North Dakota State University

Program Description

Purpose

The primary purpose of this program is to prepare students for careers in academic or research settings. Thus, a major emphasis is on research training. We hope to train researchers who will contribute to psychological knowledge through the investigation of clinically-relevant issues, including basic research on the nature, etiology, and course of health-related problems or psychological disorders, as well as applied research which investigates the prevention and treatment of health and mental health problems.

Coursework and Training

Students are required to gain a breadth of knowledge in the foundations of psychology through courses in biological, cognitive, and social bases of behavior. Coursework in research methods and statistics, assessment, psychopathology, health, and interventions comprise the clinical portion of the curriculum. Practica at local hospitals, clinics, and mental health agencies provide supervised experience in service delivery and applied research. This is a full-time program and will take 5 years, including internship, to complete. We do our best to support students with an assistantship that includes a tuition waiver.

Application Process

Start by doing your homework.

You need to know whether you will be happy in our program. First, consider your career objectives. If you are primarily interested in an academic career, have a strong commitment to research, and would like to teach, then consider us further. If you are mostly interested in a career providing assessment and treatment services in health and mental health settings, we will not be a good fit for you.

Then, learn about our faculty. Look them up on the web. Read some of their publications. When we consider applicants for acceptance into our program, we are looking for students to work with us on our research. You need to know what it is we do and that this is what you want to do as well.

Admissions Criteria

When making admissions decisions we consider grades, GRE scores, research experience, letters of recommendation (preferably from faculty who can comment on your research skills and academic potential), and the personal statement. To the extent that an applicant has a strong background in psychology, including coursework in statistics, research methods, abnormal psychology, and personality and good research experience, this will be an advantage. In addition, the personal statement should be clear about your career goals and interests and why you think NDSU, in particular, will help you achieve those goals. Your undergrade GPA must be at least 3.0 on a 4-point scale. We will consider applicants who already have a master's degree and will judge them by the same criteria. For applicant's with a master's degree, credit towards the doctorate will depend on how well previous course work matches with our own requirements. International applicants must have TOEFL (internet-based) score of at least 100.

We do not require campus visits or interviews. We may, however, like to arrange for a visit via phone or web video with our top candidates.

Apply

Applications are made online. You can find instructions and more information at the Graduate School. You will need to make arrangements to include transcripts, test scores, and three letters of recommendation. Our application deadline is February 1. Admissions decisions will be made by mid-March. We review applications only once a year and admit students only in the Fall semester.

Psychological Clinical Science Applicant Summary Statistics

*In 2012, the GRE scores were reported on two difference scales. Separate averages are reported and include only those students whose scores were reported in the respective formats. For ease of translation, the average percentile across all incoming students is listed in parentheses.

Primary Clinical Faculty

Affiliated Faculty

Our Affiliated Faculty also serve as research advisors to Psychological Clinical Science graduate students.  If you are interested in working with a member of our Affiliated Faculty, please contact them to find out more about their interests.