Psychology, PhD (Clinical)

Clinical psychology is the psychological specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive mental and behavioral health care for individuals and families; consultation to agencies and communities; training, education and supervision; and research-based practice.

Program Description

Degree Awarded: Psychology, PhD

There are multiple training models in Clinical Psychology (Scientist-Practitioner, Practitioner-Scholar, Clinical Science) and these models reflect the relative focus on research and clinical training. The Clinical Psychology Program at ASU adheres to the Clinical Science training model, which is the most research focused. Thus, although students in our program receive excellent clinical training, the focus is on producing Clinical Scientists who will work in setting that take full advantage of their research as well as clinical skills (e.g., Academia, Medical Centers, VA Hospitals). 

Our mission is to prepare students for professional careers in a variety of settings where they engage in research, teaching, or clinical supervision; and who make contributions to clinical science by disseminating research findings and scholarship. Within this general mission of providing high-quality, science-based training, we strive to prepare a significant number of graduates who establish careers in academia and research institutes where they have primary responsibilities for conducting research that advances clinical science and for teaching new generations of clinical scientists. 

The success of our students in meeting program goals is evident based on a) the high rate of students matching in APA accredited internships (40 of 40; 100% in the past 7 years), b) our recent graduates’ success in passing the national licensing exam (100% based on publicly available data from ASPPB), and the high percentage of our recent graduates who have obtained licensure (39 of 44; 88.6% of our recent graduates who are 5 or more years beyond graduation). Although we continue to emphasize high quality clinical training and strongly believe in the reciprocal nature of research and clinical training, we identify with the “Clinical Science” training model based on the long-term goals of our program which are primarily to train clinical scientists rather than individuals who elect to work as full-time practitioners. Outcomes of our alumni survey (students at least five years post-graduation) provide support for our success in achieving Clinical Science outcomes, with 40 of 44 (90.9%) making scholarly/research contributions since graduation from our program.

Our data on graduates from the past 10 years show diversity in their professional activities that is consistent with our clinical science training and special emphases that can be acquired at ASU.  Among those beyond postdoctoral training (n = 54), 40.7% are in academic settings, 33.3% are in clinical or combined research and clinical positions in medical schools/centers, VA hospitals, or other hospital settings, 22.2% are in other practice environments such as mental health centers or private practices, and 3.7% are in government settings (e.g., public health, DoD). These data suggest that our training leads to career trajectories that are consistent with the program’s philosophy and goals.

The Psychology PhD program in the clinical psychology training area is:

• based upon a clinical science model of training;
• fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS);
• a member of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science;
• a PhD (doctoral) program only;
• designed so that students who were admitted with a bachelor’s degree can finish the requirements in six years including a one-year, full-time internship;
• organized to allow students to begin practicum training in the program’s second year;
• best able to serve the educational needs of students with deep interests in empirical research; and
• highly competitive — in the last several years we have admitted between 3 and 10 new students per year from a pool of 200 to 300 applicants.

IMPORTANT: To be considered for this PhD program, you must complete the application through ASU's online portal AND submit your material through Slideroom

Important links:

Faculty Data and Resources Financial Support Research Labs

Student Handbook

Concentrations

Focus Areas

The Clinical Training Program has three areas of emphases in which students may elect to participate: health psychology, child clinical psychology, and community/prevention.

Thus, the descriptions that follow are designed to give you an idea of the available curricular choices.

Child Clinical Area of Emphasis

The child clinical area of emphasis provides training in the etiology, assessment, treatment and prevention of childhood disorders. A major focus is on the prevention of child mental health problems among children and families under stress. Thus, most of our child clinical faculty also participate in our community-prevention area of emphasis.Table of Child Clinical Faculty. 

Health Psychology Area of Emphasis

Clinical students with interests centering on the interface of psychology and medicine may select Health Psychology as an area of emphasis. In our program, health psychology is broadly interpreted to encompass the theoretical, methodological, and/or procedural (treatment and prevention) contributions from contemporary psychology that bear upon the existing and emerging problems of modern medicine. Table of Health Psychology Faculty.

Community/Prevention Area of Emphasis

We define the Community/Preventive area of emphasis to include theory, research methods, and interventions that are designed to prevent the occurrence of mental health, substance use or other problems, and to promote healthy adaptation in a range of social environments. Students study theoretical issues such as the influence of stress and coping, family processes, acculturation and cross-cultural issues, neighborhood influences, and economic hardship on the development of mental health or substance abuse problems. Students also become involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of preventive interventions to promote healthy adaptation for children in a range of high-risk situations. Foci of preventive interventions include children of divorce, inner-city ethnic minority children, bereaved children, and school-based programs. Table of Community/Prevention Clinical Faculty. 

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

The Psychology Doctoral Program at Arizona State University embraces the University’s charter encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of our program.  We strive to create a community that reflects and celebrates the diversity of society-at-large because we believe it is essential to attaining academic excellence, professional development, and personal growth. To that end, we are dedicated to training early career scientists from diverse backgrounds, and we encourage applications from students from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the sciences, including but not limited to BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, first generation college students, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Curriculum

Coursework for the doctoral program is to some extent, determined by APA requirements. For more detailed information about the program's curriculum and milestones or to see a sample schedule, students should view the current Clinical Student Handbook. Once admitted, we require students to be continuously enrolled full-time, excluding summer sessions, until all degree requirements have been met.

A minimum of 84 hours is required. 

Courses and electives

The coursework for each student is individualized and based upon the student's previous training, research goals and mentor. All students are required to complete 27 credit hours of core courses that cover the scientific and technical foundations of clinical psychology. Students will also choose elective courses that more closely align to their specific focus area. In order to satisfy program accreditation, students will take one course in biological bases of behavior, social bases of behavior, cognitive bases of behavior, affective bases of behavior and in human development. Additional requirements include two ATM courses are required which involve integrated science-professional training and are taught by departmental faculty in timely and specific clinical and community modalities.