PhD in Clinical Psychology – Advanced Clinical Training & Research Leadership

• Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally-accredited institution or the international equivalent.
• In addition to the required prerequisites, we strongly recommend applicants have related volunteer or work experience in the mental health field and experience with research.
• GRE scores are not required for admission to PAU doctoral degree programs.

The PhD in Clinical Psychology program takes an average of five years to complete and is open to individuals who hold a bachelor's or master's degree and have completed the prerequisites prior to applying for admission. Space in the program is limited, and students must complete each step of the admissions process to be considered for admission. 

• The PhD program requires a minimum of 3 full-time academic years of graduate study.
• Full-time is defined as at least 27 units per year.
• Starting in Year 5, full-time is defined as a minimum of 3 units per quarter.
• At least 2 of the 3 academic training years (Years 1-3 required coursework) must be completed in residence at PAU's PhD program.
• At least 2 years must be completed in full-time residence.

Academic Training:  

• 150 units of required academic coursework
• 18 elective units 
• The total of 168 units typically takes three years for full-time attendees.

Clinical Training: 

• Minimum of two full-time practicums (completed in Years 2 and 3)
• They may also complete an additional elective practicum in Year 4 as well as elective supplemental part-time practica throughout the program after Year 1.  
• During their final year of enrollment, students complete a 2,000-hr internship.

Research: 

• An empirical dissertation; most of the work on the dissertation occurs in Year 4 of the program. 
• Make a significant contribution to a peer-reviewed journal article, book chapter, or literary contribution to another scholarly publication.

Milestones: 

• Oral Clinical Competency Exam
•  3 written exams on research competency, clinical competency, and assessment competency must be passed. In addition to the Oral Clinical Competency Exam, three written exams on research competency, clinical competency, and assessment competency must be taken. Additionally, students are required to complete a dissertation of 30 minimum units, a 12-unit internship, and at least two years of practicums. 

All students in the PhD Clinical Psychology Program are required to participate in faculty-led research groups during their second and third years in the program – for 6 consecutive quarters.

We strongly recommend applicants have related volunteer or work experience in the mental health field and experience with research. Feel free to include non-psychology research experience.

For applicants with no formal research experience, including research conducted within an academic class may be helpful and may be a way to highlight one’s preparation for doctoral-level study. Feel free to include papers or projects underway but not complete at the time of application. 

Applicants to the PhD in Clinical Psychology program must have completed all prerequisite courses before the first day of classes. Prerequisite courses do not need to be completed before students submit their applications to the program. However, students with substantial exposure to undergraduate-level coursework in psychology may be viewed as better prepared for doctoral-level work.

• Abnormal Psychology
  • Topics should include theories and historical perspectives of mental illness, sociocultural considerations in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, and separate weeks covering major categories of disorders.
• Biological Psychology
  • Topics should include basic brain/nervous system anatomy and functioning, including basic cellular and biochemistry processes, as well as sensation/perception, motor functioning, sleep/dreaming, and biological aspects of learning, memory, cognition, emotions, motivation, and mental health.
• Statistics
  • Topics should include descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, populations and samples, frequency distributions (normal curve), sampling error, confidence intervals, effect sizes, scales of measurement (e.g., nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio), and appropriate statistical analyses for variables based on type (e.g., chi-square, t-test, ANOVA, correlation).

These courses sometimes go by other titles, depending on the institution. If you have questions about whether a course will satisfy a prerequisite requirement, please contact the Office of Admissions.

Many students complete their prerequisites while completing their Bachelor's degree. You may also complete these courses independently if you have not done so. Guidelines for prerequisite courses include:

• Courses should be completed from a college or university.
• Courses should be completed at the undergraduate level (high school or AP courses are not acceptable). However, courses do not need to be completed at the upper-division (300 or 400-level) level. Courses may be taken at a community college; this is often the most cost-effective option.
• Courses may be taken online (synchronous or asynchronous) or in-person.
• Courses should be passed with a grade of "B" or better. Pass/no pass grades may be approved on a case-by-case basis. Please reach out to the Office of Admissions. to discuss this.
• Final grades must be available to the Office of Admissions before the first day of class. Official transcripts are required for all prerequisite courses.

Where Can I Take These Courses?

We generally recommend that students first reach out to their local community colleges. Most community colleges offer these courses to students in Psychology associate's degree programs and are usually low-cost options. If you are crunched for time, both National University and the University of Phoenix offer short-term courses that may be completed in as few as four weeks. 

Graduate course work in psychological theory provides a firm grounding in scientific psychology and places current theory and research in the larger context of the history of psychology as a discipline. The curriculum examines human behavior from many perspectives. Courses address the biological, cognitive, and affective bases of behavior, social and cultural influences on human development and behavior, individual differences, as well as the psychology of multicultural and special interest groups. The graduate courses required in this can be found in our course catalog, 

Visit our Tuition and Cost page on our website.

