Application Requirements: Clinical Psychology Programs Program Information The application requirements listed here are applicable to the following programs: Clinical Psychology PhD: Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco Clinical Psychology PsyD: Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco Doctoral Respecialization in Clinical Psychology: Fresno, San Diego and San Francisco Joint Clinical Psychology PhD or PsyD and Organizational Behavior MA: Fresno Emphasis Areas and Tracks Our Clinical Psychology doctoral programs offer the following concentrations, on most campuses, specific to the program and campus to which you are applying. Please indicate your interest in one of these concentrations in the space provided on the online application. This is optional, except for applicants to the Los Angeles campus Clinical PhD and PsyD programs, which require applicants to indicate an emphasis area on the application for admission. Clinical Psychology PsyD: Assessment Emphasis Child & Family Track Clinical Forensic Emphasis F, Ecosystemic Child Emphasis F Family/Child Emphasis Family and Couple Emphasis Forensic Family/Child Track Health Psychology Emphasis F, Health Track Integrative Psychology Emphasis Multicultural & International Emphasis Multicultural Community Emphasis Multi-Interest Option Psychodynamic Emphasis Social Justice Track Clinical Psychology PhD: Applied Behavior Analysis Emphasis Clinical Forensic Emphasis F, Ecosystemic Child Emphasis F Family/Child Emphasis Family and Couple Emphasis Health Psychology Emphasis F,, Health Track Multicultural & International Emphasis Multicultural Community Emphasis Multi-Interest Option Psychodynamic Emphasis Campus Legend: F = Fresno = Los Angeles = San Diego = San Francisco Application Requirements 1. Online Graduate Application Form 2. Non-refundable $65 Application Fee 3. Official Transcripts
Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work are required. Transcripts must be submitted from each institution attended, even if transfer units appear on another document. If you attend(ed) an institution with pass/fail grades, please also include any accompanying narrative evaluations. It is the applicant s responsibility to see that all transcripts are submitted as a part of the application. It may be necessary to submit transcripts on which final grades have not yet been posted, in which case you should provide supplementary transcripts as soon as possible. If there is a delay in processing your official transcript request, you should submit unofficial photocopies of transcripts in the interim. Without a complete set of transcripts, your application will be considered incomplete. International applicants and those who received bachelor s degrees and/or master s degrees from higher education institutions outside the United States are required to submit official transcript evaluations. See the Alliant International University Graduate Admissions Requirements for further instructions. 4. Grade Point Average Exemption Petition Required only if GPA is below 3.0. California School of Professional Psychology requires that applicants have an undergraduate and graduate (if applicable) minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. If your undergraduate or graduate (if applicable) GPA is below 3.0, you must submit a petition requesting an exemption from this academic requirement. Please use the designated space in the online application to indicate which of the following options will constitute your GPA exemption petition: 1. A brief statement discussing past special academic or personal circumstances explaining academic performance below 3.0 2. Official copies of test scores (GRE) supporting academic ability (strongly recommended) 3. A list of scholarly publications supporting past academic/intellectual achievement If you choose to submit the statement or the supporting publication material, please do so in the GPA Exemption Petition field on the online application. If you choose to submit official test scores, please provide additional detail in the Test Scores section of the online application. 5. Resume/Curriculum Vita Submit a current resume or curriculum vita, which includes your experience relative to the field of clinical psychology, including volunteer work if applicable. 6. Essay Applicants to all Clinical Psychology programs must submit an essay as a part of the application. Please respond in one comprehensive essay of 6-7 double-spaced pages to the following, using distinct sections for each part. Include your name and the page number at the top of each page.
