Welcome to the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology. Our goal is to provide outstanding training and education to scientifically oriented research professionals, who will subsequently make significant contributions to the field of clinical psychology in their areas of specialization. The scientist-practitioner (“Boulder”) model on which this program is based requires students to receive ongoing supervised clinical and research experience. Students are actively involved in clinical research activities throughout their stay in the program. We regard the development of research skills and attitudes as a basic feature in the training of clinical psychologists who, from all indications, will have duties encompassing teaching, research, diagnosis, treatment, consultation, program evaluation and design; they will need to apply research skills and knowledge to varied content areas and settings. Our graduate program is designed to enable students to be on the forefront of developments and applications in psychology.
The ideal clinical psychologist should be able to assess clinical procedures and literature from a scientist’s perspective, to use relevant empirical findings and principles in clinical procedures, and, ultimately, to integrate these processes into a sound personal and professional framework.
The basic five-year program includes an initial two-year core curriculum of formal instruction, followed by apprenticeship in the student’s chosen specialty area. Completion of the core ensures that all students have a common background in:
a. Empirical psychology (e.g. biological, social, cognitive-affective and individual bases of behavior).
b. Conceptualizations of psychopathology.
c. Theory and techniques of psychological assessment.
d. Therapeutic interventions and therapeutic skills.
e. Statistics and experimental design.
Clinical activities, integrated with more formal instruction at all levels, increase in the later years of the program as students acquire greater clinical proficiency. Specialty area training after the second year includes seminars and tutorials, as well as extensive research and clinical experience under faculty supervision. The clinical internship typically occurs in the fifth year, at an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited facility.
The curriculum is based on a twelve month academic year. Whenever possible, clinical practica and therapeutic activities are coordinated with the student’s progression through courses and research activities. Summers are utilized to offer more concentrated research and clinical training.
Our program, designed to satisfy APA criteria for clinical psychology doctoral programs in addition to clinical training requirements, emphasizes appreciation and respect for human diversity. APA training conferences and federal granting agencies also emphasize preparing professionals to work with the underserved, including children, adolescents, adults and elderly in rural and inner city areas, in prisons or other institutions, and the chronically mentally ill, particularly through cooperation with public agencies. APA guidelines also stress awareness of ethical concerns, professional relationships and requirements for state licensing. The program covers each of these areas. The Program was first accredited by APA (Commission on Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242; Phone (202) 336-5979; E-mail apaaccred@apa.org) in 1990, and has been reaccredited consistently since then. Fall of 2007 marks the beginning of our twenty-third year.
San Diego State University
SDSU, established in 1897, is the largest institution among the 21 campuses of The California State University system, as well as one of the largest in the nation, with over 31,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The University offers undergraduate studies leading to bachelor’s degrees in more than 70 areas, master’s degrees in more than 64 areas of study, and the Ph.D. in thirteen disciplinary areas as well as the Ed.D.
Department of Psychology. The Department of Psychology was established in the 1920’s with two faculty members, and has grown into one of the two largest in the University, with over 6% of the total undergraduate enrollment and more than 1900 majors. There are 43 full-time faculty, 29 of whom form the SDSU Graduate Group Faculty in Clinical Psychology. Of these, ten are licensed psychologists, most with clinical specialty, two are Diplomates of the American Board of Professional Psychology and one is a Diplomate of the American Boards of Forensic Psychology and Assessment Psychology. The SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology is the only one of its kind in the California State University system. The Psychology Department at SDSU is eighteenth in the nation in the amount of funding from the National Institute of Health.
University of California, San Diego
UCSD is one of nine campuses of the University of California. UCSD curricula and programs have been singled out for top rankings in national surveys at both undergraduate and graduate levels. A 1995 ranking by the National Research Council placed UCSD among the top ten of all doctoral granting institutions in the nation. In terms of Federal research and developmental funding, it is currently in the top six.
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine. The Department of Psychiatry was established in 1970 and has 73 full-time faculty members. A primary objective of the Department of Psychiatry at UCSD is to offer an eclectic program of training that emphasizes the integration of relevant biological, psychological, family and preventive medicine, and sociological variables in the understanding of human behavior. In addition to the psychologists and psychiatrists on the program faculty in the department, program faculty also includes researchers with appointments in the Departments of Psychology, Cognitive Science and Neurosciences.
