psychology phd programs boston

Clinical Program

Ph.d. program in clinical psychology.

Please note that the Graduate and Clinical Handbooks contain a great deal of information about the Clinical Program and should be read in full.

About the Program

Established in 1947 and accredited by the APA since 1948, the PhD program in clinical psychology at Boston University has a long and distinguished history. As part of the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, the program is committed to the pursuit of a science-based approach to psychology.  The clinical-scientist model serves as the basis of our training program that prepares graduates for a wide range of careers in academic, medical, and applied settings.

Mission Statement

The Boston University PhD Program in Clinical Psychology was one of the first twelve programs approved by the American Psychological Association in 1948. The program places clinical science at the foundation of training goals and objectives.  As such, graduates of the program are expected to be competent in psychological research and to be knowledgeable about the scientific bases of clinical psychology applications, such as assessment and intervention.

Our goal is to help students develop skills in research and science-based clinical practice as well as the critical thinking skills and abilities necessary to integrate these domains. Within this framework, we emphasize a mentorship model of teaching that provides experiential learning and supervision in clinical research and professional practice settings.  Key training components include the development of independent research skills, clinical training at sites with psychologists who integrate science and practice, and course content informed by current research. This multipronged training is consistent with the University’s mission of developing outstanding scientists and researchers in all the disciplines in which graduate degrees are offered, while ensuring that graduates are competent to use these skills in applied clinical settings. The presentation of didactic material through courses, participation in clinical research, and clinical training experiences follow a sequence that reflects increasing complexity and effective integration of the subject matter, and promotes increasing autonomy in our graduate students.

The program accepts a small number of students each year with class sizes seldom exceeding ten students. Given the clinical science focus of the BU program, applicants who are solely interested in careers in clinical practice may better achieve their objectives at a professional school in psychology. The overarching goal of the program is to give our graduates the background necessary to implement evidence-based practices and programs in applied settings, develop sophisticated program evaluation methodologies, create new basic and applied knowledge in clinical research settings whether in universities or agencies, and innovate policy relevant to the practice of clinical psychology. Our graduates typically follow career paths in academic and medical settings. Some examples from graduates in the last several years include academic or clinical research positions at Brown University Medical School, Harvard University Medical School, Boston University School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, University of New Hampshire, Suffolk University, University of Waterloo, and the University of New South Wales (Australia). In addition, a number of graduates have also obtained leadership positions in clinical settings including Director of Addiction Ambulatory Services at Bronx Lebanon Hospital / MLK Jr. Health Center in New York, and Program Director, Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program, Palo Alto VA. Whatever the setting, the program philosophy emphasizes training that will produce clinical scientists who will become leaders and innovators in academic and applied settings with clinical science as the foundation of their work.

Accreditation

The Boston University Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program has been accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1948. Questions regarding accreditation can be addressed to the APA Commission on Accreditation :

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association 750 First Street NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 336-5979

The Boston University Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program has also been accredited by the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS) since June 2017, continuing through 2026. Questions regarding accreditation can be addressed to:

Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System Joseph E. Steinmetz, Ph.D., Executive Director 1101 E 10 th Street Bloomington, IN 47408 (479) 301-8008 [email protected]

“PCSAS is an independent, non-profit organization that provides rigorous, objective, and empirically based accreditation of Ph.D. programs. PCSAS programs adhere to a clinical science training model — one that supports and expands the scientific foundation for mental and behavioral health care and increases the quality and quantity of clinical scientists contributing to all aspects of public health for all people.”

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Psychology and Neuroscience

The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Boston College offers two graduate programs, both research-oriented: a doctoral (Ph.D.) program and a Fifth Year M.A. program. Completion of the doctoral program typically requires four to five years of training after the bachelor’s degree. Completion of the Fifth Year M.A. program requires one consecutive year beyond the B.A. or B.S.

