Curriculum

CURRICULUM

The curriculum for the Psy.D. Program consists of an integrated, organized sequence of study. As will be clear below, students will be required to complete three years of full-time study in courses in addition to an internship. All three years of coursework must be completed at the Radford University main campus.

In the sections below we provide some detail about the curriculum. First there is an overview of the program semester-by semester. Then we provide a weekly schedule to demonstrate how the courses and practicum placements are generally done. Finally, we illustrate how the courses in the curriculum meet a variety of oversight bodies’ requirements.

Doctor of Psychology Degree

Recommended Four Year Program of Study

Descriptions of the Psy.D. courses can be found in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies Graduate Catalog (go to page 191).

Fall 1 - 12 credits	Spring 1 - 12 credits	Summer 1 -12 credits
612 Psychometrics 800 Introduction to Counseling Psychology 801 Multicultural Counseling 840 Practicum 1(a)	628 Biological Foundations 802 Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Psychology 803 Vocational Psychology 840 Practicum 1(b)	660 Human Growth and Lifespan Development 806 Advanced Personality Assessment 811 Health Psychology in Rural Areas 843 Summer Practicum

Fall 2- 12 credits	Spring 2 -12 credits	Summer 2 -9 credits
774 Psychopharmacological Medications 777 Multivariate Analysis 805 Advanced Cognitive and Intellectual Assessment Techniques or 631 Cognitive and Intellectual Assessment Techniques) 841 Practicum 2(a)	772 Couples and Family Systems Therapy 785 Neuropsychological Assessment 808 Qualitative Research Methods 841 Practicum 2(b)	809 Supervision 810 Rural Consultation and Program Evaluation 843 Summer Practicum

Fall 3 - 10 credits	Spring 3 - 13 credits	Summer 3 -3 credits
623 Advanced Social Psychology 630 Cognitive and Affective Aspects of Behavior 842 Practicum 3(a) 899 Dissertation	622 Historical Foundations of a Scientific Psychology 773 Assessment and Treatment of Addictive Disorders in Rural Settings 812 Rural Cultural Issues 842 Practicum 3(b) 899 Dissertation	843 Summer Practicum

Fall 4 - 1 credit	Spring 4 - 1 credit	Summer 4 – 1 credit
870 Doctoral Internship (a)	870 Doctoral Internship (b)	870 Doctoral Internship (c)

Model weekly schedule

A proposed weekly schedule can be viewed by clicking here.

How the Psy.D. Program Curriculum Meets the Requirements of

Various Oversight Bodies

The American Psychological Association will only accredit programs that prepare students who achieve competence in a number of different areas. The most common way of demonstrating that these areas are covered is by including coursework on the topics. This approach also meets Virginia licensure requirements and the requirements for Designated Program status by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards/National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. Because the program itself must meet APA accreditation and state licensure and Designated Program requirements, we must include coursework (or other ways of helping students achieve competence) in all the following areas. Some students may be able to waive a required course if they have taken a prior course that is substantially equivalent to the Psy.D. course but the course designed to help students meet the competence or licensure requirement must still be a part of the Psy.D. curriculum.

The table below lists the APA accreditation competence areas and Virginia state licensure and Designated Program requirements (we are a Designated Program – see the discussion on the Accreditation page) and shows how the courses in the curriculum helps students meet these requirements. The table also includes unique aspects of the Model Training Program in Counseling Psychology and shows how the curriculum fits within what is expected of Counseling Psychology programs. Unfortunately, the groups do not necessarily define areas in the same way (e.g., individual differences and human development do not have the same courses across organizations), so it may appear that there are inconsistencies in the table but that is a function of the way each group defines the categories.

Requirement	Psy.D. Course
APA Accreditation
Biological Aspects of Behavior	628: Biological Foundations of Behavior 774: Introduction to Psychopharmacological Medications
Cognitive/Affective Aspects of Behavior	630: Cognitive and Affective Aspects of Behavior
Social Aspects of Behavior	623: Advanced Social Psychology
History and Systems of Psychology	622: Historical Foundations of a Scientific Psychology
Psychological Measurement	612: Psychometric Theory, Assessment, Appraisal, and Application (Note: This course has a prerequisite of a foundational research methods and foundational statistic courses)
Research Methodology	808: Qualitative Research Methods 899: Dissertation
Techniques of Data Analysis	777: Multivariate Analysis of Behavioral Data (Note: This course has a prerequisite of a foundational statistics course) 899: Dissertation
Individual Differences in Behavior	801: Multicultural Counseling 812: Rural Cultural Issues (Also infused into other courses)
Human Development	660: Human Growth and Lifespan Development
Dysfunctional Behavior/Psychopathology	840: Practicum I (Fall): Adult Psychopathology 841: Practicum II (Fall): Child Psychopathology (Also infused into other courses)
Professional Standards and Ethics	802: Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Psychology (Also infused into other courses)
Theories and Methods of Assessment and Diagnosis	773: Assessment and Treatment of Addictive Disorders in Rural Settings 785: Neuropsychological Assessment 805: Advanced Cognitive and Intellectual Assessment Techniques 806: Advanced Personality Assessment 840: Practicum I (repeated 2X) 841: Practicum II (repeated 2X) 842: Practicum III (repeated 2X) 843: Summer Practicum (repeated 2X) 870: Internship (repeated 3X)
Effective Intervention	772: Couples and Family Systems Therapy 803: Vocational Psychology 811: Health Psychology in Rural Areas 840: Practicum I (repeated 2X) 841: Practicum II (repeated 2X) 842: Practicum III (repeated 2X) 843: Summer Practicum (repeated 2X) 870: Internship (repeated 3X) (Also infused into other courses) (Evidence-based practice in psychology is one of the four major emphases of the program)
Consultation	810: Rural Consultation and Program Evaluation
Supervision	809: Supervision
Evaluating the Efficacy of Interventions	772: Couples and Family Systems Therapy 803: Vocational Psychology 811: Health Psychology in Rural Areas 840: Practicum I (repeated 2X) 841: Practicum II (repeated 2X) 842: Practicum III (repeated 2X) 843: Summer Practicum (repeated 2X) 870: Internship (repeated 3X) (Also infused into other courses) (Evidence-based practice in psychology is one of the four major emphases of the program)
Issues of Cultural and Individual Diversity that are Relevant to All of the Above	801: Multicultural Counseling 812: Rural Cultural Issues (Also infused into other courses) (Diversity and Rurality are two of the major emphases of the program)
Attitudes Essential for Lifelong Learning, Scholarly Inquiry, and Professional Problem-Solving	800: Introduction to Counseling Psychology 801: Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Psychology 840: Practicum I (repeated 2X) 841: Practicum II (repeated 2X) 842: Practicum III (repeated 2X) 843: Summer Practicum (repeated 2X) 870: Internship (repeated 3X) (Also infused into other courses)
ASPPB/National Register Designated Program
Scientific and Professional Ethics and Standards	801: Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Psychology
Research Design and Methodology	808: Qualitative Research Methods and the prerequisite statistics course for 777 (below)
Statistics	777: Multivariate Analyses of Behavioral Data (Note: This course has a prerequisite of a foundational statistics course)
Psychometric Theory	612: Psychometric Theory, Assessment, Appraisal, and Application (Note: This course has a prerequisite of foundational research methods and a foundational statistics course)
Biological Bases of Behavior	628: Biological Foundations of Behavior 774: Introduction to Psychopharmacological Medications
Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior	630: Cognitive and Affective Aspects of Behavior
Social Bases of Behavior	623: Advanced Social Psychology
Individual Differences	660: Human Growth and Development 801: Multicultural Counseling 840: Practicum I (Fall): Adult Psychopathology 841: Practicum II (Fall): Child Psychopathology
Virginia Licensure Requirements (3+ hours in all of the following, except practicum)
Biological Bases of Behavior	628: Biological Foundations of Behavior 774: Introduction to Psychopharmacological Medications
Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior	630: Cognitive and Affective Aspects of Behavior
Social Bases of Behavior	623: Advanced Social Psychology
