Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology

Doctor of Psychology

The Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology offers a course of study and supervised experiences to prepare scholar-professionals – i.e., clinical psychologists who combine the science of psychology with practical clinical applications. In addition to gaining a broad spectrum of information, students hone the skills required of competent clinical psychologists.

The key to the program is individualized training. The program is also designed to help students compete in a career field that is in a constant state of change.

Model of Training

The full-time program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and offers five years of intensive professional training in psychology leading to a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) degree. The program follows the model of training developed by the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (NCSPP).

This model specifies seven areas of core competency: relationship, assessment, intervention, diversity, research and evaluation, consultation and education, and management and supervision. In each of the areas, the curriculum provides substantial opportunities for learning.

Additionally, students receive training in core foundation areas basic to the science of psychology. While the primary theoretical orientation of the program is psychodynamic, students are also exposed to a number of other orientations, including cognitive/behavioral, social constructionist, interpersonal, and family systems.

Didactic and experiential components of the program are combined in the curriculum, which is designed to achieve a balance between classroom instruction and practical experience. Required areas of instruction are paralleled by relevant supervised clinical experience through a system of practicum and internship field placements. This facilitates the integration of theory with practice.

Course Locations and Schedules   

Most courses are held on the Main Campus. Courses are offered primarily during the day. First year students are in agency field placements on Monday and Wednesday. Second and third year students are in agency field placements on Monday and Friday. Fourth and fifth year students are in their internship placements on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Admission Criteria

Evaluation of an applicant's ability to do graduate work will be based on past academic performance and high scores on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Applicant's will have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution; GPA of 3.2 or better; a total score of 1200 on the Graduate Record Exam; supplementary statement describing career goals, motivation, and clinical experience; three letters of recommendation; and an autobiography.

At the time of matriculation, courses in introductory psychology and statistics are required.

Program Completion

There is a three-year core curriculum that includes sequential courses in five major areas: foundations of professional practice, including ethics, psychopharmacology, social, learning, history and systems, research, and neuropsychology; psychopathology (child and adult); including diagnostic nomenclature and individual psychodynamics; diagnostic techniques, including cognitive evaluation, projective testing, objective testing, and family systems analysis; intervention techniques, including psychoanalytic psychotherapy, behavior therapy, group therapy, family therapy, and cognitive problem-solving approaches; developmental psychology, which assumes the understanding of the whole person in the life cycle. The final two years of study provide intensified and expanded course work in three tracks; basic professional-theoretical psychology, diagnostic techniques, and intervention training.

The total program including the internship comprises five full-time years.

Transfer Credit

Students may be excused from those courses that are equivalent to courses that have been taken at the graduate level if the student has earned a grade of B or better.

Exclusively Affiliated Internship

Students are in field placement during each of the five years of training. The first three years are practica, which are introductory experiences designed to acquaint the students with a variety of clinical settings in which they can develop fundamental skills in the six core competency areas. Each practicum offers progressively more responsibility and patient/staff interaction.

The last two years of the program comprise the accredited internship. The internship experience includes didactic course work and internship rotations at various sites. The “exclusively affiliated” internship with its various rotations is unique to Widener University’s PsyD program. In most programs, students must apply for appropriate internships independent of the graduate program.

Although our students do apply, interview for, and are accepted to our various rotations sites, the internship itself is embedded in the program and relieves the student of the apprehension and inconvenience of an external process. The APA-approved internship is carried out on a half-time basis during the fourth and fifth years.

Accreditation

The PsyD program has been fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, (202)336-5979 since 1979.

Joint Degree and Other Programs 

We offer several certificate and joint degree programs for the Doctor of Psychology: (1) the six-year law/psychology program with Widener University’s School of Law leads to the JD/PsyD; (2) the Postdoctoral Respecialization program, a three-year full-time program, leads to a Certificate of Respecialization; (3) the joint degree programs with the School of business Administration lead to the PsyD/MBA and PsyD/MBA in Health Care Management; (4) the dual degree program with the Master of Public Administration dual degree program leads to the PsyD/MPA, and (6) the Master of Education in Human Sexuality dual degree program leads to the PsyD/Med.

Areas of Concentration  

Concentrations are possible in: brief psychotherapies, cognitive/behavioral therapy, cross-cultural psychology, family therapy, forensic psychology, group psychotherapy, health psychology, neuropsychology, organizational psychology, psychoanalytic psychology, and school psychology.

Certification Programs

Upon completion of the school psychology concentration, including course work and the required field work in public school and other settings, students are recommended for Pennsylvania School Psychology Certification by the director of the School Psychology Concentration through Widener’s Center for Education.  

Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology
Bruce Hall
1604 Walnut Street

Widener University
One University Place
Chester, PA 19013|
tel: (610) 499-1206
fax: (610) 499-4625
graduate.psychology@widener.edu