The Ph.D. program requires that students devote 100 percent of their time and effort to their studies, including summers. Students are admitted whose interests fall within or bridge one or more of our five areas of concentration, listed below. Our program requires adequate preparation, ability, maturity, and motivation to pursue a demanding program of individual research and scholarship. Because of our emphasis on research and on a mentoring relationship with one member of the faculty, a principal criterion for admission to our graduate programs is that a student’s interests be compatible with those of at least one member of the faculty. Each student is admitted to work with a faculty member as his/her advisor.

The Fifth Year M.A. program is limited to students who are majoring in Psychology or Neuroscience at Boston College. The program is designed to allow selected students to earn both a B.A. or B.S. and an M.A. in Psychology in five years. The purpose of the program is to allow students a greater opportunity for concentrated study and research training. Such training is excellent preparation for application to a Ph.D. program in any area of psychology. Undergraduate Psychology and Neuroscience majors may apply to continue their studies and to earn an M.A. with the equivalent of another, consecutive year of full-time study.

The areas of concentration in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience:

• Behavioral Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Quantitative and Computational Psychology
• Social Psychology

Visit the department’s website at bc.edu/psychology  for additional information on these areas.

General Information

Visit the department’s website at bc.edu/psychology  and find detailed information about the research interests of individual faculty members and the requirements for completing the program. For application materials or further information, visit the  Graduate School of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Admission  website.

The deadline for applications to the Ph.D. program is December 15. Applications are accepted for fall term admissions only. Applicants should submit:

• Application form
• Official transcripts
• Three letters of recommendation
• Statement of research interests
• Application fee

The GRE is optional.

The deadline for applications to the Fifth Year M.A. program is February 1 of the student’s junior year. Applicants should submit:

• Two letters of recommendation

Psychology and Neuroscience Courses

Psychology and Neuroscience Faculty

Psychology and Neuroscience Website

University Catalog Office of Student Services Lyons Hall 103

The Department of Psychology offers a research-intensive PhD program within a close-knit community of faculty and students.

The Department of Psychology offers a graduate program leading to a PhD in psychology. The program offers four main specializations, behavioral neuroscience, cognition, perception, and personality/social, with cross-cutting themes in affective science, lifespan development, and health. The main objective of the program is to train a select group of students to become experts in the multidisciplinary field of psychological science. To accomplish this goal, the department takes a mentoring approach whereby the graduate students are apprentices in faculty laboratories, working closely with their faculty mentors throughout their time in the program. All students are fully supported with stipend and tuition waiver, 12 months a year, for their full five years in the program.

The department admits a small group of students to its doctoral program each year in order to maintain its apprenticeship model, with students admitted to work with a particular faculty mentor. In the laboratory, responsibility for collaboration in research gradually shifts from the faculty mentor to the student, culminating in the student’s doctoral dissertation. The program is five years in length, with students earning a Master’s degree at the end of their second year, in the course of working towards their PhD. Some students enter with a Master’s degree in an appropriate field; they are not required to earn another one.

The basic apprenticeship relation is supplemented by other activities, such as required courses (concentrated in the first and second years), advanced seminars and/or coursework in this as well as other departments or universities, a colloquium series, assignments as teaching assistants, the master’s project, and the dissertation and its oral defense. Graduate students also develop their teaching and research skills through close mentoring of undergraduate research assistants.

• Specializations in behavioral neuroscience, cognition, perception, and personality/social
• Cross-cutting themes in affective science, lifespan development, and health
• Program follows apprenticeship model, with students admitted to work with a particular faculty mentor
• Students without a Master’s degree in an appropriate field will earn one at the end of their second year
• Students develop teaching and research skills through mentoring of undergraduate research assistants
• All students are fully supported with stipend and tuition waiver, 12 months a year, for their full five years in the program
• Bachelor’s and Advanced-degree entry are possible

Application Materials

Requirements, application.

• Application fee – US $100
• Unofficial transcripts for all institutions attended (Official transcripts required upon acceptance of admission offer)
• Personal statement
• Three letters of recommendation
• GRE General Test– Not required
• Proof of English Proficiency for all applicants

Priority deadline for completed applications: December 1 st

Rolling admissions until March 15.  Check with department to see if there is availability.

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