The Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Program鈥檚 curriculum is designed to provide students with comprehensive education and training in the scienti铿乧 foundations of psychology, evidence-based clinical assessment and intervention, ethical and professional practice, and rigorous research methodology. Thus, all students within the program are required to complete core clinical competency courses (21 credits) and statistics and research methods courses (6 credits). Per APA requirements, students also develop training across foundational areas of psychology through breadth courses covering history and ethics, multiculturalism, and biological, cognitive, and a铿ective bases of behavior. Training in social bases of behavior and development throughout the lifespan is integrated within two core clinical competency courses.
Clinical Psychology Core (21 credits)
- Psychological Assessment I
- Psychological Assessment II
- Introduction to Psychotherapy
- Psychopathology Across the Lifespan
- Advanced Personality and Psychopathology
- Internal Psychotherapy Practicum.
Statistics and Research Methods (6 credits)
- Experimental Design and Statistical Methods I
- Experimental Design and Statistical Methods II
Breadth Courses (12 credits)
- Cognitive and A铿ective Bases of Behavior
- Health Psychology
- History, Systems and Ethics of Psychology
- Multicultural Issues in Assessment & Psychotherapy.
Students select one of three areas of emphasis: General Clinical Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology, and Clinical Health Psychology. Students ful铿乴l the following additional requirements aligned with their preferred area of emphasis:
- Completion of at least one of the required clinical practica in the area of emphasis (General Clinical Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology, or Clinical Health Psychology);
- Completion of at least three additional courses in the area of emphasis from the list below; and
Completion of a dissertation on a topic related to the area of emphasis. - Students complete at least three additional courses from the following in their selected area of emphasis.
General Clinical Psychology Emphasis
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Acceptance and Mindfulness
- Substance Use Disorder and Treatment
- Seminar in Current Research in Anxiety Disorders and OCD
- Seminar in Depression and Suicide: Research and Interventions.
Clinical Neuropsychology Emphasis
- Clinical Neuropsychology
- Functional Neuroanatomy
- Neuropsychological Assessment and Intervention
- Neuroimaging
- Human Brain and Behavior Relationships
- Cognitive Neuroscience.
Clinical Health Psychology Emphasis
- Health Psychology
- Epidemiology and Public Health Psychology
- Health Disparities in Research and Practice
- Clinical Practice of Pediatric Psychology
- Behavioral Medicine
All students also have opportunities to gain additional training experiences in clinical child psychology through completion of child-focused courses, research projects, or external practicum training.
The overarching goals of the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Program are to:
- Provide students with a strong foundation in the scientific basis of psychology, including the biological, cognitive, affective, and social bases of behavior.
- Equip students with the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities to deliver high-quality, culturally-responsive, and evidence-based psychological assessment and intervention services.
- Foster the development of research expertise to advance the scientific understanding of psychological phenomena and improve clinical outcomes, culminating in the successful completion of a doctoral dissertation.
- Cultivate ethical, professional, and competent clinical psychologists who are committed to serving diverse individuals, families, and communities through evidence-based practice, scholarly activity, and community engagement.
- Promote an inclusive and supportive learning environment that values diversity, empowers students to reach their full potential, and prepares them for successful careers as leaders in academia, healthcare, and other professional settings.
Course Descriptions
Psychological Assessment I (3 credits)
This course provides a foundation for essential topics related to testing and assessment, including psychometric properties. Course concepts cover topics such as classical test theory, reliability, validity, and test construction. Students are introduced to intelligence, behavioral, and personality assessments.
Psychological Assessment II (3 credits)
This course builds on the foundations of Psychological Assessment I and covers the administration, scoring, and interpretation of intelligence, behavioral, and personality assessments. Students learn to synthesize data and integrate the results into written reports, focusing on case conceptualization and diagnosis.
Introduction to Psychotherapy (3 credits)
This course provides a foundation for major theories of psychotherapy and their application to clinical practice. Students learn about the approaches and techniques of various empirically supported treatments as well as the current issues and debates within the field.
Psychopathology Across the Lifespan (3 credits)
This course introduces students to the etiology, classification, and presentations of psychological disorders with a focus on their development throughout the lifespan. The course explores comorbidities, cultural and individual influences on symptomology, diagnostic criteria, clinical implications, and empirical developments.
