CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Program Description
The Clinical Psychology Graduate Program
The Clinical program is a scientist-practitioner model program with a unique approach toward training graduate students. When applying to the graduate program, students indicate their intent to specialize in either clinical-child or clinical-community psychology. While all clinical students receive much training in common, each sub-program allows the student to develop skills in a specialized area. Nevertheless, all students do take some courses in both areas, and, following admission into either the child or community track, it is possible to combine elements of both areas of specialization. Both programs stress training clinicians who will work in the public sector and with diverse ethnic and racial populations. However, about 25% of the graduates go on to academic positions.
Each year approximately 350 students apply to the doctoral program in clinical psychology. Eight to ten students are accepted each year. Most clinical students are between 22 and 30 years of age. Many have worked one or more years prior to devoting themselves to full-time graduate study. It is expected that the students admitted to this program will be able to perform at an excellent level in their academic and clinical responsibilities. Nearly all students admitted successfully complete the program.
Since the clinical program emphasizes training in clinical-child and clinical-community psychology, those who have no special interest in these areas would be served better by another program. In particular, those having interests in traditional clinical work with adults would not find the DePaul program a good fit. Students who only have goals of doing private practice are also inappropriate applicants.
The clinical faculty and supervisors have various orientations, including systems, behavioral, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral. The combination of the child and community components at DePaul is an important strength of the clinical program. No other Ph.D. program in the Chicago area has this dual orientation. The fact that our students receive offers from the most exclusive internship sites in the country and our graduates have been placed at outstanding academic and clinical settings is testimony to the high quality of our program.
Clinical Training Overview
The clinical program prepares graduate students to work in applied and academic settings, with a special focus on clinical psychology in the public service sector. An emphasis on ethics, diversity, research competency, and the application of contemporary knowledge is present in all aspects of training. Faculty in both the child and community specialty areas share an appreciation and interest in social systems, ranging from the family to the community. As part of their training students learn a range of diagnostic, treatment, and intervention strategies for individuals, their families, and institutions such as schools and community agencies. Many training opportunities include low-income urban populations. DePaul's Community Mental Health Center is a key training site for students. The center serves a diverse group of children, families, and institutions in the community (see description in this brochure). All students in the clinical program receive basic training in the areas described above, as well as specialized training in the Child Track or Community Track, as described below.
Clinical Child Track
Students in this track specialize in treatment methods with children, family therapy, and behavior change. Research is developmental, systems-oriented, and applied in focus. Data are often collected in natural settings. Faculty interests include family interactions, socialization of children, high-risk children and adolescents, parent-child interactions, and the delivery and evaluation of mental health services.
Clinical Community Track
Students in this track are encouraged to be innovative designers of interventions, practitioners, and evaluators. Rather than emphasizing treatment, training focuses on health promotion, empowerment, and prevention, with a range of populations. In a year-long course sequence, students learn the theory and application of program development, consultation, and program evaluation through their own community project.
Clinical Admission Requirements
The clinical faculty wants applicants to know that they carefully evaluate all the application materials and emphasize the following criteria:
1. Completeness of Credentials: When important pieces of information, such as transcripts, are lacking, the faculty is compelled to reject the applicant. A number of applicants are rejected on this basis. Applications must be complete by December 1. The process of evaluation begins shortly after this date and interviews for invited candidates take place in either February or March. Applicants will be notified if they qualify for an interview. In-person interviews are preferred; however, phone interviews can be arranged if necessary.
2. Graduate Record Examination Scores and Grade Point Average: Combined Verbal and Quantitative GRE scores of about 1200 are expected; Advanced Psychology Subject scores are generally in the 600's. The undergraduate grades of applicants are expected to average substantially higher than "B" in psychology courses. Typically, successful applicants to our program have undergraduate GPA's of 3.5 or better. If the student is particularly strong in one area but not another, these criteria are not followed rigidly.
3. Undergraduate Preparation: Students are expected to have had courses in statistics, experimental psychology, abnormal psychology, and other areas of psychology to permit advanced study in this field. The minimum requirement for admission is 32 quarter hours (24 semester hours) in psychology. Although not required, science, computer, and math courses are viewed positively. In addition, applied and research experience will be an important consideration in the selection process.
4. Letters of Recommendation: The letters of recommendation are reviewed carefully. Reference writers should be selected who can address the applicant's academic abilities, potential for conducting research, and ability to work with others.
5. Match to the Program: As the DePaul Clinical program is more specialized than many programs, the match of a student's career goals and experiences to the program objectives is also a significant consideration in the admission evaluation process.
6. Ethnic and Racial Minorities: The clinical faculty encourages applications from students of color. About 30 percent of the graduate students in the clinical psychology program are members of minority groups. Three of the nine full-time clinical faculty are racial minorities and four are women.
