Application Information
Dear Potential Applicant:
Thank you for expressing interest in our Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology. Over
the years we have talked to many students with varying backgrounds as they have
contemplated graduate education. As a result, we are well aware of how difficult
it can be to obtain all of the information you need about graduate programs in clinical
psychology. We believe that this letter, along with other departmental brochures,
will answer many of your questions.
Please note that applications to the clinical area must be received
on or before December 15 (Note will change to December 1 effective December
1, 2010 for the Fall 2011 application cycle). That deadline is the
same for domestic as well as international applicants.
Please pardon our impersonal method of communicating to you; however, a written
summary enables us to provide potential applicants with a great deal of relevant
information. If you have general questions about the application process or about
careers in the field of psychology, we encourage you to read some of the resources
noted in the P.S. below. If you have specific questions about our Clinical program
after reading this material, please feel free to contact our clinical admissions
advisor who can be reached at 813-974-7077. This advisor is an advanced clinical
student who will keep regular telephone hours throughout the academic term. The
advisor's email address is: clinicaladmissions@cas.usf.edu.
In the meantime, we wish you good luck in making your decision and hope that you
will seriously consider applying to our program.
Those of you who are inquiring for the first time about graduate programs in clinical
psychology may find some of this material a bit discouraging. This is not our intention.
We simply want to aid you in making an informed decision. Please keep that in mind
as you read the information below.
1. The competition for acceptance into our Clinical program is, unfortunately, intense.
Approximately 250 students apply each year but only about 9 or 10 are admitted.
Many qualified students are not admitted because acceptance is determined not only
by credentials but also by interests and past experiences. In general, if you are
very interested in attending a Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology, you should
seriously consider applying to at least several programs (13-15 would not be
unreasonable). Following this strategy will increase your chances of acceptance
into at least one program.
2. Our program strongly encourages applications from minority members. Minority
members are under-represented in the field of clinical psychology; thus we hope
that students who represent cultural minorities will seriously consider applying.
3. Other than the minimum criteria set by the university for all graduate programs,
we have no formal cutoffs for GRE scores and GPA, nor minimum experience requirements.
Nevertheless, there are some guidelines you can use to evaluate your chances for
admission. The entering classes for the last three years had a median GRE score of 1333 (Verbal and
Quantitative combined) and a median GPA of 3.76. Please realize, however, that many
students admitted into our program have scores lower (and higher) than these scores,
and these are not the sole criteria for admission. In addition, nearly all entering
students have worked as research assistants and many have had experience in a mental
health facility, usually as a volunteer. Although both types of experiences will
enhance your chances for admission, research experience is most important. The majority
of our entering students have presented their research at a conference or have published
their research.
4. You will need three letters of recommendation. Optimally, these letters will
be from academic psychologists with whom you have worked in the past and who know
something about you personally. For example, professors with whom you have worked
as a research assistant would be good references.
5. We prefer that students have an undergraduate degree in Psychology. However,
we have occasionally made an exception for applicants who are particularly strong
in other areas (e.g., research experiences). But it is highly desirable for a student
to have at least a minimal background in Psychology and in Research Methods (e.g.,
Introductory Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Experimental Design, Statistics, etc.).
6. The entire Ph.D. program usually takes four or five years of academic work, followed
by a one-year clinical internship. All students complete two independent research
projects, a masters thesis and a doctoral dissertation. In addition to intense involvement
in research activities, students are involved in clinical practica throughout their
training.
7. We are an apprenticeship model (also known as a mentorship model) program, which
means that students work closely with at least one primary research mentor. Admission
decisions are made with mentorship matches in mind, so it is important for applicants
to identify at least one potential mentor among the clinical faculty. It is a good
idea to mention your preferred mentor(s) in your personal statement.
Clinical faculty members are listed here Note that not all faculty members
expect to admit students into their laboratories next Fall. Those who expect to
admit students are identified by asterisks.
8. Our program is a full-time, APA-Accredited, Ph.D. program. It is also a member
program of the Academy for Psychological Clinical Science, which indicates our commitment
to research training. Although an M.A. degree is awarded on the way toward receiving
the Ph.D., you should not enter the program with the intention of obtaining only
a masters. If you cannot commit to the Ph.D. program, you should investigate the
large number of schools that offer a terminal masters program in Clinical Psychology.
9. Many students already have an M.A. and, understandably, would like to obtain
full credit for their degree. It is sometimes possible to transfer credit for courses
that are virtually identical to those offered by our department; however, no final
decision about such courses can be made prior to your acceptance into the program.
Each individual case must be evaluated after admission by the Graduate Program Committee.
Likewise, it is sometimes possible to obtain credit for an already completed masters
thesis if it is judged equivalent in quality to those conducted by students in our
program. After acceptance into the program, a faculty committee would review your
thesis to determine if it can be transferred.
10. Finally, in making your decision, you should also be aware of graduate programs
in other mental health fields. For example, at USF there are excellent programs
in School Psychology (813-974-3246), Social Work (813-974-2063), Rehabilitation
Counseling (813-974-2855), Counselor Education (813-974-3515), and Aging Studies (813-974-2414).
Other universities offer additional programs at the masters and doctoral levels.
Once again, we welcome your interest in our Clinical Psychology program and sincerely
hope that this letter, along with other departmental materials, will enable you
to make a more informed decision about applying. If you have additional questions
after reading all of these materials, we will gladly answer them. In the meantime,
good luck in your pursuit of graduate education!
Sincerely,
Jonathan Rottenberg, Ph.D.
Chair, Clinical Admissions
Vicky Phares, Ph.D.
Director of Clinical Training
P.S. There are a number of excellent books that can help with the application process.
Four books that our students have recommended Are: Getting In: a Step-by-step Plan
for Gaining Admission to Graduate School in Psychology, Graduate Study in Psychology
(both of which can be ordered from the American Psychological Association: 1-800-374-2721;
www.apa.org), and Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs
in Clinical Psychology (by Norcross, Mayne & Sayette, published by Guilford Press). We hope these references help you become
more educated about the application process.