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The Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.)

• Prepares clinical psychologists to serve as practitioners or psychotherapists

• Normally spans a five-year period

• Accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA)**

• Offers Psy.D. in Generalist, Family Studies, and Leadership Tracks

Distinctively Fuller
By placing the cross of Jesus Christ in the heart of psychological education, Fuller's School of Psychology ventures to create a unique graduate-level educational experience. With a history spanning over 35 years, Fuller continues to prepare a distinctive kind of clinical psychologist: women and men whose understandings and actions are deeply informed by both psychology and the Christian faith.

Our integrative approach is built on the conviction that Christian persons with refined clinical and evaluation skills will extend a special quality of assistance to individuals on their journeys toward wholeness. The Clinical Psychology course of study at Fuller melds psychology and theology in clinical practice.

Fuller students benefit from our person-centered approach as well. The full-time, daytime program allows students to progress through their program as a group. Each student is also assigned a faculty advisor who is a mentor throughout the student's academic studies and doctoral dissertation. This mutual commitment of faculty to student and student to student forms a community that becomes a source of shared faith, knowledge, and friendship.

While fostering Christian vision, Fuller aims to develop the highest quality of professional competence. We anticipate that our graduates will become public servants who thoughtfully integrate Christian faith with psychology to address contemporary challenges such as substance abuse, persistent mental illness, neuropsychological disorders, depression, family dysfunction, and posttraumatic stress experienced by relief workers.

The purpose of the Psy.D. program is to train Christian psychologists with a focus in clinical practice and clinical evaluation. Students can choose the Psy.D. Family psychology track if they wish to receive specialized training within a family systems framework. The family psychology track includes coursework, research, and field training opportunities from a systems perspective. Students in this track will benefit from the expertise of our marriage and family faculty in addition to our clinical psychology faculty.

Faculty
Every member of Fuller's internationally known faculty is a committed Christian who approaches his or her discipline with personal faith and dedication to the teachings of Jesus Christ. These scholars and practitioners bring to the classroom a wealth of training and experience, including ministries that extend beyond the seminary. In addition to the role of teacher/mentor, Fuller faculty members contribute leadership to professional organizations and are called upon to speak at conferences and seminars around the world.

The research foci of our faculty vary widely, covering such topics as neuropsychology, religious faith and coping, stress and trauma, spirituality and health, religious and moral development in youth, religion and psychotherapy, shame and guilt in psychology and religion, marital and family therapy, and mental health issues of pastors.

Curriculum
Using the practitioner-evaluator model, the Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology trains professionals to provide clinical services, and to implement and evaluate innovative treatment programs. This program is normally accomplished in five years and requires the completion of at least 258 units. In the Psy.D. program, students are awarded a Master of Arts in Psychology after completing 88 selected units and can earn a Master of Arts in Christian Leadership after completing 76 units of selected theology (64 of which are required for the Psy.D. degree). Course work is divided into the following categories:

• General psychology

• Research /evaluation

• Theology/integration

• Clinical psychology

Fuller places a high emphasis on field training. Eight local community programs are operated by Fuller's Psychological Center and students gain supervised training in these programs and through a variety of placements in the Greater Los Angeles area. Two years of practica, one year of clerkship (to develop assessment skills), and a final one-year internship are integral to the program.

The Clinical Psychology curriculum follows the guidelines set by the Committee on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association, through which the Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology degree is approved.

Outcomes
Currently, more than 1,200 School of Psychology alumni/ae serve in colleges and universities, medical centers, research facilities, private practices, and churches. Nearly 600 of these are doctoral graduates. As practitioners, researchers, and educators, Fuller graduates are working globally to expand the understanding of emotional and spiritual functioning of persons, both as individuals and in relationships.

Admissions Information
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Applicants for the Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology program must submit the following:

• Official transcripts of all post-secondary schools attended, showing a bachelor's degree earned from an accredited institution of higher learning, with a cumulative psychology grade point average of 3.5 to be competitive; and the following satisfactory prerequisite course work:
   

  1. One statistics course in a behavioral science department taken within five years of applying for the program
      

  2. A minimum of five courses in basic psychology.  Examples include:

  Abnormal/Psychopathology, Cognition/Cognitive, Development/Child/Adolescent, Experimental/Research Methods, Introduction, History and Systems, Learning, Motivation, Perception/Sensation, Personality, Physiological/ Psychobiology, Tests and Measures/ Psychometrics.

• Satisfactory official test scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), taken within the past five years. The combined quantitative and verbal sections of the GRE should reflect a minimum score of 1100 in order to be competitive. Applicants are also required to report their scores from the psychology subject GRE. Click here to go to the GRE website.

• Evidence of personal maturity as communicated through four references, the applicant's written statement of background and purpose, and the applicant's religious autobiography.

• Fuller's application form, with application fee attached.

Note: Those whose principal language is not English or those whose primary language of instruction in college was not English must either submit a test score of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) taken within the past two years (with a minimum score of 600 on the paper test, 250 on the computer test, or 100 on the Internet-based test) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic Format taken within the past two years (with a minimum score of 7.0).

To request an application packet or more information about the application process click here. If you would like to apply on-line, click here.

**For more information on our APA accreditation, please contact the American Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation.

American Psychological Association
Commission on Accreditation
750 First St. N.E.
Washington, DC 20002
202.336.5979