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Program Details

Students are admitted into the Clinical Psychology program only for full-time study toward the doctoral degree. Requirements include course work in clinical and basic psychology, statistics, and research methods, an empirical master’s thesis and dissertation, and three years of clinical practicum (including two years of supervision by clinical faculty in an in-house psychology clinic and one year in an off-campus practicum agency). The doctoral program in Clinical Psychology is structured to require four years of academic work plus one additional year for a full-time pre-doctoral internship placement.

Graduate Handbook for Clinical Psychology, 2010 [PDF] – In this document you can learn about the clinical psychology program’s training philosophy and goals as well as the curriculum and requirements for the master’s and Ph.D. programs.

Training Goals

Program Tracks: Clinical Child/Adolescent and Behavioral Medicine

The training model is one of an active mentoring of students’ professional development. Upon admission to the program each student is assigned a faculty member who serves as academic mentor. This student-professor pairing is based on the congruence between a student’s stated interests and a faculty member’s specialty areas. Each student also is aligned with one of the two major specialty tracks in the program: Behavioral Medicine or Clinical Child/Adolescent. Course work and practicum team assignments are based on one’s track.

Developmental/Clinical Scholars

A limited number of students (typically, one per year) will be admitted as Developmental/Clinical Scholars. These students will take a curriculum that combines Developmental and Child Clinical training. Developmental science provides an organized structure for the study of development, and applied developmental practice provides opportunities for using this knowledge and perspective. Through Developmental, students will study typical as well as atypical developmental processes from conception through the lifespan and gain an understanding of the biological, psychological, and social factors that influence the course of development.  Clinical psychology extends this by providing additional theory, methodology, assessment skills, and therapeutic treatments to enable graduates to work clinically with individuals, families, and groups.

Research advising will be provided by Developmental faculty. A faculty member in Child Clinical will serve as a secondary advisor and oversee the student’s clinical training and supervision, assignments to practica, and preparation for internship. Students will complete all the coursework now required for Child Clinical as well as all but one of the courses required for Developmental. The program will take an extra year to complete.

Applicants who are interested in being considered for this program should state this in their applications and personal statements. The application may be submitted to either Developmental or Clinical. Faculty from both programs will review, interview, and agree upon the candidates. Applicants who are not selected as Developmental/Clinical Scholars may still be considered for admission to either Developmental or Clinical. Alternatively, students already enrolled in the Child Clinical track can choose to become Developmental/Clinical Scholars by completing the required coursework and undertaking a research program under the supervision of their Clinical advisor that is within the scope of the combined training.

The degree that is awarded is the PhD in Clinical Psychology. Students who complete this training will be eligible to apply for licensure in Clinical Psychology in Virginia.

Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data

Applicant data 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Number of Applicants
186
189
186
210
200
202
176
196
Size of incoming class
8
11
9
10
13
10
7
6
Number of incoming students receiving financial aid
8
11
9
10
13
10
7
6
Of those accepted for admission 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
GRE-V mean
611
593
596
576
615
631
596
595
GRE-Q mean
643
639
643
709
672
680
729
688
Average undergraduate GPA
3.38
3.44
3.58
3.56
3.53
3.65
3.6
3.69
Internship applicant statistics
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Number of total applicants
6
8
3
9
7
4
7
7
Number accepted at APPIC internships
6
 100%
7
 88%
2
 67%
7
 78%
7
 100%
3
 75%
6
 85%
7
 100%
Number who obtained APA/CPA internships
6
 100%
7
 88%
2
 67%
7
 78%
7
 100%
3
 75%
6
 85%
7
 100%
Number who obtained funded positions
6
 100%
7
 88%
2
 67%
7
 78%
7
 100%
3
 75%
6
 85%
6
 85%
Program attrition by year of first enrollment Number of students enrolled Number who graduated with doctorate Number of students still enrolled in program Number and percentage of students no longer enrolled for any reason other than graduation
2004
10
5
4
1
2005
9
2
4
3
2006
10
0
8
2
2007
13
0
12
1
2008
10
0
10
0
2009
6
0
6
0
2010
6
0
6
0
Total
64
6
51
7 (11%)
Graduation statistics
2004
2005
2006
2007
 2008 2009 2010
Number of graduates
4
9
6
9
4
3
8
Number who graduated in less than 5 years
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
Number who graduated in 5 years
0
1
1
3
3
1
2
Number who graduated in 6 years
2
4
4
4
1
1
5
Number who graduated in 7 years
1
2
1
1
0
1
1
Number who graduated in 8 or more years
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
Mean years to graduation
7
6.6
6
5.4
5.3
6
5.9
Median years to graduation
6.5
6
6
6
5
6
6
Mean years to graduation with BA/BS only
7
6.4
6.2
6
5.3
6.5
6
Median years to graduation with BA/BS only
6.5
6
6
6
5
6.5
6
Mean years to graduation with MA/MS
0
8
5
4.3
5
5
5
Median Years to Graduation with MA/MS
0
8
5
5
5
5
5
Graduation statistics for 2004-2010  
Percentage of graduates who graduate in < 5 years 2%
Percentage of graduates who graduated in 5 years 27%
Percentage of graduates who graduated in 6 years 49%
Percentage of graduates who graduated in 7 years 16%
Percentage of graduates who graduated in 7+ years 6%
Licensure Outcomes
In a survey and web search of the 57 students who graduated between the years of 2001-2008, licensure status was determined for 51 of 57 alumni. Of these, 47 (93%) are licensed. The others did not take a licensing examination, either because they are not employed as a psychologist (n=2) or because they are in academic positions not requiring licensure (n=2). Additionally, recent data reported for the national licensure exam from 2005-2009 indicated that 22 out of 23 VCU clinical psychology graduates (96%) passed the exam on the first try.
Tuition costs for 2010-2011  
Per semester cost for full-time VA resident $3612
Per semester cost for full-time non-VA resident $7952
Per semester cost per credit hr for part-time VA resident $401.30
Per semester cost per credit hr for part-time non-VA resident $884.00
Per semester student fees for full-time VA resident $910.50
Per semester student fees for full-time non-VA resident $994.50
Financial Support
All full-time students in the first through forth year currently in the program who requested it are receiving Departmental financial support through fellowships, teaching assistantships, or research assistantships. The general 9-month stipend for 2009-2010 is $13,520, which also covers tuition (but not fees) for nine months and involves 20 hours/week of work responsibilities. Graduate school fellowships pay $15,000 and cover tuition and fees for 12 months. Among the 32 clinical students in years 1-4 who requested funding for the 2009-2010 year, 20 have research assistantships paid by faculty NIH grants, 2 have traineeships paid by the GPE grant, 6 have graduate school fellowships, 2 have graduate teaching assistantships, and 2 have externally funded research fellowships. Overall, in recent years our faculty and students have been highly successful in assisting students in obtaining external funding, with 9 grants awarded and one pending (3 F31 awards, 2 VA Pre-doctoral Rehabilitation Research Fellowships, 3 R36 dissertation awards, 1 NIH supplemental fellowship and 1 with a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation grant. Two students have received a VCU Graduate School Thesis/Dissertation Fellowship ($12,750 stipend and tuition) in the last two years. Other support is available to advanced students via paid practica. Finally, in addition to the resources available for funding stipends and tuition, there are monies available through the Department of Psychology to fund travel for students presenting research at conferences. For the 2010 academic year the pool of money has been set at $12,000 and will be divided among the graduate students who apply for the funds.