https://www.wheaton.edu/graduate-school/degrees/phd-in-clinical-psychology/

The Ph.D. is designed to prepare students for careers in applied areas of clinical psychology. While requiring a strong program of core courses in the basic areas of psychology, the primary focus of developing professional skills necessary for clinical practice is taught through the applied course work. These courses include a sequence of assessment courses, core paradigm or theory courses, therapeutic interviewing skills, and ethics and professional issues. Practicum/Clerkship training at professional sites begins in the second and continues through the fourth year.

Director, Benjamin Pyykkonen
Interim Director Clinical Training, Ward Davis

Requirements for admission to the Ph.D. program include completion of the bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a minimum 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale. In addition, at least 18 semester hours in psychology are required, including at least one course in each of the following groups of courses:

  • Abnormal psychology or psychopathology

  • Quantitative methods, statistics, research methods, or experimental design

  • Physiological psychology

  • One course from the traditional scientific subdisciplines (i.e., learning, cognition, sensation/perception, developmental, personality, or social psychology, or industrial/organizational psychology).

Applicants must take the GRE general test. Personal interviews are required for all finalists in the application process.

Requirements for the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology are 122 semester hours of course work. Degree requirements must be completed within seven years of the first date of enrollment. Required courses include:

Scientific Foundations of Psychology17
History & Systems
Psychopathology
Biological Bases of Behavior
Cognition & Emotion
Lifespan Development
Advanced Social Psychology
Applied Psychology Research20
Research and Statistics I
Research and Statistics II
Stats: Correlation & Reg
Research Lab (5 credits total required for degree)
Advanced Research Lab (taken during the final 3 semesters on campus)
Psychological Assessment6
Psychological Assessment I: Cognitive Foundations
Psychological Assessment II: Personality Foundations
Psychological Interventions9
Cognitive-Behavioral Theory and Practice
Psychoanalytic and Contemporary Psychodynamic Theory and Practice
Family Systems Theory and Therapy
Ethics and Professional Development6
Professional Development and Ethics I
Clinical Supervision and Consultation
Special and Underserved Populations6
Class, Gender, Race, Religion & Sexual Identity
Community and Preventive Psychology
Integration of Faith and Psychology17
Foundations of Integration
Spirituality I
Spirituality II
Spirituality III
Spirituality IV
Theological and Religious Issues in Psychotherapy
Theological Anthropology
Christian Theology
Foundations for Biblical Interpretation
Global Church History
Clinical Psychology Electives9
Select 9 credits
Clinical Training19
Basic Clinical Interviewing Skills
Practicum Seminar (1 credit each, 4 credits total required for PhD)
Practica I, II, III, IV (2 credits each, 8 credits total required for PhD)
Advanced Practicum I
Advanced Practicum I Seminar
Advanced Practicum II
Advanced Practicum II Seminar
Clinical Internship and Dissertation13
Students must successfully complete and orally defend a clinical dissertation (PSYC 993 & PSYC 898) and complete an approved clinical internship (PSYC 896) to graduate.
Clinical Internship
Clinical Dissertation
Clinical Dissertation Proposal
Examinations
Psy.D. students must successfully pass the following:
Comprehensive Exam (written examination covering the areas of basic and applied psychology)
Professional Qualifying Exam (PQE) (based on a clinical case presentation)
Total Credits122

The Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology will be granted to students in the Ph.D. program upon completion of 48 credits, including a minimum of 42 hours of 700-level courses in psychology. The required courses that must be completed are:

PSYC 714Professional Development and Ethics I3
PSYC 716Basic Clinical Interviewing Skills3
PSYC 717Class, Gender, Race, Religion & Sexual Identity3
PSYC 736Cognitive-Behavioral Theory and Practice3
PSYC 737Psychoanalytic and Contemporary Psychodynamic Theory and Practice3
PSYC 738Family Systems Theory and Therapy3
PSYC 743Psychological Assessment I: Cognitive Foundations3
PSYC 744Psychological Assessment II: Personality Foundations3
PSYC 746Research and Statistics I3
PSYC 747Research and Statistics II3
PSYC 753Psychopathology3
PSYC 773Lifespan Development3
PSYC 795Practicum Seminar (1 credit each, 2 credits total required for MA)2
PSYC 796Practica I, II, III, IV (2 credits each, 4 credits total required for MA)4
BITH 561Theological Anthropology2
BITH 565Christian Theology4
Total Credits48

A maximum of 12 credits applied to the M.A. degree may be transfer credit. Students should file for candidacy for the master's degree after 28 credit hours are completed. To receive approval of candidacy, students will need to document that all prerequisites for admission have been satisfactorily completed. Further, adequacy of progress in academic and professional skill areas and suitability for professional practice in psychology will be reviewed. Students who have a master's degree in clinical psychology from Wheaton upon matriculation into the Ph.D. program may not obtain a second M.A. in this field.