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Frequently Asked Questions

Matriculation Requirements:

Students are referred to the ETSU Graduate Catalog for School of Graduate Studies academic requirements.  Specific departmental requirements also apply.  All students in the MA/PhD program are expected to carry a minimum of 11 semester hours per semester, and to devote themselves full-time to their graduate pursuits during their enrollment in degree-related activities.  Students are expected to be active in collaborative research with members of the department faculty each semester they are enrolled.

All students must be competent in the diverse core areas of psychology as specified by the American Psychological Association.  Core competence can be demonstrated by completion of coursework covering core areas and/or completion of 3 semesters of PSYC 56XX Core Seminar:  Examples of coursework reflecting specific core areas follow:

    1)   Biological Aspects of Behavior – PSYC 5707,5717 Advanced Behavioral Neuroscience, PMNU 5318 Psychopharmacology, PHYT 6102 Pathophysiology, PSYC 5640 Seminar in Behavioral Neuroscience;

    2)   Cognitive and Affective Aspects of Behavior – PSYC 5630 Topical Seminar in Cognitive Psychology,

    3)   Social Aspects of Behavior – PSYC 5620 Seminar in Social Psychology, PSYC 7400 Family Psychology, PSYC 7450 Group Psychology

    4)   History and Systems – undergraduate course required plus competency examination or Core Seminar;

    5)   Psychological Measurement – PSYC 5817 Introduction to Psychological Tests and Measurements, PSYC 5830 and 5850 Psychological Assessment I & II;

    6)   Research Methods – PSYC 5950 Methods of Psychological Research, PSYC 7100 Doctoral Preliminary Project, IDPH 5037 Rural Health Research and Practice, PSYC 7550 Community Assessment and Intervention, PSYC 7960 Dissertation, ELPA 6955 or PUBH 5900 Grant and Proposal Development;

    7)   Data Analysis – PSYC 5210 Statistical Methods, PSYC 5410 Correlation and Multiple Regression, PSYC 6210 Meta-Analytic Research Methods, PSYC 6410 Covariate Structural Modeling, PSYC 5960 Thesis; PSYC 7960 Dissertation.

    8)   Human Development – PSYC 5610 Seminar in Developmental Psychology, PSYC 5220 Personality Models of Development

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Doctoral Candidacy, Master’s Thesis and Preliminary Project

In order to be admitted to doctoral candidacy, students must have successfully defended their master’s thesis, passed the master’s comprehensive exam, and had their preliminary project approved by the faculty committee.

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Additional PhD Requirements:

All doctoral students are required to participate in at least four semesters of supervised field experience (PSYC 7910 Clinical Externship), at least two of which are in primary care or rural mental health settings.  Prior to being approved to register for Externship, each student must successfully complete one semester of Pre-practicum involving supervised clinical work in the Department of Psychology’s training clinic.  Students will continue supervised clinical work in the training clinic for at least 4 semesters.

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Dissertation, Final Examination, and Internship:

Upon completion of a successful oral defense of the dissertation project, each student will complete a final oral examination oriented toward the student’s dissertation research area and issues relevant to clinical practice.

A full-time, one-year internship in an agency approved by the Director of Clinical Training is required.  This internship is a requirement for APA-approved programs and serves to give students an intensive professional practice experience.  A student cannot accept an internship unless the dissertation proposal has been approved.  Further, the dissertation data must be collected before the student can begin the internship unless the internship agency gives written permission that the student may collect data while on internship.

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Clinical and Professional Learning Experiences:

Beginning with the second semester in the first program year, students will participate in supervised clinical experiences in the field.  Master’s students will first shadow psychologists and/or other health care professionals and observe multidisciplinary teams in health care settings.  In the second program year, students will participate in specific clinical activities such as interviewing and case management. Also in the second or third year of the program, students will begin providing supervised services through the Psychology Department’s service and training clinic.

Beginning with the third program year, students will move to more in depth clinical activities including formal assessment, diagnostic interviews, and group, family, and individual intervention.  In the fourth program year, doctoral students may participate in the supervision of first year students.

Students entering at the post-master’s level may be required to participate in additional field experiences if such experiences are found lacking in their master’s program.  All students are required to participate in at least two semesters of supervised field experiences in primary care or rural mental health settings.

Throughout the MA/PhD program students are expected to actively participate in extracurricular learning experiences such as Grand Rounds for the Medical School departments, the Department of Psychology Speaker Series, the VAMC or Cherokee Health System internship seminars, and local, state regional or national professional organizations, among others.  Students will develop and submit portfolios containing evidence of attendance at these and other professional activities annually to the Director of Clinical Training for review and feedback.  Field experience documentation will also be included in the portfolios.  The portfolios are not a requirement for matriculation, but are strongly encouraged.  In addition to benefiting each student directly for internship and employment applications, the documentation of activities and field experiences will also be used in program evaluation to demonstrate the program’s commitment to applied training and to fostering lifelong learning.

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Sample Course Schedule:  SEE BELOW TABLE FOR COLORED TEXT LEGEND.  Please note that we are in the process of minor revisions in the curriculum.  The course listings and curriculum information included here will change, but not substantively.  

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Sample Course Schedule Colored Text Legend

Blue Text- Breadth of Science (core) areas including social, developmental, cognitive/affective, and biological bases of behavior as well as history and systems, research methodology and data analysis.  Students must complete two semesters of core seminar which covers social, cognitive/affective, developmental bases and history and systems.

          Core Seminar -1 hr x 2

Neuroscience -4 hrs

Pathophysiology -4 hrs

Psychopharmacology -3 hrs

Rural Based Research -3 hrs

Research Methods -3 hrs

Statistics I & II & III -9 hrs

Thesis -6 hrs

Dissertation -12 hrs

 Purple Text– Substantive (Clinical) areas including individual differences, human development, psychopathology, ethics, theories and methods of assessment and diagnosis, effective intervention, consultation and supervision, and efficacy of interventions

          Psychopathology -3 hrs

          Psychological Assessment(s) -6 hrs

          Models of Psychotherapy -3 hrs

          Efficacy-based Interventions -3 hrs

          Pre-Practicum -3 hrs

          Clinical Seminar -4 hrs

          Ethics -3 hrs

          Techniques of Interviewing -3 hrs

          Developmental Models of Personality -3 hrs

          Case-Oriented Learning -3 hrs

          Clerkship -2 hrs

          Psychology Externships -8 hrs

          Internship -3 hrs

 Green Text– Courses that specifically deal with cultural competence.  Cultural competence is also addressed in pre-practicum, rural research and case learning, as well as practicum

          Ethics in Psychology -3 hrs

Multicultural Practices in Social Work -3 hrs

          Cultural Anthropological Applications to Rural Practice -3 hrs

          Clinical Seminar, Semester -1 hr

          Case Learning in Family Medicine, Rural Track -3 hrs

          Rural Research in Family Medicine, Rural Track -3 hrs

          Also infused in Assessment and Intervention courses

 Orange Text– Integrated Behavioral Health – the emphasis of our program

          Clerkship, 2 must be in primary care settings

          Case Learning in Family Medicine, Rural Track -3 hrs

          Rural Research in Family Medicine, Rural Track -3 hrs

          Primary Care Psychology -3 hrs

          Pathophysiology -4 hrs

          Primary Care Externships– 2 hrs

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Courses and Competency Areas:

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Contact Us

Please contact us at clinpsyc@etsu.edu for more detailed information.

Clinical PhD Program

Department of Psychology

P.O. Box 70649

East Tennessee State University

Johnson City TN, 37614-1702

423-439-4424 (main office)

423-439-5695 (fax)