Contact our Financial Aid department to learn more. 

Click here here to see general grad requirements for all programs. 

Or, request information from our admissions team to learn more.  

You are welcome to apply to both the PhD and PsyD concurrently. Your applications will be reviewed separately by the two Admissions Committees, and the processes will generally run independently of each other. There is no penalty for applying to both programs – we do encourage you to be clear about how each program is a good fit for your academic and professional interests.

• You should submit two Statements of Purpose, which address the distinct reasons for applying to each.
• Start an application for the PsyD program in PsyCAS
• In the "Program Materials" section, select "yes" to the question that asks, "Would you also like to have your application considered for admission to PAU's PhD in Clinical Psychology program?"
• In the "Optional Documents" section, upload your additional personal statement specific to the PhD program.
• PAU is atypical in terms of how students apply to research labs. Rather than applying directly to a research lab or faculty member, students apply to the PAU PhD program in general. Students can explore the broad range of labs available during the first year and even volunteer in labs. This allows students to make informed decisions about which labs they wish to apply to. Students apply for labs in the Spring of their first year.
• During the application process, we encourage students to mention a few faculty members with whom they would like to work. However, this is not binding. 

Although the PhD program is designed to be completed within five years of coursework and practica, many students choose to take an additional year to complete their degree. Students must complete their degree within 7 years. The number of years it takes to complete the PhD program will depend on your individual needs and professional goals:

• Post-graduate career goals
• Competitiveness of clinical and research training sites
• Internship aspirations and restrictions
• Practicum placements and performance
• Research opportunities, dissertation progress, publications and presentations
• Satisfactory academic progress

The PhD program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and follows their Benchmark Evaluation System to assess whether a student has met the competency benchmarks in professional psychology. 

We strongly recommend applicants have at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.

Yes. Although both programs are committed to training clinical psychologists, the programs have different strengths, training missions, structure, and faculty. You do need to write separate statements of purpose for each program.

To apply to both programs:
1. Start an application for the PsyD program in PSYCAS
2. In the "Program Materials" section, select "yes" to the question that asks, "Would you also like to have your application considered for admission to PAU's PhD in Clinical Psychology program?"
3. In the "Optional Documents" section, upload your additional personal statement specific to the PhD program.

Question #: Do I need a Master’s Degrees

• Students are not required to have a master’s degree, and there is no preference given to students with master’s degrees. There is also no penalty for having a master’s degree. 
• Grades from both the undergraduate and graduate levels are considered in the selection of students. Admissions Committee members do pay attention to trends in grades over time.

The purpose of the personal statement is to provide a sample of the applicant’s ability to write in an academic and professional manner, as well as to learn about any qualifications/life events that were not captured in the application.

Formatting: Double space, and limit to 500 words.
We recommend that you reflect on the following questions as you develop your essay:

• Why are you pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology?  What led to this interest?
• What are your long-term professional goals?
• What are your research interests (including faculty you want to work with, and why)?
• How will a PhD from PAU help you to achieve your goals?

In your essay, you may also wish to include reflections about the following:

• Experience with and/or commitment to serving minoritized and marginalized populations
• Personal qualities that will facilitate success as a graduate student and future psychologist

Work-study awards are part of the financial aid package. Once awarded work-study, students may apply for any work-study job on the PAU campus. While it is technically possible for students to use their work-study award at Stanford, it is rare. 

International students are generally allowed to work on campus but should check with the International Students Office to ensure an on-campus position is permitted based on visa type. 

All students will receive a decision, and we will provide updates as often as possible. Offers of admissions are made in late March. You are always welcome to reach out to the Office of Admissions for an update about your application status. 

PhD students have until April 15th to accept an offer of admission. This deadline may be extended due to extenuating circumstances.  

If you are offered admission, the Palo Alto University reserves the right to withdraw that offer of admission if:

• You have misrepresented yourself in the application process.
• We learn that you have engaged in behavior prior to matriculation that indicates a serious lack of judgment or integrity.
• You show a significant drop in academic performance or fail to graduate.
• The class fills to capacity prior to a student completing the enrollment agreement.

All applicants to, and students enrolled in, the program should be assured PAU practices a nondiscrimination policy regarding disability, gender, military status, age, race, color, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origins in admission, employment, and in the administration of its program and activities. Any otherwise qualified student, or applicant, with a disability may request reasonable accommodation regarding the application process and services as a prospective or enrolled student. The primary form of communication in the admissions process is email, and we will use the email address you list on your application. 

Requests for accommodation of a disability should be submitted to

Sharyn E. Moore
Accessibility Specialist
Palo Alto University, Allen Calvin Campus
179 Arastradero Rd, Building 3 (Room 308)
Palo Alto, CA 94304
OAE@paloaltou.edu
650-433-3818