REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

April, 2001

Introduction

The present program is the natural extension and development of a doctoral level clinical psychology training program that has had APA approval since 1948. The goal of our program is to train students to become competent in both the scientific and applied arenas of clinical psychology. The core curriculum, taken by all students, emphasizes a basic foundation in clinical psychology across the lifespan. In the student’s second or third year in the program, one of three specialization areas within clinical psychology is chosen: clinical neuropsychology, child/family psychology, or clinical community psychology.

Required General Clinical Core Courses

1. Quantitative Research Design & Analysis in Psychology and Psychometric Methods (PSY 815, 817) or equivalents

2. Research Methods (PSY 835)

3. Clinical Assessment (PSY 828)

4. Behavior Disorders (PSY 853)

5. Behavior Disorders in Children and Families (PSY 854)

6. Theory and Research in Psychotherapy (PSY 855)

7. Two (2) of three (3) theory/research/intervention courses: Psychodynamic, Cognitive-Behavioral, and/or Systems

8. Master's Research (PSY 899) 4-8 credits

9. General Psychology and APA requirements

a. History of Psychology (PSY 805)

b. Scientific and Professional Ethics (PSY 926)

c. APA distribution requirements: One course from each of the following three areas:

1) Biological bases of behavior (809, 811, 851)

2) Cognitive/affective bases of behavior (800, 801, 810, 814, 851)

3) Social bases of behavior (834, 836, 842A, 842B, 842C, 845, 846, 847, 860, 862, 871)

NOTE: PSY 851 can count for either the biological basis or the cognitive/affective basis of behavior but not for both areas.

10. Courses for the student’s specialization (see below)

11. Doctoral Research (PSY 999) 24 credits

12. Practicum requirement (PSY 994): Two years required. First two years of practicum is 2 credits per semester; subsequent years of practicum is 1 credit per semester and 1 credit per summer semesters. Practicum credits - minimum 8, maximum 14.

Sample Course Schedule

First Year

Clinical Assessment (PSY 828)

Advanced Psychometrics (PSY 815 & 817) or equivalents

Theory and Practice in Psychotherapy (PSY 855)

Behavior Disorders (PSY 853)

Behavior Disorders in Children and Families (PSY 854)

Research Methods: Interpersonal & Individual Behavior (PSY 835)

Thesis Research (PSY 899)

Second Year

Theory/Research/Intervention Course I, II, or III

Practicum (PSY 994)

Thesis Research (PSY 899)

Scientific and Professional Ethics (PSY 926)

Third and Fourth Year

In the third and fourth year, the student will choose a specialization within clinical psychology: Child/family psychology, clinical neuropsychology, or clinical/community psychology. Courses relevant to the particular specialization, APA required courses, practicum credit, and doctoral dissertation credits will be taken during these years.

< Practicum (PSY 994)

< Specialization Courses

< APA Requirements

< Doctoral Dissertation Research (PSY 999)

Clinical Neuropsychology Specialization: Students who wish to select the clinical neuropsychology specialization must enroll in PSY 811 (Advanced Behavioral Neuroscience), ANT 552 (Osteopathic Medical Neuroscience), and PSY 851 (Neuropsychology) prior to enrolling in PSY 852A (Neuropsychological Assessment) and PSY 852B (Neuropsychological Assessment Laboratory).

Child/Family Specialization: Students who wish to specialize in child/family psychology must take PSY 829 (Advanced Child/Family Assessment) and Advanced Child/Family Intervention. Students must also enroll in either PSY 845 (Developmental Psychology: Infancy), PSY 846 (Developmental Psychology: Childhood), or PSY 847 (Developmental Psychology: Adolescence).

Clinical/Community Specialization: Students wishing to specialize in clinical/community psychology must enroll in PSY 871 (History and Theory of Community Psychology), one advanced seminar in ecological psychology, and one semester of community practicum. In addition, students in this specialization may substitute PSY 870 for PSY 835.

MASTERS PROGRAM

M.A. Thesis and M.A. Guidance Committee

As soon as you have decided upon an M.A. thesis topic, you should form your M.A. thesis and guidance committee--preferably by the end of your first semester of graduate study. Your temporary advisor functions as your M.A. program guidance committee chairperson until this committee is formed. The permanent M.A. thesis and program guidance committee consists of no less than three faculty members, at least one of whom must be a member of the Clinical Interest Group. Your M.A. thesis committee chairperson may be a faculty member from another interest group if that person is someone appropriate to supervise your master's research. If your chairperson is not a member of the clinical faculty, one clinical faculty member on your thesis committee should be named as your clinical faculty advisor, and this faculty member is responsible to you and to the Clinical Interest Group for the clinical part of your M.A. program.

The M.A. program guidance committee has the important function of working with you to jointly plan your course work through the first 30 credits.

Two Year Rule for Completion of the M.A. Thesis

Students are expected to complete the master's degree by the end of their second year of graduate study. If the thesis is not completed by this time, the student is permitted to register only for thesis credit, beginning with first semester of the third year, until all requirements for the master's degree are completed. Waivers of this two-year rule may be granted if circumstances beyond the student's reasonable control have prevented completion of the master's thesis during the first two years of study. Waiver requests to take courses other than thesis credits must be submitted in writing by the M.A. program guidance committee chairperson (also signed by the clinical faculty advisor if the M.A. thesis committee chairperson is not a member of the clinical faculty) to the Director of Clinical Training for approval. The waiver request must include a concrete plan which reasonably demonstrates that taking the requested non-thesis research course (or courses) will not further delay the completion of the master's thesis. Please note that students without an approved master’s thesis proposal by the beginning of their third year are not making adequate progress. These students will not be granted waivers of the two-year rule.

Students with M.A. earned elsewhere. If you completed an acceptable research thesis in psychology as part of your master's work at another institution, you are presumed to have research competence. However, in order to make the final judgment of acceptability (usually a pro forma matter), or if your thesis was in a field other than psychology, you must have your advisor and one other clinical faculty member judge whether they find your previous work acceptable or whether you need to demonstrate additional research competence. A copy of the thesis and a letter documenting the faculty’s judgment of acceptability must be filed in the Department Graduate Office.

Students who did not complete a data-based thesis as part of their prior master's work, or whose previous thesis work is judged not acceptable, must demonstrate research competence. This is usually a thesis-equivalency project completed during the first year that the student is enrolled in the clinical psychology graduate program at MSU. This project must conform to the requirements for the M.A. thesis.

DOCTORAL PROGRAM

Following completion and approval of the thesis, the student’s master’s thesis committee makes a recommendation to the clinical faculty regarding whether or not the student is to be admitted to the doctoral program. The clinical faculty then votes on this recommendation. If the student’s thesis work is satisfactory and the student has been making good progress toward degree requirements, admission is typically a pro forma matter.

Doctoral Program Guidance Committee

The Doctoral Program Guidance committee has three main functions. It approves your program of study, it conducts comprehensive examinations, and it approves your internship placement. Of the four faculty required on this committee, the chairperson and at least one other member, preferably two, must be voting clinical faculty members.

Doctoral Dissertation Committee

In addition to departmental requirements, it is recommended that two members of the doctoral dissertation committee be voting members of the Clinical Interest Group.

Comprehensive Examinations

Comprehensive examinations within Clinical Psychology are designed to evaluate the student's current level of knowledge and to provide a developmental/educational experience. The design of the comprehensives reflect the commitment of the Clinical Interest Group to the Boulder Model of Clinical Training. To that end, there are components of the comprehensive examination that emphasize the scholarly/scientific aspects of clinical psychology and components that emphasize the integration of science and clinical practice.

Students should prepare for their comprehensive examinations in the year following completion of the M.A., with the formal evaluation taking place within five years of their admission to the doctoral program. Typically this will be by the end of the student's fourth year in the program (i.e., the first or second post-M.A. year). The examination content is determined by the student's doctoral guidance committee, who also arrive at a consensus grade for each of the examination components. At the committee's discretion, component parts may be assigned to a subset of the committee for evaluation.

Faculty grading will consist of a judgment of pass, marginal, or fail, on each component. In the case of a marginal grade, the committee may request additional written work or an oral examination. In either instance, such additional work is to be completed within three months of the assignment of the marginal grade. In the case of a fail on any component, the student must retake the failed component(s) within one year. Students are allowed to retake the examination (or a component) only once. Students must pass all components in order to pass the comprehensive examination.

In consultation with the guidance committee, the student tailors the content of the individual examinations to his/her interests and needs. However, the Clinical Interest Group requires a common format for all examinations. All examinations consist of three components:

1) Scholarly/Scientific Component. This component is to be satisfied by the preparation of a scholarly (single or senior authored) paper, that is submitted for publication. The paper may be based upon the student's M.A. research. In instances where the master's thesis work is not appropriate for publication, an alternative review or research paper may be prepared and submitted. The content of this paper is to be approved by the guidance committee prior to its submission. Although this is typically a senior authored paper, other alternatives may qualify. For clarification, consult the Director of Clinical Training.

