Since the 1949 Boulder Conference on Graduate Training in Clinical Psychology, the integration of research findings and clinical practice has been an important goal for the field. The Clinical Program at the University of Kentucky strongly endorses this model and trains its students to be competent researchers, critical consumers of the scientific literature, and practitioners who depend on empirical findings to guide their applied activities. To accomplish these goals, the program provides students with training experiences across a broad range of topics in clinical research and science-based practice. Training modalities include course work, practicum placements in a variety of clinical settings, and research training under the mentorship of the faculty. The integration of science and practice is modeled by the clinical faculty and emphasized in course work and clinical supervision.
We anticipate that students will enter the program with varied professional goals, including research, teaching, and delivery of clinical services. The program offers sufficient flexibility that training can be tailored to support these goals. While all students receive rigorous training in the fundamentals of both research and practice, many students emphasize one area more than another. In addition, classroom teaching and supervisory experiences are available to clinical students. Ongoing conversations between students, their advisors, other faculty members, and other professional psychologists assist students in clarifying their professional goals and tailoring their training to support them. It is our goal to train students to bring an empirical, science-based approach to all of their professional activities, regardless of their ultimate career paths. A survey of our graduates over the last 25 years reveals an impressive record of professional accomplishments and appointments to clinical and academic positions at prestigious institutions throughout the nation.
The doctoral training program in clinical psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association’s Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, and has a long history of providing financial support to students in the form of research grants to individual faculty, graduate school fellowships, minority student fellowships, teaching assistantships, and training stipends from clinical practicum placements. For admissions information, click here: UK Psychology Graduate Admissions
Students and Financial Support
Students are accepted from all areas of the nation; the clinical program maintains a policy of affirmative action for minority applicants. Fellowship awards include full remission of tuition, and out-of-state tuition is waived for those students on research assistantships or clinical traineeships; students serving as teaching assistants typically receive additional in-state tuition scholarships. Financial aid has been made available for all clinical students during the four years they are typically on campus; financial support for the fifth year is provided by internship agencies. Every effort is made to facilitate students' completion of the doctoral program; as a result, attrition by students has been very low, averaging about one student or less per year for several years. More information about financial support and student graduation and attrition rates can be found below. Click here for more information about financial aid: UK Psychology Financial Aid
Admissions Information
| Applicant Data |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
| Number of applicants |
185 |
177 |
199 |
220 |
251 |
203 |
| Number accepted for admission |
8 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
11 |
8 |
| Actual size of incoming class |
8 |
9 |
6 |
6 |
8 |
6 |
| Number receiving financial support |
8 |
9 |
6 |
6 |
8 |
6 |
| Academic credentials of those accepted for admission |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
| Verbal GRE |
614 |
588 |
618 |
600 |
660 |
665 |
| Quantitative GRE |
707 |
651 |
704 |
631 |
645 |
690 |
| Undergraduate GPA |
3.8 |
3.6 |
3.47 |
3.63 |
3.86 |
NA |
Training Information and Outcomes
In accordance with the Guidelines for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology, we want to provide accurate information to students and to the public about our program. This information will allow applicants to our program to make informed decisions about education and training outcomes.
Time to Complete Degree
It takes students an average of 6.1 years to complete the program from the time of entrance to the program. The median time to completion is 6 years. None of our students have completed their degree in 4 years, 24% complete in five years, 56% complete in 6 years, and 20% complete in seven or more years.
| Graduation Outcomes |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
| Number of students completing program |
5 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
7 |
7 |
9 |
| Average years to completion for cohort |
6.5 |
5.8 |
5.5 |
6.3 |
6.6 |
6.2 |
6.1 |
6 |
| Median years to completion for cohort |
6 |
5.5 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
Program Costs
For the 2009-2010 academic year, tuition costs are
Resident: $4,180/semester
Nonresident: $8,614/semester
Plus a health fee of $160.
Students are guaranteed funding for the first four years of the program. Teaching Assistantships and Research Assistantships pay $14,000 and the Fellowships average $16,000, with tuition waver.
Internships
| Applicants for Internship |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
| Number of applicants |
7 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
8 |
8 |
| Number (%) who obtained internships |
7 (100%) |
3 (100%) |
6 (100%) |
4 (100%) |
5 (100%) |
4 (100%) |
8
(100%) |
7
(88%) |
| Number (%) who obtained paid internships |
7 (100%) |
3 (100%) |
6 (100%) |
4 (100%) |
5 (100%) |
4 (100%) |
8
(100%) |
7
(88%) |
| Number (%) who obtained APPIC internships |
7 (100%) |
3 (100%) |
6 (100%) |
4 (100%) |
5 (100%) |
4 (100%) |
7
(88%) |
7
(88%) |
| Number (%) who obtained APA-accredited internships |
7 (100%) |
3 (100%) |
6 (100%) |
4 (100%) |
5 (100%) |
4 (100%) |
8
(100%) |
7
(88%) |
| Number (%) who obtained two year half-time internships |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Attrition
Eight out of 49 (16%) students in the last seven years have failed to complete the program. The reasons for leaving the program are varied and include a change in interests, moving to a new location, following a spouse/partner, following a mentor to a different university, and failing to meet the academic requirements of the program.
Licensure
Of the 41 students who graduated from the program between 1997 and 2004, 27 (66%) have been confirmed to have received licensure within ten years of graduation. Two out of the 41 (5%) are known to be unlicensed, and we do not know the licensure status for the 12 other graduates (29%).
Curriculum
The curriculum provides not only breadth of coverage in traditional and contemporary science-based aspects of clinical psychology, but also considerable freedom in choice of electives by the student beyond the first year. The program emphasizes broad exposure to the major areas of clinical psychology; beyond this, the student and the student's doctoral committee outline a plan of study most relevant to the student's interest, both within and outside the department. Students may concentrate in such areas as research methodologies, individual psychotherapy, neuropsychology, psychopathology, mental health administration, community psychology, health psychology, or clinical child psychology.
Coursework
The required courses for all clinical students include Interviewing (PSY 629, two semesters of Personality and Intellectual Assessment (PSY 630, PSY 631), Personality Theory (PSY 622), Psychopathology (PSY 603), Systems of Psychotherapy (PSY 636), and supervised Practicum in Psychotherapyand Behavior Change (PSY 637). Additional required courses include two semesters of Statistics (PSY 610, PSY 611) and ethics (PSY 710). Students also choose from a variety of advanced clinical seminars, at least two of which are required, to meet their particular interests and training needs. Research competence is acquired through a Clinical Research and Design seminar (PSY 616), and completion of a master's thesis and doctoral dissertation. Doctoral students pursuing academic or research careers engage in considerable additional research with the faculty.
The American Psychological Association and state licensing boards require that doctoral students demonstrate competence in each of the following areas: biological bases of behavior, cognitive-affective bases of behavior, social bases of behavior and individual differences. Required and elective courses are provided to ensure that students meet these requirements. For more information on courses and program requirements, please see our Graduate Handbook.
Doctoral students in clinical psychology complete their training at an internship setting accredited by the American Psychological Association. The internship typically is completed in the fifth or sixth year, following completion of all course requirements and the dissertation proposal.
Clinical Faculty Research Interests
The clinical faculty actively model their commitment to integrating both clinical practice and research; the majority serve on the editorial or advisory boards of scholarly journals in clinical psychology and related fields. Several faculty have received substantial research awards from federal agencies in recent years; others serve on national committees involved in directing graduate training and clinical practice. All faculty are expected to model excellence in clinical skills in addition to their research endeavors.
- Baer, Ruth A., West Virginia University, 1985; Associate Professor.
- Berry, David T. R., University of Florida, 1985; Professor.
- Brown, Tamara., University of Illinois, 1996; Associate Professor.
- Carlson, Charles R., Vanderbilt University, 1983; Professor and Department Chair.
- Giancola, Peter, University of Georgia, 1996; Associate Professor.
- Milich, Richard S., Washington University, 1976; Professor.
- Segerstrom, Suzanne, C., UCLA, 1997; Professor.
- Smith, Gregory T., Wayne State University, 1985; Professor and Director of Clinical Training.
- Widiger, Thomas A., Miami University, 1981; Professor.