Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (Clinical)

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Program Link:
http://psychology.wsu.edu/clinical/
Program Handbook:
https://psychology.wsu.edu/documents/2023/09/clinical-psychology-doctoral-program-handbook-2023-2024.pdf/
Total Graduate Faculty in Program:
10
Total Core Graduate Faculty in Program:
10
Graduate Students in Program:
39
Students Receiving Assistantships:
34
Priority Deadlines:

  • Fall December 1st

Campus:

  • Pullman

International Student English Proficiency Exams

International students may need to surpass the Graduate School’s minimum English language proficiency exam scores for this program. If the graduate program has unique score requirements, they will be detailed below. Otherwise, please refer to the Graduate School’s minimum score guidelines.

Degree Description:

The Clinical Psychology Program at Washington State University is based on the scientist-practitioner model of training.  The Program is designed to integrate theory, research, and clinical practice in the training of students.  Students are thus involved in research activities each semester in the Program and clinical practica beginning in the third semester until the start of the 12-month internship.  The goal of the program is to train highly competent clinical psychologists who will obtain high quality APA-accredited internships and, with graduation, make positive contributions to the field of clinical psychology.  Given that our graduates can potentially make contributions to clinical psychology in academic, research, medical, clinical, or community settings dependent on their interests and goals, the Program provides broad, general clinical training during the four to five years that students are at the University.  Areas of interest within the Clinical Psychology Program include: Clinical Health Psychology,  Neuropsychology, Adult Psychopathology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, and Quantitative Methods in Psychology.  The Program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association [750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002; (202) 336-5979].

Admission Requirements:

Admission to our graduate program is competitive.  To merit consideration the applicant must have completed at least 18 credits in psychology and earned at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA.  Applicants with less than these numbers will not be considered for admission regardless of circumstances.  For those who meet this requirement, evaluation of the application is based on: undergraduate GPA (3.0 minimum); graduate GPA (if any); GRE scores; letters of recommendation; clinical, research, and/or teaching experience; the variety and difficulty of coursework completed, with the expectation that the student has completed a large number of upper-division courses both within and outside of the major; extracurricular activities; jobs related to psychology; and a demonstrated ability to function independently and responsibly.  The department actively recruits students from cultural groups that have been under-represented in professional psychology.

Student Opportunities:

RESEARCH TRAINING

The Clinical Program operates on the proposition that research training is an integral part of the education of clinical psychologists.  Although the program admits only persons who expect to receive a Ph.D., each student who enters at the bachelor’s degree level is expected to complete an empirical master’s project while in progress toward the doctoral dissertation. Students may conduct research under the supervision of either clinical or experimental faculty.  In addition to the master’s project and dissertation, clinical students are expected to be involved in research activity under the direction of a faculty member during each semester in residence.

CLINICAL TRAINING

Exposure to professional clinical activities begins in the fall semester of the second year of graduate training and continues through the completion of the clinical internship.  To provide broad clinical training for students, the Department of Psychology offers a variety of different clinical experiences.  The Psychology Clinic in the Department of Psychology is staffed by faculty and clinical graduate students and provides assessment, diagnostic, and psychotherapy services for a fee to the University and surrounding communities.  The University Counseling Services is staffed by clinical and counseling psychology graduate students and faculty psychologists, and provides ongoing counseling and emergency services to students.

Career Opportunities:

Post-Graduate Employment Opportunities:
1. Post-doctoral (one to two year) positions in universities and medical schools; 2. Staff psychologist positions in VA Health Care Centers; 3. Faculty positions as clinical psychologists at Universities; 4. Staff psychologist positions in hospitals and clinics; 5. Staff psychologist positions in medical schools

Career Placements:

CURRENT EMPLOYMENT 2015-2020 GRADUATES
VA Eastern Kansas Healthcare System – Leavenworth, KS
Mayo Clinic Health System, La Crosse, WI
Cleveland Clinic- Cleveland, OH
University of Idaho Counseling & Testing Center, Moscow, ID
Self Employed and affiliated with The Seattle Clinic in Seattle, WA
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Community Health of Central Washington, Ellensburg WA
Mt Holyoke
Sanford Health
Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center
Providence Medical Center; Spokane, WA
Concordia University
Vancouver, BC, Canada
The Clinic, San Francisco CA
UC Davis Medical Center Sacramento, CA
University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA
Natalis Counseling and Psychology Solutions, St. Paul, MN
Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, CA

Contact Information: