Clinical psychology

Opportunities for graduate studies

The clinical psychology program at the University of North Texas prepares you to understand, study, prevent, diagnose and treat psychological pathology, discomfort and maladjustment. Because the doctorate in clinical psychology is seen as the professional degree necessary for independent competence, UNT's program focuses on your attainment of the Ph.D. degree.

The clinical psychology doctoral program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (750 First Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002-4242, 800-374-2721).

The goal of this program, and others offered by the department (behavioral health psychology, counseling psychology and experimental psychology), is to give you the sound foundation and comprehensive educational tools you need to succeed in a career in research and teaching at a college or university or as a scientist-practitioner.

Program philosophy

The core values of the clinical psychology program include respect for the individual, commitment to excellence, and integration of science and practice. These are modeled by the faculty, taught to students and demonstrated to clients.

A hallmark of the department is the collegial atmosphere. All of the doctoral programs cooperate to enhance the quality of education provided. You will have the opportunity to conduct research with any faculty member in the department in order to find the best fit for your research needs and interests.

The clinical psychology program integrates intensive training and extensive experience in the pursuits of science and service. Our research courses and teams also emphasize the clinical relevance of scientific inquiry. In addition, clinical courses and practicums are grounded in theory and informed by empirical research.

Program goals

Respect for students' autonomy requires considerable flexibility in the clinical psychology program. Toward this end, the program has a relatively small set of core course requirements. You and your major advisor will develop course work and research consistent with your individual goals and training needs. You also are expected to be an active participant on a research team that aligns with your goals and needs.

Faculty members are committed to the training and preparation of clinical psychologists for a variety of careers in academic or applied settings. While not bound to a formal mentorship model, we believe mentoring in small research and practicum teams is highly conducive to close faculty-student collaboration and effective modeling of the scientist-practitioner paradigm. This approach also allows for considerable flexibility in changing major advisors and research teams.

Admission requirements

Admission to the program is not determined by one criterion or quantitative measure of achievement. Motivation, aptitude and self-awareness are highly valued, as are communication, research and scientific writing skills.

Admission requirements include:

• satisfaction of the admission requirements for the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies
• a bachelor's or master's degree in psychology or a related field (If you have only a bachelor's degree, you can receive a master's degree within the program en route to the doctoral degree.)
• a minimum 3.0 GPA on all undergraduate work or a 3.5 GPA on the last 60 undergraduate hours
• a minimum 3.5 GPA on all graduate hours if you have a master's degree
• additional admission criteria at www.psyc.unt.edu

The admission review considers your experiences in mental health (e.g., your own therapy, volunteer work with the mentally ill or with people with physical disabilities) and research (e.g., assistantships, undergraduate experiments). Submit a background and goals statement describing your skills and life experiences relevant to research, mental health and the ability to work with people from different backgrounds in culturally diverse contexts.

Applications are reviewed during February, and invitations for interviews are made in March. The interview process consists of meeting with one or more clinical psychology faculty members and students. Telephone interviews are possible but less informative for you and the faculty.

Admission decisions are made by early April, and you should be contacted by phone and in writing. Your decision to join the program should be finalized by April 15 unless the offer of admission is specifically delayed.

Degree requirements

The doctoral degree program requires a minimum of 96 semester hours beyond the bachelor's degree and a one-year supervised clinical internship.

The maximum amount of transfer credit for appropriate master's degree work is 30 semester hours. Students entering with a master's degree or equivalent may transfer a maximum of 12 appropriate semester hours beyond the master's degree with approval of the clinical committee. This course work must have been completed in a department offering a doctoral degree in psychology.

You must also demonstrate a reading knowledge of a foreign language or competency in a research tool subject approved by the Department of Psychology and the Graduate Council.

General core studies

You are required to demonstrate competence (grade of B or better) in the following courses:

• PSYC 5060 History and Systems
• PSYC 5090 Social Psychology
• PSYC 5640 Cognitive and Affective Bases of Behavior
• PSYC 5700 Quantitative Methods I
• PSYC 5710 Quantitative Methods II
• PSYC 5790 Physiological Psychology

Clinical core studies and examination

The clinical core requirements provide you with advanced training in assessment and treatment. This includes courses in assessment, psychopathology, psychotherapy, multicultural counseling and professional and ethical issues. Required practicum courses comprise the remainder of the clinical core.

The objective of the clinical concentration core exam is to provide you with:

• the opportunity to demonstrate competence in research and scholarship
• the ability to perform independently
• the ability to integrate theoretical, practical and empirical material
• the ability to integrate knowledge of relevant contemporary and historical literature
• the ability to present written material in a cogent, integrated fashion
This examination should be completed after the master's thesis and is typically taken during your third academic year (or equivalent) in the doctoral program.

Clinical practicum

Practicum experience in the program begins in the first semester and continues for at least three years. Your clinical skills are developed by working with a clinical psychologist on a four- to seven-member vertical practicum team at a community-based outpatient clinic offering psychological services.

Each year, your role on the team will vary. First-year students observe the faculty's and advanced students' work. Second-year students perform comprehensive psychological assessments. More advanced students maintain a psychotherapy caseload. Many students in their fourth year elect to complete an external practicum.

Research experience

Consistent with the clinical psychology program's philosophy, you will be expected to maintain an active research involvement that reflects your level of course work. Though our vertical research team structure, you will develop and refine your research skills while taking responsibility for increasingly advanced and independent projects.

The M.A. thesis is an integral component of the research training. The thesis represents original research, typically on clinical topics, that is conducted under close supervision of the major professor.

The Ph.D. dissertation is a rigorous measure of your breadth of understanding and scientific base of psychological work. In the dissertation, you must demonstrate a capacity for independent critical synthesis of existing theory and research to design, carry out and interpret a sound research study.

While conducting your thesis and dissertation, you also will acquire both project management and supervisory skills as you oversee the work of other research teams.

Clinical internship

A 12-month, full-time clinical internship in an APA-accredited facility or its equivalent provides depth, range and focus for a complete set of professional skills. Recent placements have included medical centers, VA and state hospitals, mental health clinics, counseling centers and forensic science facilities. Faculty members help you choose an internship that enhances and complements your work at UNT and advances you toward your professional goals.

Facilities

The UNT Psychology Clinic provides professional services and referrals to clients and provides professional and competent training to graduate students. The clinic includes psychotherapy rooms, rooms for research and rooms with one-way mirrors for live observation of individual and group sessions. Extensive videotaping capabilities are available for use in supervision and training.

Financial assistance

Financial aid is available to some incoming students. You may apply for departmentally funded teaching assistantships, research assistantships, fellowships and part-time clinical externships during your doctoral studies. The Department of Psychology seeks to provide at least partial support for most doctoral students for at least two years.

Competitive scholarships are available from the graduate school and other sources. Students with quarter-time assistantships (10 hours per week), employment or homebound responsibilities are expected to enroll for 12 hours of course work each regular semester. Students with half-time assistantships (20 hours per week), employment or homebound responsibilities are expected to enroll for 9 semester hours each regular semester.