseling Psychology
• Theory and Practice in Psychotherapy
• Supervision, Outreach and Consultation
• Intellectual and Personality Assessment
• Social Justice and Multiculturalism
• Professional Values and Behaviors

Program Requirements

The Doctor of Philosophy requires a minimum of 90 credits of coursework beyond the baccalaureate degree, thirty of which must be earned as dissertation credits. All coursework must be completed in accordance with the regulations of the Graduate School and the College of Education . In addition to coursework and clinical training (practicum), students must complete written and oral qualifying exams, dissertation, and a 2000-hour doctoral internship during the final years of study. 

The WSU-CP includes the following coursework:

Students matriculating in the program, either directly from their baccalaureate or advanced degrees, must complete this course.

Plan of Work

The Plan of Work reflects a systematic and organized series of courses, seminars, field experiences, etc., designed to assist students in organization and planning the course of their matriculation through the doctoral program.

Following formal acceptance into the program, students are provided a preliminary Plan of Work for their first academic year and assigned a research advisor. The Plan of Work must be approved by the program director and the major advisor along with the College of Education graduate director in the semester the student is completing the first 18 credits.

he Plan of Work must conform to the Policy and Procedures stated in this document. Plans of Work can be revised due to changes in course scheduling changes, or personal goals. However, students must discuss any potential changes with their major advisor and obtain permission from the program directors before a substitution is made. A change in the Plan of Work can be found on the College of Education website under the Students Tab .

The program requires a minimum of three full-time academic years of graduate study (or the equivalent) plus internship prior to receiving the doctoral degree; at least two of the three academic training years (or the equivalent) must be at the program from which the doctoral degree is granted; and at least one year must be in full-time residence at the program.

Examinations

The qualifying examination is a two-part exam in the College of Education. Part I is a written examination covering the student’s major area the discipline of Counseling Psychology. Part II is an oral examination demonstrating profession – wide competencies in clinical assessment and treatment. Qualifying exams are typically taken following the completion of the majority of coursework.

Training, Teaching, and Research

Doctoral students are encourage to participate in a research or training assignment each academic year they are in residence. This is required of all full-time students, irrespective of whether the training assignment includes a stipend. The student’s area committee is responsible for seeing that this requirement is met each year. The training assignment involves appropriate teaching, research (other than dissertation research) or professional activities.

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