Training
Research Training
Students begin working in their mentors laboratory when they arrive on campus. Research is viewed as an integral component of the Clinical Ph.D., and is a continuous activity throughout training. Faculty research interests are grouped into 4 major areas: health psychology, geropsychology, psychopathology and mental health disparities. Students are expected to be involved in presentation and publication of their work. All students in the last 3 years have presented at conferences.
Students are required to complete a Master's Research Portfolio, which includes submissions to conferences and at least one submittable manuscript. When faculty judge that previous thesis work is comparable in scope to this requirement, students may submit that work for their portfolio.
After completion of the Master's Portfolio, students write their preliminary examination, an integrative review paper and then move on to their dissertation work. A dissertation proposal must be defended by October 1 of the year the student is applying for internship.
Clinical Training
Clinical skills training begins in the first semester of the first year and usually continues until students take their internship position. The Noble H. Kelley Psychological Services Center (PSC), which serves clients from both the community and the University, provides the major portion of practicum experiences. The PSC is organized around research-based training teams focused on specific areas of psychological disorder. On these teams, students learn empirically-based approaches to assessment and treatment, and integrate scientific and clinical aspects of training. Students receive both group supervision (in teams composed of a supervisor and 5-8 students at different levels of experience) and individual supervision. Students acquire assessment and interviewing skills during the first year and typically start seeing psychotherapy clients in the middle of the second year, after observing case management supervision sessions as first year team members. At least six credit hours in the Psychological Services Center are required, representing at least 160 hours per year of direct supervised service or related activity.
Finally, training placements in external clinical settings (i.e., practicum sites) provide additional clinical experience for advanced students.
Academic Training
The Ph.D. curriculum contains 2 basic sets of core courses: department cores and clinical cores. The curriculum closely follows guidelines for accreditation established and maintained by the American Psychological Association's Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation. Students take a two-course assessment sequence, courses in intervention, psychopathology, personality, legal and ethical issues, and an advanced seminar in diversity.
In addition to the clinical core curriculum, students take basic psychology core courses including a statistics and research methods, behavioral neuroscience, personality, developmental, cognitive, and social psychology. Students also complete research hours for master's and dissertation research. A topical seminar is also required.
Department Core
- Human Learning -or- Cognitive Processes
- Behavioral Neuroscience -or- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Advanced Social Psychology
- Advanced Developmental Psychology
- Advanced Personality Theory
- Advanced Statistics I and II
- Advanced Research Methods
Clinical Core
- Legal, Professional, and Ethical Issues
- Assessment I and II
- Interventions
- Clinical Interviewing
- Advanced Clinical Psychopathology
- Clinical Practicum
- History and Systems of Psychology
Electives
Topical seminars are offered to augment the curriculum and allow students more detailed exposure to areas of interest. Students are required to take two seminars including one on diversity. Recent seminars include: Cultural Neuroscience, Geropsychology Assessment, Clinical Neuropsychology, and Child Psychopathology. Students may also, with approval from their mentor and the Director of Clinical Training, take seminars in other departments of the University.
Students entering the program with graduate courses from another program may request no more than 3 core courses be waived provided the appropriate instructors judge them to be of equivalent content. These requests are to be made after a student has been admitted to the program.
Policies
Graduate Education - College of Arts & Sciences
Professional License Disclosure
Our program adheres to APA accreditation standards and prepares students for entry into the profession of clinical psychology. Given the varied and changing requirements across jurisdictions, we cannot assure, nor is it our responsibility, that graduates will meet all requirements for licensure in all states or territories. You are encouraged to become familiar with state licensing laws and discuss your curricular plan with your Mentor and Director of Clinical Training. General information about psychology licensure and the contact information Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) may be seen below.
The Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) is developed and owned by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB). The EPPP is provided to state and provincial boards of psychology to assist them in their evaluation of the qualifications of applicants for licensure and certification. This standardized knowledge-based examination is constructed by ASPPB with the assistance of its test vendor, Pearson VUE.
The EPPP is only one part of the evaluation procedures used by state and provincial boards to determine candidates’ readiness to practice the profession of psychology. Most boards supplement the EPPP with other requirements and/or assessment procedures. The EPPP is intended to evaluate the knowledge that the most recent practice analysis has determined as foundational to the competent practice of psychology. Most candidates taking the EPPP have obtained a doctoral degree in psychology, a year of pre-doctoral supervised experience and appropriate postdoctoral experience.
In order to sit for the EPPP, individuals seeking licensure must first apply for licensure to the licensing authority in the state, province or territory in which they wish to be licensed. The licensing authority reviews applicants’ credentials and determines if they meet the requirements established in the laws of the state, province or territory. Candidates who meet their licensing authorities’ requirements will be pre-approved by the board to take the EPPP.
The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) provides links to the National ASPPB Member Boards here: https://www.asppb.net/page/BdContactNewPG
The University of Louisville has not determined whether this program meets the educational requirements for licensure or certification outside of Kentucky. You should contact the board of the state where you currently reside or the state you will be moving to after graduation.
The website for the Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology may be viewed here: http://psy.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx