review of homestay essay

Essay on Homestay

Students are often asked to write an essay on Homestay in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Homestay

Introduction to homestay.

A homestay is a type of lodging where travelers stay in the home of a local resident. It offers a unique chance to experience local culture, traditions, and lifestyle firsthand.

Homestay Benefits

Homestays are beneficial as they provide an authentic cultural experience. You get to eat local food, learn the language, and understand local customs.

Challenges of Homestay

Despite the benefits, homestays can have challenges. Adjusting to a new environment, food, and language can be difficult.

Homestays offer a rich, immersive experience, making travel more meaningful and memorable. Despite challenges, it’s a rewarding experience.

250 Words Essay on Homestay

Homestays, an alternative to traditional accommodation options, offer a unique blend of cultural exchange and hospitality. This concept is fast gaining popularity among travelers who seek an immersive experience, as it allows them to live with a local family and understand their culture, traditions, and lifestyle.

The Appeal of Homestay

The allure of homestays lies in their authenticity. Unlike commercial hotels, homestays provide a genuine snapshot of the host community’s way of life. They offer a platform for cultural exchange, where travelers can learn local customs, savour home-cooked meals, and engage in community activities. This intimate interaction fosters a sense of belonging and offers a unique perspective that transcends the usual tourist experience.

Impact on Local Communities

Homestays also have a significant socio-economic impact on local communities. They provide an additional source of income for families, promote local businesses, and contribute to sustainable tourism. By encouraging responsible travel, homestays help preserve local culture and the environment, thereby promoting sustainable development.

Challenges and Future Prospects

Despite its advantages, the homestay sector faces challenges such as quality control, privacy issues, and cultural clashes. Addressing these issues requires a balanced approach that respects both the host’s and guest’s needs. With the rise of digital platforms and increasing awareness about responsible travel, the future of homestays looks promising, paving the way for a more inclusive and sustainable tourism industry.

In conclusion, homestays offer a unique travel experience that combines cultural immersion with social responsibility, making them an appealing choice for the discerning traveler.

500 Words Essay on Homestay

The concept of homestay.

Homestay is a unique concept in the tourism industry that has gained significant importance in recent years. It refers to a form of accommodation where travelers stay in the homes of locals, experiencing their culture, cuisine, and lifestyle firsthand. This form of tourism provides a rich, immersive experience that traditional hotels and resorts often lack. It’s an opportunity to see the world through a local’s eyes, making travel more personal and authentic.

Advantages of Homestays

The most significant advantage of homestays is the cultural immersion they provide. By living with locals, travelers get an in-depth understanding of the local culture, traditions, and way of life. They participate in everyday activities, witness local customs, and learn the language, making the experience more enriching.

Homestays also offer economic benefits, both for the traveler and the host. For the traveler, homestays are often cheaper than hotels, and the cost includes home-cooked meals. For the host, it’s a source of income that also promotes cultural exchange and global understanding.

Ecological Impact of Homestays

Homestays are often seen as a more sustainable form of tourism. They typically have a smaller carbon footprint than large hotels, as they utilize existing residential structures and resources. Moreover, the income generated from homestays often goes directly to the local community, contributing to local economic development.

Challenges and Considerations

Despite the many benefits, homestays also come with challenges. For travelers, there may be language barriers, cultural misunderstandings, or a lack of privacy. For hosts, they must be prepared to open their homes to strangers and handle potential conflicts or cultural differences.

When selecting a homestay, it’s essential to consider the host’s reviews and ratings, the location, and the cultural norms of the area. It’s also crucial to communicate clearly with the host about expectations and rules to ensure a positive experience.

Future of Homestays

The future of homestays looks promising. With the rise of digital platforms that connect hosts and travelers, it’s easier than ever to find and book a homestay. As more travelers seek authentic experiences and sustainable travel options, homestays are likely to continue growing in popularity.

However, as the sector grows, there will be a need for regulation to ensure the safety of both hosts and guests, and to preserve the authenticity of the homestay experience. This will require collaboration between governments, tourism organizations, and homestay platforms.

In conclusion, homestays offer a unique and enriching travel experience, providing cultural immersion, economic benefits, and a more sustainable form of tourism. Despite some challenges, with careful selection and clear communication, homestays can be a rewarding choice for both hosts and travelers. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, homestays offer a way to foster global understanding and cultural exchange, making them an integral part of the future of tourism.

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A Systematic Literature Review of Rural Homestays and Sustainability in Tourism

2021, SAGE Open

This systematic literature review is designed to evaluate the current state of knowledge in rural homestays and tourism academic literature. With reference to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flowchart, we reviewed 94 studies published in the selected journals from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2020. Our review explores how sustainable rural homestays have been previously researched in terms of the context, topic, sample, method, geographical location, and theoretical framework. The review provides insights on sustainability and rural homestay tourism from the perspective of co-occurrence beside highlighting the valuable content addressed by authors and suggesting future research directions. In a sustainable rural tourism context, only 51% of the reviewed studies had considered homestay as the core and independent area of inquiry. This review notes an increasing number of researchers from developing countries are working on community...

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Sentiment analysis on tourist satisfaction with rural homestay inns based on reviews from the website of online travel agency.

Yuan Zhai * | Peng Chen

OPEN ACCESS

This paper mainly explores the factors affecting the tourist satisfaction with rural homestay inns (RHIs), and offer suggestions to the RHI managers. Firstly, the Word2vec was adopted to extract the features from the online reviews on ctrip.com about the RHIs around Mount Mogan, and to reduce the dimensionality of the extracted features. Then, sentiment analysis was performed to extract the emotions of each class of features, and an econometric model was constructed to disclose the relationship between RHI feature evaluation and tourist satisfaction. The results show that: the tourist satisfaction with RHIs is positively affected by site, appearance, facility, public space, service, individuation, and marketing, especially by service, individuation, and facility; the more the features mentioned in the reviews, the lower the tourist satisfaction. To sum up, this paper clarifies the relationship between the features of RHI reviews and tourist satisfaction from the angle of review text, laying a theoretical basis for the research into the online reputation of RHIs.

rural homestay inns (RHIs), online reviews, sentiment analysis, satisfaction

The earlies online travel agency (OTA) is Expedia, which was founded in 1996. Since then, the concept of OTA has gradually taken shape. Over the years, the OTA has developed into a successful economic model, which provides tourists with cheaper solutions by integrating products and reducing costs [1]. However, there is not yet an official and unified definition of the OTA.

Kim and Lee [2] probed into the OTA earlier than most scholars, and defined the concept as a travel agency offers value-added services to potential consumers via network interfaces. Christodoulidou et al. [3] emphasized that the OTA is a travel agency that earns shares in the travel market by managing hotel room reservations. Phocuswright [4], a tourism research organization, clearly stated that the OTA is a marketing, search and booking tool, which integrates website, mobile devices, apps, and call centers into a platform for consumers to browse and purchase travel products and to share travel information.

To sum up, the OTA is generally recognized as an intermediary that relies on the Internet to provide online services like consultation, review, and reservation. The OTA has changed the purchase model of tourism. To meet the needs of tourists, traditional tourism agencies are competing to enhance the cooperation with the OTA.

In the age of Web 2.0, the boom of e-commerce has turned the user generated content (UGC) of OTA platform users into a major information source of consumers and service providers. The online reviews of the OTA enable potential consumers to make purchasing decisions, and help relevant managers improve the quality of their products or services. Many studies [5, 6] have shown that online reviews can affect the sales and the purchasing decisions of consumers.

The OTA website serves as an important distribution channel for rural homestay inns (RHIs) [7], which first emerged in France in the 19th century. Besides booking rooms, the RHI consumers often rate and comment on their experience on the OTA website right after leaving the RHI. The reviews determine the online reputation of the RHI, and affect the choices of other online consumers.

Facing the fierce market competition and shift in consumption pattern, the RHI industry should analyze the OTA reviews of consumers, and optimize their service quality, in a bid for sustainable development. However, most scholars have only focused on the numerical ratings of online reviews [8]. The numerical ratings alone cannot lead to thorough and accurate evaluation of the UGC, for products and services both have multi-dimensional attributes [9].

The online reviews contain much more reliable information than the star ratings on the OTA website. Besides, the quantitative scoring system of the website cannot reflect some characteristic dimensions that may interest potential users. Therefore, this paper carries out text mining on the online reviews of tourists, and identifies the dimensions of the UGC that truly interest consumers, revealing the true opinions of the RHIs.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 reviews the relevant literature; Section 3 introduces the research method, including data sources, data preprocessing, Word2vec-based clustering of RHI evaluation dimensions, machine learning (ML)-based feature classification, positioning and extraction of emotional words, and value assignment to emotional words against the emotional word list; Section 4 carries out the descriptive statistical analysis on model variables and discusses the influence of RHI evaluation dimensions on tourist satisfaction; Section 5 puts forward the conclusions.

The RHIs have emerged and evolved along with the tourism mode based on rural tourism and agritainment. The first rural hotels appeared in the 19 th century, when French tourists slept over in farmer houses [7]. As China fully implements the strategy of rural revitalization, the RHIs have flourished across the country. According to the Basic Requirements and Evaluation for Homestay Inn (LB/T 065-2019) released by China National Tourism Administration in August 2017, homestay inns refer to the small lodging facilities that provide tourists with a unique experience of the local nature, culture, production method, and lifestyle; the facilities must fully utilize the local featured resources, and their owners must participate in the reception.

For RHIs, it is critical to have a good geographical location and favorable traffic conditions. In addition, a well-operated RHI should meet the following conditions: necessary supporting facilities (e.g. independent toilets) and suitable activity space for consumers; enough rooms to realize operations on the moderate scale; integration into the surrounding natural environment and preserve/highlight the features of traditional culture; mixing agricultural education into sightseeing and entertainment, and providing consumers with high-quality agricultural products; precise market positioning [10, 11]. Due to the limited number of rooms, homestays often do not spend much on marketing. The most common marketing channels for homestays include industry associations, manuals and guides, online publicity, and word-of-mouth publicity. The most important channel is the word-of-mouth publicity [12-14].

2.2 Tourist satisfaction

The concept of consumer satisfaction was created by Cardozo. The relevant research was officially started in the 1970s, the heyday of the concept of consumer first [15]. The early research believes that consumer satisfaction is directly affected by the gap between consumer expectation and perception.

Tourist satisfaction refers to the relative relationship between the early expectation and later perception of tourists for tourism products. This indicator directly bears on the attractiveness and repurchase rate of tourism products [16].

The subsequent research focuses on the impact of perceived quality and other factors on tourist satisfaction. It is generally held that the perceived quality is directly correlated with tourist satisfaction. Tourist satisfaction is more affected by the perceived quality than the gap between expectation and perception [17].

2.3 Impact of review contents on tourist satisfaction

Currently, many methods have been developed to evaluate the effects of lodging industry features on tourist satisfaction based on the review data generated by online users. The bases of these methods mainly include expert opinions, grammar, and model analysis.

The expert-based methods screen and evaluate the hotel features according to the opinions of experts in the hotel field. There are two primary defects with these methods: the expert opinions cannot fully reflect the real experience of consumers; the expert opinions are strongly subjective and biased [18].

The grammar-based methods assume that the importance of a feature is positively correlated with the number of adjective modifiers for the feature word. First, the number of adjective modifiers for each feature word is recognized by syntactic dependence. Then, the adjectives are clustered to obtain the importance of the corresponding feature [19, 20]. The dependence on the number of adjectives greatly limits the applicable scope of this method.

The model-based methods use ML models to learn the feature-target relationship. The learning on massive data prevents the interference of subjective factors, and promotes the universality of these methods [21-23]. For example, Archak et al. [22] relied on a model to explore the influence of emotional polarity on users’ willingness to purchase. However, their model-based method emphasizes emotional polarity over emotional intensity, failing to achieve satisfactory results.

In terms of research method, the previous research mostly resorts to questionnaires or interviews. The two methods are limited in data scale and content richness/objectivity. With the development of social networks, recent years has seen some studies on tourist satisfaction based on consumer reviews [24-26]. These studies managed to set up diverse and refined evaluation indices and a broad data basis, because online reviews are the conscious and spontaneous evaluation of service quality by consumers, and the most direct reflection of consumer experience. However, the outstanding problem is the lack of effective methods to mine the emotional information from the reviews.

To sum up, word-of-mouth is the most common marketing tool for homestays, exerting an obvious impact on tourist satisfaction of homestays [13, 14]. Being an important data source in the big data era, online reviews have been highly recognized for their value in commercial activities like word-of-mouth publicity. Online reviews are the most intuitive, specific, and authentic consumer experience provided by consumers, revealing the contents that concern consumers the most. As a result, online reviews provide a valuable resource for studying the factors affecting consumer satisfaction [27].

Some scholars have investigated tourist satisfaction and online evaluation of homestays. Certain results have been achieved on the satisfaction degree of the lodging industry based on online evaluations. The focus of the current studies includes sentiment analysis on online reviews, and the influencing factors of tourist satisfaction. Overall, the evaluation of hotel service quality is relatively mature, while the evaluation of homestay service quality is severely lacking. The research results on hotel service quality cannot be directly applied to homestay service quality, because homestays pursue personalized development rather than meet the standard of lodging industry.

In view of the above, this paper selects the online reviews of the RHIs on ctrip.com as the targets, mines the factors that affect the RHI satisfaction from the online reviews, and explores how and how much different factors affect the RHI service satisfaction, providing a theoretical basis and operable mode for RHIs to improve tourist satisfaction.

3.1 Data collection

The most popular travel websites in China include ctrip.com, qunar.com, lvmama.com, tuniu.com, and fliggy.com. According to the Quarterly Monitoring Report on China’s Online Travel Market , ctrip.com occupied 48% of the market share of online lodging preservation in the first quarter of 2019, making it the biggest lodging preservation website in China. The online reviews of ctrip.com are very representative, for the website has the largest consumer base and offers the largest number of samples. Besides, a tourist cannot comment about a homestay on the website before he/she checks in, which ensures the credibility of online reviews. Therefore, the LocoySpider (http://www.locoy.com) was adopted to extract the online reviews (January 1-December 25, 2019) on the RHIs around Mount Mogan, Zhejiang province from ctrip.com.

In 2012, Mount Mogan was rated as one of the 45 most visited places in the world in 2012 by Time . It is one of the most famous RHI gathering spots in China. As of July 2019, there were more than 700 homestays around Mount Mogan, offering nearly 10,000 beds. In 2018, the homestays around Mount Mogan received 2.1 million tourists, and achieved an income of RMB 2.05 billion yuan.

After data cleaning, 312,782 online reviews (about 50 million words) were obtained. These reviews were analyzed on Word2vec to generate the vector of each words. Then, 7,324 reviews randomly selected in the calculation model.

3.2 Preprocessing

The short texts collected from the Internet usually contain lots of noise, which hinders the sentiment analysis on these texts. Hence, the texts should be preprocessed before sentiment analysis. In general, text preprocessing includes three steps: word segmentation, part-of-speech (POS) tagging, and stop word removal.

(1) Word segmentation

In linguistics, words, as the smallest independent emotional unit, have rich emotional connotations. The accuracy of word segmentation is the prerequisite for sentiment analysis. Before extracting feature words from the reviews, it is necessary to preprocess the text information. In English, each word is separated by a space. In Chinese, however, there are no fixed spacers (spaces) between words, making word segmentation a necessity before sentiment analysis.

At present, the most frequently-used word segmentation systems for Chinese include the Natural Language Processing & Information Retrieval (NLPIR) system of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Fudan NLP word segmentation system of Fudan University, the Language Technology Platform (LTP) of Harbin Institute of Technology, and Paoding Analyzer. Among them, the NLPIR, a.k.a. ICTCLAS2013 is the earliest open-source Chinese word segmentation system. The system was developed based on the multi-layer hidden Markov model. To date, the system has attracted over 200,000 users worldwide, and won numerous awards. Therefore, the NLPIR was selected as the word segmentation tool in our research.

(2) POS tagging

POS describes the role of a word in context, laying the basis for classifying words by their features. There are 14 POSs in modern Chinese, namely, nouns, verbs, auxiliary words, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, etc. Based on word segmentation, POS tagging clarifies the POS of each word in the text.

The above-mentioned word segmentation systems can tag POSs after word segmentation. Here, POS tagging is also completed by the NLPIR. Each segmented word was separated by a slash from its POS tag. Take the review “the geographical location is pretty good” for example. The result after word segmentation and POS tagging is “the geographical location/n is/v pretty/adv good/adj”.

(3) Removal of stop words and special symbols

Stop words refer to some meaningless functional words that can be filtered out in natural language processing. Despite their high frequency in the text, these words have no impact on the sentiment analysis of the text. In Chinese, the common stop words include some pronouns, auxiliary words, prepositions, and modal auxiliary words.

In addition, the special symbols were also removed from the text, such as some English characters, numbers, mathematical characters, punctuation marks, emoticons, and special Internet symbols like @, #, and URL.

3.3 Word2vec-based clustering of RHI reviews

Duan et al. [28] extracted frequently occurring nouns in reviews as candidate features of hotels. In this paper, the high-frequency nouns in RHI reviews are obtained through text corpus analysis. As shown in Figure 1, the homestay tourists were mostly concerned about traffic, breakfast, environment, attractions, sanitation, activities, etc.

Figure 1. Word cloud of high-frequency nouns in RHI reviews

Inspired by Hu and Liu [23], the noises were removed from high-frequency words. Specifically, each identified noun was tested by the maximum likelihood ratio. The frequency of the noun in reviews of the related classes (e.g. RHI reviews) was subtracted by that in reviews in unrelated classes (e.g. book reviews). If the likelihood ratio is small, the noun will be removed as an unrated word, that is, noise. Since the likelihood ratio obeys the asymptotic χ 2 distribution, the nouns whose threshold is above the p=0.05 were taken as candidate product features. Meanwhile, a group of irrelevant nouns (e.g. homestay and Mount Mogan) were compiled manually, and removed from the candidate nouns. In the end, a total of 44 RHI feature nouns were obtained.

After that, the RHI reviews containing the 50,015,783 words (threads=2, vectors=100, window=12) were processed by Word2vec to obtain the vector of each word. Then, the 44 feature nouns acquired by POS tagging were expressed as vectors. The Euclidean distance between word vectors was defined as the similarity between words.

Next, the obtained word vectors were clustered by the k-means clustering (KMC). The clustering quality was evaluated by examining the separation and closeness of clusters with Silhouette Coefficient. The clustering was repeated 10 times, as the number K of clusters increased from 2 to 9. The clustering results are presented in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2. Results on Silhouette Coefficient

As shown in Figure 2, the Silhouette Coefficient peaked at K=7. By its definition, the greater the Silhouette Coefficient, the better the K value. Then, the dimensionality of spatial vectors was gradually reduced to obtain Figure 3. Through hierarchical clustering, the number of RHI evaluation dimensions was determined as seven: site, appearance, facility, public space, service, individuation, and marketing.

Figure 3. Clustering results of feature nouns for RHI evaluation

3.4 ML-based feature classification

Drawing on the results of Duan et al. [28] and Ganu et al. [29], the objective sentences that do not contain positive or negative emotions were removed, e.g. “my fellow traveler will arrive earlier than me”. Then, the sentences that do not involve evaluations factors were also deleted, e.g. “the tourists to Mount Mogan are advised to choose this inn”. After the removal, a total of 80,000 evaluation units were obtained, with an average word count of 7. Table 1 provides a typical evaluation unit.

The factor class of each evaluation unit was determined by the ML. Both Multinomial I Bayes and support vector machine (SVM) are suitable for the classification. Studies have shown that the SVM can achieve the better classification results [30]. Therefore, this paper uses the SVM to classify all evaluation units.

The SVM is an ML algorithm based on the principle of structural risk minimization [31]. The basic principle of the SVM is to map each vector to a higher-dimensional space, which has a hyperplane with maximum separation. Two parallel hyperplanes parallel are across the hyperplane that separates the data. The hyperplane is divided to maximize the distance between the two parallel hyperplanes. It is assumed that the distance or gap between the parallel hyperplanes is negatively correlated with the total error of the classifier

Table 1. A typical evaluation unit

Recall $=\frac{T P}{T P+F N}$ (1)

Precision $=\frac{T P}{T P+F P}$ (2)

$F=2 \frac{\text {Precision} \bullet \text {Recall}}{\text {Precision}+\text {Recall}}$ (3)

where, TP is the percentage of evaluation units that have been extracted and classified; FN is the percentage of evaluation units that have not been extracted; FP is the percentage of evaluation units that have been classified.

The ML algorithm is implemented in the following process: First, the 80,000 evaluation units were divided into a training set and a test set. In the training set, each evaluation unit has its POS tag. The evaluation units of the training set were taken as the inputs, and the feature classes were defined as the outputs. Through supervised learning, a feature classifier was designed by the ML algorithm. Then, the feature classifier was adopted to identify the class of each evaluation unit in the test set. The classification is considered correct, if the identified classes agree with the actual classes of the evaluation units in the test set, and incorrect if otherwise.

Table 2 shows the classification results of the SVM-based classifier. Obviously, the SVM algorithm reached a high Precision (71.9%), a high Recall (87.3%) and a desirable F-value (0.802).

Table 2. Classification results of the SVM-based classifier

3.5 Positioning and extraction of emotional words

Sentiment analysis could be realized by (1) supervised methods, e.g. Ali et al. [32] judged emotional polarity with the SVM and improved fuzzy domain ontology (FDO) method; (2) unsupervised methods, e.g. Hu and Liu [23] relied on unsupervised method to determine the emotional polarity, using multiple clustering algorithms; (3) emotional word dictionary, e.g. Kim et al. [33] conducted sentiment analysis with ROSTEA sentiment dictionary tool.

While feature words are nouns, emotional words contain multiple POSs, particularly adverb and adjective. Based on the location of feature words, a [-s, s] character interval was set up near each feature word as the positioning interval of emotional words. For example, the interval of emotional words near the

In this paper, based on the position of the feature word determined after the comment text is segmented, the [-s, s] character interval is created near the feature word as the emotional word positioning interval. For example, the interval of emotional words for “the geographical location/n is/v pretty/adv good/adj” can be expressed as “pretty/adv good/adj”.

3.6 Matching and value assignment

The extracted words were matched with an emotional word list, and assigned proper values. The review “the geographical location is pretty good” was still taken as the example. The emotional words are behind the feature word: “pretty” is the emotional degree, and “good” is the emotional polarity.

Our RHI emotional word list was prepared from the HowNet emotional word list and NTUSD emotional word list. The words in the list could be expanded manually. Each emotional degree word was rated against a 6-point scale (1 point if no word of degree appears; and 2-5 points if such words appear); each positive emotional word was assigned 2 points, each negative emotional word was assigned -2 points, and each neutral emotional word was assigned 1 point.

The emotional score of each emotional word can be calculated by:

where, w is the score of emotional degree; i is the score of emotional polarity

Table 3. Influencing factors on tourist satisfaction (Part)

Take “the geographical location is pretty good” for example. After word segmentation, the review became “the geographical location/n is/v pretty/adv good/adj”. The feature word is “the geographical location”. The emotional degree word “pretty” was given 3 points; the emotional polarity word “good” is positive and was thus assigned 2 points. Hence, the emotional score of this review was 6 in the dimension of site, and 0 in any other dimensions.

After adding up the scores on emotional units in each review, the scores of influencing factors on tourist satisfaction in each dimension were obtained (as shown in Table 3 above).

4.1 Descriptive analysis on model variables

Table 4. Descriptive analysis results on model variables

As shown in Table 4, the emotional expression of tourists was either positive or negative in each dimension. The strongest emotion appeared in the Service dimension, where the minimum value was -8, and the maximum value was 10, that is, the difference between positive and negative was 18. The second strongest emotion appeared in the Facility dimension, where the minimum value was -8, and the maximum value was 8, that is, the difference between positive and negative was 16. The third strongest emotion appeared in Site and Appearance dimensions, whose differences between positive and negative were both 14. Site had greater minimum and maximum values than Appearance. The higher the strength of emotion, the greater the disagreement between evaluations in the dimension.

In terms of mean satisfaction, Individuation scored the highest with 2.674 points, followed by Appearance with 2.478 points, and then Service with 2.064 points. The lowest mean satisfaction (0.523 points) belonged to Marketing. Therefore, the three aspects that best satisfy the tourists of Mount Mogan are Individual, Appearance and Service.

4.2 Effects of RHI evaluation dimensions on tourist satisfaction

Fang and Qu [34] clustered the words in homestay reviews, and extracted the evaluation indices for homestay online reputation, but failed to disclose the intrinsic law of data content. Yang et al. [35] combined domain dictionary and topic mining to analyze the sentiments of homestay reviews, and obtained the positive and negative themes contained in homestay reviews. However, their research only deals with a limited amount of data, and does not consider the semantic relationship between text words.

To overcome the defects of the above research, this paper sorts out and analyzes the online reviews of ctrip.com, summarizes the RHI features that interest consumers, and evaluates their effects on RHI satisfaction. During the analysis, tourist satisfaction was taken as the dependent variable, while site, appearance, facility, public space, service, individuation, marketing, and the number of features in reviews were taken as dependent variables that affect the tourist satisfaction. The regression results are listed in Table 5.

As shown in Table 5, the tourist satisfaction with RHIs is positively affected by dimensions like site, appearance, facility, public space, service, individuation, and marketing. Specifically, the coefficient of service dimension was 0.563 (p=0.698), with an odd ratio (OR) of 1.7559; the coefficient of individuation dimension was 0.455, with an OR of 1.5762; the coefficient of facility dimension was 0.283, with an OR of 1.3271.

The OR reflects how much each unit of growth in an independent variable affects the probability of occurrence. The above results show that service, individuation, and facility had much larger ORs than the other dimensions. This means tourist satisfaction with RHIs is most affected by service quality, followed in turn by individuation and facility, but not greatly affected by appearance and marketing. The number of features in the evaluation text had a negative effect on RHI satisfaction, that is, the more the features in the text, the poorer the tourist satisfaction, and the inverse is also true.

Table 5. Regression results

(Ps.: * p<0.1; ** p<0.05; *** p<0.01)

This paper analyzes the text of online evaluations on the RHIs around Mount Mogan from ctrip.com, and summarizes the dimensions of the RHI evaluation: site, appearance, facility, public space, service, individuation, and marketing. Compared with the previous studies [34, 35], this paper performed in-depth mining of text data, created a regression model with sentiment analysis, and discovered that service, individuation, and facility are the leading influencing factors of RHI satisfaction.

In terms of service, breakfast attracted more comments than any other service. It is also the service that most likely to cause dissatisfaction.

In terms of individuation, the personalized services (car rental, laundry, pick-up, printing, photography, etc.) and travel services (route or activity arrangements, booking of scenic spots tickets, free maps, and guide, etc.) add brilliance to homestay experience.

In terms of facility, homestay tourists attach great importance to many aspects of facility, such as the size and sound insulation of the room, the comfort of bedding, the situation of electrical equipment, etc. Good air-conditioning, WI-FI, television, and elevator are essential to creating a comfortable lodging experience. Some homestays provide amusement facilities specifically for children, making tourists very satisfied.

The research results help RHI managers or owners to obtain the highest satisfaction at the lowest cost: the managers/owners should focus on service, individuation, and facility, trying to leave a good first impression and offer an excellent lodging experience to tourists. The future research will compare more reviews on RHIs in different regions, and identify the different interests of their tourists.

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Sentiment analysis in multiple languages: Feature selection for opinion classification in web forums. ACM Transactions on Information Systems (TOIS), 26(3): 1-34. https://doi.org/10.1145/1361684.1361685 [21] Ganu, G., Kakodkar, Y., Marian, A. (2013). Improving the quality of predictions using textual information in online user reviews. Information Systems, 38(1): 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.is.2012.03.001 [22] Archak, N., Ghose, A., Ipeirotis, P.G. (2011). Deriving the pricing power of product features by mining consumer reviews. Management Science, 57(8): 1485-1509. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1110.1370 [23] Hu, M., Liu, B. (2004). Mining and summarizing customer reviews. In Proceedings of the Tenth ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, 168-177. https://doi.org/10.1145/1014052.1014073 [24] Song, B., Lee, C., Yoon, B., Park, Y. (2016). Diagnosing service quality using customer reviews: An index approach based on sentiment and gap analyses. Service Business, 10(4): 775-798. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-015-0290-1 [25] Cheng, M., Jin, X. (2019). What do Airbnb users care about? An analysis of online review comments. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 76: 58-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.04.004 [26] Ban, H.J., Choi, H., Choi, E.K., Lee, S., Kim, H.S. (2019). Investigating key attributes in experience and satisfaction of hotel customer using online review data. Sustainability, 11(23): 6570. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236570 [27] Floh, A., Koller, M., Zauner, A. (2013). Taking a deeper look at online reviews: The asymmetric effect of valence intensity on shopping behaviour. Journal of Marketing Management, 29(5-6): 646-670. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2013.776620 [28] Duan, W., Yu, Y., Cao, Q., Levy, S. (2016). Exploring the impact of social media on hotel service performance: A sentimental analysis approach. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 57(3): 282-296. https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965515620483 [29] Ganu, G., Kakodkar, Y., Marian, A. (2013). Improving the quality of predictions using textual information in online user reviews. Information Systems, 38(1): 1-15.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.is.2012.03.001 [30] Pang, B., Lee, L., Vaithyanathan, S. (2002). Thumbs up? Sentiment classification using machine learning techniques. arXiv preprint cs/0205070. [31] Vapnik, V., Vapnik, V. (1998). Statistical learning theory Wiley. New York, 1: 624. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3264-1 [32] Ali, F., Kwak, K.S., Kim, Y.G. (2016). Opinion mining based on fuzzy domain ontology and Support Vector Machine: A proposal to automate online review classification. Applied Soft Computing, 47: 235-250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2016.06.003 [33] Kim, S.M., Hovy, E. (2006). Identifying and analyzing judgment opinions. In Proceedings of the Human Language Technology Conference of the NAACL, Main Conference, pp. 200-207. https://doi.org/10.3115/1220835.1220861 [34] Fang, M., Qu, Y. (2018). Research on the concern degree of online bed & breakfast reputation evaluation based on text review. Areal Research and Development, 5: 22. [35] Yang, X., Yang, Y.F., Jiao, W. (2020). Sentiment analysis of homestay comments

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, the emerging importance of “homestays” in the indian hospitality sector.

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes

ISSN : 1755-4217

Article publication date: 12 August 2019

Issue publication date: 12 August 2019

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the potential of “homestays” and also observe the trends related to this emerging concept in India. This paper also discusses various challenges faced by the owners of homestays.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on an exploratory study that sought to collect factual data about the present scenario and the emerging trends related to homestays. A qualitative case study method was used to analyse the actual practices followed by stakeholders. This paper expresses the viewpoint of the authors on the augmented demand for homestay supported by secondary data published in several academic papers and reports published by various government departments. The author interviewed a number of homestay owners to obtain a first-hand perspective.

This paper brings to light the rising trend toward homestays, the benefits of homestay tourism from the perspective of homestay stakeholders (both tourists and owners) and the impact on economic, social and cultural life, as a result of growth in the homestay concept.

Originality/value

The current level of discussion about homestays is limited, as there are relatively few prior studies reported in the literature.

Hospitality

Kulshreshtha, S. and Kulshrestha, R. (2019), "The emerging importance of “homestays” in the Indian hospitality sector", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes , Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 458-466. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-04-2019-0024

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The pros and cons of ‘homestay’ student accommodation

When applying for student accommodation, it can be tricky to know which kind of arrangement to go for.

Homestays are often overlooked in favour of student flats or halls of residences, but they can offer a unique experience you won’t get in any other student accommodation.

Instead of living with other students, you will be living with a local family in their home. You will get a different experience to the stereotypical student living and see a different side of the city you are living in.

Homestays can be a great way to embrace the culture of your university town and diverge from typical university life, but that doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. Check out our pros and cons of living in a homestay to find out if it’s for you.

You become part of a family

Family meals and nights-in? This could be your new life. Source: Shutterstock

By living in a homestay, you can have the opportunity to be part of a family unit. They are likely to have home-cooked meals, family nights in and a supportive environment that you will be immersed in. While each family is different – and some may not be entirely open to you becoming one of their clan – it can be a reassuring thought to know you’ll have them while you are away from your own family.

Make sure to talk to talk your homestay family online and arrange some Skype calls if possible before accepting your room. By doing this, you can make sure you are clear on what living there will be like and whether you will get on.

You’ll experience local culture

Rather than merely living in your university town, you will see what life is like for the locals. From traditional food to hidden spots in the city, living with a local family will open your eyes to a world you would otherwise miss.

You may not be living in your student city forever, so it’s an excellent opportunity to make the most of your time by really getting to know the place. Not only will this help you settle into your new home, you will also be able to show your university friends all the cool stuff you know about and help them to appreciate the city as well.

Discover the hidden culture by living with the locals. Source: Unsplash/Fred Martinez

You can have a break from other students

As fun as student life is, for some, it could get slightly tiresome being around the same people all the time. By living in a homestay, you will get a break from the student mentality when you’re not on campus, which can be great when you need to focus on an assignment or just need some recharging.

Students are notorious for working hard, playing hard, so being able to seek some refuge from this crazy lifestyle can be really useful at certain times.

You’ll have to respect their boundaries

Since you will be living in someone else’s home, you’ll have to make sure you fit in with their home life. Hopefully, your principles align with their outlook and you won’t have any trouble, but coming home at three o’clock in the morning every day or leaving the kitchen in a mess may not be too well received, especially if young children or elderly family members live in the house.

This can be a good life lesson and teach you how to live alongside other people, but it’s important to remember you are a house guest and therefore should be respectful to how they run their home.

You won’t live on campus

Homestays are usually dotted about near the university, but it’s unlikely you will be living directly on campus like other student accommodation. This means you might have a slightly longer walk to get to your classes and may have to walk alone to get home.

Living off campus does have its benefits as it means you’ll have a break from university life when you’re not studying and allows you to see a different part of the city, so it comes down to your own priorities whether this is a deal-breaker or not.

You won’t get the stereotypical campus experience – but maybe that’s OK! Source: Shutterstock

They can be expensive

All student accommodation can be expensive, but because prices are set by the families themselves, the cost of homestays can massively vary. Usually, you’re only paying for one room in a house rather than an entire flat like other accommodation options and you don’t have to worry about agency fees or dodgy landlords.

However, some families may choose to increase the price for the comfortable home they provide and the caring atmosphere you will live in. Homestays will usually be cheaper the studio flats and on-campus living, but you can also be expected to help pay for toiletries and groceries which may increase your costs.

So as you can see, there are many arguments for an against homestays as a student accommodation option.

Whatever you decide, though, just remember that your living situation will serve as a key determinant of how your study abroad adventure will turn out – so think it through carefully.

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Quiz: Which university accommodation should I choose?

Student accommodation in Australia – everything you need to know

TEA, STRAWBERRIES AND STEAMBOATS AT THE CAMERON HIGHLANDS RESORT

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The Cameron Highlands is an easy 3 hour bus journey from Kuala Lumpur. Known for its beautiful rolling hills, cooler temperatures, and wonderful tea plantations, the Cameron Highlands is a wonderful change of pace from Kuala Lumpur.

When I started researching hotels to stay at during my trip, I quickly realised that the Cameron Highlands Resort was easily the best hotel option. I’m excited to share some of the things that made my stay at the Cameron Highlands Resort so memorable!

The Cameron Highlands Resort is steeped in history and fully embraces the feel of the Cameron Highlands. Built as an extension from a 1930’s cottage, the resort has a very unique colonial feel, with some of the architecture dating all the way back to 1070!

The hotel feels like you are in a very luxurious yet welcoming colonial home, complete with a shared fireplace (where you can enjoy a fire lighting ceremony if it is a special occasion), wood flooring, and beautiful white shutters.

Each of the Resort’s 56 rooms and suites perfectly captures the colonial yet comfortable feel shown in the lobby.

I stayed in a Deluxe room, which is perfect for a couple with its king sized four-poster bed, spacious seating area, and private balcony overlooking the neighbouring golf course (note all rooms have a balcony).

I was so content to make a cup of tea, which was provided in the room, and sit on the balcony reading my book. It was truly an escape from the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur , and was such a relaxing experience to simply breathe in the cool mountain air while looking at the rolling hills in the distance.

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Cameron Highlands Activities

If you want a more active experience, the Cameron Highlands Resort has you covered as well. They can help organise all sorts of tours and fun things to do around the Cameron Highlands .

Jim Thompson Mystery Trail

The Resort organises complimentary walking trail tours, where an experienced resident naturalist explains all about the plants, animals, and extensive history of the area. I did the “ Jim Thompson Mystery Trail ” on my first morning, which was a leisurely 45 minute beginner hike through the jungle with our amazing guide Madi.

During our walk Madi made sure to point out several interesting facts, including background information on Jim Thompson who the walk was named after.

Boh Tea Plantation

The next day we were treated to a half day tour with Madi. This tour explored farther from the hotel and included a visit to the Boh tea plantation .

The tea plantation is absolutely massive and includes a look into how the tea is made, from growing, to refining, to drinking. There is a great little restaurant on a balcony overlooking the tea fields, and Madi expertly showed us some of the lesser known vantage points to take some incredible pictures from!

Strawberry Farm and Temples

The rest of our day included a visit to a strawberry farm, where we were given a pair of scissors and a basket to go and pick our own strawberries. These were some of the best tasting strawberries I’ve ever had, straight from the vine!

Finally, we also visited Sam Poh Temple, which is the oldest Buddhist temple in the area. Madi was providing funny stories throughout the entire tour, making the day even more enjoyable!

And if that doesn’t fill your time in the highlands read my post 12 Things To Do In The Cameron Highlands .

The Spa At The Cameron Highlands Resort

After a long day of sightseeing, one of my favourite things to do is relax in the spa. As you would expect from a luxury hotel, the Spa Village at the Cameron Highlands Resort was one of a kind!

I was treated to a “Fresh Strawberry Escapade” experience in their Spa Village, which was truly one of the most unique spa treatments I’ve ever had.

Strawberries are extremely important in the Cameron Highlands, with countless strawberry farms and products, so this “Escapade” involved a tea and strawberry bath, a 1 hour massage, and strawberry scrub wrap which soothes inflammation and softens the skin.

Seriously, if you have never had a relaxing massage and then been covered in strawberries you need to experience it at least once in your life!

The Spa Village offers a wide range of other treatments as well. From traditional massages, to rose petal facials, to other amazing experiences offered only at the Cameron Highlands Resort (like a Chrysanthemum & Avocado Escape or a “Cameron’s Mint” treatment), the Spa Village is the perfect way to relax after a long day with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating areas to chill out.

The Cameron Highlands Resort has a good number of in-house dining options , each with its own character matching its unique location.

I started my day each morning with breakfast at the traditional Dining Room restaurant, which offered a combination of made to order dishes and a self-served buffet. The dining room overlooked the neighbouring golf course and mountains in the distance, and was the perfect setting to plan out my day.

I also had dinner one night in the Dining Room, which transforms into a smart casual restaurant with an excellent selection of colonial, western, and local foods.

Each day the culinary team would go out and get the freshest ingredients, and this attention to detail really pays off because the food was all excellent. Be sure to save room for dessert, because there were some delicious choices, and as we all know calories don’t count on vacation!

Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea is another important part of the Cameron Highlands, and the Cameron Highlands Resort organised a perfect one in their Jim Thompson Tea Room. The beautifully furnished Tea Room offers a place to sit and relax while enjoying a wide range of pastries, sandwiches, and strawberries with your cup of tea.

This experience reminded me of being back in England, and I really felt miles away from the heat and craziness of the city. A delicious lunch is also served daily in the same Tea Room, which is a perfect spot to kick back and relax while having some traditional dishes.

Steamboat Dinner

Finally, no Cameron Highlands trip is complete without a proper “Steamboat” dinner experience. Luckily you will not have to venture far to find the best Steamboat in the Cameron Highlands, because the Resort has one in their very own “Gonbei” restaurant.

For the unacquainted, a Steamboat dinner involves a pot of boiling soup with different flavors, where you cook your meat and vegetables yourself tableside.

Situated near the guest rooms in the back of the hotel, Gonbei is a half outdoor seating area which lets you fully appreciate the cool night air while eating your meal.

The manager of the restaurant was exceptionally nice, making recommendations on the best combinations of food and explaining how the process worked, from picking our boiling base to adding the right amount of meat and vegetables.

It’s difficult for me to pick my best meal at the Cameron Highlands Resort , but I would have to lean towards Gonbei because the food was not only incredible, but the entire experience was so much fun and memorable!

The Cameron Highlands Resort is the premier resort in the Cameron Highlands, and after my stay, it is easy to see why they have earned their stellar reputation. The setting and amenities are beautiful, the food is outstanding, the activities very well organised, and the customer service is always fast and friendly.

Next time you find yourself in Malaysia, make sure to take a trip to the Cameron Highlands and experience the Cameron Highlands Resort firsthand!

I hope that this article has inspired you to visit the Cameron Highlands and stay at the Cameron Highlands Resort. If you have any questions or comments please share in the comments below.

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I was welcomed as a guest at the Cameron Highlands Resort. As always all opinions are my own and reflect my genuine opinion of my stay at the resort. Please see my Disclosures for more information.

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Vanessa Rivers says

January 23, 2017 at 3:41 am

Another great post! This place loos like a must visit!

Becky van Dijk says

January 23, 2017 at 8:19 pm

Thanks Vanessa! The hotel was absolutely beautiful, and best part was I got to have a traditional afternoon tea and eat strawberries and cream every day!

[…] relatively basic with a few upscale guest houses to choose from. By far the most luxurious is the Cameron Highlands Resort which offers its guests a true English countryside feel, with a roaring fireplace, snug leather […]

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Cozy and beautiful homestay - Homely Homestay

Asia
Malaysia
Melaka State
Central Melaka District
Melaka
Melaka B&Bs / Inns
Homely Homestay

Rosa Malacca

Nice hotel and walking distance to Jonker street night market. Surrounded by nice street food and shopping mall just across. Good school tidbits like sweetened olive and button biscuits are also provided free at the hotel lobby, these are tidbits not easy to find anymore. Swimming pool is just beside the gym which is good but the pool is a bit too small. Do take note that the car park must enter opposite bay view hotel or beside the hospital, in case you want to want there.

The Majestic Malacca

Casa del Rio Melaka

Hatten Hotel Melaka

Hotel Puri Melaka

Baba House Melaka

Ibis Melaka

Imperial Heritage Hotel Melaka Boutique & Gourmet Hotel

Swiss-Garden Hotel Melaka

My colleages and myself enjoy ourselves very much in this beautiful home. The house was clean, tidy and well furnished. The surrounding of the house was safe too~ However it will be more convenient if you drive. We had a good time in this homestay. Our host is extremely nice and friendly, going the extra miles to host our big group over the weekend even on the wee hours on Friday night. The house even comes with free Wifi for up to 10 people :) We highly recommend for big groups (Family, Friends, Colleagues).

Cleanliness

Visited melaka last week with 8 colleagues. What's good: Reasonable rental. Clean and tidy place. Helpful and friendly host. Big hall for us to play card game. I like the frigde the most, with full of drink and beer(the price even cheaper then i buy from market) Very near to town and tourist spot. One of the room is connected with roof is very good for smoker like me :) Whats bad: We come with three car but parking is only enough for two. Cannot too noisy after 12am due to residential area. The wifi very slow. Overall is good. Highly recommended for budget and nice place :)

We were a group of 12 adults and 2 kids , stayed here for 2 nights. We made the booking online after lots of questions for Chun Wei. When we arrived at the house, Chun Wei and his family members were waiting for us to give us a warm welcome. Very nice people indeed! The house was big, spacious, modern and well furnished. We were amazed when we step into the house. All four rooms are beautifully decorated and equipping with comfortable queen size bed and brand new air-cond. My children love it a lot. Besides that, the house also furnished with TV Astro, wifi, fridge, towel, shampoo which we never expected all these to be supplied. Thank you ChunWei and family for making our vacation so hospitable and I highly recommend this place to anyone travelling to Malacca!

Sleep Quality

I stayed at Homely Homestay with my family for 3 days 2 nights on last weekend. The location is great and the house clean and spacious. It is as described on the website. The owner Tommy and his son Chun Wei were such awesome hosts. Their friendliness makes us feel at home. Tommy personally guided us around the tourist spots nearby. Overall, we had a wonderful stay thanks to the hospitality and lovely people. We would love to visit again and would highly recommend this place to my other family members as well friends! Grace & family

This is my 1st experience for homestay. House is clean and spacious, old house that been refurbished. Each room with air con except hall. Ujong pasir area is windy but near to afternoon the wind that blows in are pretty warm, should consider install air con in hall for guests comfort. It's time to service air con in master room as well. No cabinet at all and i was lost finding ways to keep the clothes organised. Beds and doors are creaking. Clean white towels and shower gels are provided. Limited power points in the hall. Short range Wi-Fi, ipad cant detect the connection upstairs. No mosquitoes but ants at the kitchen area. 1 big bottle mineral water (I think 5L) for your usage, with some glasses and cups and 2 tea spoon. no bowl or plate provided. No chill drinks as the owner just on the fridge when we reached. When we were to leave the house the owner came and did a check. He could not find 2 towels initially and face turned "black". May be he has faced same challenge before but guess professional should be the way. Luckily the wife helped him to find the towels, big thank you to the wife so that we can 'clean' our name of being thieves ! It's a place suitable for youngster for gathering with low cost. it's a good place for big family reunion too but there are rooms for improvement.

Is Homestay.com legit? A Honest Review [2024]

Looking for an affordable home-sharing and hosting service but tired of Airbnb and Vrbo? Homestay is a long-term accommodation option for both students and travelers with friendlier hosts and better prices. Are they legit, and are they worth it? Find out now.

One of the most important aspects to nail down is your accommodation when you're traveling. There are so many different options out there. Still, it ultimately boils down to what you're looking for: a hotel, your own studio, or even a homestay in someone's house.

We've reviewed some alternatives to Airbnb , but what if you want to stay with someone local while traveling? That's where Homestay comes into the picture. Curious if this might be perfect for your next trip? Read on for all you need to know!

What is Homestay?

Founded in 2013, Homestay is an online booking service that allows travelers to book a room in someone's house so they can stay with a local host while traveling. In turn, the site will enable homeowners to rent out spare rooms, and the site allows for both short and long-term accommodation.

Homestay's goal is also for their rentals to be "wallet-friendly," so travelers of all budgets can partake in their accommodation model. Homestay hosts can list their rooms for travel, students, or even professionals, making the concept available to more than just those visiting for a short time.

Not to be confused with Homeaway, now popularly known as Vrbo , Homestay provides the service for travelers to stay with locals while Vrbo provides vacation rentals services.

Homestay accommodation

While in general, Homestays are designed for you to stay in someone's home, that doesn't mean that you can't seek out a host who has similar interests to you or caters to your travel style.

Using Homestay's Inspire Me page, you can browse and filter hosts speaking specific languages, living in certain homes, or having similar hobbies to you. This fun feature allows you to personalize your experience a little and make a good match with a potential host.

To speak with hosts or make a booking, you will have to account with Homestay. You'll need to provide your first and last name, as well as an email address and password to get started. You can also choose to log in with Facebook or Google.

To make a booking, you also must be over 18 years of age.

room sharing and experiences with Homestay.

Homestay locations

Homestay has rooms available all over the world.

Using their search function, you can browse through all the hosts and rooms available in your target destination and then reach out to the hosts to see who fits best with your plans.

Top destinations currently include: London, Edinburgh, Sydney, Rome, Boston, New York, and Vancouver, to name a few! They claim to have over 63,000 rooms in over 176 countries, so there are many locations.

Search for a location with Homestay.com.

Unlike Airbnb, Homestay hosts are expected to welcome and greet their guests, and they are also likely to advertise the kind of host they are on their profile. Hosts can specify the following: if they live in the house full time, if they're friendly/resourceful, and any other host services they provide (including meals, tours, etc.). Homestay hosts can only rent out a room in their house, not the whole house.

When you find a homestay that interests you, you can click on the host to read more about their rules and home. You'll also be able to read reviews of other travelers to help you decide if that Homestay is a good fit for you.

How much does Homestay cost?

Nightly rates for staying in Homestay properties will vary based on where you want to travel and when you're looking to stay there. That being said, Homestay does boast that their average price per night globally is $38.

Looking at payments, Homestay does have a nice feature where you can pay upon arrival. This means that when budgeting for your travels, you can push that payment date to when you arrive, rather than having to bundle it into your pre-departure expenditures.

Homestay's website allows you to search through Homestay options in your local currency. However, be sure to check the host's profile to see if they require payment in the local currency of the country you're visiting.

Homestay students

Homestay also markets itself as an option for students studying abroad or those who need to rent a place to stay Monday-Friday while attending online school away from home.

They can also be used as an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in the local language, especially if you're using a study abroad experience to work on a second language. If you're curious about what staying in a Homestay might be like as a student, check out Homestay's blog !

Contact information

As with any accommodation booking, it's never a bad idea to have contact information if you have any questions or run into any issues. Most of Homestay's departments can be reached via email, and you can find the various department contact information here . You can also head to their FAQ page for commonly asked questions!

Is Homestay worth it?

While there are tons of other vacation rental sites out there, Homestay is one that we can confidently say stands out. They aim to provide guests with a better and friendlier experience through affordable prices, sociable hosts, and accommodation varieties.

While they have their limitations, we recommend you give Homestay a try if you're looking for an Airbnb alternative with better prices! Their services are free so it doesn't hurt to look through what they have to offer.

Our review: 4.0/5

Short and long-term accommodation.
Pay upon arrival feature.
Host reviews.
Inspire Me search page.
Not helpful with the booking process.
Email-only customer support.
No map search function, only targeted search location.
Hosts may misrepresent their properties.

Homestay alternatives

While Homestay can be a fun way to plan your accommodation, it's not the only option! If you don't think Homestay's the exemplary booking service for you, check out all the other best vacation rental sites to use for some more inspiration!

Plan your next trip with Pilot

As you plan your next travel adventures, make sure you check out Pilot.

Disclosure : Pilot is supported by our community. We may earn a small commission fee with affiliate links on our website. All reviews and recommendations are independent and do not reflect the official view of Pilot.

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Living with a Homestay

5 Pages 1148 Words March 2015

Choosing the type of accommodation which suits students’ purposes and goals is a vitally important decision that can affect their lives. It is the kind of decision that international students must make before they even board the plane going to their targeted countries. Many international students, whose parents are usually worried about the new life in the country in which their children want to study, consider it a nightmare and suffer from not knowing which kind of accommodation would be the right choice and whether or not they would be satisfied with it. Most of those students are too young to make such a decision. Therefore, their parents, in most cases, would work hard and ask lots of questions before they decide where their sons or daughters will live. The majority of students usually spend about one year to learn English before they are involved into their masters’ or bachelors’ studies. Many universities in the United States offer diverse types of accommodation for students to help them and their parents to have many options so that the students can live in a good studying atmosphere. One of the most important options is living with a homestay. For many students, living with a homestay is not a preferred option because students usually look for independence and freedom, and they think they will be forced to behave and live in a way that suits their host family rather than living freely and having their own choices and decisions. Living with a homestay, however, is the perfect arrangement among all kinds of accommodations for students. It provides rich cultural learning opportunities, helps students to perfect their English skills, and can save a student from bad company and behaviors. The Meaning of the Word “Homestay” There are several programs that universities offer for international students that match them with local families. Some have a similar concept to homestay. The phrase “host family”, for instance, s...

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how long is phd in clinical psychology

Get your ph.d. in clinical psychology – everything you need to know in 2024.

What’s in this guide, at a glance, why get a phd in clinical psychology, entry requirements for a clinical psychology phd program, what’s covered in a clinical psychology phd program, how much does a phd in clinical psychology cost, program funding and financial support, program duration and flexibility, location and access to clinical populations, program curriculum and specializations, internship placement and post-graduation outcomes, what jobs can you do with a phd in clinical psychology, how much can you earn with a phd in clinical psychology.

By PsychologyJobs.com Staff Writer

A PhD in clinical psychology is an advanced academic degree that delves into the scientific study, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders and behavioral conditions. This rigorous program is designed to prepare graduates for careers in research, teaching, and direct clinical practice. Through the blend of coursework, research, and hands-on clinical training, students are equipped with comprehensive knowledge and skills necessary to become leaders in the field of psychology.

Typically, a PhD in clinical psychology takes between 4 to 7 years to complete, with the variation in duration often depending on the specific requirements of the program, the nature of the student’s research, and the requisite clinical training hours. Most programs include a combination of classroom-based learning, research projects culminating in a dissertation, and applied clinical experience through internships or practicums .

The curriculum for a PhD in clinical psychology encompasses a wide range of topics. Core areas of study usually include foundations of clinical psychology, research methods, psychopathology, psychological assessment, and various psychotherapy and counseling techniques. Additionally, students often delve into specialized subjects such as neuropsychology , forensic psychology , child psychology and health psychology. This comprehensive training ensures that graduates are well-prepared to address diverse psychological needs across different populations and settings.

There are a multitude of reasons why students pursue a PhD in clinical psychology, here are a few key reasons to consider it:

Demand for Clinical Psychologists

The demand for clinical psychologists has been steadily rising, reflecting the growing awareness and acceptance of mental health services in the general population. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (as of 2019), the employment of psychologists is projected to grow 14% from 2018 to 2028, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. This growth is attributed to the greater demand for psychological services in schools, hospitals, mental health centers, and social service agencies. With a PhD in clinical psychology, individuals are well-equipped to meet this increasing demand, providing essential services and contributing to the overall well-being of the community.

Opportunity for Specialization and Higher Earnings

Pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology opens doors to various specializations, such as neuropsychology, child psychology, or forensic psychology. Specialized psychologists often have the potential for higher earnings compared to their generalist counterparts. For instance, according to a 2019 salary survey by the American Psychological Association (APA), doctoral-level clinical psychologists with a specialization (like neuropsychologists) reported median salaries that were approximately 40% higher than those without a specialization. A PhD program allows for deep dives into specific areas of interest, enhancing expertise and potentially boosting earning potential.

Leadership Opportunities and Policy Influence

One of the often-overlooked advantages of a PhD in clinical psychology is the doors it opens to leadership roles within organizations and the potential to influence public policy. The intensive training and deep expertise gained from such a doctoral program position graduates as thought leaders in the field of mental health. According to the American Psychological Association, psychologists with doctoral degrees often find themselves in positions where they can shape policy, both within healthcare institutions and at regional or national levels. Their informed perspectives are invaluable in advisory roles, committees, or when collaborating with governments to create mental health programs, ensuring that psychological services are both effective and accessible. A PhD not only amplifies their voice but also underscores the weight of their expertise in these pivotal roles.

Bachelor’s Degree : Typically in psychology or a related field, though some programs may accept applicants from other disciplines if they’ve completed prerequisite courses.
Master’s Degree : Some programs prefer or require a master’s degree in psychology or a related field, while others will accept students directly from a bachelor’s program .
Grade Point Average (GPA) : Many programs have a minimum GPA requirement of 3.0.
Letters of Recommendation : Typically from professors, researchers, or professionals familiar with the applicant’s academic and/or clinical work.
Background Check : Given the nature of clinical work, some programs might require a background check before final admission.

A PhD in clinical psychology is designed to train students in both the science and practice of psychology. The curriculum typically covers a wide array of topics to ensure that graduates are well-rounded and competent researchers, educators, and clinicians. Here’s an overview of the subjects often covered:

Foundations of Clinical Psychology : This introduces students to the history, theories, and key concepts of the field.
Research Methods and Statistics : Comprehensive training in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, along with advanced statistical techniques, ensuring students can design and analyze research effectively.
Psychopathology : Study of various psychological disorders, understanding their origins, classifications, and manifestations across the lifespan.
Psychological Assessment : Techniques and tools used for clinical assessments, including intelligence testing, personality assessment, and neuropsychological testing.
Psychotherapy and Intervention : Training in therapeutic modalities and techniques, from cognitive-behavioral therapy to psychodynamic approaches, ensuring students can provide evidence-based treatments.
Professional Ethics and Issues : Examination of the ethical guidelines and professional standards in the practice of clinical psychology.
Biological Bases of Behavior : Understanding the neurobiological and physiological processes underpinning behavior, emotion, and cognition.
Cognitive and Affective Bases of Behavior : Exploring how cognitive processes and emotions shape human behavior.
Social Bases of Behavior : Understanding social interactions, group dynamics, and broader societal and cultural factors that influence psychology.
Human Development : Insights into psychological development from infancy to old age.
Diversity and Multicultural Psychology : Training to ensure culturally competent care, addressing the unique psychological needs of diverse populations.

Here’s a sample curriculum for a PhD program in clinical psychology:

Introduction to Clinical Psychology
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Theory and Practice
Research Methods in Psychology I
Psychological Statistics I
Clinical Practicum I
Psychopathology I
Psychological Assessment I: Cognitive and Intellectual Assessment
Research Methods in Psychology II
Psychological Statistics II
Clinical Practicum II

Second Year

Psychopathology II
Psychological Assessment II: Personality Assessment
Human Development Across the Lifespan
Biological Bases of Behavior
Clinical Practicum III
Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Therapies
Cognitive and Affective Bases of Behavior
Advanced Quantitative Methods
Professional Ethics in Clinical Psychology
Clinical Practicum IV
Neuropsychological Assessment
Multicultural Psychology and Diversity Issues in Treatment
Social Bases of Behavior
Health Psychology
Clinical Practicum V
Forensic Psychology
Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy
Advanced Clinical Seminar (e.g., trauma therapy or substance abuse treatment)
Supervision and Consultation in Clinical Practice
Clinical Practicum VI

Fourth Year

Family and Couples Therapy
Advanced Research Seminar I
Clinical Psychopharmacology (for some programs)
Elective Course (e.g., School Psychology, Military Psychology, etc.)
Dissertation Proposal Development
Advanced Research Seminar II
Group Psychotherapy
Elective Course (e.g., Geriatric Psychology, Positive Psychology, etc.)
Dissertation Research
Predoctoral Internship (typically a full-year, full-time commitment)
Dissertation Completion and Defense

The cost of pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology varies significantly based on the type of institution and residency status.

Generally, private universities tend to have higher tuition rates, ranging from $30,000 to $60,000 per year. Public universities, on the other hand, offer different rates for in-state and out-of-state residents; in-state tuition can range between $10,000 to $30,000 per year, while out-of-state students might pay between $25,000 to $50,000 annually. These figures don’t account for other costs like fees, books, and living expenses.

It’s worth noting that many Clinical Psychology PhD programs provide financial support, often in the form of fellowships, research, or teaching assistantships, which can cover tuition and offer stipends.

What to look for in a PhD program

It can be overwhelming with so many PhD programs out there and so many factors to consider. Choosing a program in clinical psychology is a significant decision that will impact the trajectory of your career. Here are a few key ways to compare programs/institutions:

Fully funded programs, which include tuition waivers and stipends, can drastically reduce student debt and allow students to focus on their studies.The National Science Foundation’s Survey of Earned Doctorates found that over 75% of research doctorate recipients in psychology reported no education-related debt, largely due to funding availability in their programs.

The length of a program and its ability to accommodate part-time students or offer flexible schedules can be vital, especially for those balancing work, family, or other commitments.

According to the APA, the median time to complete a doctorate in psychology has been around 7 years. However, some programs, especially those designed for working professionals, might offer accelerated tracks or part-time options, which can affect this duration.

Being in a location that provides access to diverse clinical populations or specific groups that align with a student’s research interests can be invaluable for hands-on training and research.

A report from the APA emphasized the importance of diversity in clinical training. Programs located in urban settings or areas with diverse communities can offer broader exposure and experience in multicultural clinical practice, which is essential for a comprehensive education in clinical psychology.

The curriculum and available specializations should align with a student’s career and research interests.

In a survey by the APA, PhD recipients emphasized the importance of finding a program that matched their specific interests, as this played a crucial role in their eventual job satisfaction and career trajectory.

High-quality internship placements and positive post-graduation outcomes can significantly influence a graduate’s early career.

The Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) provides data on internship match rates. Programs with high match rates to APA-accredited internships often signal strong training and preparation.

Licensed Clinical Psychologist : This is perhaps the most direct application of the degree. Clinical psychologists assess, diagnose, and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. They might work with specific populations, such as children, the elderly, or individuals with severe mental illness.
Licensed professional counselor : an LPC is a mental health professional trained to provide therapy and counseling services to individuals, couples, and groups for a variety of emotional and psychological challenges.
Mental Health Counselor : provide counseling and therapy services to individuals and groups with mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, and trauma.
School Psychologist : work in K-12 schools to provide counseling and support services to students, including academic guidance, behavioral interventions, and emotional support.
Professor : A PhD graduate can work in academia, conducting research on various psychological topics and teaching undergraduate and graduate students.
Forensic Psychologist : Working at the intersection of psychology and the legal system, forensic psychologists might assess defendants’ competency, provide expert testimony, or evaluate the risk of reoffending. Although you might instead consider a PhD in forensic psychology .
Neuropsychologist: diagnose and treat cognitive and behavioral disorders related to brain function, such as traumatic brain injury and dementia.
Health Psychologist : Focusing on how psychological factors affect health and illness, these professionals might work in hospitals, clinics, or public health settings to improve patient outcomes.
Director of Clinical Services : Those with a blend of clinical expertise and administrative skills might oversee clinical services at hospitals, clinics, or mental health centers
Research Psychologist : conduct research on a variety of topics related to human behavior and mental health, including developmental psychology, social psychology, and cognitive psychology.
Industrial-Organizational Psychologist : work with organizations to improve productivity and employee well-being through programs such as employee selection, training, and development.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist : $91,677
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) : $65,000
Mental Health Counselor : $60,000
School Psychologist : $90,000
Professor (Psychology) : $80,370
Forensic Psychologist : $101,000
Neuropsychologist : $79,820
Health Psychologist: $100,000
Director of Clinical Services: $120,000
Research Psychologist : $79,000
Industrial-Organizational Psychologist : $112,690
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Getting a Ph.D. in Psychology

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

Verywell / Evan Polenghi

Ph.D. vs. Psy.D.

Job opportunities, earning a degree, specialty areas, alternatives.

Getting a Ph.D. in psychology can open up a whole new world of career opportunities. For many careers paths in psychology-related career paths, a doctoral degree is necessary to obtain work and certification. A Ph.D. is one option, but it is not the only educational path that's available to reach some of these goals.

A Ph.D., or doctor of philosophy, is one of the highest level degrees you can earn in the field of psychology . If you're considering pursuing a graduate degree, you might be wondering how long it takes to earn a Ph.D. in psychology . Generally, a bachelor's degree takes four years of study. While a master's degree requires an additional two to three years of study beyond the bachelor's, a doctoral degree can take between four to six years of additional graduate study after earning your bachelor's degree.

Recently, a new degree option known as the Psy.D. , or doctor of psychology, has grown in popularity as an alternative to the Ph.D. The type of degree you decide to pursue depends on a variety of factors, including your own interests and your career aspirations.

Before deciding which is right for you, research your options and decide if graduate school in psychology is even the best choice for you. Depending on your career goals, you might need to earn a master's or doctoral degree in psychology in order to practice in your chosen field. In other instances, a degree in a similar subject such as counseling or social work may be more appropriate.

A doctorate in psychology is required if you want to open your own private practice.

If you want to become a licensed psychologist, you must earn either a Ph.D. or a Psy.D. in clinical or counseling psychology.

In most cases, you will also need a doctorate if you want to teach and conduct research at the college or university level. While there are some opportunities available for people with a master's degree in various specialty fields, such as industrial-organizational psychology and health psychology , those with a doctorate will generally find higher pay, greater job demand, and more opportunity for growth.

In order to earn a Ph.D. in psychology, you need to first begin by earning your bachelor's degree. While earning your undergraduate degree in psychology can be helpful, students with bachelor's degrees in other subjects can also apply their knowledge to psychology Ph.D. programs . Some students in doctorate programs may have a master's degree in psychology , but most doctorate programs do not require it.

After you’ve been admitted to a graduate program, it generally takes at least four years to earn a Ph.D. and another year to complete an internship. Once these requirements have been fulfilled, you can take state and national exams to become licensed to practice psychology in the state where you wish to work.

Once you enter the graduate level of psychology, you will need to choose an area of specialization, such as clinical psychology , counseling psychology, health psychology, or cognitive psychology . The American Psychological Association (APA) accredits graduate programs in three areas: clinical, counseling, and school psychology. If you are interested in going into one of these specialty areas, it's important to choose a school that has received accreditation through the APA.

For many students, the choice may come down to a clinical psychology program versus a counseling psychology program. There are many similarities between these two Ph.D. options, but there are important distinctions that students should consider. Clinical programs may have more of a research focus while counseling programs tend to focus more on professional practice. The path you choose will depend largely on what you plan to do after you complete your degree.

Of course, the Ph.D. in psychology is not the only graduate degree option. The Psy.D. is a doctorate degree option that you might also want to consider. While there are many similarities between these two degrees, traditional Ph.D. programs tend to be more research-oriented while Psy.D. programs are often more practice-oriented.

The Ph.D. option may be your top choice if you want to mix professional practice with teaching and research, while the Psy.D. option may be preferred if you want to open your own private psychology practice.

In the book "An Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology," authors John C. Norcross and Michael A. Sayette suggest that one of the key differences between the two-degree options is that the Ph.D. programs train producers of research while Psy.D. programs train consumers of research. However, professional opportunities for practice are very similar with both degree types.

Research suggests that there are few discernible differences in terms of professional recognition, employment opportunities, or clinical skills between students trained in the Ph.D. or Psy.D. models. One of the few differences is that those with a Ph.D. degree are far more likely to be employed in academic settings and medical schools.

Social work, counseling, education, and the health sciences are other graduate options that you may want to consider if you decide that a doctorate degree is not the best fit for your interests and career goals.

A Word From Verywell

If you are considering a Ph.D. in psychology, spend some time carefully researching your options and thinking about your future goals. A doctoral degree is a major commitment of time, resources, and effort, so it is worth it to take time to consider the right option for your goals. The Ph.D. in psychology can be a great choice if you are interested in being a scientist-practitioner in the field and want to combine doing research with professional practice. It's also great training if you're interested in working at a university where you would teach classes and conduct research on psychological topics.

University of Pennsylvania; School of Arts and Sciences. Information for applicants .

American Psychological Association. Doctoral degrees in psychology: How are they different, or not so different?

U.S. Department of Labor. Psychologists . Occupational Outlook Handbook .

Norcross JC, Sayette MA. An Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology (2020/2021 ed.) . New York, NY: The Guilford Press; 2020.

Davis SF, Giordano PJ, Licht CA. Your Career in Psychology: Putting Your Graduate Degree to Work . John Wiley & Sons; 2012. doi:10.1002/9781444315929

US Department of Education. Bachelor's, master's, and doctor's degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by sex of student and discipline division: 2016-17 .

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Clinical Psychology PhD

Ph.d. in clinical psychology.

Welcome to the doctoral program in Clinical Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. The Clinical Psychology Program was founded in 1947-1948. It was APA-accredited in the first group of programs that were reviewed for accreditation in 1948 and that status has been uninterrupted. Our most recent site visit from the APA occurred in 2021, and we have been accredited until June 2031.

Our program operates according to a scientist-practitioner model. We are, thus, dedicated to training students to generate empirically-based knowledge in clinical psychology and to perform clinical work that is constantly informed by traditional and emerging scholarship in the field. We expect our students to learn to expertly produce, analyze, and discuss scientific material. We also expect our students to become proficient at providing clinical services to a diverse population. And, most importantly, we expect our students to learn to integrate these two goals. As our mission statement in the TC catalog notes, “The driving goal of our Clinical Psychology Program is to provide rigorous training in both contemporary clinical science and clinical assessment and intervention.”

A good deal of the training, especially that related to research, occurs through intensive participation in a research lab directed by a specific faculty mentor. It is this context, through this lab, that students develop their scientific skills and begin presenting their work at professional conferences and publishing in professional journals. Each student, of course, is also part of a cohort of doctoral students with whom they learn, collaborate, and socialize.

In recent years, graduates of our doctoral program have gained employment in tenure-track academic positions, as research scientists in medical schools, and as clinical researchers in a broad range of treatment settings. In addition, many of our graduates practice independently as well as in community settings for under-served populations.

The list of faculty reviewing and potentially accepting applicants for each cycle is listed on the application itself. Please check the application itself or email the admissions office at

[email protected] for clarification.

Doug Mennin, Ph.D.

Professor, Director of Clinical Training

Research Centers

Dean Hope Center for Educational and Psychological Services

The Dean Hope Center for Educational and Psychological Services (DHCEPS) is an integral part of the teaching and training programs in Clinical, Counseling, School Psychology, Learning Disability and Reading Specialist. The Center works in a two-folded way; first it offers students the opportunity to integrate theoretical coursework with practicum experience within a multidisciplinary setting. This training is foreseen by highly qualified supervisors. Simultaneously, the DHCEPS offers affordable psychological and educational services to individuals, couples, and families residing in the nearby neighborhood of the New York City area. The emphasis is on respecting and working with clients from diverse, multicultural contexts regardless of age, racial and ethnic background, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and religious or cultural affiliations. Additionally, DHCEPS is committed to maintaining a liaison with community-based agencies and organizations such as schools, hospitals, and mental health clinics, among others.

Teachers College Resilience Center for Veterans and Families

The Resilience Center for Veterans & Families pairs groundbreaking research on human emotional resilience with clinical training of therapists to assist veterans and their families as they transition back to civilian life.

Dean Hope Center for Psychological Services

The Dean Hope Center for Educational and Psychological Services (DHCEPS) is an integral part of the teaching and training programs in Clinical, Counseling, School Psychology, Learning Disability and Reading Specialist. The Center works in a two-folded way; first it offers students the opportunity to integrate theoretical coursework with practicum experience within a multidisciplinary setting. This training is foreseen by highly qualified supervisors. Simultaneously, the DHCEPS offers affordable psychological and educational services to individuals, couples, and families residing in the nearby neighborhood of the New York City area. The emphasis is on respecting and working with clients from diverse, multicultural contexts regardless of age, racial and ethnic background, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and religious or cultural affiliations. DHCEPS also commits to maintaining a liaison with community-based agencies and organizations such as schools, hospitals and mental health clinics.

A student is engaged in conversation with one her peers at a study group at Teachers College.

Admissions Information

Displaying requirements for the Spring 2024, Summer 2024, and Fall 2024 terms.

Doctor of Philosophy

Points/Credits: 95
Entry Terms: Fall Only

Application Deadlines

Spring: N/A
Summer/Fall (Priority): December 1
Summer/Fall (Final): December 1

Supplemental Application Requirements/Comments

Online Degree Application , including Statement of Purpose and Resume
Transcripts and/or Course-by-Course Evaluations for all Undergraduate/Graduate Coursework Completed
Results from an accepted English Proficiency Exam (if applicable)
$75 Application Fee
Two (2) Letters of Recommendation
GRE General Test

Requirements from the TC Catalog (AY 2023-2024)

Displaying catalog information for the Fall 2023, Spring 2024 and Summer 2024 terms.

View Full Catalog Listing

The Program requires the following:

The completion of 95 points of academic credit during three to four years of residence at the College.

A full-time, twelve-month clinical internship during the fourth or fifth year of study.

An original piece of empirical research, which also serves as a qualifying paper, to be completed during the second year of study.

A passing grade on the certification examination (on Research Methods) during the third year of study.

A Clinical case presentation as well as a research presentation, during the third year, each demonstrating the student’s ability to integrate theory, research, and practice.

A doctoral dissertation, which must be completed no later than the seventh year after matriculation.

During the first year of study, in addition to participating in a research lab, doctoral students typically take the following didactic courses: Ethical and professional issues in clinical psychology (CCPX 5030); Psychological measurement (HUDM 5059); courses on statistics and modeling; Research methods in social psychology (ORLJ 5040); Child psychopathology (CCPX 5034); Adult psychopathology (CCPX 5032); History and systems of psychology (CCPX 6020); and Dynamic psychotherapies (CCPX 5037). Students also take two semesters of psychological testing and diagnostic assessment (CCPX 5330, CCPX 5333) and a course in clinical interviewing (CCPX 5539).

During their second year, students’ didactic courses include Brain and behavior (BBS 5068, 5069); Cognition, emotion, and culture (CCPX 5020); Psychotherapy with children (CCPX 5531); Cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal therapies (CCPX 5038); Clinical work with diverse populations (CCPX 5036); and Seminar on life course development (HUDK 6520). In addition, students sign up for a full year of research practicum with a faculty member (culminating in an empirical second- year project), a full-year adult psychodynamic psychotherapy practicum (CCPX 6335), and an additional elective full-year clinical rotation (e.g., on child and adolescent psychotherapy; on neuropsychological assessment).

Third-year didactic courses include Group dynamics: A systems perspective (ORL 5362); and Dissertation seminar (CCPX 7500). There is also a full-year advanced psychodynamic clinical practicum (CCPX 6336) and a one-semester supervision and consultation practicum (CCPX 6333). Most students also elect a full-year family therapy practicum (CCPJ 6363).

Fourth and Fifth Year

The fourth year is typically focused on clinical externship (CCPX 5230) and extensive work on the dissertation. A full-year fourth year psychotherapy practicum (CCPX 6338) is recommended, though not required. Year five is usually spent on a full- year clinical internship (CCPX 6430).

The program allows only 12 points of graduate work from another institution to be transferred. No transfer credits are awarded for practica, workshops, or independent study.

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Teachers College, Columbia University 328 Horace Mann

Contact Person: Rebecca Shulevitz

Phone: (212) 678-3267 Fax: (212) 678-8235

Email: shulevitz@tc.columbia.edu

Clinical Psychology

Mission statement.

Our mission is to advance knowledge that promotes psychological well-being and reduces the burden of mental illness and problems in living and to develop leading clinical scientists whose skills and knowledge will have a substantial impact on the field of psychology and the lives of those in need. Our faculty and graduate students promote critical thinking, innovation, and discovery, and strive to be leaders in their field, engaging in and influencing research, practice, policy, and education. Our pursuit of these goals is guided by the values of collaboration, mutual respect, and fairness, our commitment to diversity, and the highest ethical standards.

Information about the Clinical Psychology Graduate Major

UCLA’s Clinical Psychology program is one of the largest, most selective, and most highly regarded in the country and aims to produce future faculty, researchers, and leaders in clinical science, who influence research, policy development, and practice. Clinical science is a field of psychology that strives to generate and disseminate the best possible knowledge, whether basic or applied, to reduce suffering and to advance public health and wellness. Rather than viewing research and intervention as separable, clinical science construes these activities as part of a single, broad domain of expertise and action. Students in the program are immersed in an empirical, research-based approach to clinical training. This, in turn, informs their research endeavors with a strong understanding of associated psychological phenomena. The UCLA Clinical Science Training Programs employs rigorous methods and theories from multiple perspectives, in the context of human diversity. Our goal is to develop the next generation of clinical scientists who will advance and share knowledge related to the origins, development, assessment, treatment, and prevention of mental health problems.

Admissions decisions are based on applicants’ research interests and experiences, formal coursework in psychology and associated fields, academic performance, letters of recommendation, dedication to and suitability for a career as a clinical scientist, program fit, and contributions to an intellectually rich, diverse class. Once admitted, students engage with faculty in research activities addressing critical issues that impact psychological well-being and the burden of mental illness, using a wide range of approaches and at varying levels of analysis. Their integrated training is facilitated by on-campus resources including the departmental Psychology Clinic, the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and the David Geffen School of Medicine.

Our program philosophy is embodied in, and our goals are achieved through, a series of training activities that prepare students for increasingly complex, demanding, and independent roles as clinical scientists. These training activities expose students to the reciprocal relationship between scientific research and provision of clinical services, and to various systems and methods of intervention, assessment, and other clinical services with demographically and clinically diverse populations. The curriculum is designed to produce scientifically-minded scholars who are well-trained in research and practice, who use data to develop and refine the knowledge base in their field, and who bring a reasoned empirical perspective to positions of leadership in research and service delivery.

The program’s individualized supervision of each student in integrated research and practice roles provides considerable flexibility. Within the parameters set by faculty interests and practicum resources, there are specializations in child psychopathology and treatment, cognitive-behavior therapy, clinical assessment, adult psychopathology and treatment, family processes, assessment and intervention with distressed couples, community psychology, stress and coping, cognitive and affective neuroscience, minority mental health, and health psychology and behavioral medicine. The faculty and other research resources of the Department make possible an intensive concentration in particular areas of clinical psychology, while at the same time ensuring breadth of training.

Clinical psychology at UCLA is a six-year program including a full-time one-year internship, at least four years of which must be completed in residence at UCLA. The curriculum in clinical psychology is based on a twelve-month academic year. The program includes a mixture of coursework, clinical practicum training, teaching, and continuous involvement in research. Many of the twenty clinical area faculty, along with numerous clinical psychologists from other campus departments, community clinics, and hospitals settings, contribute to clinical supervision. Clinical training experiences typically include four and a half years of part-time practicum placements in the Psychology Clinic and local agencies. The required one-year full-time internship is undertaken after the student has passed the clinical qualifying examinations and the dissertation preliminary orals. The student receives the Ph.D. degree when both the dissertation and an approved internship are completed.

Accreditation

PCSAS – Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System

The Graduate Program in Clinical Psychology at UCLA was accredited in 2012 by the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS). PCSAS was created to promote science-centered education and training in clinical psychology, to increase the quality and quantity of clinical scientists contributing to the advancement of public health, and to enhance the scientific knowledge base for mental and behavioral health care. The UCLA program is deeply committed to these goals and proud to be a member of the PCSAS Founder’s Circle and one of the group of programs accredited by PCSAS. (Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System, 1800 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 402, Washington, DC 20036-1218. Telephone: 301-455-8046). Website: https://www.pcsas.org

APA CoA – American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation

The Graduate Program in Clinical Psychology at UCLA has been accredited by the American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation since 1949. (Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street NE. Washington, DC 20002-4242. Telephone: 202-336-5979 .) Website: http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/

Future Accreditation Plans:

Against the backdrop of distressing evidence that mental health problems are increasingly prevalent and burdensome, the field of psychological clinical science must think innovatively to address the unmet mental health needs of vulnerable populations. UCLA’s clinical psychology program remains committed to training clinical psychological scientists who will become leaders in research, dissemination, and implementation of knowledge, policy development, and evidence-based clinical practice. This commitment is firmly rooted in our overall mission of promoting equity and inclusion, adhering to ethical standards, and developing collaborations in all aspects of clinical psychology.

Increasingly, we believe that significant aspects of the academic and clinical-service requirements of accreditation by the American Psychological Association (APA) obstruct our training mission. Too often, APA requirements limit our ability to flexibly adapt our program to evolving scientific evidence, student needs, and global trends in mental health. Like many other top clinical science doctoral programs, we see our longstanding accreditation by the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS) as better aligned with our core values, including advancement of scientifically-based training.

Accordingly, we are unlikely to seek renewal of our program’s accreditation by APA, which is set to expire in 2028. The ultimate decision about re-accreditation will be made with the best interests and well-being of current and future students in our program in mind. To that end, we will continue to monitor important criteria that will determine the career prospects of students completing a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from programs accredited only by PCSAS. For example, we are working to understand the potential implications for securing excellent predoctoral internships and eligibility for professional licensure across jurisdictions in North America. Although the UCLA clinical psychology program has no direct influence over these external organizations, we are excited to continue to work to shape this evolving training landscape with the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science (APCS) and leaders from other clinical science programs.

Our ongoing monitoring of trends in clinical psychology training is encouraging for PCSAS-accredited programs. However, evolving circumstances could result in our program changing its opinion with respect to seeking APA re-accreditation in the future. In the spirit of transparency and empowering potential applicants to make informed choices for their own professional development, we are pleased to share our thinking on these important issues.

Notice to Students re: Professional Licensure and Certification

University of California programs for professions that require licensure or certification are intended to prepare the student for California licensure and certification requirements. Admission into programs for professions that require licensure and certification does not guarantee that students will obtain a license or certificate. Licensure and certification requirements are set by agencies that are not controlled by or affiliated with the University of California and licensure and certification requirements can change at any time.

The University of California has not determined whether its programs meet other states’ educational or professional requirements for licensure and certification. Students planning to pursue licensure or certification in other states are responsible for determining whether, if they complete a University of California program, they will meet their state’s requirements for licensure or certification. This disclosure is made pursuant to 34 CFR §668.43(a)(5)(v)(C).

NOTE: Although the UCLA Clinical Psychology Program is not designed to ensure license eligibility, the majority of our graduates do go on to become professionally licensed. For more information, please see https://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/content-analysis/academic-planning/licensure-and-certification-disclosures.html .

Clinical Program Policy on Diversity-Related Training

In light of our guiding values of collaboration, respect, and fairness, this statement is to inform prospective and current trainees, faculty, and supervisors, as well as the public, that our trainees are required to (a) attain an understanding of cultural and individual diversity as related to both the science and practice of psychology and (b) provide competent and ethical services to diverse individuals. Our primary consideration is always the welfare of the client. Should such a conflict arise in which the trainee’s beliefs, values, worldview, or culture limits their ability to meet this requirement, as determined by either the student or the supervisor, it should be reported to the Clinic and Placements Committee, either directly or through a supervisor or clinical area faculty member. The Committee will take a developmental view, such that if the competency to deliver services cannot be sufficiently developed in time to protect and serve a potentially impacted client, the committee will (a) consider a reassignment of the client so as to protect the client’s immediate interests, and (b) request from the student a plan to reach the above-stated competencies, to be developed and implemented in consultation with both the trainee’s supervisor and the Clinic Director. There should be no reasonable expectation of a trainee being exempted from having clients with any particular background or characteristics assigned to them for the duration of their training.

Clinical Program Grievance Policies & Procedures

Unfortunately, conflicts between students and faculty or with other students will occur, and the following policies and procedures are provided in an effort to achieve the best solution. The first step in addressing these conflicts is for the student to consult with their academic advisor. If this option is not feasible (e.g. the conflict is with the advisor) or the conflict is not resolved to their satisfaction, then the issue should be brought to the attention of the Director of Clinical Training. If in the unlikely event that an effective solution is not achieved at this level, then the student has the option of consulting with the Department’s Vice Chair for Graduate Studies. Students also have the option of seeking assistance from the campus Office of Ombuds Services and the Office of the Dean of Students. It is expected that all such conflicts are to be addressed first within the program, then within the Department, before seeking a resolution outside of the department.

More Clinical Psychology Information

For a list of Required Courses please see the Psychology Handbook
Psychology Clinic
Student Admissions Outcomes and Other Data

Jonathan Golding, Ph.D. and Anne Lippert, PhD

Applying to Clinical PhD Psychology Programs

How many applications to send.

Posted July 22, 2018

Now is the time that many individuals are going to be thinking about their future career . For many, their career journey includes graduate program in a clinical psychology PhD program. For these individuals, the next few months will involve carefully researching various programs to determine which programs might be best for them. One big question that will hit all of these potential applicants concerns the optimal number of applications to send.

It might seem like someone or some computer program has figured out the number of applications to send, but like most aspects of the application process for PhD clinical psychology programs, determining this number is complex. To begin, it is likely the case that most applicants know that getting accepted to a clinical psychology PhD program is very difficult. To illustrate this in concrete terms, we looked at the acceptance and matriculation rates of PhD programs that are members of the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology. These rates are publicly available for these programs website under the link “Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data”. We were able to locate data for 100 programs, and found that the acceptance rate was most often 4%, and the matriculation rate (those who actually enrolled) was most often 2%.

These extremely low values reflect the high standards of all clinical psychology PhD programs, the high number of applicants that apply to each program, and the low number of open slots at each program for an incoming class. One other point should be kept in mind related to the above points: The applicants to PhD programs are at the “highest level.” This means that if you are applying to a PhD program in clinical psychology, you really need to be a strong candidate. There is no hard and fast rule on what constitutes a strong candidate, but rest assured it is a combination of very high GRE scores (on all three components of the exam), a very high GPA in rigorous courses (forget those gym courses and basket-weaving courses!), research experience (remember that a PhD is a research degree), excellent letters of recommendation, and a great fit with a potential mentor.

Besides showing that it is really difficult to be accepted into a particular PhD program, the acceptance and matriculation (enrollment) rates raise other interesting issues that are important to the question of how many programs you should apply to. First, acceptance rates are higher than matriculation rates. This is because not every person who gets accepted to a clinical psychology PhD program ends up attending. For example, an applicant may realize that that being a clinician is not for them. This applicant’s slot is then open for another applicant. Second, applicants to clinical psychology PhD programs almost always apply to multiple programs. This leads to a lot of movement with regard to who gets accepted. Let’s take the example of a fictitious applicant Susan who applies to 15 clinical psychology PhD programs. She receives acceptances from five programs—Michigan State, UKentucky, UDenver, Alabama, and UTexas. Of course, she can only matriculate at one program—she picks UKentucky (not for the basketball!). Her matriculation decision means that the four other slots that were originally reserved for Susan must go unused or go to other applicants in the applicant pool, who may or may not enroll at each of the remaining four programs.

Given the above information, we can now focus on how many programs you should consider applying to. Right up front we should note that there does not appear to be any publicly accessible data that shows the number of applications per clinical psychology PhD applicant. This is different than other types of post-graduate applicants, where data is available on the number of applications per applicant for medical program (16 applications) and law program (6 applications).

Nonetheless, there is some guidance from the Internet on determining how many programs an applicant should apply to:

1) Although neither the American Psychological Association (APA) nor one of the most widely cited websites about applying to clinical psychology graduate program (“Mitch’s Guide”) recommends a specific number, these resources (and others) discuss applications in terms of “fit”. That is, an applicant should apply to programs where there is a fit between a student’s credentials and the characteristics of a particular program, including location, training emphasis, and potential mentor(s).

2) Some sites offer more specific recommendations. These sites discuss applying to different levels of programs. These types are typically defined based on the GPA and GRE data listed in a program’s link to Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data. At the top level are “Dream” or “Reach” programs (programs where your credentials are lower than the data), “Match” programs (programs where your credentials match the data for that program), and “Safety” or “Back-up” programs (programs where your credentials exceed the data). Sites recommending that you apply based on level of program will typically argue that an applicant should apply to perhaps two or three at each level.

3) Some Internet sites offer recommendations on how many programs to apply without mentioning level of program. These sites recommend varying numbers, often as high as 10-20 programs.

The lack of clarity on the number of applications to clinical psychology PhD programs means you may have to adjust your thinking as you move forward with your plans to apply to clinical psychology PhD programs. You will have to decide whether applying to different levels makes sense for you. While some students may need to use the levels approach because of specific gaps in their credentials, others may have a record so strong that the levels approach does not really apply to them—these students are competitive at all programs.

In addition, if you are a highly competitive applicant, it is probably worth you increasing your number of applications. Figuring out additional programs to apply to will involve more work, and it might involve considering multiple research areas you are willing to pursue, but it will likely increase your overall chances to be accepted to a program. You must always keep in mind that your chances of being accepted anywhere is still a function of your credentials, the competition (always an unknown), and what programs are considering. Moreover, each application has an application fee, and takes time and effort to complete. Therefore, you should probably only apply to those programs that you feel you would be willing to attend. With all of the above in mind, good luck as you move forward with your applications!

Please note that the comments of Dr. Golding and the others who post on this blog express their own opinion and not that of the University of Kentucky.

Check out career possibilities for psychology majors at scoutiescareersinpsychology.org

Learn tips to succeed in college at beginnersguidetocollegesuccess.com

Jonathan Golding, Ph.D. , is a professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky. Anne Lippert, Ph.D. , is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Kentucky.

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DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

Undergraduate
Graduate Studies in Psychology
Areas of Specialization
Considering Clinical Psychology

What Does It Take to Get Into Graduate School in Clinical Psychology?

Admission to PhD programs in clinical psychology is very competitive. Ratios of 300 applicants to 8 positions are common (though perhaps 10-15 people would have to be accepted to fill the 8 slots; some who are accepted decide to go elsewhere, or enter a different kind of graduate or professional program ). Different programs emphasize different characteristics, but it is safe to say that in all programs GREs and GPAs are examined closely. Graduate students in Northwestern's program have averaged over 1400 on the GRE (Verbal plus Quantitative), with an average GPA of over 3.5. (GPAs for the last two years of undergraduate schooling are most important, so students with uneven early records have a good chance if they've improved.) There are respectable programs whose students score lower on these measures, but students who have lower than 1200 on the GRE or a GPA of less than 3.3 can expect to find it difficult to get into a top graduate program in clinical psychology without other special qualifications.

Regarding less standardized criteria, most graduate programs in clinical psychology will prefer that you have taken a course in psychopathology, e.g., our Psych 303. Introduction to Clinical Psychology (Psych 306) can also be useful, in part as a way to learn more about the field and your options within it. Most graduate schools also expect students to have obtained some research experience. The primary concern is that students should have conducted some psychological research in order to know whether they find it interesting. From an admissions perspective, it is less important that you have had clinical research experience than it is that you have had meaningful research experiences (e.g., not just entering data). It is also important that you be able to solicit a letter of recommendation from at least one research supervisor. This means that it is important to get involved in research before you do your applications. If you plan to apply to graduate programs during fall of your senior year, then you should begin your research involvement as a junior, or even earlier.

Northwestern’s psychology department offers many research opportunities for undergraduate students. Each quarter, many of our students do research for course credit through 399-Independent Study or the two-quarter sequence 397-Advanced Supervised Research. You can learn more about 399 and 397, including their requirements and the differences between them, by reading our webpage on research for course credit. This page also includes tips on choosing a professor with whom to do research. Other students obtain paid positions in the department, typically through the federal work-study program . You should make sure that your research experience provides you with an in-depth look at the nature of psychological research and at the theories and past research relevant for the questions under investigation. Entering data, scheduling research participants, and so on are integral parts of the research process, but it is important to do much more than that.

Some psychology students hope to do research that is outside the specific projects for which their faculty supervisors have funding. In addition, students who want to do research on campus during the summer may need to earn money for living expenses. Northwestern University, Weinberg College, and the psychology department all have funds available on a competitive basis to support student research. Guidelines for applying for the psychology department’s Benton J. Underwood Summer Fellowship are always included in the winter edition of our undergraduate newsletter, Swift Thinking . See the Weinberg College webpage on funds for undergraduate research and the university page on Research Opportunities for Undergraduates for additional funding options.

Many graduate schools give a great deal of consideration to the likely match between potential students' interests and faculty interests. Students can convey their interests through the personal statements they include in their applications and in direct contact with relevant professors. If you have strong interests in a professor's research, this will make you a much more desirable applicant to that person. But you must be able to convey that your interests are serious, for example, by discussing a specific study. Faculty will not be impressed if it appears that you merely scanned the departmental brochure searching for topics that sound interesting.

Students may also want to consider trying some hands-on counseling-type work. Many agencies accept and train volunteers. For example, volunteering at a teen drop-in center or a hospital, working as a camp counselor for special needs children, and answering phones for a helpline can all be relevant experiences. If your goal is to work with some specific population – troubled teens, the elderly, autistic children – then you should try to gain some firsthand experience with this population. In part, this may serve as a valuable credential when you apply for graduate training. Perhaps more importantly, it will let you know if working with this population is as rewarding for you as you expect it to be. Two student groups – Northwestern Community Development Corps (NCDC) and OASIS – are good sources of information about volunteer opportunities in Evanston and surrounding communities

PhD Admission FAQ

General Information

When is the application due and how do i apply .

NOW CLOSED- The application is due on November 30, 2023 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

Apply using the application portal .

How long does it take to get a PhD in Psychology at Stanford?

The PhD program is designed to be completed in five years of full-time study. Actual time will depend on students' prior background, progress, and research requirements. The minimum residency requirement for the PhD degree is 135 units of completed coursework and research units.

What are the requirements for the PhD degree in Psychology?

Please consult the PhD Requirements page .

What are the different subfields within the graduate program in Psychology?

Affective Science
Cognitive Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Social Psychology

What is the Department's teaching requirement?

PhD students must complete at least five quarters of teaching assistantship (TA) under the supervision of a faculty member. Students are required to attend a TA training workshop in their second year. In addition, students are encouraged to take advantage of department and university teacher training programs. Students for whom English is a second language are expected to acquire sufficient fluency in English. All international students must be approved by Stanford’s EFS department .

How many students apply to the Stanford Psychology PhD? How many are admitted? What are the demographics?

Stanford provides public reports with summary data about graduate programs and graduate admissions. Please consult the public dashboards published by Stanford's office of Institutional Research & Decision Support on doctoral admissions , doctoral enrollment and demographics , and doctoral completion and time-to-degree .

Is there a standalone Master of Arts program in Psychology?

The Department of Psychology does not offer a terminal Master’s degree program. Current doctoral students within the Department or in another Stanford graduate program may apply to be awarded a Master of Arts in Psychology during the course of their PhD program.

Does your department have a program in Clinical Psychology? Are you accredited by the APA?

No. Our department does not have a program in Clinical Psychology. As such, we are not accredited by the APA.

Do you have any advice about getting into grad school?

The Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences offers an online resource for prospective graduate school applicants: Guide on Getting Into Grad School . We encourage applicants to take advantage of this resource.

Financial Support

What is the annual cost of attending your program.

All students admitted to the Psychology PhD program receive five years of 12-month funding. Financial support is provided through a combination of fellowship stipend and salary, and assistantship salary and tuition allowance. Information about the cost of attendance and funding options are available from the Financial Aid Office .

What type of financial support do you offer?

All students admitted to the Psychology PhD program receive five years of 12-month funding. Financial support is provided through a combination of fellowship stipend and salary, and assistantship salary and tuition allowance. Funding is contingent upon satisfactory academic progress. Students are encouraged to pursue fellowships offered by the University and by national organizations, such as the National Science Foundation.

Stanford University also offers the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program, designed to build a multidisciplinary community of Stanford graduate students dedicated to finding creative solutions to the world's greatest challenges. The program awards up to 100 high-achieving students every year with full funding to pursue graduate education at Stanford, including the PhD in Psychology. To be considered, you must apply to Knight-Hennessy Scholars and separately apply to the Psychology Department. Note that the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program application deadline is in the spring before the autumn application cycle.

Do you offer support for the summer months?

Yes, funding is offered for 12 months a year for 5 full years, including 5 summers.

Preparing for Admission

Am i eligible to apply if my undergraduate major is not in psychology.

An undergraduate major in Psychology is not required; applicants from other backgrounds can apply and be admitted. All applicants should have sufficient foundational knowledge and research experience prior to the program to allow them to go straight into graduate-level coursework and conduct research.

My undergraduate degree was completed outside the United States. Is my degree eligible?

Please refer to the Stanford Graduate Admission Office's table of minimum level requirements for international academic credentials . These credential requirements are set by the University and nonnegotiable.

If I have prior graduate work, can it be transferred to the PhD program?

No, the Department of Psychology does not allow the transfer of unit credits from your previous program.

How competitive is admission to the PhD program?

Admission to our program is highly competitive. About 10-15 admits enter the program each year and are chosen from a pool of over 600 applicants. These students are selected on the basis of a strong academic background as demonstrated by previous coursework, research experience, and letters of recommendation. Please be assured that the Department reviews each application very carefully and makes decisions on an individual basis.

The Application Process

How do i apply.

Please visit the PhD Admissions page for instructions on how to apply to the Psychology PhD Program, graduate application requirements, and the link to the online application.

Is there an application fee? If so, can I apply for a fee waiver?

The fee to apply for graduate study at Stanford is $125, see Application Fee . Fee waivers are available for some applicants. Please visit Graduate Admissions for information on applying for an Application Fee Waiver .

Can I submit another application to a different department within the University?

You may only apply to one degree program per academic year. However, you may apply concurrently to one departmental program and to a professional school program (law, medicine, or business).

I'm interested in the joint JD/PhD in Law and Psychology - how does it work?

Students interested in the JD/Ph.D. joint degree must apply and gain entrance separately to the School of Law and the Psychology Ph.D. program. Additionally, students must secure permission from each degree program to pursue the joint degree. Interest in both degrees should be noted on the student’s admissions applications and may be considered by the admissions committee of each program. Alternatively, an enrolled student in either the Law School or the Psychology department may apply to add the other degree and undertake the joint degree program, preferably during their first year of study. Students participating in the JD/Ph.D. joint degree program are not eligible to transfer and receive credit for a masters, or other degree, towards the Psychology Ph.D.

Students interested in the MPP/Ph.D. joint degree must apply and gain entrance to the Public Policy program’s MPP degree and the Psychology Ph.D. program. Students should note their interest in both degrees on their graduate admissions applications. Additionally, students must secure permission from each degree program to pursue the joint degree

Which faculty are accepting new students this year?

All active faculty are potentially accepting new students each year. In your application, we ask you to list the top 3 faculty you are most interested in working with. Multiple readers will review your application in full regardless of who you list.

My institution does not report GPAs on a 4.0 grading scale. How should I report my GPA on the application?

Please do not convert your GPA to a 4.0 grading scale. You should enter “0.00” for the GPA and use the “Unconverted GPA” and “Unconverted GPA System” fields instead. A link to detailed instructions for reporting GPA is located near these fields on the application.

I attended multiple undergraduate institutions. In what order should I list them on the application?

The institution where you earned or expect to earn your Bachelor's degree should be listed as "Post-Secondary Institution 1." The remaining institutions don’t have to follow a particular order. List all institutions that were attended for at least one full academic year. Please note that you must submit a transcript for all courses taken towards your undergraduate degree, including those from your nonprimary institutions.

When should I submit my transcripts if my degree will still be in progress at the time of the application deadline?

The most current version of your unofficial transcript must be submitted as part of your electronic application, even if the grades from your fall term are not available. The absence of these grades will have no impact on the review of your application. If you are admitted and enrolled, we will ask you to submit your final transcript showing all grades and proof of degree conferral.

Should I submit official transcripts?

At the time of your initial application, please only submit your unofficial transcripts. Submit the unofficial transcripts as part of your electronic application, per the instructions in the application portal. A short list of applicants who move forward to the next stage of the review process will be contacted with instructions for submitting official transcripts at a later stage.

It may be helpful to understand the difference. Unofficial transcripts are transcripts issued by your college or university directly to you, the student, which you then submit to Stanford for review. Official transcripts are transcripts issued by your college or university directly to Stanford University, usually by secure electronic transfer and sometimes in hard copy in signed and sealed envelopes. The key difference is that an official transcript has never been directly handled by the applicant.

Do you have a minimum GPA score?

We do not require applicants to have a minimum GPA for consideration, and we do not release information about the average GPAs of accepted students. As a guideline, successful applicants typically earn undergraduate cumulative GPAs among the top of their class. However, please keep in mind that admission to our graduate program depends on a combination of factors, and all areas of a student’s application are weighed similarly when applications are reviewed. If our research areas meet your educational goals, we encourage you to submit an application.

May I contact the faculty directly during the application process?

Applicants are not prohibited from reaching out to faculty directly during the application cycle. However, please understand that our faculty are extremely busy, and it is quite possible that you will receive either a very short response or no response at all. This does not mean the faculty are not interested in your application. All applications will be read and reviewed in full during the formal review process. Note that per Department policy, all faculty are potentially accepting graduate students in any given cycle, so you do not need to contact faculty in advance to see if that specific mentor is accepting students for the coming year.

Can I meet with Department staff either by phone or email before I apply to discuss my application materials or ask general questions about the program?

No, the Department staff do not have meetings with or provide individualized advising for prospective applicants. Please understand that this is a matter of bandwidth and equity. We do not have the ability to offer personalized service to all interested applicants, so we do not offer them at all. By Department policy, our staff do not provide any evaluative feedback on prospective applicants' materials, so please do not contact us with CVs, academic histories, etc to request feedback or ask about odds for acceptance. For support in crafting your application, we recommend that you turn to your existing network of mentors (e.g., your letter writers) and/or the resources offered by your current or prior academic institution(s).

TOEFL and GRE

Is the general gre required is the subject gre required.

No, the Stanford Psychology PhD program does not require the general GRE or the subject GRE. We will not be collecting any information related to GRE exam scores on the application. Please do not submit GRE scores to Stanford for our program.

What is the TOEFL exam, and am I required to take it?

The TOEFL is a standardized test of English language proficiency. Per University policy, the TOEFL exam is required for international, non-native English speakers who apply to any Stanford graduate program.

The TOEFL score requirements are waived for international non-native English speakers who have received a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree from an institution in the United States or another English-speaking country. Therefore, applicants with these degrees from the U.S., Australia, Canada (except Quebec), New Zealand, Singapore, Ireland, and the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales) are exempt from taking the TOEFL and do not need to submit the TOEFL waiver request form.

When should I take the TOEFL?

The TOEFL must be taken by the published application deadline.

What is the minimum TOEFL score required for admission?

Please visit the website of Stanford's Office of Graduate Admissions for more information on the University’s minimum requirements.

If my TOEFL score falls below the University’s minimum, am I still eligible to apply?

Yes, you may still apply. If your TOEFL scores fall below the University's minimum requirements and you are admitted, Stanford may require you to take an English placement exam and/or English classes.

May I submit the IELTS instead of the TOEFL to demonstrate English proficiency?

The IELTS is not accepted at Stanford University; only the TOEFL is accepted to provide proof of proficiency in English.

How do I request a TOEFL exemption or waiver?

For all questions related to TOEFL exemptions or waivers please refer to the website of Stanford’s Office of Graduate Admissions . Please note that the central office makes all final decisions regarding TOEFL waivers; the Department of Psychology is not involved in the approval of TOEFL waivers.

How do I check the status of my TOEFL scores?

Log in to your application account. It may take up to two weeks after submitting your application or sending the scores (whichever occurs later) for your official scores to show as received. Processing may be delayed or halted if the name or birthdate on the score report does not exactly match the information on your application.

Why does my TOEFL status show as “Not Applicable” even though I submitted a TOEFL score?

This may be because you listed English as your first language in the application. Please note that “first language” refers to your native language.

Is there a department code for ETS to use in order to send in my scores?

No, there are no individual department code. Use the Stanford University score recipient code 4704 to send your TOEFL scores.

Statements of Purpose

How long should my statement of purpose be.

We strongly recommend that your statement of purpose be around two pages in length.

What should I include in my statement of purpose?

Please consult the Stanford Graduate Admissions FAQ page for more information on the Statement of Purpose.

Letters of Recommendation

When are the letters of recommendation due.

The letters of recommendation have the same deadline as the rest of the application. This year, the deadline is November 30, 2023.

How many recommendations do I need, and who should I ask to be my recommenders?

Applicants need three recommendations from faculty or others qualified to evaluate your potential for graduate study. At least one evaluation and letter should be from a faculty member at the last school you attended as a full-time student (unless you have been out of school for more than five years). Substitutions for faculty recommendations may include work associates or others who can comment on your academic potential for graduate work.

My recommender will not be able to submit his/her letter by the application deadline. Will my application still be considered?

Letters of recommendation must be submitted by the application deadline. As such, we strongly encourage you to contact your recommenders directly to remind them of our deadline. If your recommender misses the deadline, please contact psych-admissions [at] stanford.edu (psych-admissions[at]stanford[dot]edu) . Depending on the circumstances, Department staff may collect the letter via email and forward it to the faculty to add to your file. That said, the program expects applicants to do everything possible to ensure that letters are submitted on time via the secure online system.

Can my recommenders submit their letters via email, fax, or postal service?

No. Recommenders must submit their letters via Stanford’s online recommender system.

My recommenders are having technical difficulties with the online letters of recommendation process. Who should they contact?

Should any of your recommenders experience technical difficulties with the online letters of recommendation process, please refer them to our application database provider's letters of recommendation help page or have them submit a Help Request Form directly to our application database provider.

Additional Materials and Updates

I realized i made a mistake on my application and/or uploaded the wrong version of my documents. what do i do.

Depending on the timing and the nature of the error, our staff may be able to correct your application. Please send an email to psych-admissions [at] stanford.edu (psych-admissions[at]stanford[dot]edu) . Include your full name, a complete description of the error, and attach the correct version of the file (if applicable). The Department reserves the right to decline to update your application after the deadline has passed. Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

If you need to change your recommenders, please use the Activity Status Page. Note: The order of recommenders cannot be changed.

May I submit a resume/CV, list of publications, etc. as part of my application?

Applicants are permitted to upload one additional document to the online application, under the “Document Uploads” section.

Is there an interview process?

Yes, our faculty interview prospective students before making final admission decisions.

When are the interviews?

The interviews for the current admissions cycle are likely to be in February 2021. We anticipate that all interviews will take place virtually.

When can I expect to find out the decision on my application?

The Department of Psychology aims to issue all offers of admission to PhD degree applicants by the end of March.

I applied in a prior cycle and was not admitted. Can I apply again?

Applicants who applied in prior cycles and were previously not admitted are welcome to reapply if they can demonstrate significant progress made since they last applied. We encourage you to use your Statement of Purpose to explain this progress.

All documents must be resubmitted with a new application. We do not keep records from past applications.

I still have questions!

If you have questions that are not answered on this page or the Stanford Graduate Admissions FAQ page , please email psych-admissions [at] stanford.edu (psych-admissions[at]stanford[dot]edu) . If your questions are already covered on this page, your email may not receive a response.

Note that our Department staff are experts on the logistics and administration of the application, but do not answer questions related to research topics or faculty fit. Per Department policy, Department staff will not offer any evaluative feedback on application materials or applicants' academic background. Unfortunately, due to the extremely high volume of inquiries, we cannot provide individual status updates for applicants at any point in the process.

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PhD in Clinical Psychology

At the forefront in clinical psychology.

It takes a unique mindset to be a clinical psychologist. Students at PAU are taught to be science-minded while appreciating the broader role of psychology in alleviating suffering in the world.

If you are a curious student dedicated to using psychology to improve lives, pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at PAU is your next step towards effecting change in the world.

The PhD in Clinical Psychology Program at Palo Alto University is deeply committed to educating well-rounded clinical psychologists capable and competent as both researchers and clinicians.

Rigorous Evidence-Based Curriculum

The PhD program at PAU includes intensive study in five areas: Basic theoretical concepts in psychology, research, psychological evaluation, psychotherapy theory and process, and clinical foundations and field experience.

You will learn to value evidence-based clinical models while maintaining the responsibilities psychologists have to their community, society, and profession.

The goals and key themes of our program:

To produce students and graduates who are critically reflective and informed consumers and producers of psychological knowledge and associated clinical sciences
To produce clinicians with the requisite clinical knowledge, skills, and attitudes to successfully practice as entry PhD-level clinical psychologists in a variety of clinical settings and with a variety of clinical problems.
To produce researchers with the requisite scientific knowledge, skills, and attitudes to both consume and generate research.
To produce culturally competent clinical psychologists.
To produce clinical psychologists whose conduct exemplifies excellence in professionalism and ethics.

Every PhD candidate at PAU takes pride in their capability and competence as both researcher and clinician. If you are ready to focus on your future, connect with PAU today.

PAU alumni go on to have successful and rewarding careers as clinical psychologists or in research-focused academics. Still others find their calling in the corporate and nonprofit sectors.

With a PhD in Clinical Psychology, you can work in various settings, such as in hospitals and medical centers, community mental health clinics, private practice, and universities.
With balanced training for competency as a clinician and as a researcher, you will have the training for clinical work, research, or teaching – or even a combination of all three.
PAU areas of emphases enable our students to be board-certified in specialized psychology careers, including Neuropsychology and Forensic Psychology.

Fully Accredited Training

The program of study for the PhD is informed by the American Psychological Association’s (APA’s) guidelines for doctoral education in clinical psychology and emphasizes the integration of scientific research and clinical practices.

The PAU PhD in Clinical Psychology program has been accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1988.

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation:

American Psychological Association 750 First Street NE Washington, DC 20002-4242 202-336-5979 [email protected] www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

Learn more about Licensing and Accreditation @ PAU

APA IRC-26 Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data

The PhD Clinical Psychology program faculty is a talented and highly distinguished group of psychologists from across the globe, with wide-ranging clinical and research specialties.

PhD Area of Emphasis

Your core PhD training at PAU provides broad and general preparation through the integration of scholarship, professional experience, and research with our practitioner-scientist training model.

We also offer optional specialized training in seven key emphasis areas – all in high demand and focused on building additional knowledge and experience within a focused field of clinical psychology.

The Diversity and Community Mental Health (DCMH) area of emphasis at PAU gives you specialized knowledge and clinical training to provide psychological services for the public mental health sector.

The PhD emphasis in Forensic Psychology at PAU trains specialists in the clinical application of psychology to the legal system.

PAU’s Health Psychology Area of Emphasis will prepare students with foundational knowledge and skills to conduct cutting-edge assessment, treatment, and consultation in interprofessional care environments.

At Palo Alto University, we are committed to ensuring that the next generation of clinical psychologists is competent in clinical practice and research with diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) populations.

The Meditation and Psychology Emphasis in the PhD Clinical Psychology program involves clinical and research training concerning the interplay of mind-body factors in health and well-being.

The impact of brain function on human behavior is endlessly fascinating – and it’s a great career path for science-minded psychology students.

Why choose pediatric behavioral health? It’s life-changing work – and the demand for highly-trained specialists continues to grow.

Combat veterans. Mass casualty events. Domestic violence. Child abuse. The potential long-term – and immediate – psychological costs of trauma exposure can be catastrophic.

As a student at PAU, you will have access to specialized research groups and clinical training opportunities through the Gronowski Center, a community-based psychology training clinic and treatment center dedicated to providing high quality, evidence-based, clinical services to adults, older adults, adolescents, children, and families in the community.

Admission and Graduation Requirements

The PhD Program is a full-time program and requires a minimum of three years in residence. The program is structured to be completed in five years: three years for academic coursework, one year for the dissertation and one year for internship.

Graduation Requirements

The PhD in Clinical Psychology program takes an average of five years to complete and is open to individuals who hold a bachelor's or master's degree and have completed the required prerequisites prior to applying for admission.

During their final two years of full-time enrollment, students complete other graduation requirements.

Publication and Presentation : Students must make a significant contribution to a peer-reviewed journal article, book chapter, or literary contribution to another scholarly publication.

Milestones : In addition to the Oral Clinical Competency Exam, three written exams on research competency, clinical competency, and assessment competency must be taken. Additionally, students are required to complete a dissertation of 30 minimum units, a 12-unit internship , and at least two years of practicums .

Students enrolled in the PhD in Clinical Psychology program are required to complete clinical practicum training.

Provides mentoring and clinical placement services to the PhD Clinical Psychology program students. PhD Clinical Training Faculty provide: Close faculty advising for students applying to practicum and internship Mentoring and intensive professional development advising throughout clinical training. Review of practicum sites for quality assurance

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Research labs.

All students in the PhD Clinical Psychology Program are required to participate in faculty-led research groups during their second and third years in the program – for 6 consecutive quarters.

You won’t spend all your time in the classroom – you’ll gain direct experience providing supervised therapy while working in a practicum or internship setting.

Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data

Each year, the PAU psychology faculty participate in a thorough strategic review of our curriculum, processes, student learning, and student and program outcomes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Enrolling in a PhD program is a significant life choice – Palo Alto University faculty and staff will answer all your questions before you apply and after you are accepted.

1. Where can I find information on first year student orientation?

You will receive an email from the PhD program office during the summer before Fall Quarter begins. You may contact [email protected] for additional information regarding orientation.

2. Where can I find the academic calendar?

The Academic Calendar can be found on the Registrar’s office page.

3. How do I get my PAU email address and access to the PAU Intranet ( https://my.paloaltou.edu/ics/ )? (Access email at gmail.paloaltou.edu) From the IT Helpdesk . Contact [email protected] with any questions.

4. Where are the classrooms?

At the PAU Allen Calvin Main Campus, Classrooms 1 and 3, and the computer lab, are located on the top floor of Building Three. Classroom 2 is located on the middle floor of Building Three.

At the PAU Los Altos/Gronowski Center Campus, rooms D11A and D11B are on the first floor of the Kurt and Barbara Gronowski Psychology Clinic located at 5150 El Camino Real, Suite 22, Bldg C, Los Altos, California 94022 .

5. Where do I park for classes?

PAU encourages students to carpool to class as parking availability at the Los Altos/Gronowski and PAU Main Allen Calvin Campus is very limited. Directions to PAU campuses are available on the Locations, Transportation & Parking web page.

The PhD program at Palo Alto University operates on two main campuses: The Allen Calvin Campus at 1791 Arastradero Road in Palo Alto and the Gronowski Center Campus at 1172 Castro Street, Mountain View

Detailed Driving Directions:

At the Allen Calvin/Main Campus, drive through the gates and up the hilly driveway. There are several different areas for parking, including lower, middle, and upper level areas. You are welcome to park in any of these spaces. On days when there are campus events, parking may be limited. You may also park at the bottom of the driveway or at the nearby Alpine Inn parking lot, but be aware that those areas are not part of the campus and therefore not secure. The campus is in a remote area and there is no public transportation. Please carpool whenever possible.

If you ride a bicycle as your primary mode of transportation, please be extremely cautious when riding on Page Mill Road and Arastradero Road. There are sharp, blind turns, which may be especially dangerous at night or during heavy traffic hours. If you do travel at night, wear reflective clothing and use a light on the front and back of your bicycle. For your safety, always wear a helmet. Please lock and secure your bicycle at the upper parking level, near the cul-de-sac and Building One.

6. What if I have questions?

Please feel free to contact the PhD program or PAU staff should you have questions.

April House - PhD Program Manager ( [email protected] )

7. Where can I access basic information about the PhD program?

Please visit the PhD Program Website . Your most important resource is the PhD Student Handbook. The website also provides links to PhD program forms, information on competency exams, dissertations, important contacts, course schedule archives, grievance procedures, additional program handbooks, and information on TA opportunities.

Other important links related to the PhD program include the PAU Office of Professional Development and Advising and the PAU Institutional Review Board . All of these websites are accessible via the PAU portal.

8. Who can I talk to about academic support at PAU, curriculum requirements, and program expectations to advance to candidacy?

The PAU Academic Advising Center (PAAC) is a space where PhD students can make appointments to talk to advanced students when they are unsure about any aspect of academic progress at PAU. PAAC aims to support students in thriving academically and professionally throughout the PhD Program. These advanced students assist first year students in many ways, including:

Reviewing research group application materials
Providing a general overview of the PhD program curriculum
Answering questions about academics and research
Offering advice on surviving and thriving in grad school

PAAC hours shift each academic quarter. Please visit the website for the most-up-to-date hours.

9. How long will it take to earn my PhD at PAU?

Although the PhD program is designed to be completed within five years of coursework and practica, many students choose to take an additional year to complete their degree. Students must complete their degree within 7 years. The number of years it takes to complete the PhD program will depend on your individual needs and professional goals:

Post-graduate career goals
Competitiveness of clinical and research training sites
Internship asirations and restrictions
Practicum placements and performance
Research opportunities, dissertation progress, publications and presentations
Satisfactory academic progress

The PhD program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and follows their Benchmark Evaluation System to assess whether a student has met the competency benchmarks in professional psychology.

10. How do I register for classes? How do I change my schedule?

For the first year of the PhD program, you are pre-registered for all of your courses based upon the required first-year coursework in the PhD curriculum . Information about registration can be found at the Registrar’s Office on the Portal , including downloadable course schedules , and academic calendars .

In subsequent years of the program, you will use the portal for online registration . If you would like to change your schedule, you will need to email the registrar Nora Marquez ( [email protected] ) for further instruction. For additional questions about registration, including wait-listing, sequences, and other concerns, see the PhD Program Handbook.

11. How do I obtain a copy of my course schedule?

You may always access your current course schedule on the portal . Additionally, students can request a hard copy in-person from the Registrar’s Office at the PAU Allen Calvin Campus.

12. Why am I required to attend 8 hours of therapy? Is the cost covered by PAU? How do I find a good therapist on a graduate student budget?

According to the PhD Student Handbook, all PhD students are required to complete 8 hours of individual psychotherapy with a doctoral-level licensed psychologist (PhD, ED, PsyD) or board-eligible psychiatrist prior to registration for the Oral Clinical Competency Exam (which typically occurs in the third year of the program). It is the perspective of PAU that the personal experience of psychotherapy is critical to the ability to work therapeutically with others. The cost of psychotherapy is not covered by PAU and is not part of the financial aid package.

Additional information about this requirement can be located in the PhD Student Handbook. There is an aggregate list of recommended low cost and sliding scale therapists noted under Student Resources on the portal . You may also want to consult websites such as Psychology Today to select the right therapist.

13. How early do I have to decide if I want to complete a PhD area of emphasis ?

The first quarter of the first year is a good time to meet with a faculty advisor, as well as other PAU faculty and advanced students, to determine whether an area of emphasis will fit long term professional goals. As the year proceeds, students will have a better idea of their interests and the requirements for completing each area of emphasis. If you are still unsure, schedule an appointment with the PAU Academic Advising Center (PAAC).

14. When are financial aid refund disbursements available?

To receive the status of your financial aid, please visit the portal or email [email protected] .

PAU alumna Amanda Harris (née Feldman), JD, PhD, a psychologist and attorney representing domestic violence survivors.

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Clinical Requirements

MISSION OF PROGRAM

The mission of the doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at Stony Brook University (SBU) is to train clinical scientists who are skilled researchers and clinicians and who can advance the science of psychology by assuming active roles in academic and research settings. The program is accredited by the APA (Commission on Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, Phone: 202-336-5979) and by PCSAS (Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System, 1800 Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite 402, Washington DC, 20036, Phone: 301-455-8046).

OVERVIEW OF CURRENT PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS:

To receive a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from SBU you must:

Complete a series of required courses and demonstrate your academic competence across the field of psychology.
Satisfy a series of requirements in research and scholarship, culminating in the doctoral dissertation.
Satisfactorily complete a minimum of 160 hours of direct supervised contact with clients.
Complete one full year of approved internship.
Adhere to the ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association as if you were a professional psychologist.
Satisfy any additional general requirements set forth as degree requirements for the Psychology Department as a whole.

SEQUENCE OF COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The required course sequence outlined below is designed to meet APA accreditation guidelines, as well as NYS Licensing requirements. The median time to completion of the program is five years, not including the internship year. Students must pass all courses with a B- or better, and must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0.

Fall Semester: Total 12 Credits

Spring Semester: Total 14 Credits

Fall Semester: Total 9 Credits

Spring Semester: Total 9 Credits

Fall Semester: Total 9 Credits

Spring Semester: Total 9 Credits

Breadth Courses : You are required to take (1) PSY 620 Neuroscience: Applications in Psychology, (2) PSY 544 Emotion and Cognition, (3) PSY 510 History and Systems, and (4) a graduate social/health course of your choice. All of these courses are offered on a rotating basis. The DCT will let you know which courses to sign up for and when.

Fourth and Fifth Years

Fall Semester: Total 9 Credits

Internship Year

Note . Students must register for research credits in the semester prior to graduation.

Summer enrollment requirements :

All students must register for 0 credits of PSY 800 research every summer. This is to avoid loss of health insurance, student status, and authorization to be on campus. There is an exception for students who are leaving for internship in June or July as long as they are not receiving any funding at all (regardless of the source). Please speak with the Graduate Office if you have any questions about this policy.

REQUIRED RESEARCH AND SCHOLARLY ACHIEVEMENTS (prior to the dissertation):

Second Year Project

The second year project involves designing, conducting, and writing up an empirical study which is approved by the student’s 2nd year project committee. The committee consists of two members: the research advisor and one other faculty member with a full, research, joint, or adjunct appointment in the Department who is chosen by the student after consulting with the research advisor. At least one member of the committee must be from the core clinical faculty. Any joint or adjunct faculty member must be approved by the Director of Clinical Training (DCT). Students are advised to discuss the project with both committee members as early in the development of the project as possible and to confirm in writing all understandings reached. These discussions should include the substance of the project as well as the expectations of the committee members regarding a proposal (a formal proposal is not required by the program, but may be required by the committee). Upon completion of the project, the student will submit a manuscript in APA format to the committee for its approval. Approval forms may be obtained from, and must be returned to, the Psychology Graduate office. A l0-15 minute oral presentation of the 2nd year project to the clinical faculty and students is required at the end of the spring semester of the second year. Arrangements for the 2nd year project presentations are made by the DCT.

Specialty Paper

The specialty paper is conducted in the third year of the program. Its goals are to: foster breadth of scholarship; foster continued development of independent research skills; foster manuscript development for publication; and evaluate overall readiness to advance to candidacy.

The specialty paper can take multiple forms, including a review article, a meta-analysis, an empirical paper, or a grant proposal (e.g., NRSA). Other forms are possible, should be designed in collaboration with the students’ research mentor, and must be approved by the clinical area faculty. The decision about which option to choose to fulfill the specialty paper requirement should be made in collaboration with the faculty mentor and based on what will be most useful to the student’s professional development. The mentor is expected to play an active role in helping the student choose a topic area and select a target journal for eventual submission of the paper, and in reading and commenting on drafts of the paper. The specialty paper must be proposed and defended to a committee consisting of the mentor, a core or research clinical faculty member (other than the mentor) and one voting member of the department who is not in the clinical area. (A voting member is someone with a primary appointment in the psychology department, not someone with joint or adjunct status). Committee members are selected by the student. The proposal of the specialty paper must be approved by the committee and it is the student’s and committee’s choice as to whether they meet as a group to facilitate this process. Once complete, the specialty paper must be defended during a 1-hour oral defense conducted by the committee. During the oral defense, the committee will question the student about the paper and related topics. The questions will generally be broad, and require the student to place the topic and findings in a broader context, discuss the topic from alternative theoretical perspectives, and comment on the implications of the findings for the broader field. The student’s performance must be evaluated as satisfactory by the specialty committee members. Specialty paper committee approval and completion forms must be obtained from, and submitted to, the Psychology Graduate Office. The committee must be approved by the Graduate Office and the Graduate School prior to the specialties defense. The clinical faculty, at its discretion, may allow a student who fails to satisfactorily complete the written and/or the oral portion of the Specialty paper the opportunity to resubmit the written paper and/or retake the oral defense.

Supervised Direct Instruction (SDI)

The Department requires that all graduate students complete two semesters of Supervised Direct Instruction (SDI), which involves taking responsibility for preparing and teaching several classes of an undergraduate or graduate course under the supervision of the course instructor. One of the SDIs must include PSY 310 Research Methods.

Students who have completed at least one SDI and taken the departmental seminar in Teaching generally have the opportunity to teach their own undergraduate course if they desire.

THE DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

Composition of the Doctoral Committee :

The dissertation committee consists of at least 4 people. This committee must include at least two members of the clinical area faculty, one member from a different area of the Department, and one member from outside the Department.

The dissertation chair must be a member of the department. If the dissertation chair is not a voting member of the department, a co-chair who is a voting member must be named.

The chair of the oral defense must be a voting member of the department and may not be the dissertation chair.

Clinical area policy regarding the dissertation proposal and final document :

Please review the Graduate Bulletin. Note that the Graduate School does not prescribe a specific format, saying only that the dissertation "...must convey in a clear and convincing manner the results of an original and significant scholarly investigation."

The tradition in the clinical area is that the proposal and dissertation contain a scholarly review of the student's research area and topic, including a rationale for conducting the dissertation project; and method, results, and discussion sections. Alternative formats may be utilized if all committee members agree. That agreement should be reached prior to writing the proposal if the proposal format is to be "nontraditional" and certainly before the student begins writing the final document. Alternative formats that could be considered include, but are not limited to, the following:

Proposal is in grant proposal length and format; dissertation includes both the proposal and a journal-appropriate report of the project.
Proposal consists of Psychological Bulletin or other review paper in a related and perhaps broader area than that addressed in the dissertation project plus a method description for the proposed project; dissertation includes both the review paper and journal-appropriate report of the project.
Proposal is in traditional format; dissertation includes both the proposal and a journal-appropriate report of the project.
Proposal is a method description of the project; dissertation is a book or monograph length report of the project.
Proposal and dissertation are in traditional formats, and dissertation also includes journal-appropriate report of part or all of the project.
Proposal is in traditional format; dissertation consists of a series of journal-appropriate reports with an integrative introduction and discussion.

REQUIRED CLINICAL TRAINING (prior to the internship)

Supervised Practice

You are required to have a minimum of 160 hours of supervised practice (direct contact with clients); you are encouraged to exceed this minimum, as many internship sites are looking for 200 or more hours. All students are expected to have a minimum of 80 contact hours at the Krasner Psychological Center (KPC) during their second year, and a minimum of 60 contact hours at the KPC during the third year. A maximum of 20 hours from externship sites may be approved by the DCT. You are advised not to undertake any psychological practice (including therapy, testing, or interviewing), paid or non-paid, unless you are supervised by a qualified supervisor and have notified and received an approval from your advisor and the DCT in advance.

INTERNSHIP:

Internship is typically taken in the 6th year, although some students do so in their 5th year. Although the program has a very high match rate and, to date, all students have obtained an internship, the program cannot guarantee that all students will successfully match for an internship. Students who do not match will be assisted by the DCT and their advisor in finding a suitable alternative for the non-matched year. Every effort will be made to limit the financial burdens during the unmatched year and to develop a specific plan to assist students who go unmatched with educational, mentorship and training opportunities during the subsequent training year.

ADDITIONAL CLINICAL TRAINING:

Externships

Stony Brook’s clinical psychology program does not require an externship. Nonetheless, over the past five years or more, the majority of our graduate students have taken externships. There are good reasons some students want externships, like a desire to have experience with certain populations not seen in our KPC or wanting different kinds of supervision than offered in the KPC. If you do seek an externship, you must follow the specific guidelines outlined in the Clinical Psychology Graduate Student Handbook which you may obtain from the DCT.

Policy on Working with Diverse Clients:

We are committed to a training process that ensures that graduate students develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to work effectively with members of the public who embody intersecting demographics, attitudes, beliefs, and values. When graduate students’ attitudes, beliefs, or values create tensions that negatively impact the training process or their ability to effectively treat members of the public, the program faculty and supervisors are committed to a developmental training approach that is designed to support the acquisition of professional competence. We support graduate students in finding a belief- or value-congruent path that allows them to work in a professionally competent manner with all clients/patients.

For some trainees, integrating personal beliefs or values with professional competence in working with all clients/patients may require additional time and faculty support. Ultimately though, to complete our program successfully, all graduate students must be able to work with any client placed in their care in a beneficial and noninjurioius manner. Professional competencies are determined by the profession for the benefit and protection of the public; consequently, students do not have the option to avoid working with particular client populations or refuse to develop professional competencies because of conflicts with their attitudes, beliefs, or values.

ADVANCEMENT TO CANDIDACY:

All students are expected to be advanced to candidacy by the beginning of their 4 th year. Students will be advanced as soon as they have completed the following requirements: (1) the second year project (including oral presentation to the entire clinical area); (2) the specialty examination; (3) all departmental and area course requirements; and (4) at least 160 hours of supervised practice. Students who have met all these requirements must apply to the DCT for advancement to candidacy. Being advanced to candidacy is required for forming a dissertation committee and for filing applications for an internship. In addition, you must have been advanced to candidacy for one year prior to graduation.

COMPLETION TIME:

All requirements for the Ph.D. degree, including dissertation, must be completed within 7 years after completing 24 graduate credits in the Department. Students must remain continuously registered for fall and spring semesters until the Ph.D. is granted or they are considered by the Graduate School to have left the university and must formally be readmitted, which requires, among other things, approval of the clinical faculty.

MINIMAL LEVELS OF ACCEPTABLE ACHIEVEMENT:

To advance through and graduate from the program, students must: (1) pass each of the two statistics courses, three core courses, and the clinical courses with a B- or better; (2) maintain an overall average of 3.0; (3) receive satisfactory clinical evaluations; (4) receive passing evaluations on the three required research projects; (5) successfully complete SDI requirements with positive evaluations.

RETENTION AND TERMINATION POLICIES:

Students who fail to meet the minimal levels of acceptable achievement listed above will be terminated from the program. However, it is the goal of the faculty to provide students with the necessary guidance and resources for success. You and your faculty mentor will monitor your progress. Your progress also will be monitored by the clinical faculty members at student evaluation meetings held at the end of each semester. Should concern arise about your progress and/or ability to meet minimal levels of acceptable achievement, you will be provided with direct verbal and written feedback, and you will meet with your advisor and/or the DCT to discuss concerns. The goal will be to identify the road-blocks to success and to develop plans for remediation and ongoing guidance. Your progress will continue to be monitored to evaluate the success of corrective actions in addressing the concerns. The faculty is invested in your success and will work with you towards that end.

All students will be held to the University Code of Conduct. Failure to comply with the Code of Conduct will result in appropriate action in line with University guidelines and procedures.

In addition, in the clinical psychology program, commission of a felony and/or any serious breach of the APA Ethics Code is grounds for dismissal independent of progress in the program. A serious breach can include, but is not limited to the following: sexual contact with a client, any behavior where imminent harm to a client is a salient concern, and data falsification, fabrication, or other unethical research practices. Whether a behavior represents a serious breach will be decided upon by the clinical faculty. If the majority of clinical faculty members agree that a serious breach has occurred, it will be deemed so.

STUDENT PROGRESS ASSESSMENT, FEEDBACK, AND ADVISING:

The clinical faculty strives to be accessible to students, provide guidance and supervision that encourages timely completion of the program, and serve as role models who promote students acquisition of relevant knowledge, skills, and competencies. The faculty holds the clinical students in high regard, and we see it as our responsibility to facilitate a successful graduate experience. The program employs a mentorship model, in which faculty meet regularly with, and closely monitor, their students from the point they enter the program. The faculty mentor serves as both the student’s research and academic advisor to provide a coherent training experience that takes into account the goals of the program and the student and allows for a well-designed, programmatic, and timely route to completion of the program and transition into the next stage of training or employment.

You will receive regular feedback on your progress throughout your graduate student career. In addition to course grades, written comments on papers and exams, ongoing feedback from research and clinical supervisors, and feedback on all research projects, students receive written evaluations of progress: (1) each year by the DCT (described further below); (2) after each semester by the student’s clinical supervisor; and (3) after each semester of being a teaching assistant or engaging in the SDI requirement by both the students in the class and the course instructor. Student progress is monitored at meetings held at the end of each semester in which all clinical faculty members meet to discuss each student, and non-program supervisors are asked to submit written feedback. Students are provided with annual written progress letters tailored to the individual student and provided with the opportunity to discuss these letters with their mentors and the DCT. Students are given feedback about their achievements and milestones met as well as their progress in the program. The letters and discussion also clearly state any problems that exist and provide guidance on steps to remediate problems. Written and verbal feedback is then provided on the extent to which corrective actions have or have not been successful in addressing the issues of concern.

GRADUATION:

Doctoral students in clinical psychology who are completing their predoctoral required internships after the deadline for August degree conferment but who will have satisfactorily completed that internship requirement by late August or early September and who have satisfactorily completed all other requirements for their doctoral degrees in clinical psychology will register for one credit of internship in the second summer school session, will receive a satisfactory grade for that course if the Director of Clinical Training has received a letter from the internship site indicating that they see no reason why the student will not satisfactorily complete the internship, and will have all paper work regarding completion of all degree requirements signed off by the department in time to meet the August deadline. Should some unexpected event occur and a student does not satisfactorily complete the internship, a grade change form will be submitted and the diploma will be held. Since transcripts are not officially stamped until 4-6 weeks after the internship will have been completed, the university will be protected and the students will rely on letters from the Graduate School indicating successful completion of the requirements for the Ph.D. to document their degrees to any prospective employers. Students in this situation will be able to attend May graduation ceremonies and have their names included in the graduation book if they have applied for May graduation by the relevant deadline. They will reapply for August graduation thereafter and use the August graduation date on the title pages of their dissertation. The same philosophy will be applied to students wanting a degree conferment in May but whose internships are completed by July.

STATE LICENSING:

States within the United States differ in their requirements for being licensed as a psychologist, but all states prohibit practice without a license. In addition, State laws are subject to change.

As of Fall 2016, the curriculum offered at Stony Brook has been deemed licensure qualifying by NY state. This means that all students graduating from the program after Fall 2016 will automatically be eligible for licensure in NY.

Information on licensure in New York state can be found on the NYS Dept. of Education, Office of the Professions website:

http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/psych/

If you are interested in being licensed in a state other than NY, it is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with that state's licensing laws. Information on licensing in each state can be found on the ASPPB website:

https://www.asppb.net/

In addition to course requirements and an internship, most states require a certain amount of supervised practice subsequent to receipt of the doctoral degree. The nature of the supervised practice that can count varies markedly from state to state.

To facilitate licensure application, consider banking your credentials with ASPPB:

https://www.asppb.net/page/TheBank

FEEDBACK AND ONGOING FOLLOW-UP:

Throughout your graduate career and following graduation, the program will solicit your feedback about your training experiences, as well as ask you to provide information about your post-doctoral employment and experiences. During your training, this feedback will be solicited periodically. Once you have graduated, this feedback will be solicited on a yearly basis. We are required by APA and PCSAS, the two accrediting bodies to which we belong, to collect information from you on a yearly basis, and we must submit this information to APA each year. As such, it is your professional responsibility to provide this information to us immediately when asked .

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How Long Does It Take to Get a Doctorate in Psychology?

How long does it take to get a Doctorate in Psychology? That depends on whether you’re looking to earn a PhD or PsyD and whether you want to go full-time or not.

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The major differences in time to completion will be whether you’re going part-time or full-time and whether you need to write a dissertation or not.

What Education is Needed to Become a Psychologist?

psychologist listening to a patient during therapy session

Psychologists work closely with individuals to teach them coping skills and provide necessary training to work through mental health issues and other related problems. They often evaluate patients and complete a variety of assessments to give a clear picture of:

Cognitive Ability
Intellectual Ability
Vocational Ability

They are also called upon to diagnose mental health problems. According to Psychology Today , it takes anywhere from four to seven years to complete your Doctorate in Psychology. The time required to complete a traditional or online degree in psychology depends on the educational route you take.

The US Department of Labor Statistics suggests you pursue a doctorate education if you are interested in becoming a psychologist. They go on to explain that you can enter the field with a master’s degree, but to get licensed, you must earn a doctorate. A PhD in this field will usually take longer to complete than a PsyD.

Do You Need a Masters to Get a PhD in Psychology?

There is more than one route to gaining your PhD in Psychology. The typical path does not include a master’s degree.

When you decide that psychology is your field of choice, you can begin applying to universities who offer doctorates in psychology after you have achieved the bachelor’s degree level. A number of universities offer accelerated psychology degree online programs.

If you do decide you want a master’s degree before moving to the next level, make sure the school you enroll also offers the doctorate that you desire. Many schools do not allow you to transfer credits from a mater’s degree from a different school to their doctorate’s degree program.

PhD in Psychology students studying together

A Doctor of Philosophy, or PhD, is a degree that is a degree focused on original research . This degree requires you to take an exam to show you have the skills needed to be effective in this field. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that this degree program calls for courses on statistics and experimental procedures.
A Doctor of Psychology , or PsyD, is a degree fit for those looking to provide services for people who have psychological needs. Participants in this degree may not prefer the research and teaching path.
A Doctor of Education or EdD is a degree in education, but it is closely related to the psychology field . Many schools of psychology degrees in the same area as education. With the right qualifications, you can use this degree to allow you to go into the counseling field.
An Education Specialist Degree, or the EdS, is an opportunity to advance your learning to a higher level without having the time and cost investment needed for the other degrees. This degree can open doors to careers in curriculum and instruction, educational leadership, and school psychology.

PhD in Psychology students attending a class in university

Each of these degrees can lead to a lucrative career as a psychologist if you are willing to put in the time and effort it will take.

There is a significant difference between the PsyD and the Ph.D. The Ph.D. requires you to complete a well-researched dissertation and complete a comprehensive exam. This degree is based more on research than clinical areas and can take five to seven years to complete.

The PsyD usually takes four to six years to finish but does not require a dissertation . This degree is more clinical.

Example of PhD Program at Brown University

Brown University has four primary requirements that you must meet before to complete the PhD process.

You must apply and receive acceptance into the program. Before you apply, make sure you have all the qualifications to be eligible for approval.
Most people can expect to spend about three full-time years on the academics needed to complete the program. If you have a master’s degree from Brown University, then two full-time years of academics will be required for the doctorate. Brown does not always accept master’s degree credits earned from another school.
After completing the required course work, students at Brown will advance to candidacy to assess if the student can begin the dissertation process. Brown will expect candidates to pass a final assessment in their field of study before being approved to move forward.
The last step is writing an original research paper that relates to your field of study. Dissertations can take students one to five years to write. After the dissertation is complete, you can submit it for approval by the Graduate Council.

A PhD can be obtained in any field of study and can help students excel in the career of their choice. All information above comes from Brown University.

Example of PsyD from the University of Colorado Denver

A PsyD program from The University of Colorado Denver helps students meet the standards needed to complete the State Licenses Exam to become state Board Psychologists. To achieve this degree, you must meet the following requirements:

75 credit hours of coursework
Seven credit hours of practice in working in this field
Six credit hours of training in a workplace environment
Eight credit hours of internship
Four capstone project hours

Finally, you will need to pass the School Psychology Praxis exam and a written, comprehensive examination before your program is complete. This information is from the University of Colorado Denver.

How Long Does It Take to Get a PhD in Psychology?

psychology student studying in a library

A PhD in psychology is one of the most popular postgraduate degrees. Students who are interested in this field should choose one of the graduate programs in psychology with no GRE requirement .

It generally takes four to six years , after gaining your bachelor’s degree, to complete.

The dissertation is part of the degree process that can take the most time for many students.

How Many Years Does It Take to Get a PhD in Psychology if You Go Part-Time?

According to the American Psychology Association , you can earn a PhD in Psychology, even if you need to be a part-time student. The requirements of the program are the same for both full and part-time students, but part-time students may have five to seven years to complete the program.

All schools do not allow part-time students in doctorate programs, so be sure to talk with schools you are interested in before you enroll. The required internship for a PhD is one of the difficulties that a part-time student could face. The availability of a part-time internship is not as high as the demand.

The Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers have hundreds of internships but only 17 part-time placements .

How Much Does a Psychologist Make?

There are many types of careers available for those who have a PhD in Psychology. You can find work in places such as schools, hospitals, and Mental Health Facilities.

See the table below for some examples of careers and salary expectations for someone with a PhD in Psychology.

These careers are only a small example of the many occupations offered in this field. All information in this table comes from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics .

How Long Does It Take to Earn a PhD in Psychology?

PhD in Psychology students studying in library

Gaining a PhD in Psychology can take a full-time student 4-6 years to complete the program. If you go to school part-time, you can complete the program in 5-7 years.

The length to get a bachelor’s degree in psychology or any other specialization is typically four years and is a requirement in order to be considered for a PhD program.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Doctoral Degree?

The process for most doctoral degrees in any field is very similar. You should complete all academic course work for your area of study and a dissertation.

The process usually takes 4-6 years to complete, but it will depend on your specific program and personal situation.

Accreditation for an Online Psychology Doctorate Degree

College accreditation is essential to consider when choosing the program best for you. Being accredited shows a school’s doctoral, internship, or postdoctoral residency programs that can provide a high standard of education values.

There are several regional accreditations available for an entire school as well as programmatic accreditation for a Psychology programs. The most well-known programmatic accreditor is the American Psychological Association.

American Psychological Association

When you graduate from an APA accredited school , you should have the skills you need for a career in psychology. You should learn to provide evidence-based clinical service that can help you to better serve in your community with mental health-related issues and much more.

Many facilities in the US required potential applicants to have a degree from an APA accredited program.

Regional Accreditation

Each of the 6 regional bodies accredits schools by reviewing quality assurance and institutional improvement.

They will require the schools to do self-studies and then complete comprehensive evaluations and close monitoring to help the school keep high standards and expectations.

Financial Aid for a Doctoral Degree in Psychology

Federal financial aid can provide grants and low-interest loans. Many graduate and postsecondary schools offer scholarships and grants for all levels of education. Eligibility will depend on a student’s financial need, accomplishments, community service. Often, new students are given priority for scholarship opportunities.

There are many other ways to help fund your education. You must be willing to apply and provide all the necessary paperwork to qualify for aid. Here are some places to look to help get assistance in paying for your Doctoral Degree in Psychology.

The National Science Foundation
The American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association of Graduate Students
The American Psychological Foundation
The International Honor Society for Psychology, Psi Chi

There are often other types of financial aid. You should talk to your school, community agencies, and your current employer to find out more.

Is a PhD in Psychology Worth It? What About a PsyD?

psychologist talking to a girl with her mother during therapy session

Yes, a PhD in Psychology can be worth it for many students. The same goes for a PsyD. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, life, physical, and social science jobs are set to grow at 5% over the next 10 years, faster than the average for all occupations. Common careers in this field include psychology professor, clinical psychologist, marriage and family therapist, and developmental psychologist.

If you are interested in bettering your career in psychology, gaining more knowledge in your field of study, then a doctorate is worth your efforts. A PhD and a PsyD can help you to become an expert in your area.

Higher education can open many doors for you in your future endeavors and can help you started in the career you have been wanting.

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Psy.D. In Clinical Psychology

Welcome to the Clinical Psychology Psy.D. Program at Florida Institute of Technology. The program at Florida Tech that leads to a Psy.D. in clinical psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association* and offers students training based on a practitioner-scholar model that prepares students for entry-level positions as clinical psychologists. To achieve that goal, we are committed to training students with strong and continually developing clinical competencies, whose clinical work is informed by the scientific and theoretical knowledge base of the discipline of psychology, and whose graduates respect and value cultural and individual difference, and who maintain the highest professional principles and standards.

What Makes Florida Tech's Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology Stand Out?

Accredited by the American Psychological Association* since 1983
Opportunities for advanced coursework and practica in emphasis areas: Neuropsychology, Child/Family, Integrated Behavioral Health, and Forensic.
In-depth training in psychological assessment and integrated psychodiagnostics
Curriculum that addresses current trends in psychology including Integrated Behavioral Health Care, Clinical Neuropsychology, Assessment, Trauma and Child Psychology
On-site practicum training facility
A large network of community-based practicum sites offering many different training opportunities
Good student-to-faculty ratio, with annual cohorts of approximately 20
Colleague-in-training atmosphere
Excellent internship match rate
Flat-rate tuition program
Warm climate, great location, close to beaches
Relatively low cost of living, ample and reasonably priced housing available off campus

Our program leading to a Psy.D in Clinical Psychology trains students to become practicing clinical psychologists with core competencies in relational/clinical skills, comprehensive psychological assessment, clinical treatment interventions, research and evaluation skills, consultation and education, management and supervision, and diversity issues.

We have several opportunities for advanced course work. These areas are:

Family/Child Psychology
Clinical Neuropsychology
Integrated Behavioral Healthcare/Health Psychology

Admission Requirements

An applicant must possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher learning. Although it is not necessary for the major area to have been psychology, it is required that those entering without a previous degree in psychology will have completed at least 18 credit hours of psychology coursework at the time of application. These courses must have been taken in a department of psychology, and should include statistics, personality theory, abnormal psychology, learning, physiological psychology and social psychology.

All application materials must be received by December 1 of each year.

Visit the graduate admissions information page for all the information you need to apply to the program. Admissions applications must include transcripts, GRE general test scores, a personal statement, two letters of recommendation, and a resume or CV.

Students we will consider for admission will receive an invitation approximately two weeks prior to our Interview Day, typically held in February. Attendance at Interview Day is VERY strongly recommended.

*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 Email: [email protected] Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

Clinical Program

Clinical Psychology, Psy.D

APA Student Data

Clinical psychology information.

Info Session: Funding a Clinical Doctoral Degree

2023-2024 PsyD Program Addendum

2023-2024 SOP Grad Handbook

Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies

Doctor of Clinical Psychology, Psy.D.

About the program.

Format : In person on the Statesboro Campus Credit Hours : 114-124 Entry Term : Fall

The APA-accredited doctorate program in clinical psychology at Georgia Southern University (GS) is a full time, day program offering a course of study leading to the Doctor of Clinical Psychology degree. The program’s curriculum prepares graduates for the practice of psychology with a special focus on practice in rural areas. Coursework and training prepare students for licensure as a psychologist, with an emphasis on educating emerging psychologists for the underserved areas in the state of Georgia and adjacent regions in the Southeast.

The Psy.D. program originated from a longstanding and dire need for licensed psychologists in rural, underserved areas of the United States, most specifically in the rural south. This mission is consistent with Georgia Southern University’s commitment to serve the needs of the southeastern region of the country. The program trains students according to the practitioner-scholar model. Students are taught to become generalists who will be effective in the delivery of psychotherapy, psychological assessment, and psychological consultation services in rural areas. Consistent with the framework of a generalist approach, the curriculum, beginning with foundational courses, strives to create and maintain a dynamic and integrative program, emphasizing behavioral, cognitive, existential, family systems, humanistic, and psychodynamic orientations.

The program is designed to foster the intrapersonal and professional development of students. This process is aimed at helping the students cultivate balance within their personal and professional growth. In addition to academic requirements, students are encouraged to take initiative and responsibility for personal and professional growth through independent readings, interaction with fellow students and faculty, attendance at colloquia, and additional elective research and practica opportunities. The PsyD is a professional degree, and focuses on the development of applied practice skills. Because the program is an integral part of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences in a regional university, doctoral students engage in all aspects of scholarly inquiry, including substantive qualitative and quantitative research, and professional membership and discourse in state, regional, and national organizations.

Ready to Apply?

Request information, visit campus, or, you can :, regular admission requirements.

A committee of faculty will determine admission based on the following:

Grade Point Average (GPA): A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.30 is required for consideration. The average undergraduate GPA of successful applicants for the Fall 2022 class was 3.76 (on a 4.0 scale).
A minimum grade of B in the following undergraduate courses: Psychological Statistics, Research Design, Abnormal Psychology
Record of having taken at least two of the following courses: Personality, Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Learning and/or Cognition, Health Psychology, Tests and Measurement, Theories of Psychotherapy, Psychology of Substance Abuse.
Three letters of recommendation from former professors or appropriate employers/advisors.
A written statement of professional goals. Please describe why you want to pursue doctoral training in clinical psychology. Also, describe how Georgia Southern University’s program is a good fit. Finally, please list three (3) Statesboro campus psychology faculty whose research interests are a match to your own. Of these three, please include at least one clinical faculty member and one faculty member who is not clinical. This statement should be 500 words or less in length.
A current Curriculum Vitae or Resume.
Optional: Submission of a writing sample of past work provides an opportunity to showcase your writing skills, tone, and style. The sample should be no longer than two double-spaced pages. Consider submitting an excerpt or passage from a research paper or writing assignment for class, a manuscript, or other relevant works.

Based on a review of the application materials, the Admissions Committee will select top candidates for an on-campus interview. Interviews are mandatory for admission into the program. The Admissions Committee will contact top candidates with details regarding on-campus interview dates and procedures.

The PsyD program seeks a diverse applicant pool. We welcome applications from under-represented ethnic minorities, women, applicants with disabilities, first-generation college graduates, and non-traditional students.

*International transcripts must be evaluated by a NACES accredited evaluation service and must be a course by course evaluation and include a GPA. ( www.naces.org )

December 15 *

Does not admit

*The application and all required documents listed on the “admissions requirements” tab for the program must be received by the deadline. If all required documents are not received by the deadline your application will not be considered for admission.

Program Contact Information

C. Thresa Yancey, Ph.D. Director of Clinical Training, Professor of Psychology [email protected] 912-478-5704

Questions related to the program’s accreditation status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation: Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association 750 1st St., NE, Washington, DC 20002 202-336-5979 [email protected] APA Accreditation Site

Last updated: 2/9/2024

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Office of Graduate Admissions Physical Address: 261 Forest Drive PO Box 8113 Statesboro, GA 30460 Georgia Southern University Phone: 912-478-5384 Fax: 912-478-0740 gradadmissions @georgiasouthern.edu

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Carmen Bango (she/hers) Mentors: Amy Holley, Ph.D., Anna Wilson, Ph.D., and Bonnie Nagel, Ph.D.

Carmen was born in Washington D.C. and grew up primarily in Vermont. She graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in psychology and a concentration in neuroscience. At Williams, she worked in the lab of Dr. Shivon Robinson researching neonatal opioid exposure in animal models. She also assisted on the EMPOWER (Effective Management of Pain and Opioid-Free Ways to Enhance Relief) project, a clinical trial directed by Dr. Beth Darnall at Stanford that compares different protocols for chronic pain treatment and opioid reduction. After graduation, she worked for two years at Dartmouth College in the lab of Dr. Tor D. Wager on projects investigating the neural and genetic correlates of pain and placebo. Her research interests include: Biopsychosocial predictors of chronic pain and their clinical translation, the effects of prolonged stress on nervous and immune systems, gut-brain axis influence on mood and health, and addressing research biases contributing to health disparities in medicine. In her free time, Carmen is an avid mountain adventurer, podcast-listener, short-story reader, and hot chocolate with whipped cream drinker.

Philip Bouleh (he/him) Mentor: Christopher Stauffer, M.D.

Philip is currently a Clinical Psychology PhD student at OHSU under the mentorship of Dr. Chris Stauffer. He was born in Amman, Jordan and grew up in Lebanon before immigrating to the United States in 2004 with his family. He graduated in 2020 from Portland State University with a B.S. in philosophy/psychology. His passion is to help individuals who have experienced life in conflict-affected settings (e.g., Refugees, Veterans) build resilience and find healing. Philip is involved in multiple research projects such as MDMA-assisted group therapy for PTSD and psilocybin-enhanced psychotherapy for methamphetamine use disorder in Veterans. Broadly, Philip is interested in the role of epistemic trust, attachment security and spirituality/metaphysical beliefs in the context of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy — including how any changes in these domains may relate to psychological well-being and psychopathology.

Kate Pierce (she/they) Mentors: Lauren Denneson, Ph.D.

Kate earned a B.S. in psychology from the University of Iowa in 2015. After graduating, she became a psychiatric nursing assistant at the University of Iowa Hospital working with children/adolescents in an inpatient setting, teaching dialectical behavioral therapy skills and providing compassionate direct patient care for patients of diverse psychiatric acuity. This experience inspired their journey towards graduate school and in 2018, Katie moved to Portland to work as a research coordinator at the Portland VA’s Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care. For the past five years she has been involved in suicide prevention research studying suicide risk and resilience factors and identifying gender differences to inform gender-tailored care. She has worked on various suicide prevention projects including a national, mixed-methods survey study, a suicide prevention trials database, and a randomized controlled trial for an experimental behavioral treatment. Katie is interested in suicide risk and resilience among women and folks who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community with the hope that her work can improve suicide prevention efforts, community mental health access, and evidence-based therapies for this unique population. In their spare time you can find Katie somewhere in nature with her Bernese Mountain Dog Riker, reading under a tree.

Daniel Schriemer (he/him) Mentors: Benjamin Morasco, Ph.D. and Travis Lovejoy, Ph.D.

Daniel is from Michigan and graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy and International Studies from Hope College in Holland, MI. Following his experience as a Community Health Worker in St. Paul, MN, he earned an MPH in Community Health Promotion from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, where he subsequently worked for several years as a Research Coordinator. His research areas of interest include chronic pain, substance use, and program evaluation. He enjoys running, hiking, reading, and cooking in his free time.

Lea-Tereza Tenekedjieva (she/her) Mentor: Bonnie Nagel, Ph.D.

Lea received her B.S. in Human Biology with a focus in Brain Science and Psychopathology and minor in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University. For three years, Lea was the Research Lab Manager at a clinical neuroscience lab at Stanford University School of Medicine and VA Palo Alto, where she worked on defining the neural mechanisms of alcohol use disorder and investigating novel brain stimulation methods in addiction. Her past research has focused on transdiagnostic approaches to understanding trauma, mood, and anxiety symptoms in addiction and their neural correlates. Lea will be joining the Developmental Brain Imaging Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Bonnie Nagel. Lea is primarily interested in the neural mechanisms of traumatic stress and how it impacts the development of transdiagnostic psychopathology, specifically affective circuit dysfunction, emotion regulation and substance use. Lea’s ultimate goal is to contribute to precision psychiatry efforts and inform novel brain-based treatments and policies for individuals with trauma and substance use disorders.

Ayanna Bell (she/her) Mentor: Kathleen Carlson, Ph.D.

Ayanna was born in Hawai’i and raised in Georgia. She earned her B.S. in Neuroscience with a minor in Artificial Intelligence at Agnes Scott College. There she was an undergraduate research assistant in numerous labs exploring novel methods to treat neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders. Her research interests include providing culturally competent care to those seeking psychiatric treatment, sociobehavioral impacts on human health, innovative initiatives for health, and exploring psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies and tv shows, trying new foods, and cuddling with her furbaby Pluto.

Aaron Brah Mentor: Suzanne Mitchell, Ph.D.

Aaron received his Bachelors of Psychological Science in 2016 from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia and went on to work as a therapist and lecturer at Australia’s Malvern Private Hospital specializing in substance use interventions for individuals and families. In 2018, Aaron moved to Seattle where he pursued a Masters in Psychology at Seattle University. He was trained as an existential-phenomenological psychotherapist, worked at a residential substance use treatment facility and also as a research assistant at University of Washington’s (UW) Harm Reduction Research and Training (HaRRT) laboratory. There he studied patient-driven goal selection processes for individuals with alcohol use disorder in Seattle’s housing-crisis population.

Aaron then spent 2 years as a Research Coordinator at UW’s Department of Medicine, coordinating a multi-site, international R01 grant between Seattle, Atlanta, and Kenya. Aaron worked alongside a team of health economists, clinical psychologists, and epidemiologists to perform a Discrete Choice Experiment which sought to understand medical decision-making processes for people living with HIV (PLWH). Aaron will be conducting research on how past temporal discounting processes may impact impulsivity in those recovering from severe substance and alcohol use disorders.

In his free time, Aaron enjoys skateboarding, meditation, and playing with his Rottweiler-German Shepherd puppy

Maria D. Hayes (she/her) Mentor: Elinor Sullivan, Ph.D.

Maria D. Hayes (she/her) graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Portland State University in June of 2019. During her time at Portland State she was recognized with an Academic Achievement Excellence and Leadership Award, and served as the President of the Black Student Union during the 2018-2019 academic year. Her background includes investigating discrimination as a social stressor in African Americans as an undergraduate McNair scholar, and applied clinical work administering TMS therapy. Prior to joining the Clinical Psychology Program, Maria was a Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) scholar at OHSU where she conducted an independent study examining the relationship between maternal perceived discrimination and infant negative affect behavioral outcomes. She has deep interest in further investigating the mechanisms by which social-emotional adversity transmits intergenerationally, and affects child behavior, affect and development. Her professional goals include using her unique perspective and voice to advocate for and provide mental health resources to underrepresented communities, and to conduct empirically-based research that is informed by patient care to address the adversity faced by those with marginalized identities, and to understand factors that protect some members of these communities from the consequences of the adversity that they face. In her free time Maria enjoys reading/writing poetry, traveling, concerts and a good suspenseful series.

Kristen Torres (she/her) Mentor: David Wagner, Ph.D.

Kristen is from Colorado and received her B.S. in Clinical/Counseling Psychology at Colorado State University. During her undergraduate career, she was a research assistant at Children’s Hospital Colorado in several labs examining underlying mechanisms in childhood behavioral health. During her post-baccalaureate studies, Kristen worked in the Pulmonary Sciences & Critical Care Medicine Department at University of Colorado researching psychological distress in ICU survivors and creative arts therapy for healthcare worker burnout. Kristen’s interests include pediatric health psychology and health disparities in children with chronic illness. Under mentorship from Dr. David Wagner, Kristen will be a part of the Novel Interventions in Children’s Healthcare project focused on pediatric health psychology. In her free time, you can usually find Kristen spending time with friends and family, running, listening to Taylor Swift, or training her rescue dog, Scout.

Joren Adams Mentors: Maya O'Neil, Ph.D. and Dr. Lauren Denneson, Ph.D.

Joren received his B.S. in Biopsychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2017. During his time as an undergraduate, Joren was awarded a University Award of Distinction for his contributions to campus mental health in relation to his work as a mental health peer counselor. After receiving his bachelor's degree, Joren moved on to the University of California, Irvine where he worked as a research specialist in a neuroimaging lab. At UCI, Joren primarily worked on two studies exploring major depressive disorder and enduring maternal grief. These experiences cemented Joren’s interest in clinical work and led him to develop broad research interests in neuropsychology, affective disorders, and the relationship between emotional dysregulation and cognitive functioning. At OHSU Joren works with his advisors Dr. Maya O’Neil and Dr. Lauren Denneson on a variety of projects related to suicide prevention, evidence synthesis, and cognitive rehabilitation in Veteran populations. His dissertation work focuses on Compensatory Cognitive Training for Veterans with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)-related cognitive functioning deficits. In his spare time, Joren enjoys movie nights, board games, and cuddling his two cats.

Jenna Kachmarik (she/her) Mentors: Christopher Stauffer, M.D. and Jennifer Loftis, Ph.D.

Jenna is from North Carolina and earned her B.A. in Chemistry and B.S. in Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. There, she was also a research associate in the StressWAVES Biobehavioral Research Lab, which explored relationships between stress and health. She also has several years of experience as a pharmacy technician. Her interests broadly include health psychology and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. She is deeply curious about the potential of psychedelics (e.g., psilocybin, MDMA) to improve chronic mental and physical health conditions and mechanisms therein. Guided by Dr. Chris Stauffer and Dr. Jennifer Loftis, she will investigate outcomes of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy from a psychoneuroimmunological lens. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, hula hoop dancing, and snuggling with her 11-year old dog, Luca.

Taylor Levine Mentor: Travis Lovejoy, Ph.D.

Originally from Arizona, Taylor moved to Pennsylvania where she earned a B.S. in psychology and neuroscience from Haverford College in 2018. Following graduation, she worked as a clinical research coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, studying novel interventions for treatment-resistant depression. In her most recent role, as field guide for a psychiatric residential treatment center, Taylor guided groups of teens through a 3-month wilderness therapy program in the backcountry of Vermont. Taylor is thrilled to be mentored by Dr. Travis Lovejoy and explore comorbid chronic illness, substance use disorders, and mood disorders. She is passionate about creating broad scale treatment plans and implementing practices that better serve those who might otherwise fall through the cracks in our healthcare system. In her free time, Taylor loves to cook, spend time in the woods, and watch YouTube videos to learn how to build her future tiny home.

Deborah Sevigny-Resetco (she/her) Mentors: Suzanne H. Mitchell, Ph.D.

Deborah was born and raised in San Diego, California. She graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a B.A. in Psychology, with an emphasis in Neuroscience. As an undergraduate student and in the years to follow, she pursued a career in mental health services in various settings, including an acute psychiatric rehabilitation facility, a board and care center, and within the juvenile dependency system. In 2017 she moved to Oregon, where she worked as a domestic violence advocate for the YWCA of Greater Portland and took on a role as a research assistant working with abuse cases for vulnerable adults. Prior to entering OHSU’s Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program, she worked as a research assistant in the Translational Neuroeconomics Lab with Dr. Suzanne Mitchell on two projects focused on decision-making: a translational rodent model for delay discounting and a cognitive effort discounting study in an ADHD adolescent population. Her research interests include the cognitive and neurobiological impacts of trauma on decision-making, with a particular interest in the role of neuroplasticity in trauma-centered recovery.

Diana Vazquez Duque Mentors: Elinor Sullivan Ph.D. and Joel Nigg Ph.D.

Diana received her B.A. in Psychology and Political Science at Linfield College in 2019. She graduated from Pacific University with a n M.A. in Applied Psychological Science in 2021. Her clinical background includes providing individual and group therapy to children with ADHD, Autism, trauma, and behavioral challenges, as well as leading psychoeducational groups and delivering individual counseling to Spanish-speaking survivors of domestic violence. Her research experiences include assisting with a study on the interaction between emotions and racial biases, as an interviewer on a longitudinal study about media and child identity formation, and as first author on a project exploring advertisements and self-objectification in young women which was presented at the 2019 WPA conference. Diana's clinical and research interests include developmental disorders such as Autism and ADHD, as well as the development of culturally adaptive treatments for historically underserved populations, primarily Latinos.

David Cameron Mentor: Maya O'Neil, Ph.D.

David was born in Seattle and grew up in Portland before attending Macalester College in St. Paul, MN where he received a B.A. in Anthropology. After graduating David moved back to Portland and joined OHSU’s Department of Family Medicine as a Qualitative Senior Research Assistant. In 2017, David moved to Cambridge, MA and went back to school to obtain a Master’s in Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health. After graduating from BU, he again returned to Portland and joined the Portland VA Center to Improve Veterans Involvement in Care working with Dr. Maya O’Neil as a study coordinator and research associate. David is excited to continuing building on his experiencing studying PTSD and TBI with Dr. O’Neil and begin learning to provide evidence-based holistic mental health care. David has played competitive soccer his entire life and has been a youth soccer coach with the Portland Timbers. He is a diehard Timbers and Blazers fan and enjoys watching sports, working on restoring his 1986 BMW, and playing with his new English Bulldog puppy Franklin in his free time.

Olivia Doyle Mentor: Kristen Mackiewicz-Seghete, Ph.D.

Olivia is currently enrolled in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. She earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience from Lewis and Clark College. Most recently she worked as a research assistant in the DCAN lab where she helped coordinate multiple clinical trials on maternal well-being and infant brain development. Her research interests include the impacts of trauma on development of psychopathology and emotional well-being during periods of high neural plasticity. When not at work she is usually training her cat, bouldering, or making homemade pasta.

Kate Shirley (she/her) Mentors: Maya O'Neil, Ph.D. and Jennifer Loftis, Ph.D.

Kate received a B.A. in psychology and gender/sexuality studies from the University of North Carolina Asheville and a M.A. in counseling psychology from Lewis & Clark College. Prior to entering OHSU’s CPP, Kate was active in research and clinical work at OHSU and the Portland VA within the ADHD Lab, Compensatory Cognitive Training Research Program, and the Psychoneuroimmunology Lab. Kate’s research and clinical interests include normal aging, cognitive impairment, and dementia; substance use and addiction; social determinants of health and health disparities; and psychotherapy processes and outcomes. As a student, Kate will work with Dr. Maya O'Neil and Dr. Jennifer Loftis in the Compensatory Cognitive Training Research Program and the Psychoneuroimmunology Lab. Kate is a runner, biker, dog enthusiast, and coffee drinker. Her dog, Dodger, is very happy to have her at home so much right now.

Kat Selah (they/them) Mentor: Joel Nigg, Ph.D.

Kat was born and raised in New York City, and has lived in beautiful Oregon for the past six years. They did their undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California, and their master's degree at Columbia University, studying Clinical Psychology. They started their professional career at New York State Psychiatric Institute, working under Dr. Yuval Neria at the PTSD and Trauma Lab, working as the research coordinator on both MRI and Attention Bias Modification Treatment (ABMT) studies. Before joining the team at OHSU, they worked as a private consultant as part of a PTSD expert witness team. In 2019, they began working at the ADHD lab with Dr. Joel Nigg, who will be their mentor for the program. Kat's research interests include expressed emotion and criticism as predictors of ADHD and adolescent self-perception, as well as improving diagnostics and assessment of ADHD for late adolescents to young adults. Outside of their work and studies, Kat is a parent to two young children, and enjoys hiking, reading, making visual art, advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community, and playing really terrible guitar.

Madeleine Allen (she/her) Mentor: Alice Graham, Ph.D.

Madeleine’s research broadly focuses on how the gestational environment and parental history influences fetal brain development, under the mentorship of Alice Graham, Ph.D. Specifically, she is interested in the mechanisms by which stress and substance use during pregnancy and parental early life trauma may affect offspring brain development. She is currently assisting in comprehensive child evaluations with an emphasis on ADHD and learning disorders under the supervision of Darren Janzen, Psy.D. at the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center. Before beginning in the CPP program, Madeleine worked as a research assistant in the Moghaddam Lab at OHSU after graduating from Oberlin College in 2017 with a B.A. in neuroscience.

Eleanor Battison, MS, LPC (she/her) Mentors: Amy Holley, Ph.D. and Anna Wilson, Ph.D.

Eleanor Battison grew up in Stockholm, Sweden, and received her BA in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC, Canada. She earned her MS in Counseling Psychology from Lewis and Clark College. She has several years of experience working in both direct clinical service and research in Portland, OR. She is a doctoral student in the Advancing Research in Pediatric Pain lab (ARPP), under the guidance of Amy Holley, Ph.D. and Anna Wilson, Ph.D. Her current interests include health and pain psychology, with an emphasis on trauma, health disparities and underserved populations.

Amanda Del Giacco (she/her) Mentor: Bonnie Nagel, Ph.D.

Amanda Del Giacco received her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. After completing her bachelor's, she worked as a registered behavioral technician assisting children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders. Amanda then completed a two-year post-baccalaureate fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health working on fMRI/MEG studies investigating visual perception and affective processing. She is a doctoral student in the Developmental Brain Imaging Lab (DBIL) under the guidance of Dr. Bonnie Nagel. Amanda is interested in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms and behavioral implications for identifying early risk factors of psychopathology in children and adolescents.

Open access
Published: 26 April 2024

Culture change and lessons learned from ten years in the VA centers of excellence in primary care education

William G. Weppner 1 , 6 ,
Mamta K. Singh 2 ,
Joyce E. Wipf 1 ,
Rebecca Shunk 3 ,
LeChauncy Woodard 4 &
Rebecca Brienza 5

BMC Medical Education volume 24 , Article number: 457 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

Team-based care is critical to achieving health care value while maximizing patient outcomes. Few descriptions exist of graduate-level team training interventions and practice models. Experience from the multisite, decade-long Veterans Affairs (VA) Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education provides lessons for developing internal medicine training experiences in interprofessional clinical learning environments.

A review of multisite demonstration project transforming traditional silo-model training to interprofessional team-based primary care. Using iterative quality improvement approaches, sites evaluated curricula with learner, faculty and staff feedback. Learner- and patient-level outcomes and organizational culture change were examined using mixed methods, within and across sites. Participants included more than 1600 internal medicine, nurse practitioner, nursing, pharmacy, psychology, social work and physical therapy trainees. This took place in seven academic university-affiliated VA primary care clinics with patient centered medical home design

Each site developed innovative design and curricula using common competencies of shared decision making, sustained relationships, performance improvement and interprofessional collaboration. Educational strategies included integrated didactics, workplace collaboration and reflection. Sites shared implementation best practices and outcomes. Cross-site evaluations of the impacts of these educational strategies indicated improvements in trainee clinical knowledge, team-based approaches to care and interest in primary care careers. Improved patient outcomes were seen in the quality of chronic disease management, reduction in polypharmacy, and reduced emergency department and hospitalizations. Evaluations of the culture of training environments demonstrated incorporation and persistence of interprofessional learning and collaboration.

Conclusions

Aligning education and practice goals with cross-site collaboration created a robust interprofessional learning environment. Improved trainee/staff satisfaction and better patient care metrics supports use of this model to transform ambulatory care training.

Trial registration

This evaluation was categorized as an operation improvement activity by the Office of Academic Affairs based on Veterans Health Administration Handbook 1058.05, in which information generated is used for business operations and quality improvement (Title 38 Code of Federal Regulations Part 16 (38 CFR 16.102(l)). The overall project was subject to administrative oversight rather Human Subjects Institutional Review Board, as such informed consent was waived as part of the project implementation and evaluation.

Peer Review reports

An interprofessional, team-based model has been shown to improve quality, efficiency, and safety of patient care [ 1 , 2 ]. This model is essential as health care systems transition to value-based care and is strongly encouraged in undergraduate health profession training by the National Academy of Medicine [ 3 ] and American Association of Medical Colleges [ 4 ]. Although calls for more support for team-based care have existed for decades [ 5 ], successful examples providing meaningful workplace learning environments are limited [ 3 , 6 ].

This manuscript describes the approaches, lessons learned and measured outcomes from a decade-long, multi-site endeavor to transform traditional models of education to interprofessional team-based collaborative care. This manuscript summarizes principles and processes which enabled seven participating Veterans Affairs (VA) programs to successfully develop, implement, evaluate, disseminate and sustain interprofessional models of training. We share specific strategies and professions involved, as well as published trainee, staff, patient and health system outcomes. The lessons learned provide a guidepost to transform other primary care teaching clinics that are interested in engaging more fully in Patient Centered Medical Home practices, and to support graduate training for a more diverse population of interprofessional trainees, from internal medicine, nurse practitioner, pharmacy psychology, and other affiliated health professions.

Setting and participants

The VA health care system transformed its primary care clinics to align with the Patient Centered Medical Home model in 2010 [ 7 ]. Subsequent to this transformation, the VA Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA) established “Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education” (CoEPCE) with the goal of transforming traditional siloed health professional education to collaborative practice models [ 8 ]. CoEPCE sites were selected from a competitive application process and received funding to develop and implement programs. Selection was based on innovative proposals to develop models of interprofessional education and team-based care. All sites were located at mid- to large-sized academic primary care clinics. Funding was utilized primarily for salary support for curriculum development, teaching, and evaluation. Each center aimed to design innovative graduate medical education (GME) and health professional training models with sufficient time and structure for all trainees to “learn with, about and from each other” in keeping with National Academy of Medicine recommendations for meaningful interprofessional education and care [ 3 ]. Although each site had similar objectives and shared competencies, all were challenged to develop unique models of training, care and culture. Sites were encouraged to share curricula.

The CoEPCE’s were based in academic primary care clinics of initially five, then seven, geographically separate VA institutions with university affiliations. Each site included a variety of unintegrated health professional training programs that were functioning in silos (e.g., internal medicine, nurse practitioner, nursing, pharmacy, psychology, social work, dietetic and physical therapy trainees). As is typical for primary care clinics within the VA, the largest group of trainees were internal medicine residents, both in terms of numbers of trainees and number of years of exposure to the training. New nurse practitioner residencies were created at each site and several established other post-graduate programs, including registered nurse or chiropractic residencies [ 9 ]. Trainees were included in evaluations if they provided clinical care in CoEPCE clinic according to their licensure (e.g. graduate health professional trainees), and participated in CoEPCE curricular activities. Trainees typically spent between one and three full academic years in a CoEPCE, depending on the requirements of their training programs. When applicable, perspectives from staff and faculty from the training clinics were included in published qualitative studies. Over the decade of the CoEPCE experiment from 2010 to 2019, more than 1600 trainees were successfully engaged into integrated interprofessional learning and primary care teams for up to three years during training. Local leadership at each site tracked and reported trainee participation at least twice each academic year through a shared reporting portal.

Program description

Across the seven sites, there were four educational competencies required at baseline in support of patient-centered care: Shared Decision Making, Sustained Relationships, Performance Improvement and Interprofessional Collaboration [ 10 ]. We employed a conceptual model with the foundation that educational transformation needed to align with practice redesign supporting the strong relationship between the patient/caregivers and their primary care team [ 11 ]. Sites had different types of participating health professional trainees at a baseline and the predominant training model was within each profession, with very limited shared or overlapping curricula prior to the beginning of the CoEPCE project.

The initial stage of each program required aligning individual training programs’ accreditation needs, while ensuring meaningful time together in the training model. Attention to overlapping and complementary aspects of different program competencies paralleled discussions of roles and responsibilities in clinic. Particular attention was given to modelling collaborative leadership across professions in curriculum development, implementation, and delivery. During such sessions, interprofessional co-leads purposefully facilitated discussions of profession-specific stereotypes and modelled discussions about how such stereotypes may support or impede collaboration in curricular and clinical care settings. Programs required trainees spend at least 30% of their time in this model to allow sufficient time to interface and develop longitudinal team and patient continuity relationships. This required dedicated time from a core of internal medicine residents, nurse practitioner residents, pharmacy residents, psychology post-doctoral candidates, social work interns and physical therapy trainees. Each participating training program required faculty have dedicated time or teaching commitments to support interprofessional collaboration. This dramatic transformation of profession-specific training models required both commitment and buy-in from each program to participate while still maintaining accreditation requirements. Dedicated faculty time varied depending on overlapping responsibilities, but most participating faculty had at least 10% of their full time equivalent dedicated to the CoEPCE interprofessional work. In addition, travel to conferences was supported by CoEPCE to facilitate dissemination of curricula across sites, typically with participation in 1–2 relevant in-person conferences per year.

Approach to curricula

To teach core competencies, sites developed curricula using different primary educational modalities: shared workplace learning, didactics and reflection (Fig. 1 ). These modalities were designed to reinforce and overlap curricula from other areas. One example was an interprofessional case conferences for high-risk/high-need veterans. Initially grounded in didactics related to roles and responsibilities, one site developed weekly team interprofessional case conferences focused on care coordination and team planning for high-utilizing Veterans [ 12 ]. The impacts of this conference on trainee and patient outcomes were evaluated with iterative improvements [ 13 , 14 ]. Through this process, curricula to support the conference as a billable version of clinical care was developed and disseminated to the partner sites [ 15 ]. This was not a linear process. Instead, iteration and collaboration across sites led to the next version of the conference, which was successfully implemented at all sites. An immersive, interprofessional workplace learning environment required the VA and the academic affiliates’ commitment to flexible schedules. Most programs instituted an “X + Y” ambulatory block systems for participating internal medicine residencies, with “X” ward weeks alternating with dedicated “Y” ambulatory clinic weeks. New scheduling models and didactic alignment created dedicated time for interprofessional didactics, conferences and projects.

Examples of related curricular innovations spanning three domains of instruction techniques– didactic instruction, collaborative workplace learning, and evaluation/reflection/feedback

Implementation and dissemination

In addition to using the same four core educational competencies, and similar approaches to educational modalities (Fig. 1 ), sites balanced development of local innovation with efforts to disseminate curricula across sites. Multi-site collaboratives worked to develop curriculum, competencies and quality improvement coursework. Sites employed rapid reflection and change principles to integrate trainee feedback around curricular improvements, team dynamics and roles in real time using practical approaches. Evaluated projects became formal “implementation kits” that each site developed on a yearly basis, based on locally successful curricular innovations. These were shared cross-site via workshops, with academic partners at related educational conferences and via websites more broadly (see Table 1 for examples). Creating sustainable culture change was a conscious effort at all CoEPCE training sites. This required understanding interprofessional stereotypes, noting them, challenging them and discussing some of the underlying truths that served as foundations for how different professions view and interact with each other going forward.

Program evaluation

The evaluation of the CoEPCE was guided by the Interprofessional Learning Continuum (IPLC) model [ 3 ]. This comprehensive approach suggests that effective interprofessional education spans from pre-graduate education through graduate collaborative practice training settings and into professional practice with impacts on the culture of a health care organization. This model encouraged us to move beyond more typical measures of trainee satisfaction and assess trainees’ knowledge and skills, impacts on patient and systems outcomes, and overall culture change. Teaching learners to work in and lead teams was emphasized, with the goal of promoting interest in primary care careers.

Practical evaluation of individual site’s curricula came in the form of real-time, quality-improvement “just-in-time” evaluations supporting an iterative approach to improve content and delivery. Common examples included “Minute Papers,” [ 16 ] pre-/post applications of the “Quality Improvement Knowledge Application Tool,” [ 17 ] and learner-driven educational portfolios [ 18 ]. Sites collaborated to develop new instruments to evaluate curricular implementation, such as population health training and teamwork competencies [ 19 ]. Qualitative methods were used to collect perspectives of trainees and exit interviews of graduates related to specific teaching elements. Cross-profession interviewers were used to summarize recommendations to different programs prior to the next academic year.

The multisite evaluation examined a broad spectrum of trainee, faculty/staff, patient and systems outcomes. Multisite evaluations were more in keeping with medical education research, in which a priori hypotheses were tested by external evaluators employing methodologically rigorous qualitative and quantitative research techniques. Trainee experiences were collected with repeated cross sectional learner surveys based on a standardized tool developed for VA trainees [ 20 ]. These were collected regularly as part of all-site progress reports to monitor success and goal achievement [ 21 ]. Clinical outcomes were collected using the VA’s Corporate Data Warehouse, focusing on chronic disease metrics such as diabetes, use of high-risk medication combinations, and appropriate health care utilization patterns [ 22 ]. CoEPCE centers received a waiver of informed consent with exemptions, as the evaluation was categorized as an operation improvement activity by the Office of Academic Affairs based on Veterans Health Administration Handbook 1058.05. A comprehensive list of outcomes from interventions across sites of didactic instruction, collaborative workplace learning and reflection/feedback can be found in Appendix 1 .

For trainee and faculty/staff level outcomes, those people involved expressed a positive experience across different settings (see Appendix 1 – Participant Outcomes). Notably, trainees who graduated from CoECPE sites indicated overall trainee satisfaction and desire to continue to work in interprofessional collaborative environments, and the desire to serve as change agents to bring interprofessional models to new workplaces upon graduation, based on their CoEPCE experience [ 23 ]. Given the traditionally low percentage of internal medicine physicians entering primary care, it was interesting to see the number of participating medicine residents choosing primary care careers after graduation was high. Across sites, 47–81% of internal medicine residents entered a primary care position following graduation [ 24 ]. One site indicated a two-fold increase of residents entering primary care, from 36% of historical controls to 75% of CoEPCE graduates [ 25 ]. Given the non-randomized nature of this study, we cannot directly ascribe causality between exposure to the CoEPCE and subsequent choice, versus attracting candidates that had a pre-existing interest in primary care. However, the satisfaction reported by trainees during their training supports a positive influence on subsequent career choices. Staff satisfaction in CoEPCE clinical sites was also high; 90% of those employees reported that trainees positively impact job experience, even though 51% of employees agreed that required tasks exceed available time, a finding that was confirmed in subsequent evaluations about staff support ratios in VA interprofessional academic primary care clinics [ 26 ]. Overall, there were high levels of satisfaction, low levels of burnout, and the majority indicated they were more satisfied than at their previous workplaces.

Moving beyond trainees and faculty/staff satisfaction and future career paths, patients saw improved outcomes in important clinical areas impacted by interprofessional teams (see Appendix 1 – Patient Outcomes). Data from over 49,000 primary care patients representing 100,000 patient-years of care in CoEPCE clinics compared to controls in non-CoEPCE VA academic clinics demonstrated that patients cared for in interprofessional team training environments had improved chronic disease management, less risky medication combinations and more timely referrals to needed behavioral health resources [ 22 ]. These support meaningful outcomes related to the core competencies of interprofessional collaboration and shared decision making. These patients also had a lower risk of emergency department visits and hospitalizations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions compared to controls.

Culture change resulting from sustained interprofessional collaboration manifested in many ways. Key structural and curricular innovations were subsequently adopted into the broader residency programs, including adoption of X + Y clinic schedules, incorporation of elements of population health and interprofessional case conference curricula in pre-GME years, expansion of quality improvement curricula, implementation of health policy curricula, as well as starting interprofessional education within other primary care clinics across the residency (Table 1 ). Graduates reported the program was successful in creating new norms of flattened team hierarchies, broadening graduates’ understanding of role interaction, and teaching relational skills involving teamwork [ 27 ]. An important observation suggested that meaningful culture change takes time - for staff and trainees in these newer interprofessional settings, and that those original sites that had more than 5 years of support were more likely to sustain the culture following the termination of CoEPCE grant funding.

Specific comments by internal medicine leadership from different CoEPCE sites provide insight into the development and implementation of a large multi-site interprofessional educational model [ 24 ]:

We found that the most successful collaborative learning activities acknowledge the expertise of multiple professions and are focused on patient-centered clinical care. Successful curriculum requires experimentation and sustained incorporation of trainee feedback. Workplace learning where the learning is embedded in all aspects of clinical care is critical for buy-in from trainees and for sustained improvements in the interprofessional working environment. There is no need to wait until you have a robust clinical interprofessional team-based environment to add trainees. Trainees can be key drivers of the change. Physicians need to be cognizant of the hierarchy of the environment and role model a flattened hierarchy where all team members have a voice. [CoEPCE] has changed the way we do health care—clearly enhancing our joy in primary care and simultaneously expanding depth of team-based care and quality of the care we deliver—we couldn’t do it without the whole team!

Qualitative approaches to share the trainees’ perspectives were used at individual sites and with cross-site evaluations. Representative quotes from selected citations are listed here:

Internal Medicine Resident (CoEPCE Site #4): “ I think this is the direction of where health care’s going in this country and if this country is going to continue to administer health care, I believe that I’ll be one of the few practitioners [who] comes straight out of residency saying this is the idea of tomorrow as opposed to the ideas of yesterday.” [ 28 ]. Internal Medicine Resident (CoEPCE Site #2): “We get the opportunity (in the CoEPCE) to really know the patients, really manage the patients, put in a treatment plan, see it enacted, see the results, because we bring the patients back. We see them in a couple of weeks…in a month. We check labs and results. We call patients at home; we follow-up. My colleagues not in this program don’t have the opportunity to do this.” [ 29 ]. Psychology Fellow (CoEPCE Site #1): “What was so inspiring was the opportunity to work closely with other professionals and learning to use our professional clinical voice and being able to foster relationships with others…for really complicated patients, touching base with primary care trainees, social work, getting together…to brainstorm and talk through some of the difficult pieces and come up with a solution together.” [ 29 ]. Pharmacy Resident (CoEPCE Site #6): “One of the biggest concepts I will take away from this entire experience is the idea of psychological safety. As a clinician, it is important to feel that your input matters and having the confidence to voice your opinion or share knowledge with your health care team.” [ 29 ].

Nurse Practitioner Resident (CoEPCE Site #3): “I was really pushed; I was challenged because I had two faculty members that were always there to support me. I saw patients who were much more complex than I ever saw as a student, and I was able to because of the support I received from the team. In addition to that, I also got training in facilitation, motivational interviewing, and patient-centered care.” [ 29 ].

This decade-long experiment in interprofessional team-based training and collaborative practice resulted in broad improvements in clinical learning environment, patient outcomes and the culture of care at participating institutions. Normalizing the change allowed for sustainment of the culture at the end of formal funding. The majority of sites continued interprofessional curricula and supporting structure in the form of “Centers of Education” that are embedded into the training programs. These models were supported based on their history and successful impacts on learners, staff, trainees and patients. The CoEPCE prepared trainees to work not only in local and partner institutions but more broadly in the health care system where quality metrics and remuneration are tied to value-based, team based care [ 30 ]. In addition, most sites have been successful at producing practice-ready health professionals that opt to work at their local institution or serve as agents of change in partner institutions, which has diversified and improved the primary care workforce. Given ongoing concerns regarding primary care workforce shortages, ensuring robust training programs is particularly important [ 31 ]. At the same time, the CoEPCE experience indicates that collaboration of all professions in the team is needed to optimize care of outpatients– team-based care is not a means to replace a particular profession or role.

Limitations to our findings include heterogeneity in curricula across sites which may limit applicability in other venues. The scope of this project and multiple parties involved in developing, implementing and evaluating different curricula over the CoEPCE timeframe contributed to the challenges in finding uniformly applicable approaches. We had limited direct metrics or outcomes from the four core competencies, particularly related to sustained relationships between CoEPCE trainees and patients, although collected trainee qualitative data suggest that trainees perceived high levels of continuous relationships with peers, patients and faculty. Lessons learned may not be as applicable to non-VA training sites in the US, or to those outside the US. At the same time, the findings reported in this paper, data from papers referenced, and references included in the associated appendix provide myriad examples on approaches that may be more applicable or successful in differing contexts.

Physician leadership in the CoEPCE summarized these important take-home lessons from this experience: (1) Challenge yourself to move beyond the easy outcomes; Evaluation design should not only include trainee satisfaction, but assess actual behavior change, with resultant improved practice, system change, and a transformed culture. (2) Provide dedicated structure for both interprofessional trainees and faculty to develop and understand shared goals, guiding principles, and roles and scopes of practice; this required time and conscious efforts to facilitate venues for socialization by faculty and trainees from different programs to inform collaboration, value of other professions’ unique skills, roles and culture change. (3) Purposefully model interprofessional co-leadership, self-reflection and practical evaluation approaches in a variety of settings; this was deemed important to develop, demonstrate and reinforce these behaviors in learners. (4) Aim for integration of curriculum by intentionally linking didactic instruction, collaborative workplace learning and reflection/evaluation/feedback. (5) “participants were encouraged by their leadership to embrace disruptive chaos; acknowledging the fact that trying new methods of collaboration and instruction may lead to conflicts or failures, but overtly allowing permission for this would eventually promote learning, innovation and successful, sustained interprofessional training programs.

Developing a set of common competencies and aligning educationalpractice to support cross-profession collaboration and cross-site implementation can provide robust learning environment for interprofessional learners. When implemented successfully, this may be associated with improved trainee experience, staff satisfaction and patient care. Ongoing work to support and disseminate successful approaches in this area are still very much required.

Data availability

The evidence generated and/or analysed during the current study are available in the publications listed in the supplementary material. The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study that are not referenced are available from the authors (WGW, RB, JW) on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the OAA leaders of the VA’s Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education, as well as the local faculty, staff and trainees that participated in this ongoing experiment.

Funding for the Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education was provided by the Office of Academic Affairs, United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

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WGW and RB wrote the main manuscript text; JEW developed the supplementary material, MKS described the curricular elements in Fig. 1 , and all authors contributed publications to Table 1 and the supplementary material, as well as collaborated on the intervensions, provided examples, reviewed and edited the manuscript.

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As mentioned in the text, evaluations were deemed to be quality improvement activities as part of programmatic work with a waiver of informed consent, per Veterans Health Administration policies.

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Websites for participating CoEPCE sites and related tracks/curricula. Boise VA - https://boisevacoe.org/ . San Francisco VA - https://vadgim.ucsf.edu/education/sfva-center-excellence-primary-care-education-coepce . Cleveland VA - https://my.clevelandclinic.org/-/scassets/files/org/medicine-institute/imrp/coe-recruitment-flyer-2021-2022.pdf?la=en . Seattle VA - https://uwmedres.uw.edu/program/pathways/coe . Yale/West Haven VA - Polypharmacy kit: https://improvepolypharmacy.yale.edu/ .

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Weppner, W.G., Singh, M.K., Wipf, J.E. et al. Culture change and lessons learned from ten years in the VA centers of excellence in primary care education. BMC Med Educ 24 , 457 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05390-6

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Kudos to Kinscherff: Long-time Professor and Forensics Expert Contributes to Landmark Decision by State Supreme Judicial Court

By Hannah Van Sickle
Apr 26, 2024

Distilling the myriad career interests of Robert Kinscherff, Phd, JD , down to a single, salient takeaway begs an abundance of creativity. The self-described clinical and forensic psychologist turned attorney enjoys spending time at the intersection of neuroscience and related behavioral sciences, including psychology, with aspects of policy and law ranging from child protection and development to criminal sentencing. Kinscherff’s more than three decades of experience in this arena mean his words carry weight. In mid January, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court delivered a landmark decision (Commonwealth v. Mattis) extending the state’s bar on imposing Life Without Possibility of Parole (LWOP) for any crimes committed under age 18 to include persons ages 18 through 20 at the time they committed a crime— including homicide. (In 2013, the Supreme Judicial Court relied on US Supreme Court precedent and developmental brain and behavior science in banning LWOP sentences for persons who committed murder under the age of 18.) Without Kinscherff’s live testimony, science might have missed its day in court.

“Some of the most important decisions that will impact an individual's life are made by courts and legislators,” says Kinscherff, underscoring a sobering fact: “While the notions [and beliefs] that shape [these] individuals’ decision making are often informed by science—often they are not informed by science,” says Kinscherff. For example, in working on cases of adolescents and young adults charged or convicted of very serious crimes, Kinscherff noticed an unfounded and unspoken—albeit pervasive —belief permeating sentencing practices that a young person who committed a very serious crime was likely beyond rehabilitation, particularly if the crime was an especially heinous murder. In fact, there is no science to support that assumption and most youthful offenders will desist from both minor and serious crimes as they mature, especially if provided opportunities to assume meaningful and positive adult roles. It is not even possible to reliably predict the ultimate life-course of an adolescent or emerging young adult, even those who have committed serious crimes including homicide. Indeed, recent research has established that youthful homicide offenders released from prison after their 20’s have substantially lower recidivism rates than persons imprisoned for other kinds of crime. Taken along with the evolving research on brain development among emerging adults, the presumed link between a heinous crime and limited potential for rehabilitation turns out simply to be wrong.

“Young people are capable of remarkable change and growth over the course of their lives,” says Kinscherff, a “translational” scientist keen on taking scientific research and applying it to real-world situations where understanding that brain development continues well into an individual’s twenties needs to be common knowledge. For example, a White Paper on the Science of Late Adolescence , developed by Kinscherff and his colleagues at the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital was provided as evidence in the Mattis case along with testimony from two other national experts. The same science is taught in the forensic psychology courses that Kinscherff teaches as a Professor at William James College.

“The scientific record strongly supports the contention that emerging adults have the same core neurological characteristics as juveniles have,” wrote Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd in the majority opinion. Specifically, an enormous body of evidence about neurodevelopment demonstrates that the brains of the 20-year-old and the 13-year-old are similar when it comes to acting on impulse, taking risks, seeking immediate reward and yielding to peer influence. “As such, they must be granted a meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation,” she added in the long-awaited ruling in the case of Mattis vs. Massachusetts. In 2011, 18-year-old Sheldon Mattis was sentenced to LWOP for his involvement in a homicide; the individual who fired the gun, 17-year-old Nyasani Watt, was tried and sentenced as a juvenile and deemed eligible for a parole hearing after serving 15 years. As a result of this ruling Mattis, who was sentenced as an adult, will now have the same opportunity to demonstrate his growth and rehabilitation after serving at least 20 years.

In his current role, as executive director of the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at Mass General Hospital (CLBB), Kinscherff remains committed to making the legal system more effective and fair for those affected by the law—seeds sown in 1983 when he came to Boston for what was to be a one-year internship at Boston Children’s Hospital and The Baker Center for Children and Families. Kinscherff credits Dr. Kenneth Herman, founder of the Children and Law Program at Massachusetts General Hospital (a “rare bird” and “splendid mentor” at the time, given his dual expertise in law and psychology) as whetting the young scholar’s appetite for applying scientific knowledge to legal decisions.

“I got a taste of [what I found to be] really interesting work with the potential for significant impact,” says Kinscherff of providing reliable, science-based information capable of shaping court decisions. At the close of his internship year, he took a job at the Boston Juvenile Court clinic and the rest—as Kinscherff says—is history.

Kinscherff’s affiliation with William James College dates back to the late 1990s when he arrived on campus to co-teach the sole course in forensic psychology at the time. His early enthusiasm for developing the College’s forensic holdings and related faculty expertise led to the concentration in Forensic Psychology which Kinscherff defines as, “the use of the behavioral science of psychology in order to develop forensically defensible—meaning defensible on the method of the science—evidence to assist legislators, judges, attorneys, [and other] individuals before the court in making decisions.” Following a stint as Director of Forensic Studies, Kinscherff assumed the position of Associate Vice President for Community Engagement where he was instrumental in establishing Juvenile Court Clinics (JCC) in Suffolk and Norfolk counties operated by William James College under an agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the Trial Court of Massachusetts. Since joining the CLBB as Executive Director three years ago, Kinscherff retains an active teaching role on campus. He never tires of gleaning information from journals geared toward behavioral scientists and lawyers and applying it to real activities touching the lives of real people.

“That’s the part of the work I love the most,” says Kinscherff who, most days, can be found in and around the court systems, and increasingly now state legislatures across the country, delivering science-based testimony on legislation, criminal justice, and juvenile justice. For students keen on integrating psychology and the law, William James College has paved a pair of pathways—one each in the Clinical Psychology PsyD and Clinical Mental Health Counseling MA programs.

“I would encourage any person with a solid grounding in clinical psychology, looking to develop expertise in one of the areas of forensic psychology, to seriously consider William James College as a place not only to be trained but also to position themselves for an impactful career,” says Kinscherff, more confident than ever that neuroscience is poised to become inextricable from popular culture.

“What used to be an arcane enterprise is now an area of focus in increasing demand,” he says of forensic psychology courses spanning the gamut from high school to graduate level—a trend on track to become even more common in the very near future.

“[While] the people who populate the legislatures and the courts are for the most part intelligent, earnest and honorable human beings, the system itself has well-documented flaws, some of which could be remedied if we simply followed the science,” says Kinscherff, pointing to the Mattis court ruling. Upon delivery of the long-awaited decision, 203 individuals in Massachusetts sentenced to LWOP as young adults will be eligible for parole or a resentencing hearing after serving 15 years, a factor that comes with far-reaching consequences—especially among the disproportionate number of people of color entangled in the criminal justice system as well as those facing addiction and other chronic adversity.

While the tide has turned, the work is far from finished. Last fall, Kinscherff and a colleague were invited to address over 150 judges who sit on cases in immigration and asylum hearings involving minors; the topic of their talk, rooted in child development and child trauma, touched on big-picture questions including, What does a traumatized child look like? and What is the best way to engage with a child to get reliable information about their experiences and perceptions?

As to Kinscherff’s perspective of these professionals, tasked with making life-altering decisions for others on a daily basis? “They were extremely interested to know what the science had to say.”

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Phone: 718-488-1164. Email: [email protected] . Philip S. Wong, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology. Director, Ph.D. Program in Clinical Psychology. Email: [email protected] . For additional information about the application process to the Ph.D. Program click the "Application Instructions" link on the sidebar. Questions related to the ...

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Psy.D. In Clinical Psychology. Welcome to the Clinical Psychology Psy.D. Program at Florida Institute of Technology. The program at Florida Tech that leads to a Psy.D. in clinical psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association* and offers students training based on a practitioner-scholar model that prepares students for entry-level positions as clinical psychologists.

Credit Hours: 114-124. Entry Term: Fall. The APA-accredited doctorate program in clinical psychology at Georgia Southern University (GS) is a full time, day program offering a course of study leading to the Doctor of Clinical Psychology degree. The program's curriculum prepares graduates for the practice of psychology with a special focus on ...

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Background Team-based care is critical to achieving health care value while maximizing patient outcomes. Few descriptions exist of graduate-level team training interventions and practice models. Experience from the multisite, decade-long Veterans Affairs (VA) Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education provides lessons for developing internal medicine training experiences in ...

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_Edith Wharton Review_

Announcing: “Notes On…” for the Edith Wharton Review (the official refereed journal of the Edith Wharton Society)

Broadening the journal’s practice of including shorter essays alongside full-length scholarly articles, the Edith Wharton Review introduces a regular, ongoing section that aims to give greater visibility to shorter, less formal commentary while also expanding the scope of Wharton-related topics. The new section, entitled “Notes On …” (with a strong emphasis on the ellipses), aims to highlight the joys and inspirations - intellectual, emotional, professional, personal, among other possibilities - that Wharton’s works offer to her readers. “Notes On…” reflects the editors’ interest in the range of epistemologies that we all bring to the reading and teaching of Wharton’s work, and that of her contemporaries. While the journal’s anonymous peer-reviewed articles are crucial to advancing historical and critical scholarship in the fields of literary studies and provide intense gratifications of their own, essays appearing in the “Notes On…” section invite readers and writers to reflect together about the pleasures and challenges of reading, teaching, watching, discovering and thinking with Wharton’s work today. “Notes On…” invites reflections on the illuminating moment in the many forms that it may take in Wharton’s work. The section’s focus - more embodied at times; at times more affective - offers a greater use of the personal voice and formal experimentation than those that appear among the anonymous peer-reviewed articles (submissions to “Notes On …” are peer-reviewed by the editors). Contributions may offer perspectives on teaching a particular novel or range of texts; insights arising from archival work; ruminations upon what it means, or even how it feels, to read Wharton’s work in a particular historical context, place or at different life stages; reviews of and responses to popular culture productions and discussions of Wharton’s work presented in different formats - or any number of other subjects edifying, engaging, and perhaps diverting for our Wharton readers.

Suggested length for submissions is approximately 5-10 pages. Queries about possible topics can be directed to the editor: ( [email protected] ), or any one of the associate editors: ( [email protected] ); ( [email protected] ), ( [email protected] ).

The journal continues to welcome, with appreciation and enthusiasm, full-length critical, scholarly essays on Wharton for its blind peer-reviewed articles section and is open to all Wharton-related topics from a broad range of theoretical perspectives. Suggested length is approximately 20-30 pages. Enqueries welcome (rbode#trentu.ca). Details on submission are available at:

https://www.psupress.org/journals/jnls_EWR.html .

Submissions are welcome on a rolling basis.

COMMENTS

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Announcing: "Notes On…" for the Edith Wharton Review (the official refereed journal of the Edith Wharton Society). Broadening the journal's practice of including shorter essays alongside full-length scholarly articles, the Edith Wharton Review introduces a regular, ongoing section that aims to give greater visibility to shorter, less formal commentary while also expanding the scope of ...

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