PH.D. REQUIREMENTS--CLINICAL
TRACK
Clinical
students need to complete 72 credits of course work, 4 comprehensive
exams, an ethics requirement, a predoctoral full-year internship,
2 tools, a master's thesis, and a doctoral dissertation. Students
need to complete all requirements before the degree will be granted.
Please note, clinical students need to complete their internship before
being awarded the doctoral degree. Each requirement is explained in
more detail below.
Course Work
Please see the General
Information section of the graduate student handbook for more information
about courses (prerequisites, testing out, etc.).
Clinical students
must take 72 credits (24 courses), as follows:
1. Master's Thesis
Seminar
2. Dissertation Seminar
3. Dissertation Research credits (3 credits minimum, can take up to
21)
4. History and Systems
5. Psychological Research
6. Psychopathology: Theory and Research
7. Psychotherapy: Theory and Research
8-13. A 3-year sequence of therapy practica, as follows:
(year 1) Experiential
Psychotherapy Practicum I and II
(year 2) Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Practicum I & II
(Year 3) Behavior Therapy Practicum I & II
14-16. A clinical
assessment sequence, as follows:
(A) PSYC-633, Psychological
Assessment I (required, taken first)
(B) PSYC-652, Introduction
to Objective Personality and Intelligence Testing (required, taken second)
(C) After 633 and
652 are completed, students must take at least one of the following
testing courses. None of the courses is a prerequisite for any of the
others.
PSYC-618 Principles
of Neuropsychological Assessment.(Prerequisites: Neuroanatomy and Advanced
Human Neuropsychology
PSYC-653 Advanced Assessment: Projective Personality.
PSYC-654 Advanced Assessment: Integrative Battery Assessment.
17-18. Statistics
courses
Any two courses
from Stat 515 through Stat 524 (must get B- or better to fulfill a requirement).
Other courses may be substituted if approved by Scott Parker, the departmental
statistician.
This requirement
represents a minimum. Statistics courses 500 to 514 can be taken as
electives. These courses, while they may not be used to fulfill the
statistics requirement, may be used to fulfill the overall credit hour
requirement.
19-22. Distribution
Requirements
Clinical Ph.D. students
must take one of the course options from each of the following four
sections (I-IV):
I. Biological Bases
of Behavior:
Advanced Human
Neuropsychology
or
Neuropharmacology
or
Physiological Psychology
II. Cognitive Affective Bases of Behavior:
Conditioning and
Learning
or
Advanced Memory and Cognition
III. Social Bases
of Behavior:
Advanced Social
Psychology
or
Ethnic and Minority Issues in Psychology
or
Psychology of Sex Similarities and Differences
*If you plan to
be licensed in Massachusetts take Advanced Social Psychology NOT Psychology
of Sex Similarities and Differences to fulfill the Social Bases of Behavior
requirement. Also for Massachusetts, make sure you take Ethnic and Minority
Issues in Psychology
IV. Individual Bases of Behavior:
Advanced Child
Psychology
or
Advanced Personality Psychology
23-24. Two electives
At least 42 of students'
credit hours, including the research requirement, must be completed
in residence at American University. (Course credit earned towards a
master's degree at American University may, if relevant, be counted
towards the Ph.D. degree.) For students admitted with a master's degree
earned elsewhere, the requirement is at least 42 credit hours of additional
graduate work, of which 36 credit hours, including the research requirement,
must be completed at American University.
Comprehensive Exams
Clinical students
must pass four comprehensives: two parts of the general written comprehensive
exam, one specialty comprehensive, and one other. For students admitted
Fall 2000 or later the dissertation orals cannot count as a comprehensive.
General Written
Comprehensive
Please see the General
Information section at the end of the graduate student handbook for
details of the scheduling, content, format, and grading of the general
written comprehensive exam.
Specialty Comprehensive
The format for the
required specialty comprehensive exam for clinical doctoral students
will be modeled on the colloquia presented by faculty job candidates
as follows: The student will prepare a presentation of approximately
45 mins. demonstrating advanced, specialized competence in clinical
practice. A committee of two faculty members, one of whom must be full-time
(not on reduced load) in the department, will conduct a 2 hour oral
exam, starting with the student's 45-min presentation and proceeding
with questions from the faculty. A written product (e.g., detailed outline
of the presentation, psychotherapy report, testing report, and other
supporting materials, or data etc.) must be made available to the committee
at the time of the oral. The presentation might also include an audio
or videotape of a therapy session, as well as slides or transparencies.
"Other"
Comprehensive
There are many ways
to fulfill the last comprehensive requirement. The idea is to encourage
students to engage in the types of activities required of professional
psychologists. Two faculty members will serve as readers. One must be
from within the AU psychology department; the second may be from outside
the department. The comprehensive will be evaluated as satisfactory
(pass) or unsatisfactory (not pass).
Possible formats
include:
All you need is
to reach agreement with the readers on a project of appropriate scope.
Ethics
Clinical Ph.D. students
must pass the Ethics examination (offered at least twice per year, reading
list available from the department office -- changes in the reading
list take effect one year after they are made).
1) The examination
will be given two times a year-during Spring semester and during the
summer.
2) Questions will be designed from the content of course-related ethics
issues and the reading list.
3) Students will answer six of seven possible exam questions. To pass,
a student's overall grade must be B-, with no grade on any individual
question lower than a C.
Students in the
Clinical Program can also fulfill the Ethics requirement by taking a
course in Ethics at another APA accredited clinical program and receiving
a B or better grade. The syllabus for the course must be approved by
the GCC.
Matters of ethics
will be covered in courses such as Psychopathology, Psychological Assessment
I, Psychotherapy, Psychological Research, Assessment of Intellectual
Function and Personality and the clinical practica.
Internship
Clinical Ph.D. students
may apply for internships only if 1) thesis orals have been passed,
2) final copy of the M.A. thesis has been submitted to the library with
the signatures of all members on the committee, 3) the dissertation
proposal has been signed by three members of the committee supervising
the research, and 4) two areas of the general written comprehensive
examination have been passed. Students who have not fulfilled all these
requirements may not apply for internships; faculty members are not
to write letters of recommendation for such students.
Clinical students
must complete 400 hours of practicum experience before beginning the
internship.
Clinical Ph.D. students
are required to serve a one year internship prior to the completion
of the Ph.D. Information regarding the availability of these internships
is available from the Director of Clinical Training.
A psychology internship
is an organized training program which, in contrast to supervised experience
or on-the-job training, is designed to provide the intern with a planned,
programmed sequence of training experiences. The primary focus and purpose
is assuring breadth and quality of training.
The internship agency
must have a clearly designated doctoral level staff psychologist who
is responsible for the integrity and quality of the training program,
actively licensed (certified or registered) by the State Board of Examiners
in the jurisdiction where the program exists, and present at the training
facility for a minimum of 20 hours a week.
The internship agency
training staff should consist of at least two full time equivalent doctoral
level psychologists who serve as primary supervisors, who are actively
licensed (certified or registered) as psychologists by the Board of
Examiners in the jurisdiction where the program exists.
Intern supervision
is provided by staff members of the internship agency or by qualified
affiliates of that agency who carry clinical responsibility for the
cases being supervised. At least 2 hours per week of regularly scheduled
individual supervision are provided by one or more doctoral level licensed
psychologists (regardless of whether the internship is completed in
one year or two). Supervision is provided with the specific intent of
dealing with psychological services rendered directly by the intern.
The internship provides
training in a range of psychological assessment and intervention activities
conducted directly with recipients of psychological services. At least
25% of the trainee's time is in face to face psychological services
to patients/clients.
The internship
must provide at least two hours per week in didactic activities such
as case conferences, seminars, in service training, or grand rounds.
Internship programs have documented due process procedures for interns
which are given to interns at the beginning of the training period.
The internship experience
must be completed in at least one year full time or two years half time.
The agency issues a certificate of internship completion which includes
the word "Psychology" to all interns who have successfully
completed the program.
Students are strongly
encouraged to serve internships accredited by the American Psychological
Association or Canadian Psychological Association.
Tools
Clinical students
must complete two tools. For detailed information on tools, please see
the General Information section at the end of the graduate student handbook.
Master's thesis
Please see the General
Information section at the end of the graduate student handbook for
details of the master's thesis requirement.
Doctoral Dissertation
Please see the General
information section at the end of the graduate student handbook for
details of the doctoral dissertation requirement.