Advanced Personality & Psychopathology (3 credits)
This course introduces students to the development and measurement of personality. Students learn about a wide range of theories on personality as well as the administration, scoring, and interpretation of personality assessment instruments. Both objective and projective measures are covered in detail.
Internal Psychotherapy Practicum (6 credits)
Students complete their internal practicum which provides them with foundational skills in assessment, diagnosis, and intervention. Students develop ethical decision-making and cultural competence through hands-on work with clinical populations with a wide range of psychological issues.
Experimental Design & Statistical Methods I (3 credits)
This course provides the foundation for applied statistics and research design within the behavioral sciences, covering concepts such as probability, population and sample estimators, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, effect size, power, measures of central tendency and spread, probability distributions, and the Central Limit Theorem. Students also learn statistical analyses based on the general linear model, such as multiple regression and ANOVA.
Experimental Design & Statistical Methods II (3 credits)
This course builds upon the concepts covered in Experimental Design & Statistical Methods I, with a focus on general linear models taught in a model comparisons framework. Concepts covered include population parameters, sample statistics, expected values, predicted values and residuals within the general linear model framework specifically applied to one-way, factorial, repeated measures, and mixed ANOVA models, as well as ANCOVA and random factors models. Students also learn to conduct analyses using R and gain experience interpreting data and writing results in APA format.
Cognitive and Affective Bases of Behavior (3 credits)
This course covers major theories of cognition and emotion as well as foundational concepts including perception, attention, memory, decision-making, and emotion regulation. Students explore the implications of recent research findings for clinical applications. Course concepts also focus on individual and cultural differences among cognitive and affective experiences and processes.
Health Psychology (3 credits)
This course introduces students to the field of health psychology. Students learn about physiological bases of behavior and how medical disorders and diseases influence psychological well-being. Students are introduced to psychological assessments in medical settings and treatments for patients with disorders and physical limitations.
History, Systems & Ethics of Psychology (3 credits)
This course covers the current ethical principles of psychologists and the code of conduct as well as their legal, social, and philosophical significance. Students also learn about major ideas, theories, and experiments as well as advancements in the field of psychology throughout history.
Multicultural Issues in Assessment & Psychotherapy (3 credits)
This course examines how racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and other cultural factors influence mental health services, particularly assessment and therapeutic interventions. Students develop an awareness of differences in cultural backgrounds, personal perspectives,and societal attitudes.
Students complete a sequence of graduate-level courses covering core clinical psychology topics in areas such as psychopathology, psychological assessment, psychological intervention, statistics, and research design. They also participate in supervised clinical practica at BCM and within the community, gaining hands-on experience providing evidence-based psychological services to diverse populations. In the second year, students focus on developing their research skills by conducting an empirical master's thesis project, as well as completing additional coursework in their second and third years. In the fifth year, students devote their time to a full-time, year-long clinical internship at an external site while also making significant progress on their doctoral dissertation research that is initiated after completion of their qualifying exams. Throughout the program, students have the opportunity to collaborate with 91国产视频 faculty advisors on research projects, clinical case studies, and community engagement initiatives.
Throughout the duration of the program, students are expected to fulfill the following learning outcomes:
- Demonstrate broad and general knowledge of scientific psychology and its foundations, including biological, cognitive/affective, social aspects of behavior, history and systems of psychology, psychological measurement, statistics, research methodology, and data analysis.
- Attain profession-wide competencies required for entry-level practice in health service psychology, including research, ethical and legal standards, individual and cultural diversity, professional values and attitudes, communication and interpersonal skills, assessment, intervention, supervision, and consultation/interprofessional skills.
- Develop advanced clinical competencies through experiential training in evidence-based assessment, diagnosis, and intervention for psychological disorders, as well as clinical supervision and consultation.
- Demonstrate substantial understanding of psychological research by conducting independent empirical research and contributing to the scientific knowledge base.
- Prepare to navigate cultural and individual diversity issues in research and clinical practice.
- Develop competencies to pursue licensure as a clinical psychologist upon program completion.
These learning outcomes ensure the program covers broad knowledge in psychology, attain profession-wide competencies, provide advanced clinical training through experiential components, develop research competencies, address cultural and individual diversity, and prepare students for entry-level practice and licensure.