Best PhD Programs in Clinical Psychology

A typical online application to a clinical psychology doctorate requires a curriculum vitae (CV) and/or resume as well as a clearly articulated personal statement and/or statement of purpose. These last two documents are intended to convince the faculty that you share research interests and have enough experience with research and clinical practice to be a promising candidate.

Some schools may ask for the Psychology GRE, particularly if your undergraduate coursework lacks relevant classes. Expect at least two or three, personal references from people familiar with your educational and professional work to speak to your strengths. Some schools may require an interview before acceptance.

Clinical psychology programs typically require an undergraduate degree in psychology or a closely related social science subject to prepare you for the rigors of scientific study. There may well be grade or GPA expectations. If you do not have a psychology degree, programs will likely expect substantial coursework in psychology, statistics, math and similar subjects.

Additionally, programs sometimes prefer previous clinical experience. This does not have to be a job; it could be a volunteer position in a healthcare setting or a community agency, as long as it is something that can demonstrate ability and passion.

Typically, they also look for research experience, either in an undergraduate thesis or in a professional role as a lab assistant or other supervised role. It is important that you can write about and discuss your own research interest so faculty can evaluate how you would fit into their department.

Accreditation is how you know that a degree from your university will be seen by others in your field as having value. This is essential to your professional future, in postdoctoral or professional positions. There are two relevant forms of accreditation for a clinical psychology doctorate: university and department. University accreditation is handled by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) through six regional organizations. Any university that seeks accreditation has to go through a rigorous process of demonstrating its ability to provide a quality education for its students.

Psychology departments granting doctoral degrees in clinical psychology can earn accreditation from the American Psychological Association (APA) to ensure your faculty are appropriately qualified and the program fulfills all required standards.

A Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology typically takes around 6 years full-time to complete. Expect the first 3 to 4 years to be a combination of core coursework with electives shaped by your research interests. There is likely to be clinical experience in a faculty lab with encouragement to develop your own research projects within those years. Once you have completed your coursework you will typically take comprehensive examinations and move on to your dissertation, which can take 2 or more years to complete.

The core clinical psychology coursework typically involves foundational work in clinical psychology, studying interventions, assessments and likely differing approaches to psychological research. Expect to study the scientific bases of clinical psychology, with a series of courses involving research methods and/or statistics. Methods classes typically involve research selection and design and selecting appropriate advanced methods for statistical analysis.

You will typically have a range of courses available exploring psychology in depth from either a distinct approach (psycholinguistics, cognitive, psychopathology) or population (children, the elderly).

You may also select a minor for your doctorate. This could include statistically useful research tools such as machine learning, data science, or a relevant social science area such as diversity. A minor is intended to complement your doctoral research efforts and increase your professional competence.

Preparing Your Clinical Psychology Dissertation

Your coursework should prepare you to begin considering a dissertation topic. And once you have passed your comprehensive exams you will typically be paired with a faculty advisor whose research interests support your own. You may identify a gap in the research and find ways to approach a study, then create a literature review from current research that serves as the basis for your study

Discussing this review and your study's research methods with your committee you typically move forward to the oral examination. Your oral examination involves defending your dissertation's research and proposed study with a group of relevant faculty members.

Once your work has been approved you will have to perform the study and write up your results. You will likely also have other professional demands on your time such as possibly teaching classes or researching, and seven years from starting the doctorate is a common maximum length of time to complete your writing, have it approved, and hopefully receive your Ph.D.

Depending on the doctoral program clinical psychology doctorates can involve several possible specializations based on your professional interests. This may involve working with a certain population such as child clinical psychology, autism, or focusing on the elderly. You may wish to focus on a general domain of clinical psychology such as health psychology or a complex method such as quantitative methods. It is also possible to focus on a domain of scientific study as clinical neuropsychology. Each department will have its own research focus so be sure to contact faculty and study the website to be sure it aligns with your own.

