Academics

Clinical Psychology, PhD

Announcements

Regarding GRE scores: the psychology GRE scores can come in at the end of December as long as everything else in your application arrives by the December 1 deadline.

Accredited by the American Psychologi­cal Association, our Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology adopts the “scientist-practitio­ner” model, balancing research and clinical practice training. Our program prepares academics, researchers and clinicians who have a strong theoretical background in scientific psychology and essential skills in research and clinical practice. The program places special em­phasis on educating students to serve underserved popula­tions by ensuring that they are knowledgeable about and skilled in develop­mentally and culturally compe­tent research and clinical practice. Our graduates translate basic psychological knowledge into practical applications to meet the needs of children, adolescents and adults from diverse economic, racial, and socio-cultural groups. They have the requisite and supervised clinical training to take the Massachusetts Licens­ing Examination for clinical psychologists and to work in a variety of research and clinical settings.

Our program emphasizes

  • Theoretical issues in normal and abnormal development from infancy through adolescence and adulthood.
     
  • Sociocultural, ethnic, and minority issues. The course work highlights social and cultural approaches to normal and abnormal development, especially as they help to build an understanding of the perspectives of ethnic minority and low-income groups.
     
  • A biopsychosocial approach to explaining and treating problems in living, symptomatic behavior, and mental illness, and opportunities for interdisciplinary study. The program draws not only on faculty from the Psychology Department who adopt a biopsychosocial perspective, but also from other departments, including the Departments of Anthropology and Sociology and the University’s research institutes. Research training gives students skills for analyzing problems from a variety of social science perspectives.
     
  • Specialized assessment and intervention skills. The program trains students in a broad range of assessment and intervention skills that not only enable them to treat problem behavior, but will help them promote healthy adaptation, and prevent individual and social problems from developing.

The U Mass Boston Clinical Psychology Program has been accredited since 1995 by the American Psychological Association. For information about our accreditation status, you can contact the Committee on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association, which can also be reached at 750 First Street, NE • Washington, DC • 20002-4242 or (202) 339-5979 .