Psychological Measurement	612: Psychometric Theory, Assessment, Appraisal, and Application (Note: This course has a prerequisite of a foundational research methods and a foundational statistics course)
Research Methodology	808: Qualitative Research Methods
Techniques of Data Analysis	777: Multivariate Analyses of Behavioral Data (Note: This course has a prerequisite of a foundational statistics course)
Professional Standards and Ethics	801: Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Psychology
Individual Differences in Behavior	801: Multicultural Counseling
Human Development	660: Human Growth and Development
Dysfunctional Behavior	840: Practicum I (Fall) – Adult Psychopathology 841: Practicum II (Fall) – Child Psychopathology
Theories and Methods of Intellectual Assessment and Diagnosis	805: Advanced Cognitive and Intellectual Assessment Techniques
Theories and Methods of Personality Assessment and Diagnosis (including its practical application)	806: Advanced Personality Assessment
Effective Interventions and Evaluating the Efficacy of Interventions	772: Couples and Family Systems Therapy 803: Vocational Psychology 811: Health Psychology in Rural Areas 840: Practicum I (repeated 2X) 841: Practicum II (repeated 2X) 842: Practicum III (repeated 2X) 843: Summer Practicum (repeated 2X) 870: Internship (repeated 3X)
Consultation and Supervision	809: Supervision 810: Rural Consultation and Program Evaluation
Applicants who graduated from programs which meet the criteria [above] shall submit documentation of having successfully completed practicum experiences in assessment and diagnosis, psychotherapy, consultation and supervision. The practicum shall include a minimum of nine graduate semester hours or 15 or more graduate quarter hours or equivalent in appropriate settings to ensure a wide range of supervised training and educational experiences.	840: Practicum I (repeated 2X) [3 credits each] 841: Practicum II (repeated 2X) [3 credits each] 842: Practicum III (repeated 2X) [3 credits each] 843: Summer Practicum (repeated 2X) 3 credits each] Total: 27 semester credit hours
Counseling Psychology Model Program (Note: Only the areas in the “Professional Core in Counseling Psychology” are listed here because the other areas overlap with APA accreditation requirements)
Professional Issues in Counseling Psychology	800: Introduction to Counseling Psychology
Theories and Techniques of Counseling Psychology	772: Couples and Family Systems Therapy 803: Vocational Psychology 841: Practicum II (Spring): Positive Psychology 842: Practicum III (Fall): Brief Therapy 843: Summer Practicum: Group Counseling
Legal and Ethical Issues	801: Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Psychology
Individual and Cultural Diversity	773: Assessment and Treatment of Addictive Disorders in Rural Settings 802: Multicultural Counseling 810: Rural Consultation and Program Evaluation 811: Health Psychology in Rural Areas 812: Rural Cultural Issues
Practicum and Internship Training	840: Practicum I (repeated 2X) 841: Practicum II (repeated 2X) 842: Practicum III (repeated 2X) 843: Summer Practicum (repeated 2X) 870: Internship (repeated 3X)
Psychological Assessment, Diagnosis, and Appraisal	612: Psychometric Theory, Assessment, Appraisal, and Application (Note: This course has a prerequisite of a foundational research methods and a foundational statistics course) 773: Assessment and Treatment of Addictive Disorders in Rural Settings 785: Neuropsychological Assessment 805: Advanced Cognitive and Intellectual Assessment Techniques 806: Advanced Personality Assessment 840: Practicum I (repeated 2X) 841: Practicum II (repeated 2X) 842: Practicum III (repeated 2X) 843: Summer Practicum (repeated 2X) 870: Internship (repeated 3X)
Career Development and Counseling	803: Vocational Psychology 840: Practicum I (One semester in the RU Experiential Learning and Career Services office is required)
Consultation	810: Rural Consultation and Program Evaluation
Program Evaluation	810: Rural Consultation and Program Evaluation
Supervision and Training	809: Supervision

. . .

As we discuss in both the Accreditation page and the first section of the FAQs page, the Radford University Psy.D. Program is not yet accredited by the American Psychological Association. If you have questions about the accreditation process for doctoral programs in psychology, you can contact the APA via the following means:

American Psychological Association
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation / Commission on Accreditation

750 First Street, NE

Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979
TDD/TTY: 202-336-6123
Fax: 202-336-5978
E-mail: apaaccred@apa.org
Internet Webpage: http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation