Doctor of Psychology - PsyD Program

The Doctor of Psychology program at John F. Kennedy University is designed for students seeking the highest level of training to become clinicians. We follow the practitioner-scholar model, where primary emphasis is placed on excellence in practice, grounded in science.

Our PsyD program provides clinical training with a multicultural emphasis by a diverse, dedicated faculty of experienced practitioners and scholars. In the selection of faculty, staff, and students, the PsyD program aims to reflect the diversity of California’s community, and we offer a student-faculty ratio of approximately 12:1. We create an environment where people of varied backgrounds and beliefs can all feel welcome, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, class, ability, and other aspects of diversity. Attention to multicultural competence is incorporated into every aspect of the program.

Graduates are prepared for the multiple roles that contemporary psychologists must fill to competently serve their communities: clinician, program administrator and evaluator, consultant, educator, supervisor, assessor, and critical consumer of psychological research. Our program welcomes students who demonstrate a strong commitment to working with underprivileged and underserved populations.

Students may choose to attend the program under the intensive full-time, full-time or part-time plan. The intensive full-time plan of study takes four years to complete. Intensive full-time students complete three years of coursework (four quarters per year) plus weekly practicum hours each of the first three years. Full-time students complete their coursework in four years. After the coursework is completed, a one-year, full-time internship, or two half-time internships, are required for graduation. Students are also required to complete a clinical dissertation project. Part-time students work with their advisor to develop a modified schedule tailored to each individual student’s needs. Part-time students must also spend one year in full-time residency, completing at least 36 units within that year.

Licensure
Completion of the PsyD from John F. Kennedy University makes students eligible to apply for licensure as a psychologist. The licensure process is regulated by the California Board of Psychology, and licensure requirements currently include a minimum 3,000 hours of verified supervised professional experience. The California Board of Psychology may be contacted directly at: 2005 Evergreen St. Suite 1400, Sacramento, CA 95815-3894, or via email at bopmail@dca.ca.gov.

Accreditation
The PsyD Program is accredited* by the American Psychological Association (APA), which requires that we provide the student outcome data available via the links on this page. We hope this information will help you to make an informed decision regarding your graduate study.
American Psychological Association
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
(202) 336-5979
apaaccred@apa.org

Program Learning Outcomes

The goals of the PsyD Program with their underlying objectives are as follows:

Goal #1: Students will acquire knowledge of the foundational concepts and guiding principles of scientific psychology.

• Behavioral Science – Students will demonstrate knowledge of the science that forms the foundations of clinical psychology.
• History and Ethics – Students will demonstrate knowledge of the history, philosophy, and ethical principles governing clinical psychology.
• Development and Difference – Students will demonstrate knowledge of norms and theories of human development across the lifespan, as well as knowledge about cultural differences.
• Psychological Measurement – Students will demonstrate knowledge of principles of psychological measurement, research design, and techniques of data analysis.

Goal #2: Students will acquire developmentally appropriate skills in each of these areas of professional psychology: Relationship, Assessment, Intervention, Research and Evaluation, and Professional Roles.

• Relationship – Students can develop, describe, and maintain constructive and culturally sensitive clinical relationships with clients, supervisors, and others with whom they interact professionally.
• Assessment – Students can assess clinically relevant client characteristics, and use the information gathered to describe, conceptualize, and diagnose within a sociopolitical and cultural context.
• Intervention – Students can engage in effective, theory-informed, research-based, culturally appropriate activities that promote, restore, sustain, or enhance positive functioning and a sense of well-being in clients through preventive, developmental, or remedial services.
• Research and Evaluation – Students demonstrate the ability to interpret, design, and implement clinically and culturally appropriate research.
• Professional Roles – Students can articulate the theoretical and empirical foundations of, and demonstrate the basic skills of: supervision, management, consultation, and education in a multicultural professional environment.

Goal #3: Students will demonstrate the personal and professional attributes of multi-culturally competent practitioner-scholars.

• Awareness – Students recognize, value, and work consciously with individual and cultural differences within intersecting systems.
• Professional Conduct and Attitude – Students conduct themselves in accordance with professional standards, laws, and ethics.
• Scholarship - Students demonstrate their commitment to the practitioner-scholar model of clinical psychology.

Requirements

To receive the Doctor of Psychology, the student must meet the following requirements:

• The Comprehensive Written Examination and the Clinical Proficiency Examination must be passed.
• Fifty hours of personal psychotherapy must be completed.
• All traiing logs and supervisors' evaluations must be submitted to the Training Office.
• The dissertation must be successfully defended.
• After admission to the Doctof of Psychology program, all academic requirements must be completed in residence, except for transfer credit units.
• A full-time load of 36 units must be carried for a minimum of one year.
• A minimum grade of B- is required in each course applied to the degree.
• An overall grade-point average of 3.0 must be achieved in all work for the PsyD.
• All program requirements must be completed within eight calendar years of matriculation.
• Candidates for doctoral degrees are required to file a Petition for Degree and pay the required fee by February 15 of the year prior to the beginning internship.

All program requirements must be completed within eight calendar years of matriculation.

 *Accredited, on probation.

Courses
Prerequisites [1] or Co-requisites
Introduction to Psychology
Theories of Personality
Diversity-related course
Statistics

First Year [3]
PSD 7003 - Foundations of Professional Psychology: History and Systems of Professional Psychology (3 units)
PSD 7007 - Clinical Interviewing Skills I (3 units)
PSD 7008 - Clinical Interviewing Skills II (3 units)
PSD 7015 - Adult Psychopathology I (3 units)
PSD 7016 - Adult Psychopathology II (3 units)
PSD 7035 - Practicum I [2] (6 units)
PSD 7046 - Group Process [2] (3 units)
PSD 7047 - Multicultural Awareness in Professional Psychology [2] (6 units)
PSD 7052 - Writing like a Psychologist (1.5 units)
PSD 7104 - Social and Cultural Bases of Behavior (3 units)
PSD 7122 - Psychodynamic Theory and Its Application to Diverse Populations (3 units)
PSD 7123 - Cognitive Behavioral Theory and Its Application to Diverse Populations (3 units)
PSD 7141 - Ethical and Legal Issues in Professional Psychology (3 units)
PSD 7151 - Research Methods and Statistics I (3 units)
PSD 7225 - Lifespan Development I: Child and Adolescent (3 units)
PSD 7226 - Lifespan Development II: Adulthood and Aging (3 units)
PSD 7250 - Research Methods and Statistics II (3 units)

Second Year
PSD 7107 - Biological Bases of Behavior (3 units)
PSD 7108 - Cognitive and Affective Bases of Behavior (3 units)
PSD 7115 - Assessment I/Intellectual and Cognitive Assessment and Lab (4 units)
PSD 7116 - Assessment II/Personality Assessment I and Lab (4 units)
PSD 7117 - Assessment III/Personality Assessment II and lab (4 units)
PSD 7121 - World Cultures: Diverse Perspectives on Psychological Theory and Practice (3 units)
PSD 7124 - Family Systems Theory and Its Application to Diverse Populations (3 units)
PSD 7131 - Psychology of Addiction (3 units)
PSD 7135 - Practicum II (6 units)
PSD 7146 - Advanced Gropu Process (3 units)
PSD 7147 - Multicultural Proficiency in Professional Psychology (3 units)
PSD 7160 - Psychopharmacology (3 units)
PSD 7251 - Qualitative Research: Critical Review (3 units)
PSD 7252 - Clinical Dissertation Proposal I (2 units)
PSD 7253B - Clinical Dissertation Proposal II (1.5 units)
PSD 7254B - Clinical Dissertation Proposal III (1.5 units)
Comprehensive Written Examination [3] (0 units)

Third Year PSD 7025 - Child and Adolescent Issues: Psychopathology and Treatment (3 units)
PSD 7215 - Consultation and Education in Psychology (3 units)
PSD 7230 - Management and Supervision: Self, Other, and Organization (3 units)
PSD 7235 - Practicum III (9 units)
PSD 7245 - Contemporary Issues in Professional Psychology (3 units)
PSD 7302 - Dissertation Completion (1.5 - 2 units)
Electives (16 units)
Clinical Proficiency Examination (0 units)
Advancement to Candidacy (0 units)

Fourth Year
PSD 7400 - Internship (36 units)

Total units required: 180

[1] These courses or their approved equivalents are prerequisities to the Doctor of Psychology program.  All prerequisite courses must be completed prior to attending first-year Doctor of Psychology courses, with official transcripts documenting successful completion on file in the registrar's office.  Prerequisite courses completed after the awarding of the bachelor's degree must have a grade of B- or better.  Prerequisite courses may be taken at any regionally accredited, approved college or university.

[2] This is a repeatable course and must be taken multiple times to total the number of units indicated.

[3] Students in good standing who have passed the comprehensive written examination will be awarded an MA degree in Clinical Psychology after satisfactorily completing all first and second - year courses.  This degree is non - terminal and non - licensable.

Program Information

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Program Locations

• Pleasant Hill - Main Campus

Related Downloads

• Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data
• PsyD Program Overview
• PsyD Application Requirements and Form

Useful Links

• American Psychological Association
• California Board of Psychology
• Attend an Upcoming Open House