7. Students with Disabilities: The clinical faculty encourages applications from students with disabilities.
Accreditation
The M.A./Ph.D. program in clinical psychology has been fully approved by the American Psychological Association since 1976 and is intended to prepare students to assume scientific and professional roles. In order to ensure that accreditation standards are met, and to provide students with the educational background in accordance with state licensing and certification requirements, the clinical program requires satisfactory completion of a sequence of courses and training experiences. This sequence takes a minimum of four years - three years of academic work and clinical training and a year of internship. The median length of completion for the doctoral degree is five or six years.
The Clinical program adheres to the guidelines put forth by the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology that govern admissions offers and acceptances.
Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology (CUDCP) Guidelines for Graduate School Offers and Acceptances (adopted March '93)
1.The policies listed here should be sent to all students applying to CUDCP-member graduate programs or other graduate programs that have adopted these guidelines. Each application package should be accompanied by a copy of these guidelines. Whenever possible, undergraduate advisors for students seeking admission into graduate programs of clinical psychology should familiarize the students with guidelines, emphasizing the importance of adhering to the guidelines.
2. To facilitate the decision making for students, training programs should inform students as soon as possible that they have been excluded from consideration for admission.
3. A student can expect to receive offers of admission to programs over a considerable period of time. The timing of offers to students is largely determined by the University's review schedule, which is a strictly internal matter. Regardless of when the offer is made, students are not required to respond to the offer before the decision date of April 15 (or the first Monday after April 15, if April 15 falls on a weekend), except as specified in Section 6 below.
- Offers are usually made in writing prior to April 1st. Between April 1st and the decision date, universities may choose to facilitate the process by making new offers to students over the phone when a position opens up. These verbal offers are official, but should be followed up by a written confirmation within 48 hours.
- Offers, once made, cannot be withdrawn by the university until after the decision date and then can be withdrawn only if the student fails to respond to the offer by the decision date.
- A program may make an offer after the April 15th decision date if it still has one or more open slots. Offers made after the decision date should clearly state how long the student has to decide on the offer. The student should be given sufficient time (at least a week) to visit a program before making a decision.
4. Offers with funding are treated like any other offer. There should be no stipulation by the University that the offer carries funding only if the student accepts by a specific date that precedes the decision date described above.
5. The Director of Clinical Training or the designated person in charge of graduate admissions should make every effort to inform students on the alternate list of their status as soon as possible.
- The procedure of designating all students who have not been offered immediate admission as alternates is inappropriate. The University Training Program should have a procedure for identifying those students who clearly will not be offered admissions.
- A reasonable designation of the student's position on the alternate list is encouraged (e.g., high, middle, or low on the alternate list). If such a designation is used, the operational definition of "high on the alternate list" is that, in a normal year, the student would receive an offer of admission (but not necessarily funding) prior to the April 15 decision date.
- Once the class has been filled, students on the alternate list should be informed that they are no longer under consideration for admission. Students who were designated "high on the alternate list" should be informed by phone.
6. Students should not hold more offers than they are seriously considering. Holding multiple offers ties up slots, preventing programs from making offers to other students. This is a complex principle operationalized in the points below.
- It is legitimate for students to want to visit a program, if they have not done so already, before making decisions among top offers. Such visits should be scheduled as soon as practical after the offer of admission is received. If after a visit to a program the student decides that the program is rated lower than a program that the student has already been offered admission to, the student should inform the lower rank program that they will be declining their offer.
- Whenever possible, the student applicant should inform training programs by phone of a decision, following up within 24 hours with a written confirmation of that decision.
- Once a student has accepted an offer of admission to a Graduate Training Program, the student should inform all programs in which they are currently under consideration that they are either declining outstanding offers of admission or no longer wish to be considered for admission. Students should contact by phone those programs that have offered admission or have the student high on the alternate list. These phone calls should be followed up within 24 hours by a written confirmation. For programs for which the student is on the alternate list but not high on the alternate list, a letter withdrawing the application mailed within 48 hours is sufficient notification.
7. It is the responsibility of the Director of Clinical Training or the designated person in charge of graduate admissions to keep students informed of changes in their status. Ideally, the student should be informed immediately by phone and with a follow-up letter. Offers of admission or offers of funding for students already offered admission should be made over the phone with a follow-up letter mailed within 24 hours.
8. The current policy statement of the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology allows students to resign offers they previously accepted up to the April 15th decision date by submitting the resignation in writing. The purpose of this policy is to avoid pressure on students to accept offers before they have heard from other schools. Although withdrawing an acceptance is legitimate, it is not good form. A much better approach is to accept a position only if you intend to follow through on your commitment. Students have the right to hold offers as described above if a preferable offer is still possible.
- As stated in 6(c), once a student has accepted an offer, the student should notify other Universities immediately that he or she has accepted another offer.
- Except in very unusual situations (e.g., serious illness or major personal problems), a student who accepts an offer of admission is expected to start the graduate program the following fall unless other arrangements have been made with the Director of Clinical Training. Training lines are severely limited and failing to use a line once it has been offered prevents other qualified students from obtaining training.
Curriculum
The following courses are required of all clinical students:
Clinical
Psy 481 Individual Intelligence Testing I
Psy 482 Personality Assessment
Psy 483 Advanced Psychodiagnostics
Psy 484 Behavioral Assessment
Psy 486 Advanced Psychopathology
Psy 487 Psychopathology of the Child
Psy 488 Principles of Psychotherapy
Psy 493 Principles of Community Psychology
Psy 500 Professional Ethics
Psy 520 Principles of Human Diversity
Psy 569 Seminar in Program Evaluation
Psy 574 Pre-Practicum in Clinical Psychology (3 quarters required)
Psy 577, 578, 579, 582, 583, 584 Practicum
Psy 596 Internship in Clinical Psychology (3 quarters required)
Clinical-Child Track
Psy 439 Advanced Developmental Psychology
Psy 454 Behavior Modification
Psy 491 Treatment Methods With Children
Psy 562 Seminar in Family Therapy
Psy 570 Seminar in Psychotherapy Research
Clinical-Community Track
Psy 492 Principles of Consultation
Psy 495 Grant Writing in Psychology
Psy 568 Seminar in Prevention and Intervention Methods
Psy 585 Field Work in Clinical Psychology (2 quarters required)
Statistics and Methodology
Psy 410 Advanced Statistics I
Psy 411 Advanced Statistics II
Psy 418 Multivariate Statistical Analysis or Psy 419 Factor Analysis and Path Modeling
Psy 420 Advanced Research Methodology
Departmental Core
Psy 361 History and Systems of Psychology (or equivalent course or qualifying exam)
Psy 402 Perceptual Processes or Psy 404 Learning and Cognitive Processes
Psy 406 Physiological Processes
Psy 430 Advanced Social Psychology
Psy 437 Advanced Personality or Psy 439 Advanced Developmental Psychology
Psy 597 Thesis Research
Psy 599 Dissertation Research (12 hours required)
In addition to the above foundation, students take courses in their specializations, clinical-child or clinical-community, and have the option of taking other courses at the graduate level, both in and out of the department. These courses are selected consistent with the student's individual goals and specialization in clinical psychology. Course selections are made with the consultation and approval of an advisor to ensure satisfactory progress in the general program and in areas of specialization. The director of clinical training is also available to students for consultation regarding program planning. Students will perform three years or nine quarters of clinical practica. Practicum starts the first quarter of the first year and is done at DePaul's Mental Health Center. Students' practica during their second and third years are served either at DePaul's Mental Health Center or at off-campus sites.
Other Program Requirements
The training of the clinical student takes into account not only the student's needs but requirements of institutions, agencies, society, and individual clients. Although an applicant is accepted into the M.A./Ph.D. clinical program, formal acceptance and admission to doctoral candidacy depends upon the student's satisfactory progress in meeting the various demands of graduate education and professional training.
Master's Thesis
Prior to the beginning of the second year in the program, the student should form a thesis committee and begin work on the master's thesis. It is expected that the student's proposal for the master's thesis will be approved by January 15th of the winter quarter of the second year in the program. Students must register for Psy 597 (Master's Thesis), a four hour course.
Doctoral Comprehensive Exams
The student is expected to take doctoral comprehensive examinations in the general area of clinical psychology and in the specialty area (Child or Community) in the Fall or Spring quarters of the third or fourth year in the program. These examinations cannot be taken until the student has completed the master's thesis.
Internship
Typically, the student spends the fourth or fifth year on an internship in a clinical facility approved by the director of clinical training. During the Fall quarter of the third year or fourth year, the clinical student usually begins the process of applying for internship. Internships are contingent upon the student's completion of all requirements for the doctorate, with the exception of the dissertation and the internship itself. If the student is sufficiently well organized, it is possible to combine the internship with work on the doctoral dissertation.
Dissertation
For the dissertation, 12 hours of Psy 599 (Dissertation Research) are required. The student should form a dissertation committee and begin work on the dissertation proposal during the third or fourth year. Some students prefer to have either the data collection portion of their dissertation or their entire dissertation completed prior to going on internship.
Department Office
Necessary supporting documents and application fees should be sent to the address below. Be sure the applicant's name, social security number and program being applied to are noted.
Graduate Psychology Program DePaul University
2219 North Kenmore Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60614-3504
For More Information
Contact the DePaul University Graduate Psychology Program:
1. On-line: Complete the Contact Us form
2. E-mail: Send an e-mail message to gradpsych@depaul.edu.
3. Call: (773) 325-7887 or toll free 1-800-4DEPAUL (outside Illinois)
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