Core Courses for Clinical Psychology Students at Michigan StateUniversity

The core clinical courses that students take in their first two years in the program, as well as the APA breadth requirement courses, provide all of our students with a broad understanding of theory and research in clinical psychology and psychology generally. We train students to have a rich appreciation for both clinical practice and research during their first two years in our program so that they can knowledgeably select a specialization within the field of clinical psychology. We believe that the approach of providing a strong foundation in clinical psychology, coupled with a specialization, means that our graduates will be marketable and will also eventually become leaders in their fields.

Required courses for the current year can be viewed by going to the required course section of the current graduate student handbook. Descriptions of Psychology courses offered at Michigan State University can be found by searching the University’s Course Catalog.

Clinical Psychology Cognate at Michigan State University

Students in the clinical program must choose an area of specialty, called a cognate. Examples of a cognate include neuropsychology, child clinical psychology, or statistics/methodology. However it can be in any area agreed on by the student and the doctoral guidance committee.  The cognate is integrated into the doctoral plan of study including the course plan, dissertation topic, outside research experiences, and clinical activity, in order to provide the student with expertise in that area. The plan for the cognate is written and attached to the doctoral plan of study and submitted to the department by the fall of the 3rd year in the graduate program.

Other Requirements for Psychology Students at Michigan State University

  • A Master’s research project. All students, including those entering with an MA degree in psychology which did not include a thesis, develop an approved MA equivalent research project by the end of the first year. The final thesis is completed by the end of the second year.
    •
  • The Comprehensive Project within Clinical Psychology is designed to evaluate the student’s current level of knowledge, to integrate scientific and clinical issues, and to provide a developmental experience. The comprehensive project emphasizes the scholarly/scientific aspects of clinical psychology. The project, which is a scholarly paper, gives the student an opportunity to demonstrate that they can integrate scientific and clinical knowledge while giving the student a firm grasp of the conceptual and theoretical basis for his/her dissertation. The project is ordinarily completed by the beginning of the fourth year.
  • The Doctoral Dissertation is an empirical research study carried out by the student. A dissertation proposal is approved and doctoral research is supervised by the student's dissertation committee. It is the capstone experience of doctoral training.
    •

The Clinical Internship is completed toward the end of doctoral training. It requires 2000 hours of supervised clinical work (one calendar year or its equivalent). The internship is selected by the student and must be approved by their doctoral guidance committee with reference to the student's particular interests and professional objectives. Additionally, it must be a site approved by the American Psychological Association for internship training. Internship readiness is certified by the Director of Clinical Training in consultation with clinical supervisors and members of the student's doctoral guidance committee. An approved dissertation proposal is required prior to application for internship placement.