A. A brief autobiographical sketch. Discuss your life up to now: your family, friends, home, work and community. We are particularly interested in those experiences most relevant to your interest in professional psychology and how those experiences have helped formulate your career goals (at least 3-4 pages). B. Since many different graduate programs exist, and the choice is such an important one, explain specifically why you have chosen to apply to the PsyD program or the PhD program at CSPP, and which aspects of CSPP, its programs, its approach to diversity, and its mission have attracted you to the school (1 page). C. For PsyD Applicants: What applied clinical problem would you most like to focus on in your PsyD studies and in the PsyD clinical dissertation/doctoral project? Tell us something about your knowledge of the relevant theory and concepts, research, and the application of that scholarship to clinical practice. (1-2 pages) For PhD Applicants: What research or applied clinical problem would you like to explore in your PhD dissertation? Please be specific. Tell us something about your knowledge of research methods and other investigative formats, integration of the professional literature on the topic, and the application of theory and scholarship to this research problem. We are interested in your own past activities and experiences as a scholar or researcher, and encourage you to draw on those experiences. (1-2 pages) D. In what emphasis, proficiency or academic area would you choose to concentrate your studies at CSPP? Please relate this to your career goals. Doctoral Respecialization Applicants: Please answer sections A, B and D (understanding that you are applying as a respecialization candidate rather than PhD or PsyD per se). Instead of question C, submit a copy of your dissertation abstract. 7. Course Descriptions Course descriptions are required in the following two instances: Graduate Entry Requirement: If you are using courses to meet the graduate entry requirements for a program, you must submit course descriptions if the courses you are using to fulfill the required subjects are titled differently from program requirements. Appropriate documentation includes copies of course descriptions, outlines or syllabi. This information should be submitted with your application material. Clinical Psychology Graduate Entry Requirement: Preparation in Psychology You must have completed one of the following three options prior to matriculation. All coursework used to fulfill graduate entry requirements must have been completed prior to beginning the program. All coursework must have been taken at fully accredited institutions. Please use the designated space in the online application to indicate how you are meeting the graduate entry requirement. Option #1: Earned a BA/BS degree in psychology. (A master s degree will not fulfill this requirement.) Option #2: If the BA/BS degree is not in psychology, you must have completed coursework in the following four areas with a grade of "C" or better: a) Statistics b) Psychological Testing/Tests and Measurements c) Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology
d) Experimental Psychology or Physiological Psychology or Learning Theory Option #3: Earned a score in the 80th percentile or better on the GRE Psychology Test. Official test scores are required for this option. Content for the coursework option is as follows: STATISTICS: The nature of normal distribution, principles of sampling theory, probability, simple statistics (t-tests, F-ratios, chisquare, r, non-parametric), introduction to analysis of variance. May be taken outside the psychology department. PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING/TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS: Principles of test construction, evaluation, selection, and use; methods for determining validity and reliability; item analysis; theory and research concerning testing; ethical and cultural issues. May be taken outside the psychology department. ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY/PSYCHOPATHOLOGY: Major disorders, personality disorders, sexual disorders, psychophysical disorders, adjustment reactions, alcoholism and drug abuse, child psychopathology, organic brain syndromes. EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: Introduction to scientific procedures and methods in psychology. Directed experience in research design and control, analysis, bibliographic and report writing techniques. May include a specific research techniques course in perception, physiology, learning, or complex behavior (social, cognition). PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY: The study of human behavior from a physiological viewpoint. Sensorimotor systems, sleep, dreaming and attention, motivation, neural transmission and synaptic function, heredity, drugs, organic brain pathology. Must focus on the relationship between the psychological and physiological aspects of behavior. LEARNING THEORY: Broad theoretical coverage of such learning theories as classical and operant conditioning, Gestalt, functionalism, mathematical learning theory, information theory, technology of instruction. Theorists include Pavlov, Thorndike, Guthrie, Hull, Tolman, and Skinner. Should not be limited to a single theory or theorist. Alliant s Continuing Education Division offers many of the prerequisite courses in an online format. Contact your admissions counselor or the CE website for details: www.ce-psychology.com Transfer Credit: If you are petitioning to receive transfer credit for previous graduate work, you must submit a detailed coursework portfolio along with your application, which includes course outlines, syllabi or letters from instructors describing specific course content for all relevant graduate courses completed. If coursework was taken at more than one institution, indicate the institution where each course was taken. Applicants to CSPP graduate programs may be eligible to receive credit for previous graduate work, at the discretion of the program to which they are admitted. These credits must be completed with a grade
of B or better from a regionally accredited institution within the past seven years. Applicants to the San Francisco campus Clinical Psychology PhD or PsyD programs may also submit verification of supervised professional experience, and should contact the campus admissions office for additional information. A maximum of 30 semester units of graduate coursework can be accepted into a doctoral program. All applicants must meet the graduate level entry requirements for the program of application before they will be reviewed for transfer credit. Program-specific information about transfer credit eligibility may be obtained from the admissions office and is included in the university catalog. 8. Test Scores Test scores are required in the following three instances. In these cases, please include this information in the Test Scores section of the online application. 1. English Proficiency: Applicants whose native language is not English or who have not earned an undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited U.S. higher education institution are required to submit test scores to show English proficiency. Please see the Alliant International University Graduate Admissions Requirements for further instructions. If you have a unique situation and can demonstrate English proficiency in a manner not outlined in one of these options, please contact your admissions counselor directly to request an exemption from this requirement. 2. GPA Exemption Petition: Applicants may elect to submit GRE scores to support the GPA Exemption Petition. 3. Graduate Entry Requirement: Applicants may elect to submit GRE Psychology Subject Test scores to fulfill the Graduate Entry Requirement. 9. Recommendations Two recommendations are required for all applicants. Recommendations should be from references familiar with your work, your academic abilities, or your potential for scholarship and professional accomplishment. If you have been out of school for several years, please feel free to submit recommendations from persons who are familiar with you on any level of professional involvement. 10. Additional Requirements for International Applicants International applicants should review the additional requirements outlined in the Alliant International University Graduate Admissions Requirements.