REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
August, 2002
For the requirements in place in 2001, click here.
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 cognates 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 and 818)
2. Research Methods-taught through core curriculum
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 (offered as 992 courses)
8. Master's Project (PSY 890) 4-8 credits
9. General Psychology and APA requirements
10. Courses for the student's cognate
11. Doctoral Research (PSY 999) 24 credits
12. Practicum requirement (PSY 994): Two years required. First two years of practicum is taken at 2 credits per semester; subsequent years of practicum at 1 credit per semester and 1 credit per summer semesters. Practicum credits - minimum 8, maximum 14.
Sample Course Schedule
Year 1
Fall
1. Statistics (PSY 815)
2. Assessment (PSY 828)
3. Behavior Disorders (PSY 853)
4. Work on MA project-Sign up for PSY 890 credits
Spring
1. Tests and Measurements (PSY 818)
2. Behavior Disorders in Children and Families (PSY 854)
3. Theory and Practice in Psychotherapy (PSY 855)
4. Work on MA project-sign up for PSY 890 credits
Year 2
Fall
1. Theory, Research, Intervention Course
2. APA Required Course
3. Advanced Assessment Course
4. Practicum
Spring
1. History and Systems or Ethics
2. Practicum
3. MA project-sign up for PSY 890 credits
Year 3 and 4
By the third year, the student must choose a cognate within clinical psychology: Child/family psychology, clinical neuropsychology, or clinical/community psychology. Courses relevant to the particular cognate, APA required courses, practicum credit, and doctoral dissertation credits will be taken during these years. Students will also work on comprehensive examinations, but this does not entail signing up for courses or credit.
Clinical Neuropsychology Cognate: Students who wish to select the clinical neuropsychology cognate 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 Cognate: Students who wish to have an emphasis 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 Cognate: Students wishing to select the clinical/community psychology cognate must enroll in PSY 871 (History and Theory of Community Psychology), one advanced seminar in ecological psychology, and one semester of community practicum.
Year 3
Fall
1. Form and Convene Doctoral Guidance Committee
2. APA Required or Cognate Courses
3. Practicum
Spring
1. Begin Comprehensives
2. APA Required or Cognate Courses
3. Practicum
Year 4
Fall
1. Defend Dissertation Proposal
2. Practicum
3. Cognate or APA Required Courses
4. Work on Comprehensives
Spring
1. Collect Dissertation Data
2. Practicum
3. Cognate or APA Required Courses
4. Work on Comprehensives
Year 5
Fall
1. Complete Dissertation and all Comprehensives
2. Apply to Clinical Internship
Spring
1. Defend Dissertation
2. Apply to Clinical Internship
Year 6:
Internship
M.A. Research Project and M.A. Guidance Committee
As soon as you have decided upon an M.A. research project topic, you should form your M.A. Guidance Committee--preferably by the end of your first semester of graduate study, but by the end of the first week of Spring classes at the latest. Your temporary advisor functions as your M.A. Guidance Committee chairperson until this committee is formed.
The M.A. Guidance Committee consists of no less than three faculty members, at least two of whom must be members of the Clinical Interest Group. Rules about this committee, which also apply, are set forth by the Department of Psychology as follows: 2 of the 3 members must be regular faculty in the Department of Psychology, only 1 of the 3 may be an Adjunct Faculty Member in the Department of Psychology, and only 1 of the 3 may be an Emeritus Professor. See the Graduate Handbook for more information and definition of these titles.
The M.A. Guidance Committee has the important function of working with you to jointly plan your course work through the first 30 credits and working with you on your M.A. research project.
Timetable for Completion of the M.A. Research Project
Year 1
First week of Spring Semester: Latest date by which the student has chosen an M.A. research project topic in consultation with his/her advisor.
February 1: Latest date by which, in consultation with his/her advisor, the student has determined the methodology/design for his/her study.
