Graduate Program

Goals and Objectives

The goal of the graduate program in clinical psychology is the education of clinical psychologists with a firm grounding in research, theory, and practice. We are a clinical science program, which means that we encourage students to make substantive contributions to the understanding of the assessment, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of psychopathology. We also encourage them to become competent clinicians who know how to make use of the available evidence and to contribute to the training of future psychologists. A clinical scientist is defined not by where s/he works (e.g., in a university vs. in private practice) but in how s/he thinks.

The primary emphasis of our clinical curriculum is to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to function as productive clinical researchers in psychology. This requires a basic understanding of the determinants of human behavior, including biological, psychological, and social factors, and a strong background in research design and quantitative methods. Also central to our curriculum is training in clinical practice through coursework in assessment and treatment, and through supervised clinical practica. Finally, our curriculum provides supervised teaching experiences for all students. The goal and philosophy of the clinical program are consistent with the goals of the Psychology Department and the mission of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

We expect that students who complete our program will be able to apply the perspective and skills of a clinical scientist to research, teaching, and/or clinical work in various professional environments including academic departments, research institutes, medical schools, community mental health facilities, or other practice settings. Our clinical program is both accredited by the American Psychological Association and a member in good standing of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science, and our faculty and curriculum embody many of the values embraced by both organizations.

Accreditation

Our program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association. Inquiries may be directed to the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, N.E., Washington, DC, 20002-4242, Phone: (202) 336-5979.

Directors

Director of Clinical Psychology and Director of Clinical Training: Dr. Linda Craighead, lcraigh@emory.edu.

A Note on Interviews, Visits, and Contacting Faculty: Because of the volume of applications each year, we cannot arrange visits or interviews with prospective applicants until January, at which point we invite about 25 applicants to Emory to interview. If you are interested in the program and have questions, you should contact faculty whose work looks like the best match for you and who are taking students for the current year, or contact Paula Mitchell, our administrative coordinator, at paula.mitchell@emory.edu.

Application for admission should be made as early as possible. Although the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences lists their deadline as Jan. 3, the deadline for applications for Clinical Psychology is December 1, 2008.

The following faculty will be recruiting a student this admissions year to begin the program in the fall of the 2008-2009 academic year: (The list of faculty accepting new students will be available on August 28, 2008). No other faculty will be accepting new students this year.