Psychology, PhD

Graduate Studies in Clinical Psychology

The mission of the Clark University Clinical Psychology Program is to train scientist-practitioners as socially engaged clinical scholars. In keeping with the motto of Clark University to “Challenge Convention and Change Our World,” the Clinical Program aims to train scholars who will use their work to improve the lives of the people in our communities. Thus, the Clark University Clinical Psychology Program adheres to the Scientist-Practitioner model in which our students are trained to be skilled scientists and clinicians who can integrate the science of psychology with its professional practice.

To achieve our goals, we provide training in research methods, clinical practice, and their integration. This training is sequential, cumulative, and graded in complexity, and occurs through a variety of integrated and coherent educational experiences in the classroom, laboratory, and practicum settings. In order to produce competent clinicians, the Clinical Program provides training in the basic principles and processes of psychological assessment, evidence-based psychotherapy, and an array of general professional skills. This training occurs in coursework and clinical practica, and is provided by both core clinical faculty and affiliated faculty.

Our program involves four years of coursework and practicum experiences. During their first three years in the program, students receive close supervision and broad-based training from core clinical faculty in adult and child assessment (Years 01 and 02), individual therapy (Year 02), and couples therapy (Year 03). In addition, during their second through fifth years, students participate in off-site clinical practica and externships where they receive more focused training in particular areas of interest. Most often, students apply for internship during the fall of the fifth year. The fifth year is also typically used to work on and potentially defend the dissertation before going on internship. The final stage of the student’s clinical training is the completion of an APA-approved clinical internship, which usually takes place in the 6^th year.

While our training model is relatively simple, there are a number of rules and requirements developed to ensure that (1) students receive top-quality training; (2) training conforms to the guidelines of the department, university, and American Psychological Association (APA); and (3) students satisfactorily complete coursework and required experiences in a timely fashion.

The clinical psychology program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). For more information, contact the APA Committee on Accreditation at 750 First St., NE, Washington, DC 2002-4242 or 202.336.5979. For further information, contact the Director of Clinical Training, Dr. Kathleen Palm Reed.

Graduate Studies in Developmental Psychology

A pioneer in the study of human development, Clark’s Ph.D. program in Developmental Psychology focuses on the development of psychological processes in societal and cultural contexts. With faculty expertise across the lifespan, faculty unite in studying the links between intra-individual and inter-individual change over time. How do interactions between individuals, ecological contexts, and cultural patterning result in new ways of being in the world? Currently faculty examine areas such as bilingualism, pretend play, racial experiences, narrative, and malleable factors influencing learning and subsequent academic achievement in schooling and college populations. For additional information about study in developmental psychology, please contact the Developmental program head, Nancy Budwig.

Graduate Studies in Social Psychology

This program focuses on basic social psychological processes that underlie pressing social and political issues–locally, nationally, and globally. At Clark, this includes primarily the study of societal conflict and resistance, violence and power, intergroup relations, health disparities, and social change, including political action and intervention. More generally, we examine the interaction of individual differences and social structures in producing and reflecting social and political attitudes, behavior, and health. We pay particular attention to how human experience–thought, behavior, feelings–is shaped by history and intersectionality, and how social structure reinforces power relations. Students and faculty in the program use a wide variety of quantitative and qualitative methods, including lab and field experiments, surveys, interviews, participatory action research, Q methodology, focus groups, and archival research. The program encourages contextualized and interdisciplinary research, novel theoretical work, the use of multiple methods, and work with diverse community samples in different parts of the world.

For further information, contact Dr. Johanna Ray Vollhardt, head of the Social Psychology program.