Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology

The Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology is based on the scientist-practitioner model. Consistent with this model, our overarching goal is to foster the development of students as psychologists first, and secondarily as clinical psychologists. 

The clinical program is accredited by the American Psychological Association.  This next site visit is scheduled for 2023. Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 336-5979 / E-mail: apaaccred@apa.org
Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

The Ph.D. curriculum for clinical students consists of clinical courses and seminars, courses and seminars in other areas of psychology, courses in statistics and research methods, practicum and internship training, and 24 credit hours of research including the thesis and dissertation. The program is structured so that it can be completed in five years, depending on the progress of the individual student, plus a required year of pre-doctoral internship. For more detailed information about the clinical program curriculum (including coursework, research requirements, and practicum training), see the Clinical Graduate Student Handbook under the Forms and Resources section. 

Clinical practicum and internship is required of all clinical students. In the first and second years, students enroll in assessment and intervention courses that include a methodological component. In the second year, students carry a small caseload. By the end of the third year, students typically will have completed 200 client contact hours in the UNCG Psychology Clinic where they are supervised by clinical faculty, all of whom are licensed psychologists. In the 4th and 5th years, students complete their advanced practicum training of 350 supervised client contact hours.  Advanced Practicum primarily occurs in the UNCG Psychology Clinic. Advanced Practicum training can also be obtained at program-approved placements. Some of these external sites require students to be licensed at MA level (LPA). All students are expected to obtain LPA licensure, including taking the EPPP exam; the Clinic provides financial support for licensure costs. The clinical program also sponsors DREAM Camp, a summer day camp for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Research training in UNCG’s clinical program is based on a mentorship model. Training begins in the summer prior to the first year with the Running Start program. During the first year, students begin to develop a thesis research project through the research methods course and under the direction of their faculty mentors. All second-year students make a presentation at the Graduate Research Conference, scheduled early in the fall term. The thesis is typically completed during the second or third year. An independent doctoral research project, which is often pilot work for the dissertation, is generally completed during the third or fourth years, and the doctoral dissertation during the fourth or fifth years.Students are encouraged to co-author papers for publication and presentation at professional meetings, as well as to have involvement in grant preparation. 

Applications for admission to the Clinical program are due December 1st and are reviewed for admission into the program for the following Fall semester. Only one annual admission cycle is offered. Typically, around 200 applications are received for each admission cycle. We admit between 5-8 students each year.  Successful candidates show evidence of knowledge of psychology through their previous coursework and work/research experience, show evidence of success in managing the demands of academic coursework through a strong GPA and history of good grades, have scholarly interests that are a good “fit” with one or more of our core clinical faculty members, and are committed to diversity and inclusion in their endeavors as psychologists, consistent with the APA Code of Ethics for Psychologists. Successful applicants are notified by April 1 of each year. The selection process is usually completed by April 15 of each year. 

We do not admit part-time students.  Except in extraordinary circumstances, we do not offer clinical retraining of persons with a Ph.D. in another area of psychology. Qualified persons may take specific graduate courses in the department (e.g., Psychological Disorders of Adults or of Children) without admission to the program. Interested students should contact the Graduate School for admission as a non-degree student. The assessment, intervention, and practicum courses are open only to clinical psychology graduate students.

Program costs are listed here: Student Outcome Table

Tuition waivers

The Department has a limited pool of funds that cover the costs out-of-state or in-state tuition.  We make every effort to provide Out of State (OS) students the funds to cover the cost of out-of-state tuition. In-state (IS) tuition funds are also available to students. Over the past 10 years, we have provided funds to cover the cost of  tuition to all IS and OS students who are in good standing in the program.

Tuition funds do not cover any student fees that may be charged by the University. Current student fee costs are found here.

Student Funding

Competitive Fellowships.  There are many fellowships at UNCG and in the department available for students. For example, Alumni / Excellence / Hayes Fellowships, the PRIME program, the Duffy scholarship. Faculty nominate students for these fellowships. 

State Funded assistantships: State funding provided by the department typically provides students who are in good standing in the program with stipend support for a TA assignment (the commitment includes no more than 20 hours a week). 

Other Funding Opportunities: Clinical students may also be eligible for funding through our partnerships with external clinics, hospitals, schools, and other organizations. Some of these funding opportunities require that students be licensed at the Psychological Associate (Master’s) level.

Our alumni are employed in a variety of positions. Over the past 10 years, approximately 37% of our alumni work in hospitals, academic medical centers or VA Centers, 32% are employed in community mental health centers or are in independent private practice, 7% are employed in Academic Teaching positions, 7% are employed in research positions (including on who is doing pharmaceutical research) and 4% are in other Integrated Health care settings (including 1 in a pediatric practice).  Thirteen percent (13%) are completing post doctoral fellowship positions.

Licensure as a psychologist is required in the United States. Our program requires students to obtain licensure in North Carolina at the master’s level (as a Licensed Psychological Associate). However, additional requirements must be met to obtain licensure at the doctoral level. See here for more information.