Child Clinical Psychology

Working with children can be a rewarding and challenging career. A trained clinical psychologist works with childrens' mental health concerns and with possible psychological disorders by gaining knowledge and experience in assessing, detecting, intervening in those problems. Your focus could involve specific disorders such as autism or substance abuse, or concerns such as emotional development and anxiety in relation to poverty and trauma. You typically gain experience in a clinical setting and focus on evidence-based studies to become qualified practitioners ready to make a contribution to the research and improve the lives of children.

General Clinical Psychology

As the name suggests the general track can involve many facets of the field and open collaboration and learn with more of the department's faculty. Typically students will learn and work on clinical assessment and interventions in a number of different psychological problems such as anxiety, stress and depression, as well as issues such as high-risk behaviors, health psychology or addiction. Expect practical experience and internships and research collaborations with selected faculty based on your interests. You will likely learn rigorous evidence-based methods to devise your own studies.

Clinical Neuropsychology

Clinical neuropsychologists study, diagnose and help treat brain injuries and disorders, and to understand how these affect human behavior. After strong coursework focusing on brain anatomy and a likely pre- and post-doctoral internship to refine your clinical and research skills, neuropsychologists can expect to examine patients suspected of brain injury or disease and devise targeted interventions. Typically neuropsychologists have a medical residency after their coursework, working with qualified psychologists to apply assessment procedures with a rotation of patients. You will typically also be involved in research projects with peers to advance your chosen subject and deepen your understanding of an evolving scientific field.

Clinical psychologists have to become licensed through their states to practice psychology and these are approved by state licensing boards. How you do this will vary by state, although there are common elements to the process. Typically you will need an APA-accredited doctorate as well as a portfolio of your clients treated, your internships and practicums and any postdoc placements you may have had. All states in the United States require psychologists to take the EPPP, a 225 question multiple-choice test. You will likely have to accrue around 2000 hours of clinical experience and manage your credentials in a way that makes them easy to update for future reference. There are fees attached that range between $500 to $1000; once achieved, you will have to commit to professional development to remain licensed.

The clinical psychology doctorate is the terminal degree in the field but there are other levels of study that can introduce the field to an interested student. While full clinical specialization is unlikely before the graduate level, there are many other options for interested students. Undergraduate electives allow students to focus on chosen subfields within psychology, to demonstrate an interest in a subject that can then come in use for a later application to graduate school. Undergraduate and master's programs can also offer research opportunities through a thesis, volunteering or working in a faculty lab.

Clinical Psychology Associate Degrees

Clinical psychology is an advanced specialization within the broader field of psychology so an introductory two-year degree such as an associate typically covers the broad foundations and gives students a sense of whether they wish to pursue psychology at a higher level. Typically an associate's in psychology may cover research methods and statistics, as well as human development, child psychology, and other topics. Expect around 60 credits over two years and to end up with a degree you can use to transfer into a bachelor's program in psychology.

Clinical Psychology Bachelor's Degrees

Similar to an associate degree, a bachelor's in psychology is likely to offer a range of elective courses allowing you to shape your educational interests, including in clinical psychology. These are likely to be either a Bachelor of Science in Psychology or a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, with around 120 credit hours over 4 full-time years. Courses may range from softer behavioral science to harder neuropsychology, cognitive science and research methods. Expect initial research opportunities with faculty labs and opportunities to take this degree directly into the workplace or into advanced study.

Clinical Psychology Master's Degrees

Sometimes students interested in helping people in need can lead to a choice between a master's in social or that of clinical psychology due to their similarity. A clinical psychology master's involves around 2 years of full-time study, with a similar evidence-based model of the doctorate. Typically it will focus on core concerns such as research methodology, psychopathology, and psychotherapy, with an active research component of a master's thesis. This can be used as an introduction to psychology graduate study and in some states can lead to licensure as a Licensed Psychology Associate (LPA).

Clinical Psychology Graduate Certificates

Graduate certificates are narrowly focused, short programs that can increase your expertise in one area of the field. While clinical psychology requires several years of grad coursework, clinical practice and research, a grad certificate can teach a slice of useful knowledge for any practitioner. These might include things like diversity in the workplace, grief counseling or domestic violence prevention. These could be used to refocus a career or test the waters of graduate study for a possible future graduate degree.

