Mar 28, 2024  
2012-2013 Graduate Studies Bulletin 
    
2012-2013 Graduate Studies Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

Psychology, Ph.D. in Clinical


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Professor Schare, Graduate Program Director, 516-463-5009

The Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology provides doctoral students with assessment and therapeutic skills along with a solid scientific foundation to work with and study the wide variety of psychopathologies found among the mentally ill. The program employs a scientist-practitioner model of education. Program graduates have readily found employment in mental health clinics, group practices, public and private agencies, as well as hospitals and medical centers. Many have chosen academic paths by becoming college and university faculty members, medical school faculty, research scientists, expert consultants, or editors for psychological publishers.  

The clinical psychology program is based upon cognitive-behavioral theory and represents the full psychotherapeutic spectrum of this orientation. Many behavior therapy and cognitive-behavior therapy skills are taught, including operant and applied behavior analysis techniques, systematic desensitization, exposure therapy techniques, cognitive therapy, rational-emotive-behavior therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and mindfulness meditation. Through lectures, readings, discussions, and role play, students begin to gain psychotherapeutic skills. Competency is further developed through practica in the Psychological Evaluation, Research and Counseling (PERC) clinic on campus where students receive experience and supervision in psychodiagnostic methods, in interviewing, and in psychotherapy with a wide variety of patients of differing ages, backgrounds, and presenting problems. Therapeutic modalities of intervention include both individual and group work and may involve a number of the specialty clinics at PERC, such as the Acceptance and Commitment (ACT) Clinic, the Anger Institute, the Anxiety Disorders and Depression Clinic, the Childhood Disorders Clinic, and the Phobia and Trauma Clinic. Students participate in externships and are thus exposed to a wide range of clinical, community, and educational problems that will help them to be prepared to function and offer services in a variety of clinical settings. The final clinical experience of the program is participation in a full-year clinical internship where the students serve as full staff members.

At the same time as psychotherapeutic skill is developed, research skills are honed through a variety of statistics and methods classes leading to research projects. From the first year onward, doctoral students are encouraged to participate with the research-active faculty of the clinical program. This mentorship model frequently results  in our doctoral students becoming co-authors of publications and co-presenters of this research. Student attendance and participation at national and international conferences is common. The culmination of a doctoral student’s research is the successful written and oral defense of his or her dissertation project.

Application for Admission


Applications completed by December 15 will be screened for regular acceptance. Applications completed after December 15 will be considered late and will be reviewed only if there are openings. Information about the program and application material can be obtained from the Graduate Admissions Office. Students are accepted only for the fall semester of each year.

Admission Requirements


  1. Successful completion of the baccalaureate degree at an accredited institution.
  2. GRE Verbal, Quantitative and Writing scores must be provided from an examination within the previous five years of the date of application. For non-native speakers of English, a TOEFL may be required unless waived by the program director, after having received evidence of English-language proficiency.
  3. A score on the GRE Psychology subject test is required.
  4. Candidates are expected to have preparation in:
    • Elementary Statistics
    • Research Design
    • Psychopathology/Abnormal Psychology
    • Experimental Psychology/Laboratory
  5. A personal essay with statement of professional goals.   
  6. A personal interview with a program faculty member.
  7. Three to four letters of recommendation.
  8. A curriculum vitae listing educational and professional experiences and accomplishments.

 

Program Requirements - Semester Hours: 105


Required Courses


The following courses are required unless transfer credit or a waiver is granted. No more than 15 transfer credits are accepted toward the degree.

Graduation Requirements



  1. Completion of the 105-credit program with a cumulative grade point average of B or better.
  2. Successful completion of a Qualifying Examination which must be taken and passed immediately following the first two semesters of the program. This examination is given in May and July of each year. Students who fail the qualifying examination twice will be dropped from the program.
  3. Students must maintain a B average each semester, receive no more than one C per semester and no more than three Cs in total toward the Ph.D. or the student will be dropped from the program. 
  4. If a student earns a grade of D in a course, the instructor of that course will inform the Program Director who will then convene a meeting of the Core Program Faculty to discuss the circumstances under which the D was earned. If this is the first D earned during his or her course of study, the student will be immediately placed on probation and a remedial plan for the student will be developed by the faculty. In the case of a D, course credit will not count toward the degree being sought but the grade is included in determining the cumulative grade point average. The course or its equivalent, must be repeated. A second grade of D received in any course while enrolled in the program is grounds for immediate dismissal. The Core Program Faculty will decide if the dismissal is warranted. A letter which reviews the discussion and outcome of the meeting will be generated by the Program Director with a copy sent to the student. 
  5. A grade of F in any class is grounds for immediate dismissal from the program. If a student earns an F, the instructor of that course will inform the Program Director who will then convene a meeting of the Core Program Faculty to discuss the circumstances in which the F has been earned. A letter which reviews the deliberations of the Core Program Faculty will be generated by the Program Director with a copy sent to the student.
  6. Students are expected to behave in an ethical and professional manner according to the guidelines for student conduct and academic honesty at Hofstra University, and the Ethical Standards for Psychologists published by the American Psychological Association. Satisfactory interpersonal behavior and professional performance in classes and meetings, on practica and internships, etc. is expected. When a report of an ethics violation or an interpersonal problem which may be impeding professional growth is received, the Program Director will convene a meeting of the Core Program Faculty to discuss the circumstances under which the violation or problem arose. After a faculty investigation, a report will be issued that may clear the student of any wrongdoing, place the student on probation with a plan for remediation, or dismiss the student from the program. A letter which reviews the deliberations of the Core Program Faculty will be generated by the Program Director with a copy sent to the student.
  7. Students must obtain and complete a psychological internship during their 5th, 6th, or 7th year of the doctoral program. The internship must minimally comply with standards for psychological internships of the Association for Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). It is the student’s responsibility to meet all deadlines for internship application and to provide proof that the internship has been successfully completed.
  8. Completion of a satisfactory research dissertation.
  9. Satisfactory performance in an oral examination, to be given subsequent to the completion of the dissertation.

