Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology-General Information

Guiding Philosophy

The clinical psychology doctoral program at the Feinberg School of Medicine is founded on a scientist-practitioner model. We endeavor to train professional psychologists who are broadly educated, compassionate, ethical, scholarly, intellectually disciplined, and culturally competent. They also must demonstrate wisdom and judgment through an awareness of larger professional and social issues. The program has three broad goals:

To accomplish these goals, our students are provided with training in the philosophical and conceptual foundations of contemporary clinical psychology; research methodology, statistics, and experimental design; biological, social, and cognitive bases of behavior; clinical and research ethics; and individual differences and human diversity. Our specific objectives are to develop the following competencies in our students by the time they conclude their graduate training:

Admission

The Division of Psychology admits four to six new students in the fall of each year to the PhD Program. We value demographic, gender, and ethnic/racial diversity in our incoming classes.

Program Description

During the first half of the graduate program, education is directed toward fulfilling academic, clinical, and research requirements. Students attend required and elective courses and seminars and serve as teaching assistants. In addition, students receive supervised clinical training in at least two yearlong practicum settings and complete a research assistantship and second-year research project.

Students typically qualify for admission to doctoral candidacy three to four years after matriculating. Candidacy involves writing and successfully defending a major paper that critically reviews the literature in an area of particular interest to the student and proposing an acceptable dissertation topic.

Once candidacy is attained, students complete a one-year internship in an APA-approved program and a dissertation. PhD candidates participate in an oral defense of the dissertation before being awarded the PhD.

Course Work

Core Curriculum

Advanced Courses

Opportunities for advanced elective course work and independent study are available in all required areas.

Transfer Credit

The PhD program includes three years of course work and practicum experiences, one year of internship, and one year of dissertation research. Students entering the program with previous graduate credit may, in some instances, obtain course waivers, although even with a master’s degree it takes five years to complete all requirements.

Clinical Training

Early in their graduate training, students begin to supplement didactic aspects of the program with practicum work. Many clinical settings are available at the Stone Institute of Psychiatry of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, including an outpatient adult treatment center, day hospital, and adolescent clinic. Other supervised practica can be obtained through affiliated centers such as the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Children’s Memorial Hospital, and the Counseling Center at the School of the Art Institute. Unlike most programs, students do not have to compete with their peers in the program or in the city for practicum positions, although some students do elect to attend practicum at several excellent off-campus sites.

Students participate in patient treatment in addition to case conferences, case review procedures, intake meetings, and other in-service programs organized at each facility. They have the opportunity to work individually or in teams with psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and various other health professionals. The student-staff ratio is low, allowing for ample supervision. Supervisors provide periodic formal evaluations to the division’s director of clinical training, who oversees student development and aids in planning comprehensive clinical experiences for each student. Our students successfully compete for internship positions in the most competitive institutions nationally and locally. See a list of recent student internships.

Research Training

Each incoming doctoral student is paired with a faculty member on the basis of mutual research interests. Most students spend their first year in the program as a research apprentice in the ongoing investigative work of that faculty member. During the second year, the student plans, executes, and writes a description of a research project reflecting her or his own developing interests. The dissertation, completed in the fourth or fifth year, is the culmination of the student’s research training.

The following faculty members will accept new students and serve as research mentors during 2008-09: Mark Reinecke, PhD, cognitive-behavioral therapy; Linda Teplin, PhD, psycho-legal studies; Sandra Weintraub, PhD, clinical neuropsychology, Jackie Gollan, PhD, stress and depression, and John Lavigne, PhD, child psychopathology. The Faculty section on this Web site describes the research interests of our full-time faculty members. On the application, you may indicate which areas of faculty research you wish to explore.

See www.clinpsych.northwestern.edu/htm/pubsandpres.htm for a list of recent student research publications.

Areas of Emphasis

The Division of Psychology offers a single degree—a PhD in clinical psychology— and our objective is to provide a solid foundation in the scientific and clinical aspects of our profession. As is true of most doctoral programs in clinical psychology, we consider subspecialization to be the province of postdoctoral training. However, because of our setting and the expertise of our faculty, our program offers several areas of emphasis that make us distinctive.

Clinical Neuropsychology
Clinical neuropsychology is a distinct track in our program, designed under APA Division 40 guidelines for graduate training in neuropsychology. In addition to the basic clinical psychology curriculum, students take courses in behavioral and clinical neuroscience, neuroanatomy, psychopharmacology, and varied topics in neuropsychology. Extensive assessment experiences will be provided, and a strong emphasis on research pervades the program. See www.clinpsych.northwestern.edu/htm/neuro.htm for more information.

Developmental Psychopathology and Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy
www.clinpsych.northwestern.edu/htm/childadol.htm

Clinical Child and Pediatric Psychology
www.clinpsych.northwestern.edu/htm/clinchild.htm

Psycho-legal Studies
The Psycho-legal Studies Program offers research opportunities at the interface between the mental health and criminal justice systems. Recent studies have investigated the epidemiology of severe mental illness in various jail populations. This is not a forensic psychology program. See www.psycho-legal.northwestern.edu/ for more information.

Mental Health Services and Policy
Although many clinical psychologists serve in administrative capacities during their careers, little attention typically is given during graduate education to prepare them for these roles. Interested students may obtain didactic and practical experience in mental health administration and policy through classes, seminars, and an administrative practicum that follows the completion of the regular clinical practica. Research opportunities are also available. The Mental Health Services and Policy program will not be accepting new students for the 2008-09 academic year. See www.clinpsych.northwestern.edu/htm/mhspp.htm for more information.

Stress and Depression Lab (SADlab)
Research opportunities are available with Jackie Gollan, PhD in the areas of developmental psychopathology and treatment of depression. See www.clinpsych.northwestern.edu/htm/sadlab.htm for more information.

Tuition

The tuition for full-time study during the academic year 2007–8 year is $35,064.

Financial Aid

Full funding is not available to all our students. Several faculty members who have been successful in procuring grants are able to offer their students paid research assistantships with full or nearly full tuition scholarships. Other faculty members may have highly regarded research projects but, in the absence of funding, accept students with only half tuition waivers.

Fellowships are available for minority students. Minority applicants are encouraged to apply for the APA minority fellowship and the CEOP fellowships (for Illinois residents) while applying for admission. Further information about minority fellowships and other finanical aid needs can be obtained by contacting the Graduate School’s Financial Aid Office on the Web at www.northwestern.edu/graduate/financial/fifundingannounce.html or by phone at 847.491.7266.

Housing

Chicago campus housing is available in two residence halls. Students accepted into the PhD program are sent housing and application information. Students who wish to live off campus will find that a short commute via public transportation or University shuttle bus will bring them from many pleasant residential areas to the centrally located campus one mile north of the Loop on Chicago’s lakefront. See www.northwestern.edu/gradhousing/ for more information.

Division of Psychology Profile

Administration and Faculty

Mark A. Reinecke, PhD, ABPP, ACT
Chief, Division of Psychology

Peter B. Zeldow, PhD, ABPP
Director of Doctoral Training

Faculty 16 full time; 11 part time; more than 100 voluntary faculty
For a list of division faculty with their research projects, clinical interests, office addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses see the Faculty section of this Web site.

Students
Current enrollment 29
Completed applications received 202
Number of admissions 5
Mean GRE Verbal score 610
Mean GRE Quantitative score 690
Mean GRE Advanced Psychology subject test score 80th percentile
Overall undergraduate GPA 3.50 (4.0 Scale)
Number with previous graduate credit 5