Clinical Psychology Program Curriculum
Students in our program receive outstanding academic training consistent with APA accreditation standards. Students admitted to the PhD program also earn an MS degree. The PhD program includes 5 years on campus of full-time student course work, research, and practica/professional training (usually less if the student comes in with a psychology MS/MA degree).
Below is a prototypical curriculum and timeline for program completion. Students receive Discipline-Specific Knowledge regarding core areas of human function (biological, cognitive, affective, social, developmental, individual differences), history and systems, research methods, statistical analysis, psychometrics, and advanced integrative knowledge in their graduate courses.
ISU Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology: Sample Course Sequence
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Fall |
Spring |
Summer |
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Year 1 |
Statistics & Res Design I Psychodiagnostics I Adult Psychopath/Tx I Clinical Psychology Thesis |
Statistics & Design II Psychodiagnostics II Ethical & Professional Issues Core Classa Thesis |
Psycho-educ Evaluation |
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Year 2 |
Multivariate Stats Core Classa Thesis Psych Clin Prac Psycho-educ Eval |
Core Classa Child Psychopath/Tx I Thesis Psych Clin Prac Psycho-educ Eval |
Clinical Practicum or Externship |
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Year 3 |
Supervision & Consult Psychopharmacology Dissertation Clinical Practicum or Externship Psycho-educ Eval |
Adult Psychopath/Tx II OR Child Psychopath/Tx II Advanced Ethics Seminar Dissertation Clinical Practicum or Externship |
Clinical Practicum or Externship |
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Year 4 |
Core Classa Dissertation Clinical Practicum or Externship |
Cult Divers & Ind Diff Dissertation Interdisc Eval Team Clinical Practicum or Externship |
Clinical Practicum or Externship |
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Year 5 |
Pre-doctoral Internship |
Pre-doctoral Internship |
Pre-doctoral Internship |
aCore classes include graduate-level classes in Cognitive, Developmental, Social, Neuroscience, Learning, and Personality and are typically taught bi-annually
Our program thorough training in the science of human behavior. During the course of their training, students are required to complete two empirical research projects—a master’s thesis and a doctoral dissertation. Both projects are supervised by content experts in their fields and consistent with student interests and developmental level. Consistent with our training model that values basic psychological science, students can be mentored by either the clinical or experimental psychology faculty. Students often gain additional research experiences, present their research at professional conferences, and publish their work in peer-reviewed journals.
Our students receive excellent clinical training and education in psychopathology, assessment, and intervention, all of which integrate critical content regarding diversity and inclusion. Students receive training in interdisciplinary assessment and treatment as well as supervision and consultation. Clinical training takes place in the context of our excellent Psychology Clinic and in a variety of community sites that include psychotherapy and assessment for all ages, inpatient, outpatient, medical centers, community behavioral health, private practice, and others (see a list of our training sites here). It is our policy that all students develop competencies to serve a diverse clientele.
The student’s final year is a clinical internship at a member site of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) or an equivalent experience approved by the Clinical Training Committee. The internship application process is nationally competitive and positions are awarded by the internship agency, not by Idaho State University. Idaho State University cannot guarantee access to internships in a timely fashion, but our program has a strong history of placing students in high-quality internship positions. In the last decade, 100% of our internship applicants matches to an APA-approved APPIC internship site and most of our students get one of their top three internship sites.
Students receive ongoing feedback about their program progress in the form of course grades, clinical training evaluations, evaluation of performance in funded positions (e.g., Graduate Assistant roles), and annual formal written feedback to each student from the Clinical Training Committee. We require and expect all students to adhere to the American Psychological Association Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.