Footnotes


*A student who has not made sufficient progress on the dissertation to gain permission of the members of the committee to begin collecting data, will have to repeat the course, paying full fee. A student must maintain continuous enrollment in this course, registering for it during the fall and spring semesters. A student must complete the work for this course within two semesters. If sufficient progress has not been made by the end of this period, the student will have to enroll in 603A, Extended Dissertation Advisement. This course may be taken only once. If the student does not complete the work for this course by the end of the semester, the student will be dropped from the program.

**A student who does not complete the dissertation during the semester of enrollment in 604, Dissertation Advisement, will have to repeat the course, paying full fee. Once 602, Dissertation Proposal Preparation or 603A, Extended Dissertation Advisement has been completed, a student must enroll in 604, Dissertation Advisement, the following semester and maintain continuous enrollment in this course during the fall and spring semesters. A student must complete the work for this course within three semesters. If the dissertation is not completed by the end of this period, the student must immediately enroll in 605A, Dissertation Extension. The student will be dropped from the program if all requirements for the dissertation are not fulfilled by the end of 605A. Once a candidate has begun work on the dissertation, a leave of absence from the program will not be granted, except in highly unusual circumstances.

***Many clinical seminars involve ongoing case work with patients in the Psychological Evaluation, Research and Counseling (PERC) clinic. Students may repeat clinical seminars with the permission of the seminar instructor.

Typical Plan of Study


           
1st Year
 Course  Credits  Name
Fall
201
3
Graduate Statistics I
 
  209A
3
History, Basic Concepts, and Classical Issues in Psychology
 
212
3
Human Development
 
227
3
Interviewing and Counseling in Professional Psychology
 
240
3
Personality Assessment
Spring
204
3
Multivariate Statistics in Psychological Research
 
214
3
Neural Bases of Behavior
 
241
3
Intellectual and Cognitive Assessment
 
249
3
Social Psychology
 
254
3
Childhood Psychopathology
Summer
255
3
Psychology of Learning
       
2nd Year
     
Fall
222
3
Research Methods I: Designs for Professional Psychology
 
274
3
Ethics and Professional Practices in Psychology
 
228
3
Behavior Deviations I: Clinical Psychopathology
 
261
3
Behavior Therapy and Applied Behavior Analysis
 
242
3
Laboratory in Assessment I
Spring
223
3
Research Methods II: Independent Projects
 
229
3
Cognitive-Behavioral Counseling and Psychotherapy
 
243
3
Laboratory in Assessment Il
 
207
3
Cognition and Perception
 
275
3
Cross-Cultural and Diversity Issues in Professional Psychology
       
3rd Year
     
Fall
295
3
Psychotropic Medication
 
371
1
Externship in Clinical Psychology I
   
3
Clinical Seminar
   
3
Clinical Seminar
Spring
601
3
Dissertation Seminar
 
372
1
Externship in Clinical Psychology II
   
3
Clinical Seminar
   
3
Clinical Seminar
       
4th Year
     
Fall
602*
3
Dissertation Proposal Preparation
 
 
   373
1
Externship in Clinical Psychology III
   
3
Clinical Seminar
   
3
Clinical Seminar
Spring
602*
3
Dissertation Proposal Preparation
 
 
   374
1
Externship in Clinical Psychology IV
   
3
Clinical Seminar
   
3
Clinical Seminar
       
5th Year
     
Fall
500**
1
Internship in Clinical Psychology I
 
 
  604*
3
Dissertation Seminar
Spring
 
  501
1
Internship in Clinical Psychology - Completion
 
 
  604*
3
Dissertation Seminar
*Course may be taken twice as shown in sample plan of study depending upon progress. Extension courses available if needed. PSY 602 and 604 can only be credited one (1) time.
**Students may choose to go on internship in year 5, 6, or 7. They must have an approved dissertation proposal by Nov. 1 in order to apply for internship starting the following year.

 

 

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