Recommendations on Where to Get Best PsyD Programs in Clinical Psychology

While research is not the focus of PsyD, the program is highly valued when it comes to the context of how to apply research clinically. But, the programs that are under the Doctor of Philosophy or Ph.D. focus mainly on research as a central aspect of the program. So, if you are someone who is strongly drawn to research and you are interested to pursue a research-focused degree and career, then you may want to check out available Ph.D. programs that can be best suited for you.

When it comes to PsyD programs in clinical psychology, they offer students extensive clinical training in the classroom and the community through practicum placements including internships. There will also be a collaboration with the faculty and the students in the PsyD programs wherein they will learn to generate, design, conduct, evaluate, publish and present psychological research together with how they will apply this scientific knowledge to the improvement of psychological functioning including the delivery of empirically-supported psychological services.

If you are a graduate of the PsyD program you have the chance to go on and pursue careers such as professional clinical psychologists in a clinical setting like community mental health centers, hospitals, schools, university counseling centers, veterans administration clinics, and of course, they may choose to do private practice.

Below is the list of universities that offer PsyD programs wherein some of the programs on this list are able to provide some funding to students who are accepted into their program. Most of the funding that is identified is in the form of partial scholarships or assistantships wherein they offer partial tuition fee waivers. Applicants, on the other hand, should remember that even though a program is not going to be able to provide funding, the universities may offer graduate studies funding through scholarships, and work-study opportunities.

• Baylor University located in Waco, Texas

Baylor is one of the world’s Baptist University and they aim to integrate academic experience along with Christian values. The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Baylor offers a PsyD in Clinical Psychology wherein students will be able to develop clinical competencies in the classroom and the community.

Students enrolled in this program are also going to benefit from the small sizes as well as extensive experience in a wide-array of practicum placement with 3,000 hours at the maximum and clinical research at 1,000 hours with faculty. Each of the students will be able to work in different clinical practicum placement for each of the first three years and then this will be followed by the fourth year in a faculty member’s lab enriching research experience. The program has a strong record of students who are receiving APA accredited internships.

The Examination for Professional Practice of Psychology or EPPP passing rate at Baylor is 100% while the students who obtained APA/CPA accredited internship is 90.43%, with licensure rate of 100%. The tuition fee in Baylor is at $40,905 but Baylor offers to fund of financial support to students in the PsyD program. The funding is said to be available in the form of practicum salaries, tuition remission, and a stipend.

• Meridian University located in Petaluma, California

Meridian University was founded in 1993. They offer degree programs that educate students to engage the professions of Psychology, Business, and Transformative Leadership in creative and transformative ways.

Meridian’s PsyD in Clinical Psychology program offers four years of coursework in Psychology. Their curriculum includes core, clinical and research courses. The core curriculum of Meridian University’s PsyD program is emphasized in the first two years which provides a foundation for the clinical and research course thereby supporting the student’s evolving relationship to professional practice.

• Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey located in Piscataway, New Jersey

The PsyD in Clinical Psychology program at Rutgers is following the scholar-practitioner model of training. The students in this program will be able to receive training and education in diversity in areas that encompass ethnicity, race, gender, and sexual orientation. Students are going to be encouraged to focus on and develop their areas of interest and they will be able to determine the focus in collaboration with a faculty member. Their courses include but are not limited to analytic foundations, learning theory, and cognitive behavioral foundations, adult psychopathology, clinical interviewing and assessments.

• Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana

The Clinical Psychology Doctoral program of Indiana State University prepares its graduates to become professional psychologists and at the same time contribute to the science of psychology through a strong education in clinical and research training. Students are going to be encouraged to participate in faculty research from the beginning of their time in the program in the preparation for the development of a dissertation research project. Another good thing in this program is that their graduates are going to be committed to social justice through the value of individual and cultural diversity.  Over the last years, there have been about 96% of the students participated were matched to APA-approved internship sites. Currently, Indiana State University has seven clinical and four experimental faculty members that teach in the PsyD program.

• Palo Alto University in Palo Alto, California

The faculty in PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium’s academic originated from Palo Alto University and the Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. The majority of the faculty who teach clinical courses are also clinicians who are bringing current and relevant perspectives to the classroom. Furthermore, their faculties are known as international experts in areas like psychopharmacology and the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders. Their program incorporates coursework, clinical training and research experience throughout the course of the program. Given all of these, their graduates are going to be prepared in integrating evidence-based practices in their careers as clinical psychologists.

• Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pennsylvania

Founded in 1875, Indiana University of Pennsylvania also offers a PsyD in Clinical Psychology. The University has a total of 12 doctoral degree programs with over 2,000 graduate students. Their students can complete this program in four calendar years of full-time internship. And even though faculty members have specific areas of interest, their program emphasizes a strong foundation in the scientific understanding of psychology in parallel to the application of this understanding professionally.

The University’s EPPP pass rate is 92.42% and has a licensure rate of 98%. The tuition fee costs $24,934.

• Loyola University Maryland located in Baltimore, Maryland

Loyola University is a Jesuit Catholic university that also offers a PsyD in Clinical Psychology. Their PsyD program is designed to be completed in five years of full-time study. The completion of their program which includes completion of the dissertation and internship totals seven years of enrollment in the program. With that, Loyola University’s graduates are expected to be competent in professional standards, intervention, assessment, supervision, consultation and research in clinical psychology.

Loyola University’s latest internship sites have included among others the Madigan Army Medical Center; Tulane University School of Medicine; University of Delaware Counseling Center; Mount Washington; Pediatric Hospital; Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Boston Consortium in Clinical Psychology; VA Medical Center-Miami; and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Counseling Center.

• La Salle University located in Philadelphia, PA

The PysD Program in Clinical Psychology of La Salle University offers three areas of concentration and these are general practice, child clinical, and clinical health. The students will be able to have opportunities to train in specific areas of their interests like behavioral medicine, neuropsychology, forensic psychology, suicide prevention, mindfulness, child psychology, and autism. The Psychology Department of La Salle University holds an annual Diversity Forum on La Salle’s Main Campus that highlights the students’ research on topics that are related to diversity. The graduates of La Salle University’s PsyD Program have a 98% employment rate.

• Xavier University located in Cincinnati, Ohio

Xavier University, which was founded in 1831, is a Jesuit Catholic university that offers a PsyD in Clinical Psychology. In line with the Jesuit tradition of serving those in need, the students who are under this program will be able to have the opportunity to choose an under-served population as their focus studies like the children, the elderly, or the severely mentally disabled. Graduates of Xavier University’s PsyD Program have been able to pursue careers in community mental health centers, forensic or correctional agencies, medical centers, college counseling centers, and also private practice. Xavier University also has an excellent EPPP pass rate of 90.91% and a licensure rate of 97%.

Xavier University’s faculty research interests include psychological testing; neuropsychology; attention and memory process; women’s issues; aging issues; issues that are related to sports; trauma-integrated treatment; culturally-tailored interventions; school-based mental health; personality characteristics of juvenile delinquents; addiction; licensure issues; pediatric psychology; emotion regulation; and psychological oncology.

A list of American Psychological Association or APA-accredited Counseling Psychology programs has been gathered from the APA website and the programs which were listed as “Accredited-on probation” or “Accredited-inactive” are not in the list.