2) Professional Practice Component. This component is to be satisfied by a demonstration of the student's capacity to integrate clinical data with theory and research. This component may include a clinical or community work sample along with the preparation of a written product. The aim is to demonstrate the student's ability to link clinical or community experience with the knowledge base that undergirds it. The specific content of this component is to be determined in consultation with the guidance committee, and typically will be focused on an area of special clinical or community interest to the student.

3) Choice Component. This component provides some flexibility to the student and to the guidance committee so that the comprehensive examination can be designed to meet the student's needs as well as insure that the program's goals and standards are being addressed. This component can be satisfied in several ways, including:

a) Preparing for and teaching a general or special undergraduate course or a course for community residents. The specific course chosen to meet this requirement should reflect the student's career objectives. Preparation includes the construction of a syllabus, selection of readings, and preparation of at least one complete lecture written out in detail. Members of the guidance committee will monitor teaching performance as part of the evaluation. Please note that the site at which you teach may have additional requirements.

b) Taking a formal, written examination. In consultation with the members of the guidance committee, the student can opt to take an examination covering topics agreed upon in advance. The content of this examination should be relevant to both the student’s prior experiences and to his/her future career goals. Guidance committee members will each submit two questions to the graduate student, at least three weeks in advance of the examination. During the examination the student will be presented with one of the two questions from each committee member to answer. The examination will last four hours. To pass this component, the student must receive passing grades on at least 75% of the questions.

c) The preparation of a Psychological Bulletin-type review paper in an area of the student's interest. This option may result in a submission for publication, but submission of the paper is not required in order to pass this component of the comprehensive examination.

d) Preparing a research grant proposal to be submitted to an appropriate public (e.g., NIMH) or private granting agency.

Other Program Requirements

Human subjects policy: Student research is always submitted to the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) for its review and approval before any project is begun. In regard to master’s thesis or dissertation work, a copy of the UCRIHS approval letter must be placed in the student’s file in the Psychology Department Graduate Office. All research, whether it involves the collection of new data or the analysis of existing data sets, requires UCRIHS approval.

Internship: All students complete an internship. This is typically an off-campus 2000 hour internship placement that meets both American Psychological Association internship requirements and that also satisfies the student's doctoral guidance committee requirement that the internship training will complement the emphasis area training already received. In terms of internship placement, the faculty do not regard internships simply as one more requirement to be fulfilled, but rather view this predoctoral level training as an integral component of the doctoral training experience. An approved dissertation proposal is a prerequisite for application to internship programs. Program faculty and the Director of Clinical Training will not submit letters of recommendation unless this requirement is fulfilled. The Director of Clinical Training meets with students applying to internship during the summer prior to application in order to explain interest group procedures and APPIC guidelines. Information packets are always available from the clinical secretary.

Making Good Progress in the Clinical Psychology Graduate Program

We expect that all students admitted into our program will complete their degrees. The path to getting a master's and doctoral degree involves a lot of hard work, but we hope our students find the work intellectually exciting and rewarding. Master’s and doctoral degrees require collaboration between faculty and students. The faculty in the clinical program want to work closely as mentors and advisors so that students can graduate in a timely fashion and enter into a fulfilling professional career. Communication between students and faculty is vital. In order to enhance communication, the clinical program requires each student who has not completed an internship to prepare a yearly, written self‑evaluation summarizing his/her progress to date as well as plans for the coming year. Faculty advisors write feedback letters to students commenting on the progress and plans described in the self study.

However, once‑a‑year contact between a student and his/her faculty advisor is only a minimum requirement, and not sufficient for good progress to occur. We encourage you to stay in touch with your faculty advisor and committee members on a regular basis. Your faculty advisor needs to know when your graduate work is proceeding well and also when it is not. It is not unusual for personal problems or life circumstances to interfere with a student's ability to complete degree requirements in a timely fashion. Faculty can help students problem‑solve to get their graduate work back on track.

Making good progress toward degree completion should be a priority for every student. The faculty meet on a yearly basis to review all students' progress. Those master's level students who have not made good progress for several years may be asked to leave the program or may not be admitted to the doctoral program. Doctoral level students who exceed university deadlines for completion of the degree (see “Academic Programs” publication or access the publication by internet at www.msu.edu/unit/ucandc/httoc.htm) will be required to reapply for admission to the program. Students who have been dropped from the program will be evaluated for admission together with the pool of first-time applicants of the year they apply for readmission.