April 1: Latest date by which the student completes the research proposal, in consultation with his/her advisor, and sends it to the two other committee members. The proposal should be between 10-15 pages long, including Introduction, Methods, and Proposed Data Analyses.
April 15: Latest date by which the two committee members provide written feedback on the proposal to the student and the student's advisor.
If revisions are needed, the student must respond accordingly. He/she may treat the written comments from the committee members as researchers treat journal reviews. That is, the student may provide a rationale, in a cover letter, for why some of the requested changes are unnecessary or inappropriate. The student also details, in this letter, changes requested that are appropriate and that have been used as a basis for revising the proposal. Both the letter (describing those changes made and those not made) and the revised proposal are written with the agreement, support, and consultation of the advisor.
May 15: Latest date by which the proposal is approved by the advisor and the two committee members. An oral defense may or may not be held as the committee wishes.
Year 2
April 1: Latest date by which the final research project, written as a journal article, can be approved by the advisor and committee. This deadline implies that students should finish their project well before this deadline in order to solicit feedback from the committee members and make appropriate revisions. Again, the committee members must respond with written feedback, and the student responds to that feedback by way of a letter (described above) that details the rationale for revisions to the document and changes requested that were not made.
Latest date by which students email Clinical Interest Group faculty and students copies of their final research project in order that all may read these in preparation for Research Presentation Day.
April 15: Research Presentation Day. The Clinical Interest Group (all students and faculty) attend a day-long presentation of Second Year Students' research projects. Students will give oral presentations and answer questions.
Note that any student who neither meets these deadlines nor is approved for an extension (see below) risks receiving a failing grade in PSY 890.
Two Year Rule for Completion of the M.A. Research Project
Students are expected to complete their M.A. research project by the end of their second year of graduate study. The advisor and student should be aware of any problems by early- to mid-Fall Semester of the student's second year and make all efforts to get the project back on schedule.
However, by January 10 of the student's second year, at the latest, the student must petition, in writing, the full Clinical Interest Group faculty for an extension of the April 15 deadline. The student will meet with the faculty, present the problem, and the faculty will decide if an extension will be granted. Barring extraordinary circumstances, the faculty will only grant a one month extension until May 15 of that year.
If the student has not completed the project by May 15, he/she will be put on probation and given until December 1 of the student's third year to complete the project. If such an extension is needed, the student cannot register for any courses except for PSY 890 in order to focus on completing the project. If the student has not completed the project by December 1, he/she will be dismissed from the program. There are no exceptions to this rule, barring extreme situations or emergencies.
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, deadlines, and consequences for the M.A. research project as documented above.
DOCTORAL PROGRAM
The clinical faculty meet the week of May 1 to review all Second Year Students' SEFs (Student Evaluation Forms-see clinical psychology web page) and to discuss the quality of the research projects. The student's research project committee will make a recommendation to the clinical faculty as to whether the student should or should not be admitted to the doctoral program. Students who have performed well in their first two years in the program, who meet the course grade requirements outlined in the Graduate Handbook, and who are recommended by their research project committee will be admitted to the doctoral program.
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. research project, 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. 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. Students who are pursuing academic or research careers should structure the comprehensives so that the three components lead to publications, grants, or both. Regardless of how students structure their comprehensives, 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 project. In instances where that 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 Doctoral 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 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 APA-approved clinical 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 (www.appic.org). 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 (SEF)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 and every student's advisor. The faculty meet on a yearly basis to review all students' progress. Deadlines for the M.A. research project are specified above. Those who do not meet timeline requirements may be asked to leave the program or may not be admitted to the doctoral program. Doctoral level students must be deemed to be making "good progress" by the advisor, the Guidance Committee, and the clinical faculty in order to stay in good standing in the program. Good progress means that the student is working consistently on his/her goals for the degree and meeting faculty expectations in this regard. All students are evaluated yearly; those who are not making good progress will be alerted and given an opportunity for remediation. However, if students fail to communicate with their advisors or consistently fail to complete degree requirements will be dropped from the program without the doctoral degree. Those 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.