San Francisco PsyD Program: A Practitioner Program

The PsyD program at the San Francisco campus has full accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. It is a practitioner program and was initiated in the fall of 1991. The goal of the program is to educate professional clinical psychologists who bring critical thinking and active problem solving skills to bear on human problems. Students are educated and trained to be able to intervene effectively using multiple methods of assessment and intervention, working with diverse populations, across many settings, and in changing and evolving contexts.

APA Education & Training Outcomes

The CSPP San Francisco Clinical Psychology PsyD program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), which requires that we provide student outcome data, including time to completion, program costs, internships, attrition and licensure. Please follow the link below for that information. We hope this information will help you to make an informed decision regarding your graduate study. Student Outcome Data

APA Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation: 750 First Street, NE; Washington, DC 20002-4242  Phone: 202-336-5979

Tauber Fellowships: This new funding opportunity will be awarded to five incoming San Francisco CSPP students. The Tauber Fellowships will provide each student with $10,000 in support per year. Both PhD and PsyD students are elegible. The Fellowship application deadline is February 10, 2009. See the webpage for more information.

Click this link to view profiles of some current CSPP San Francisco PsyD and PhD students.

Beginning in the first year, professional training placements are required to integrate classroom learning with practical experience. In the second-year PsyD students begin work on their clinical dissertations. Passing all preliminary examination subtests is required for advancement to doctoral candidacy. While continuing to integrate the skills and knowledge acquired in the first two years, students in the third year begin to focus more intensively on professional skills and more advanced professional training experiences. Also work on the PsyD clinical dissertation proceeds.

The PsyD dissertation is meant to demonstrate the student's ability to think critically about clinical and social issues and to make appropriate use of scientific knowledge and psychological research in professional practice. The dissertation may be an interpretive study involving a synthesis and analysis of existing literature relevant to a clinical problem and requiring the development of the student's own ideas as to how the existing knowledge can be used to enhance clinical work. Other types of clinical dissertations include case studies, surveys, program evaluations, educational or clinical interventions, quantitative studies and correlational studies on clinical variables. The program is designed to allow students to complete the dissertation in the third year prior to beginning the fourth year internship.

The standard PsyD curriculum is four years, but students may extend their time to take additional courses, complete research work, or spread their internship over two years. Approximately 35% complete the program in four years, while 65% elect to extend their education and training to five or more years.

American Psychological Association office of Program Consultation and Accreditation:
750 First Street, N.E.
Washington DC 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979