Contact Person: Cathy Rawlings http://cas.umkc.edu/psychology/GCPhD.asp

Note: The information on the Department of Psychology web pages (link above) supersedes information in this Department of Psychology catalog section, as the catalog is updated only once per year.

The Clinical Psychology (Health Emphasis) Track is a full-time, day-time clinical program of graduate study that provides professional education in the entry-level science and practice of clinical psychology. Within this broader context, the program also integrates clinical and epidemiological research with the health and life sciences, providing science-practice training in clinical health psychology. Based on a scientist-practitioner model, the program seeks to:

• Enhance the public health, broadly defined, through rigorous training of students (education mission).

• Provide an accessible resource for the integration of behavioral sciences and health research and healthcare (service mission).

• Develop knowledge and enhance health outcomes through empirical research (research and evaluation mission).

• Incorporate integrity and respect for human and intellectual diversity in all our activities (human mission).

The program's clinical training and services are grounded in a commitment to the integration of science and practice. Program faculty and students are actively involved in community and healthcare systems to promote a high quality of life for all.

* UMKC also offers a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology through the School of Education. For information on that program, please see http://education.umkc.edu/CEP.

Students completing the Clinical Psychology (Health Emphasis) Track will demonstrate:

1. Competence in the evaluation, conduct, and dissemination of research. 
2. Entry-level skill in the delivery of empirically-supported clinical services, including science-practice integration in assessment, treatments, and preventive interventions.
3. Ethical conduct and high professional standards in research and clinical situations, including sensitivity to issues of diversity in research and practice.
4. Knowledge in the theoretical and scientific foundations of clinical health psychology and skill in clinical health psychology research and evidence-based, entry-level practice, as it is integrated within the broader context of clinical psychology.
5. Understanding of the breadth areas of scientific psychology and their application to clinical and clinical health psychology.

The program is designed for applicants with a prior bachelor's or master's level degree. New students are admitted in fall semester only. Because the program receives applications from many more qualified individuals than can be admitted, admission is competitive (see links to detailed information below). All application materials must be received by December 5 to be considered for admission the following fall. Visit the Clinical Psychology (Health Emphasis) Track web page for current application procedures and links to other helpful application resources.

The following are minimum criteria recommended for admission:

1. A bachelor's degree in Psychology, Counseling, Special Education or other health-related discipline such as Pre-Med or Nursing. Satisfactory completion of prior coursework in Introductory/General Psychology, Experimental Methods/Research Design and Statistics/Quantitative Methods is required. Satisfactory completion of prior coursework in at least two of the following areas is also strongly recommended: Abnormal Psychology, Personality, Biopsychology, Sensation and Perception, Cognitive Psychology, Motivation, Social Psychology.

2. Undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or graduate GPA of 3.5. Alternative criteria may be accepted at the discretion of the admissions committee if there is good reason to believe the regular criteria do not adequately portray the student’s potential to do quality work in the program. However, admission to the program is highly competitive, and we seek to admit students with a general history of excellence. A disclosure of the average GPA of students recently admitted to the program can be accessed through the program Web page.

3. Competitive Graduate Record Examination scores from the general test (GRE Math + Verbal greater than 300; Analytical Writing score of at least 4.5). Students whose scores fall below this recommended minimum may present additional evidence of their capacity to do quality doctoral-level work. Such additional evidence will be considered and accepted at the discretion of the Clinical Admissions Committee. A disclosure of the GRE scores of students recently admitted to the program can be accessed through the program web page.

4. Demonstrated evidence of interest in clinical health research. The program follows a mentorship model. Therefore, applicants whose research interests are similar to those of the faculty will be given higher consideration. A listing of program faculty interests and research can be accessed through the Department of Psychology People web page.

5. History of personal conduct consistent with the ability to adhere to high standards of student conduct, as outlined in the UMKC Standard for Student Conduct, and professional conduct as outlined by the American Psychological Association and state licensure boards.

Because clinical and health psychology are empirically-based disciplines, the program emphasizes continuous involvement in research and practice. For this reason, students primarily interested in psychotherapy and clinical or counseling practice without a strong interest in the scientific aspect of the scientist/practitioner model would be better served by other programs.

The program typically accepts four students each year. Applicants are evaluated based on the following dimensions:

1. Academic potential
2. Research potential
3. Interpersonal skills and other indications of potential for clinical work
4. Professional identity and involvement
5. Evidence of high ethical standards

The program follows the American Psychological Association Guidelines for Graduate School Offers and Acceptances.

 

Admission Procedure

New students are admitted in fall semester only. Because the program receives applications from many more qualified individuals than can be admitted, admission into the program is highly competitive. A disclosure of relevant data for students recently admitted to the program can be accessed through the Clinical Psychology (Health Emphasis) Track web page. All application materials must be received by December 5 to be considered for admission in the following fall. Please see the Clinical Psychology (Health Emphasis) Track web page for current application procedures.

The program follows the American Psychological Association Guidelines for Graduate School Offers and Acceptances.

A detailed description of program policies and procedures, including the requirements for retention, is available in the student handbook which can be accessed through the Clinical Psychology (Health Emphasis) Track web page.

The following represents the program’s core curriculum.

First Year

Fall Semester	Course Name	Hours
PSYCH 5509	Assessment I: Intellectual & Cognitive Assessment	3
PSYCH 5516	Quantitative Analysis I:Regression & Analysis of Variance	3
PSYCH 5533	Psychopathology	3
PSYCH 5580	Evidenced Based Clinical Practice
or
PSYCH 5632	Health Psychology Interventions	3
PSYCH 5590	Directed Research
or
PSYCH 5599	Thesis(1)	1
	Total Hours	13
Spring Semester	Course Name	Hours
PSYCH 5510	Assessment Methods in Professional Counseling	3
PSYCH 5517	Quantitative Analysis II: Advanced Topics in Regression  & Multivariate Data Analysis	3
PSYCH 5590	Directed Research
or
PSYCH 5599	Thesis(1)	1
PSYCH 5601	Experimental Methods in Design	3
	Total Hours	10
Summer Semester		Hours
PSYCH 5650	Clinical Practicum(optional)(2)	1

Second Year

Fall Semester	Course Name	Hours
PSYCH 5580	Structural Equation Modeling
or
PSYCH 5580	Hierarchical Modeling	3
PSYCH 5590	Directed Research
or
PSYCH 5599	Thesis(1)	2
PSYCH 5580	Evidenced Based Clinical Practice
or
PSYCH 5632	Health Psychology Interventions (3)	3
PSYCH 5631	Theoretical Foundations of Health Psychology	3
PSYCH 5650	Clinical Practicum	3
	Total Hours	14
Spring Semester	Course Name	Hours
PSYCH 5538	Development & Evaluation of Assessment Tools	3
PSYCH 0000	Core Psychology (4)	3
PSYCH 0000	Core Psychology (4)
or
PSYCH 5580	Special Topics in Health Psychology	3
PSYCH 5590	Directed Research
or
PSYCH 5599	Thesis(1)	2
PSYCH 5650	Clinical Practicum	3
	Total Hours	14
Summer Semester		Hours
PSYCH 5650	Clinical Practicum(optional)(2)	1

Third Year

Fall Semester	Course Name	Hours
PSYCH 0000	Core Psychology (4)	3
PSYCH 5580	Supervision	3
PSYCH 5650	Clinical Practicum	1
PSYCH 5696	Pre-Dissertation(5)	2
	Total Hours	9
Spring Semester
PSYCH 0000	Core Psychology (4) or Special Topics in Health Psychology	3
PSYCH 5650	Clinical Practicum	1
PSYCH 5696	Pre-Dissertation(5)	2
	Total Hours	6
Summer Semester
PSYCH 5650	Clinical Practicum(optional)(2)	1

Fourth Year

Fall Semester	Course Name	Hours
PSYCH 0000	Core Psychology (4)	3
PSYCH 5650	Clinical Practicum	1
PSYCH 5699	Research & Dissertation (5)	2
	Total Hours	6
Spring Semester		Hours
PSYCH 0000	Core Psychology (4)	3
PSYCH 5650	Clinical Practicum	1
PSYCH 5699	Research & Dissertation(5)	2
	Total Hours	6

Fifth Year

Fall Semester	Course Name	Hours
PSYCH 5660	Clinical Health Psychology Internship (6)	1
PSYCH 5699	Research & Dissertation(7)	1
	Total Hours	2
Spring Semester	Course Name	Hours
PSYCH 5660	Clinical Health Psychology Internship (6)	1
PSYCH 5699	Research & Dissertation(7)	1
	Total Hours	2

Core Psychology = PSYCH 5521 Advanced Social; PSYCH 5507 Cognitive Psychology OR
PSYCH 5505 Motivation; PSYCH 5518 Advanced Biopsychology; PSYCH 5515 Advanced Systems and History of Psychology; Developmental Requirement (e.g., PSYCH 5522 Contemporary Issues in Developmental Psychology; PSYCH 5543 Adult Development/Aging)

Footnotes about the Core Curriculum:
Note: A course number of 5580 denotes a “Special Topics” course.  If more than one special topics course is offered in a semester, individual courses will be denoted with letters (e.g., 5580A, 5580B). 

+ This represents the currently recommended sequencing of courses.  Students may be allowed to alter this sequencing, with prior approval of the faculty advisor and DCT.  This sequencing is also subject to change based on course availability in a given semester as determined by the program.

1) Students are required to officially enroll and accumulate 6 hours of research credit over their first 2 years in the program (6 credit hours of graduate level research credit are required to receive the M.A.). If the master’s thesis project has been waived or completed, formal enrollment in directed research still is required. It is expected that all students will be actively involved in research and evaluated on their research performance every fall and winter semesters. Students who have had the M.A. requirement waived need only take 1 credit hour of research in each semester of the second year. However, students will still need to accumulate the additional 8 research credit hours required over and above the master’s thesis requirement to reach the graduate school minimum of 12 research credit hours for the Ph.D.

2) The program requires that students enroll in practicum each regular Fall and Winter semester of the second, third, and fourth years. Students may complete additional clinical hours in summer practicum to improve their competitiveness for internships. Official enrollment is optional, although documentation of supervised hours is required for those to be included.

3) This course may be taken during the third year (same semester) instead of the second year.

4) Evidenced Based Clinical Practice and Health Psychology Interventions are both required, however, these courses will offered in alternate years.

5) There are 5 core course requirements (see list at the bottom of the table). In some areas (e.g., Developmental) alternative courses may be used to fulfill the requirement.

6) The graduate school requires at least 12 hours of graduate research credit to graduate with a Ph.D. Our program requires a total of 8 research credit hours (pre-dissertation and dissertation) beyond the 6 required for the master’s thesis for graduation. You may accumulate these hours in any way you wish as long as you complete the additional 8 hours prior to graduation. However you must first pass comps before enrolling in dissertation units.

7) Due to variable internship start and end dates you may only officially complete you internship after the end of the Spring semester. In these cases an incomplete grade will be given until official completion of the internship. Note that the university generally requires students to be enrolled in the semester that they graduate. However, providing all other program requirements have been completed by the end of the spring semester (such as the dissertation) the DCT will request that summer enrollment be waived for students graduating in the summer. If all other requirements are not completed you will be required to enroll in at least one credit (for example, if you dissertation is not yet defended you will enroll in 1 credit of research for the summer semester). 

8) Students who defend their dissertations prior to the 5th year do not register for continuing dissertation hours. Students, fifth year or beyond, who have not successfully defended the dissertation are required to enroll in 1CH of Dissertation each fall and winter semester until it is completed.