Clinical psychology

Opportunities for graduate studies

The clinical psychology program at the University of North Texas provides training in conducting research as well as provision and evaluation of clinical services. Our training leads to a Doctor of Philosophy degree and prepares you to work to alleviate a wide range of mental, emotional and behavioral symptoms. The doctoral program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, 750 First Street NE,Washington, DC 20002-4242; 202-336-5979).

Our program’s philosophy is best described as a student-focused scientist-practitioner model. The core values are:

• commitment to excellence
• genuine integration of science and practice
• respect for the individual

Our commitment to excellence requires that high standards of research and clinical practice be maintained. The quantity and quality of research conducted within our program earned high marks in a recent independent study of the APA’s 234 accredited programs. Our program:

• ranked 6th nationally (top 3 percent) on its impact as measured by its citations (443 citations in the leading assessment journals for the last decade). A second index for measuring impact, the h-Index, places the program 5th nationally.
• ranked 14th nationally (top 6 percent) on its number of publications in the most influential assessment journals

These high expectations enable you to be highly competitive at the national level for prominent positions in science and practice settings. We empower students to meet or exceed our expectations by providing high quality, well-supervised training in a supportive environment.

Our research courses and research teams emphasize the clinical relevance of scientific inquiry. The clinical courses and practica are grounded in theory and informed by empirical research. Incorporating needs for research excellence with individual choice, we expect you to actively participate in research with one of the department’s research advisors immediately upon entry. Although not bound to a formal mentorship model, we believe that a mentorship climate is highly conducive to close faculty-student collaboration and effective modeling of the scientist-practitioner paradigm.

Facilities

The UNT Psychology Clinic offers professional services to the campus and the surrounding areas while providing closely supervised training for our students who become competent in evidence-based professional practice. One of the largest training clinics in the country, it includes dozens of assessment and intervention rooms with digital recording for use in supervision, training and applied clinical research.

Admission requirements

Admission to the program is not determined by one criterion or quantitative measure of achievement.We assess your training needs and goals with how well you fit with the areas of research and clinical expertise among our faculty members. Motivation, aptitude and selfawareness are highly valued, as are communication, research and scientific writing skills. Admission requirements include:

• earning a minimum 3.0 GPA on all undergraduate work or a 3.5 GPA on the last 60 undergraduate hours
• earning a minimum 3.5 GPA on all graduate hours if you have a master’s degree
• having 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.)
• satisfying the specific requirements for the Toulouse Graduate School (These requirements are outlined at graduateschool.unt.edu.) Additional information about admission criteria and the application process is available at psychology.unt.edu. Applications are reviewed during December and January, with on-site, invitation-only interviews conducted in February.

Admission decisions are typically made by early March with qualified applicants being contacted directly by the clinical psychology program. 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 90 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.Most students meet this requirement via completion of research courses offered with the department. A breakdown of the course work is as follows:

• 12 semester hours of required general core courses
• 29 to 30 semester hours of required clinical psychology courses
• 6 semester hours of electives
• 6 semester hours of remaining graduate-level psychology courses or in a minor field outside the Department of Psychology
• remaining credits are distributed across clinical practica and research experiences

Financial assistance

Financial aid is available to incoming students. Information on these opportunities is available by visiting graduateschool.unt.edu or www.unt.edu/finaid. In addition, you may apply for department 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.

Competitive scholarships are available from the graduate school and other sources. Students are expected to enroll for 9 to 12 semester hours each regular semester.