Clinical psychology doctorates are complex, lengthy and challenging and most people who enter them wish to become, logically, clinical psychologists. There is, however, some breadth of opportunity once you graduate. You can be a clinical psychologist in a number of settings, from clinic to research center. You can work in higher education, doing your own research while training new cohorts of clinical psychologists. The kind of doctoral and postdoctoral clinical work you do will shape your opportunities, however, so consider your professional future well in advance.

Become a Clinical Psychologist

With a median salary of $82,180 and a wide range around the center depending on location, role and experience, a clinical psychologist uses their clinical skills to assess patients in a number of locations such as clinics, residential homes or many others. Expect to be a consultant to colleagues in similar roles and a therapist and interventionist for patients, creating treatment plans to improve the conditions and illnesses of your patients. You will need licensure from your state and a Ph.D. from an accredited program to apply to these positions, as well as extensive clinical experience through your internships while taking your doctorate. Expect a research component. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a 3% growth from 2019 to 2029.

Become a Psychology Professor

If you enjoy communicating ideas and teaching then consider a job in an academic psychology department. Working with a highly qualified faculty of fellow doctoral psychologists, you will design and teach classes at various levels, from undergraduate introductory courses to higher-level doctoral seminars. Many full professors have research labs, where grad and undergrad students can intern for their own experience. In addition to teaching, mentoring and research, professors typically serve on committees within the department and across the university. The BLS projects a 9% growth in higher education teaching from 2019 to 2029 and a median salary of $78,180.

Become an Occupational Therapist

Occupational therapists help design and implement therapy plans for those with cognitive impairments, injuries, disabilities, age and other factors. While you can work with a master's degree a doctorate in clinical psychology could allow you to specialize in a certain population (children, elderly) or set of techniques. You will likely aim to improve the lives of patients through evidence-based consultations, deciding which therapies or tools will help improve your patients. Patients could be experiencing trauma from an accident, or have Alzheimer's as they age. Occupational therapists typically work in hospitals, clinics or other institutions such as schools or nursing homes. The BLS predicts a 16% growth from 2019-2029 and reports a median salary of $86,280.

The American Psychology Association (APA) is the accrediting professional organization for all psychologists. They set the standards for all psychology education and promote its study across the country. You can join as a Graduate Affiliate upon joining a doctoral program, progress to Associate after two years of graduate studies then to full membership after graduation.

APA has a national conference every year with opportunities for research presentations and poster sessions for doctoral students and offers multiple financial benefits such as professional liability insurance. There are over 122,000 members of all levels across the organization with multiple opportunities for volunteering and committee work to help networking and advancement.

APA has many specialized groups within its membership, including a Society of Clinical Psychology. Many of the groups, including APA as a whole, publish monthly journals full of current research and offer publication opportunities for doctoral students.

Tuition will vary wildly based on whether a university is public or private, non-profit or for-profit. In-state tuition for a public university, often granted after a year's residence, can halve the cost of out-of-state tuition. Full-time graduate psychology study can range from $11,000 to $20,000 for in-state public tuition to over $50,000 per year at a higher-end private university. As this is full-time, however, you will also have to consider housing, food costs, health insurance (typically available from the university) and fees.

Fortunately, there are multiple financial aid options for psychology doctoral students.

Your first step is applying for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which opens the possibility of numerous financial support options. The FAFSA makes you eligible for consideration for grants, scholarships, and work-study programs as well as federal student loans.

Most departments will have doctoral funding available and these could range from partial tuition forgiveness up to a five-year tuition fellowship with a generous living stipend and health insurance. Prestigious private doctoral programs may be expensive but can often have the best doctoral financial support. Be sure to review the department's website for financial aid application procedures.

APA maintains a database of possible funding options, ranging from National Institute of Health opportunities to relevant scholarly organizations.