Accredited by the American Psychological Association

The School has adopted a practitioner-scholar model of professional education that focuses on educating and training students for general clinical practice in psychology.  The curriculum has been designed within the framework of the guidelines for professional psychologists established by the American Psychological Association (APA).  Resolutions of the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (NCSPP) serve as a foundation for the curriculum design.

The Psy.D. curriculum develops a solid foundation of core knowledge and assessment, intervention, and research skills by means of a structured sequence of classes and experiences.  As students progress through the curriculum, they are systematically exposed to more applied, broad-based, and sophisticated course content. 

In the final year, students have the opportunity to develop expertise in a concentration area and to select elective courses.  Although individual courses focus on different aspects of the professional practice of psychology, recurrent themes such as the integration of theory and practice, the relationship of assessment to intervention, respect for individual and cultural diversity, scholarly inquiry, ethical practice, and professional problem solving are consistent across the curriculum.

Program Goals
Based on our mission and shared values, the faculty have established the following program goals:

• To expose students to the basic tenets of major theoretical and scientific perspectives regarding the bases of human behavior and developmental processes across the life span.

• To foster students' ability to critically analyze and synthesize various perspectives and information from multiple sources in order to encourage their development as lifelong learners and self-reflective practitioners.

• To provide training in therapeutic relationship skills as well as a variety of intervention approaches and modalities.

• To expose students to a wide range of clinical populations through participation in supervised clinical training experiences.

• To provide training in the selection, application, and interpretation of clinical assessment techniques and methods.

• To foster the development of high ethical standards, professional role functioning, and adherence to standards of practice in clinical psychology.

• To foster an understanding and appreciation for the wide diversity represented by individuals of different cultures, gender, ethnicity, races, religions, ages, physical/mental status, and other groups.

• To enable students to be wise consumers of research, and to function as local scientists in their approach to clinical problems by providing training in the use of scientific methods and empirical bases for the provision of clinical services.

• To prepare students to function in a variety of roles in society such as therapist, consultant, educator, manager/administrator, supervisor, assessor, and program developer/evaluator.

• To foster a sense of responsibility for improving the human condition, contributing to the welfare of others, and providing creative leadership in the professional community and society at large.

• To accurately represent the program and foster communication between students and faculty, to provide and manage resources needed by students and faculty, and to monitor and evaluate efforts to provide quality educational training.