Clinical & Health Psychology

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Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology

Program Director: James H. Johnson, Ph.D.

Associate Program Director: Stephen R. Boggs, Ph.D.

Introduction Our Setting Our Resources Placement After Graduation The Program General Timetable Program Requirements Admission Requirements Training Blog

Application Procedures Financial Aid Computer Literacy Policy Operations and Outcomes Data Accreditation - 2000 Self Study Other Links UF Academic Honesty Guidelines UF Graduate Catalog Student Handbook

Introduction

The department of Clinical and Health Psychology is an academic and professional unit in the College of Public Health and Health Professions at the Health Science Center on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. The doctoral program in clinical psychology has been accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1953 and adheres to the Scientist-Practitioner Model of education and training. The Clinical Psychology Doctoral program is unique in the country in that it is housed in an independent department of Clinical and Health Psychology in a major academic health science setting along with an APA accredited internship. These features foster program strengths in research, teaching and professional training in health care psychology.

To accomodate the broad range of career trajectories possible within Scientist-Practitioner education and training, the program offers a Scientist-Practitioner Emphasis and a Clinical Researcher Emphasis. The Scientist-Practitioner Emphasis allows the student to obtain broad clinical, academic, and research training that readies them for careers anywhere along the science-practice continuum. The student obtains focused research mentorship in a faculty member's laboratory and obtains broad training in clinical assessment and intervention both in and outside of their designated area of concentration. The Clinical Researcher Emphasis is designed to provide the interested student with more intensive mentor-based training for purposes of preparing for a research career. The Clinical Researcher Emphasis is designed for students who are clearly focused on a research career and therefore want an increased opportunity to perform mentored empirical work. This emphasis focuses on the acquisition of research skills, training in scientific methods and technologies to better understand behavior problems, psychopathology and psychological adjustment to illness and wellness, and to develop empirically validated assessment and treatment procedures. The primary goal of the Clinical Researcher emphasis is to train psychologists for academic settings and other employment venues in which research productivity and innovation is a major job expectancy. In comparison to the scientist-practitioner emphasis, more time is dedicated to research (less time is spent in supervised practicum with the general faculty), and advanced clinical training is focused on patient populations and methods in the student's area of research interest. The Clinical Researcher emphasis follows a “mentorship” model in which the faculty mentor is the student’s overall guide and supervisor, and the student’s primary research training is accomplished in his/her laboratory. Students can elect the Clinical Researcher emphasis in the first or second year of study, based on their commitment to a clinical research career and the agreement of a faculty mentor. Students can apply for admission consideration to the Scientist-Practitioner emphasis, the Clinical Researcher emphasis, or both (see Application Procedures below).

The Doctoral Program provides the student with training in the concepts, tools, roles, and functions of the clinical psychologist. The overall goals of the graduate program are to prepare the student to:

• (1) investigate meaningful, empirically testable questions in the quest for understanding a behavioral process, a patient's problem, or a professional issue;
• (2) function as a professional psychologist;
• (3) practice competently in the applied areas of psychological assessment/diagnosis, intervention/therapy, and consultation; and
• (4) contribute to the advancement of psychological knowledge through research or other creative scholarly activity.

Through a combination of general and specialized experiences in the classroom, laboratory, and clinic students develop knowledge and skills as scientist-practitioners. Attitudes are developed toward the practice of psychology and toward related professions which enable effective personal interaction and participation in the interdisciplinary approach to problems of research and practice. As students progress in the program, they develop professional identity through acceptance of increased responsibility for professional decisions, through the execution of significant research projects, and through their contributions to the understanding of psychological problems and processes.

Our Setting

The University of Florida Health Science Center is a complex of six colleges on the University of Florida campus. The colleges include Medicine, Nursing, Health Professions, Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Veterinary Medicine. The building complex consists of the 576 bed Shands Hospital at the University of Florida, a wide variety of outpatient clinics, a teaching/academic core, and the extensive support services for patient care, research, and communications that are part of a modern university health science center. The Department of Clinical and Health Psychology operates its own Psychology Clinic, which handles diverse requests for inpatient and outpatient psychological services from Health Science Center departments and area health care professionals. The Psychology Clinic is the major setting for the formal clinical practica required of all doctoral students.

The Department is located within the College of Public Health and Health Professions, which offers degree programs in Public Health as well as a variety of health professions discplines (communicative disorders, occupational therapy, physical therapy). Students interested in obtaining education and training in Public Health can obtain a Certificate in Public Health or can obtain both a Ph.D. and a Master's of Public Health (MPH) degree while enrolled in the program. Separate admission to the Public Health Program is required. Interested students should visit the Public Health website at http://www.mph.ufl.edu/ for more information.

Across the street from the Health Science Center, and connected to it via an underground tunnel, is the 268 bed Gainesville Veterans' Administration Medical Center (VAMC), a nationally recognized center for health care treatment of veterans and their families. A full continuum of community based training, emphasizing rural health care, is also available through departmental collaborations across local county public health units, the North Florida/South Georgia VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic and rural hospitals. The participating county public health units (Levy and Dixie County) serve as primary care locations for medical care and community disease prevention programming. Hospital based training is also available at Shands at Lake Shore Hospital which provides emergency, secondary and limited tertiary care to residents of Columbia County and five other rural counties in North Central Florida.

The Department of Clinical and Health Psychology is recognized within the Health Science Center as a primary resource for academic and clinical expertise regarding biopsychosocial aspects of health and illness. Interests of the faculty are broad, with a majority actively engaged in the specialized areas of clinical health psychology, clinical neuropsychology, clinical child/pediatric psychology, and emotion neuroscience/psychopathology. There are ongoing collaborative arrangements with numerous departments and programs including Cardiology, Oncology, Neurology, Pediatrics, Psychology, Communicative Disorders, Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dentistry, Neurosurgery, Endocrinology, Surgery, Exercise and Sport Science, Physical Therapy, and Anesthesiology. Department faculty hold joint or courtesy appointments in many of these academic departments, and are represented on the faculties of such university centers as the Center for Neuropsychological Studies, the University of Florida McKnight Brain Institute, the Movement Disorders Center, the Brooks Center for Rehabilitation Research, and the University of Florida Interdisciplinary ADHD Program. Several Centers are located within the Department or College, including the Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, Center for Research in Psychophysiology, Center for Pediatric Psychology and Family Studies, Center for Telehealth and Healthcare Communication, Center for Pain Research and Behavioral Health, and the National Rural Behavioral Health Center. In the 2005-2006 academic year, departmental core faculty published 79 refereed papers and 11 book chapters, made over 100 presentations at national or international meetings, and had $9.2 million in grant expenditures.

On the national level departmental faculty are active in the American Psychological Association and other professional societies such as the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, the American Board of Professional Psychology, Society for Behavioral Medicine, Society for Pediatric Psychology, International Neuropsychological Society, Society for Psychophysiological Research, and International Association for the Study of Pain. Faculty members also regularly serve on the editorial boards of scientific journals, including the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, Health Psychology, Educational and Psychological Measurement, The Clinical Neuropsychologist, Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, Psychophysiology, and the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings.

Faculty are equally active at the regional, state and local levels through participation and leadership roles in the Southeastern Psychological Association, Florida Psychological Association and other organizations. Graduate students have also played significant roles in professional organizations (e.g., President and Board Members of the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students [APAGS], Student President, Florida Psychological Association) and have been recipients of a number of research awards from the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Foundation, the Florida Psychological Association, the International Neuropsychological Society, the Society of Pediatric Psychology, and the American Pain Society. The Department itself was a co-sponsor of two major national conferences regarding education and training in psychology: The National Conference on Internship Training in Psychology (1987) and The National Conference on the Education and Training of Scientist-Practitioners for the Professional Practice of Psychology (1990). The Department originated the National Conference on Child Health Psychology, now sponsored by APA Division 54, which was last held in 2006 in Gainesville.

Our Resources

The Department's location within the Health Science Center affords it immediate access to the kinds of resources found only in an academic health science center. The primary resource is a large and active teaching faculty which supports the programs of the center's six colleges that attract talented students of health care from throughout the United States and beyond. Opportunities are virtually limitless for exposure to faculty and graduate students in other disciplines, including public health, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and dentistry.

In 2003, the Department moved along with the rest of the Departments in the College of Public Health and Health Professions to the new Health Professions, Nursing, and Pharmacy Building, located immediately north of the Health Science Center's Communicore Building, which houses the Health Science Center Library and many classrooms supporting education within the HSC's colleges. The HPNP building has integrated classroom facilities, state-of-the-art wireless technology, and access to the HP network, supporting computing needs for the department's research and clinical missions.

The Department has access to diverse patient populations. Students obtain direct experience with a wide variety of psychological and medical problems in children and adults. The Shands Teaching Hospital is equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment tools, and the student frequently has the opportunity to work with a team of health care professionals in pursuing a diagnosis or implementing a treatment program.

Just as important as patient care services are the resources that support the academic and research aspects of the Health Science Center's programs. The Health Science Center is equipped with an excellent library that contains a broad collection of books and journals relevant to basic and applied psychological research. Many journals and other materials are available electronically to registered students throught the UF Library websites. The campus contains nine additional specialized libraries and one general resource library. The BioMedical Media Services located within the Health Science Center, contains facilities for photography, graphics, slides, videotape, and other media useful in the preparation of research reports. The Department occupies 23 thousand square feet of teaching, clinical and research space. The Department is particularly strong in instrumentation and methodology for cognitive and psychophysiological studies.

The Department of Psychology building is located nearby. The Psychology Department is responsible for the undergraduate teaching curriculum in psychology along with the graduate programs in cognition and perception, experimental analysis of behavior, developmental, social/personality, psychobiology and counseling psychology. Many undergraduate Psychology majors work with Departmental faculty on senior theses and directed research projects, and many enroll as research assistants in Departmental projects.  A number of faculty hold joint appointments in both departments.

Placements After Graduation

During the past five years, the Department has graduated an average of 10-14 students per year. These professionals are now employed in diverse academic, human service, governmental, mental health, and administrative positions. Alumni surveys indicate that approximately 40% of graduates have academic or teaching appointments, 16% institutional practice, 38% group or solo practice, and 6% are in other diverse positions such as administration, consulting, etc. In the past 5 years over 90% of students secured their first or second internship choice and all have received at least one offer of employment after degree requirements have been completed.

The Program

The Ph.D. program in clinical psychology is designed to enable students to master broad areas of knowledge and skills in psychology and clinical psychology, and to educate and train individuals who will contribute to such knowledge through research. The program consists of a general psychology core curriculum, a clinical psychology core, required research projects, a sequence of required clinical practica, a series of advanced elective courses, an area of concentration, and an APA-accredited internship in clinical psychology. The program is designed as a five-year intensive program of study, practice, and research. The program offers its established Scientist-Practitioner track, along with a limited number of slots in a new Clinical Science track. The program requirements for the Scientist-Practitioner Emphasis and the Clinical Researcher Emphasis overlap somewhat, but differ in the balance between clinical and research training.

General Timetable

First Year

During the first year students devote most of their time to core courses in foundations of psychology; research design; statistics; clinical science (e.g., psychopathology, assessment, intervention), and professional issues/ethics. Along with didactic classroom work, students are exposed to the research interests and activities of faculty, and attend research groups as well as department conferences. During this first year the student chooses a research mentor and completes the First Year Project research requirement, which eventually becomes the basis for the student's M.S. Thesis.

Second Year

In addition to research to complete the master's degree, the focus of the second year is the required clinical practica sequence. During these formal practica, students spend one day a week obtaining training in a variety of assessment, consultation, and intervention activities with both adults and children under the direct supervision of department faculty. Four 3-month rotations have emphasis in clinical health psychology, clinical neuropsychology, clinical child/pediatric psychology and primary care. The Master's thesis is usually defended during the spring semester in front of a faculty committee.  The student is also encouraged to develop interest areas which serve to satisfy the area of concentration requirement and electives for the doctorate. It is a particularly important year since the student is expected to take a more active role in structuring his/her own learning experiences, and to form a doctoral supervisory committee.

Third Year

During the third year students continue with coursework, research, intensified development of the area of concentration, and the completion of the required practica. All students continue to conduct ongoing therapy under faculty supervision. Elective practica are taken as well. Opportunities exist for working with patients of various age groups in both inpatient and outpatient settings. In the third year, the student satisfies requirements for doctoral candidacy, including a faculty review, doctoral qualifying examination and successful defense of a dissertation proposal.

Fourth Year

During the early part of the fourth year students make application for internship. Application deadlines are early November and December with a national selection date in February. The student consults with faculty, with the doctoral committee and the Program Director so that the most appropriate applications are made. The dissertation should be completed before leaving for internship. In this year the student rounds out his/her doctoral program through further specialized practica, seminars and research involvement, while making certain that all requirements are met prior to leaving for internship.

Fifth Year

This year is the 12-month full-time clinical internship in an APA accredited program. This internship is required of all clinical psychologists and is the capstone of professional training in the doctoral program. The doctoral degree is awarded after successful completion of all program requirements.

Program Requirements

Coursework

Core required courses include study in the broad discipline of psychology, research and design, statistics, and courses in core clinical psychology including psychopathology, assessment and intervention. Selection of a number of elective courses is also required, e.g., marital therapy, family therapy, pediatric psychology, advanced psychotherapy.

First Year Research Project

Research training is initially provided via a project that must be completed and presented by the middle of the fourth semester of matriculation. During the first semester, the student selects a research mentor from among the core program faculty and develops a project that can be substantially completed within the year. This is then developed into a master's thesis which is defended before a department committee in the Spring semester of the 2nd year. After completion, the student is required to continue to engage in research throughout the program. The doctoral supervisory committee is constituted no later than the end of the second year.

Practica

Core clinical practica are conducted under the supervision of program faculty. During core practica, students receive supervised assessment, consultation and intervention training with both children and adults having a wide variety of concerns ranging from problems of significant psychopathology to marital and family problems, and problems in coping with medical illnesses. After completion of the core practica, students are required to continue to obtain supervised intervention training throughout their tenure in the program, and may elect a number of available advanced practicum placements.

Doctoral Candidacy

Admission to doctoral candidacy requires the approval of the student's supervisory committee, the department chair, and the Dean of the Graduate School. Approval must be based on the (1) academic record of the student, (2) the supervisory committee opinion of the student's overall potential for doctoral work, (3) an approved dissertation topic, and, (4) a qualifying exam, written and oral. The qualifying examination is conducted by the student's doctoral supervisory committee.

Doctoral Committee and Dissertation

The dissertation is an independent and original research project which is conducted by the student with the approval and ongoing consultation of the doctoral committee. The dissertation must make an original contribution to existing psychological knowledge. The student formulates a question and a method for studying the question in collaboration with the committee. A formal proposal is then submitted to the committee. After approval the study is conducted, the data are analyzed, and the student submits a formal written dissertation to the committee and to the Graduate School for editing. The dissertation is then defended before the committee and other interested persons. The approved dissertation is then submitted to the Graduate School for acceptance prior to the deadline for graduation. The Department strongly encourages students to submit their dissertation research for publication.

Internship

A final program requirement is the satisfactory completion of an APA-accredited internship in clinical psychology. The Department continually updates information on available internship training centers from the sites themselves and from literature and handbooks furnished by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). Students consult this information and discuss their internship choices with faculty, their committee, and the Program Director prior to making formal application.

Areas of Concentration

In addition to general clinical psychology training, students develop an area of concentration as part of their program of studies. The area of concentration can be very individualized. It may be within the department, or in another of the graduate school departments. Given faculty specialty areas and program resources, there are currently four formal areas of concentration available in the department:

• (a) Clinical Child/Pediatric Psychology,
• (b) Clinical Health Psychology,
• (c) Neuropsychology, Neurorehabilitation, and Clinical Neuroscience, and
• (d) Emotion Neuroscience and Psychopathology.

Clinical Child/Pediatric Psychology

(Area Head: Dr Stephen Boggs sboggs@phhp.ufl.edu):

The clinical child/pediatric psychology area of concentration is designed for students who have strong clinical and/or research interests in working with children and adolescents. In addition to the child-related courses taken by all clinical psychology students, those choosing this area take a range of other courses designed to help them develop a greater degree of expertise in working with child populations and within child service networks. This experience includes didactic coursework in the area of developmental psychology, specialized child treatment methods, and advanced practicum experiences in the child area. Electives such as independent research in clinical child/pediatric psychology and seminars in pediatric and advanced developmental psychology are offered to provide more in depth knowledge related to specific issues or techniques. A variety of advanced practica experiences are available. Examples include consultation with the school system on cases of suspected violence risk, participating in an inpatient or outpatient pediatric consultation service, assisting patients with cystic fibrosis or other chronic illnesses in better adhering to difficult medical regimens, evaluating youngsters suspected of ADHD and working with school personnel in providing appropriate support, learning advanced, cutting-edge techniques for treating oppositional behavior, working on the inpatient Diabetes Project Unit, or working with special child populations served by divisions of pediatric medicine. Affiliations of faculty are sufficiently flexible to allow for placements to suit the student's interests or training needs. It is expected that students completing this specialization will develop an appreciation of the research literature in the clinical child or pediatric area and will possess specialty skills that enable them to function as competent practitioners in the child area upon graduation.

Clinical Health Psychology

(Area Head: Dr Robert Guenther rguenthe@phhp.ufl.edu):

The goal of concentrated study in clinical health psychology is to provide the student with an understanding of the relationships among psychosocial factors, physical illness, and health. This goal is accomplished through an integrated program of coursework, research training, and clinical experience. Didactic instruction is offered through the department as well as through other academic units of the Health Science Center and the University. Students typically enroll in a 2 semester core seminar in health psychology/medical psychology and select from other appropriate courses. Students have access to diverse clinical populations throughout the Health Science Center. Current areas of research include: chronic pain, smoking cessation, treatment of obesity, psychosocial oncology, and psychological evaluations for organ transplantation and donation (e.g., heart, liver, bone marrow, etc.). Clinical experience is obtained through an advanced practicum in which students work with inpatient and outpatient medical populations. Students are trained in inpatient consultation/liaison and outpatient assessment and treatment. Training in health psychology/medical psychology is also supplemented by a series of conferences, rounds, seminars, workshops, and colloquia. At the end of training students are expected to be able to function independently in health care settings, to interact effectively with a variety of health professionals in solving clinical problems and to conduct research which contributes to the understanding of psychological aspects of illness and health.

Neuropsychology, Neurorehabilitation, and Clinical Neuroscience (NNCN)

(Area Head: Dr Dawn Bowers dawnbowers@phhp.ufl.edu):

The NNCN area of concentration provides the student an opportunity to develop skills in neurobehavioral research and clinical assessment of higher cortical function and dysfunction in children and adults. Advanced graduate students select from a variety of courses in neuropsychological assessment of adults and children, human higher brain function, neuroanatomy, physiological psychology, cognitive psychology, forensic neuropsychology, subcortical functions, and seminars on selected advanced topics. In the required practicum, the student obtains advanced clinical experience in the assessment and rehabilitation of higher cortical dysfunction. Rehabilitation experiences are available during the latter part of the student's training once a firm grounding in neuropsychology and treatment concepts has been achieved. These practica are conducted in the Psychology Clinic or in collaboration with affiliate faculty in neurology, speech pathology, or VAMC psychology. The student specializing in neuropsychology can also choose from an extensive network of seminars and meetings including weekly Neuropsychology Brown Bag Seminars, Neurology Grand Rounds, the weekly neuropathology conference, weekly pediatric neuroncology conference or regular meetings of the Center for Neurobiological Sciences. Students in neuropsychology become affiliate members of the Center for Neuropsychological Studies, a University center comprised of faculty from the departments of Clinical and Health Psychology, Neurology, Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Neurosurgery, and other disciplines whose main purpose is to further the study of brain-behavior relationships at the laboratory and clinical level. Through this vehicle students gain interdisciplinary exposure to problems, concepts, and techniques in neuropsychology and behavioral neurology. Students concentrating in neuropsychology are expected upon graduation to be skilled in the clinical assessment and treatment of brain disorders, and to be capable of asking empirically testable research questions of relevance to brain function and dysfunction.  Area faculty have active research programs in the neuropsychology of emotion, neuropsychology of epilepsy, memory and aging, language and functional MR imaging, working memory in psychopathology, attention and memory disorders in pediatric brain tumors, LD, ADHD, and minor head trauma. In addition, students in this area of concentration conduct research studies related to such neuropathological conditions as dementia, Parkinson's Disease, head trauma, intractable seizures, HIV-related CNS changes, neurodevelopmental disorders, stroke, metabolic disease, neurological effects of cancer treatment and language disorders arising from brain disease. Research and clinical study in a rehabilitative setting (Shands Rehabilitation Hospital; Veterans' Administration) is also available.

Emotion Neuroscience and Psychopathology (ENP)

(Area Head: Dr Peter Lang langp@phhp.ufl.edu)

Beginning in 2003, we are also admitting students with a specific interest in delivering psychological services to underserved populations, and are offering didactic, research, and clinical training in Rural Behavioral Health. Although not yet a formal area of concentration, students can get substantial exposure to underserved populations within an interdisciplinary framework.

Computer Literacy Policy

In accordance with University of Florida regulations, students are expected to have, or to obtain, knowledge and skills in computer hardware and software to support their academic activities. Click here for the full Computer Literacy Policy.

Operations and Outcomes Data

The Doctoral Program in Clinical and Health Psychology is a member of the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology (CUDCP). The member programs of CUDCP support the provision of fuller disclosure about operations and outcomes of our educational endeavors. Data regarding admissions, internship placements, and graduation are collected and presented over a "rolling" three-year period. Operation and outcomes data are currently available (click here) and are updated regularly.

Admissions Requirements

A bachelor's degree is required. Undergraduate courses in experimental psychology, statistics, and at least three of the core areas of psychology (developmental, learning, perception, physiological, or social) are generally adequate didactic preparation for graduate study. Most students also have additional basic science backgrounds as part of their undergraduate majors. Although a psychology major on the undergraduate level is preferred, the department has, on occasion, accepted students with undergraduate preparation in other disciplines.

Recent statistics suggest that the average first year student has a combined verbal and quantitative GRE of 1290 and an undergraduate GPA of 3.73. For more information see Applicant and Doctoral Program Data.  All students had, in addition to didactic preparation, some practical experience of a clinical or research nature prior to enrollment. The admission committee places particular emphasis on prior research experience, the breadth and quality of the undergraduate preparation in basic science and psychology, letters of recommendation and personal statements. Undergraduate GPA and GRE scores (verbal, quantitative, and analytic ability) also affect the committee's decision.

The admissions committee has throughout the years not required interviews as part of the acceptance procedure. However, interviews are recommended because they benefit both the applicant and the program in determining whether there is a good fit between the applicant's training needs and training opportunities.

The Department welcomes those that are interested in visiting. This should be done prior to the application deadline if you are trying to determine if our program is one to which you are ultimately interested in applying. Those that wish to visit the Department should first review our website to determine which faculty member(s) they would like to try and speak with. The applicant should then contact the faculty member(s) directly to schedule a time to meet with them. You should contact the Program Assistant (352-273-6455) to see what dates and times are available to meet with the Director of Clinical Training.

The admissions committee makes every effort to make telephone contact with all applicants in the final selection pool who are also invited to a recruitment weekend to be held in February. The number of students admitted is typically 12-15 from an applicant pool of about 350-400.

The Department of Clinical and Health Psychology adheres to the Guidelines for Graduate School Offers and Acceptances adopted by the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology.

The University of Florida encourages applications from qualified applicants of both sexes from all cultural, racial, religious and ethnic groups. The University of Florida is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Institution and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, sex, national origin, age, or handicap.

Application Procedures

Students can apply for admission to the Scientist Practitioner Emphasis or Clinical Researcher Emphasis, using the Application for Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program Form (see 4a below). Applications for the Fall 2010 semester must be postmarked by December 1, 2009. There are no exceptions to this deadline.  Note that the program does not accept students to begin in other semesters. Since the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology is separate from the Department of Psychology (see their website at http://www.psych.ufl.edu), be sure to mark each application item "Clinical Psychology". Only complete applications will be considered. A complete application consists of ALL the steps mentioned below being done and submitted by the deadline mentioned.

It is strongly suggested that you read through the instructions and requirements listed below at least one time prior to completing the steps needed for a complete application to our Clinical and Health Psychology Program.

A complete application includes the following:

1. Application for Graduate Admission

Complete the University of Florida's (UF) online application. You have the option of paying the UF application fee online or you can print the Fee Payment Cover Memo and mail it in with your payment to the address indicated on the memo. NOTE: This is not a department application fee. Do not send this fee to our department.

Once you have completed the UF online application, you will be given a UFID number. This number is needed for the Clinical and Health Psychology Department application mentioned below. Although the UF application is preferred, if you are unable to complete the UF application online, you can download a PDF version at http://www.admissions.ufl.edu/pdf/gradapp07.pdf. You should also visit this site as well for additional forms and informaiton if you aren't able to apply on-line http://www.admissions.ufl.edu/applygraduate.html. Remember to return to this page of Departmental Application Procedures to complete the application process.

2. Official GRE scores

These scores must be postmarked by ETS by December 1, 2008. Our institution code is 5812 and department code is 2001. (The subject test is not required.)

Official GRE scores MUST be submitted to both the University of Florida Admission's office and the Clinical and Health Psychology program office.

3. Official transcripts

Two (2) copies (one copy to be sent directly to the Clinical Psychology Department and one copy to the University of Florida's Admission's Office (see addresses below). A postmark of December 1, 2008 from the sending institution is required.

4. Other materials

Other materials that should be sent directly to the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology (Graduate Admissions Committee, Department of Clinical & Health Psychology, PO Box 100165 HSC, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0165) include all of the following:

a. Application for Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program Form

This form (click here to download) provides basic information about the applicant, including contact information, names of persons who will write letters of recommendation, and desired emphasis and area of concentration. Please type or print clearly on the form. Indicate which of the two emphases (Scientist-Practitioner or Clinical Researcher) you are interested in, and indicate whether you are/may be interested in obtaining extended education and training in Public Health if you gain admission to the doctoral program.

b. Resume

Describe pertinent work history, applied and research experience, papers published, honors obtained and special computer and language proficiencies.

c. Personal Statement

Describe your interest areas in clinical psychology and your career plans. Describe your strengths and weaknesses for graduate study, and your need for financial support.   This statement should be in at least 11 point font. You may combine your personal statement with your fellowship/assistantship essay.

e. Three Letters of Recommendation

You will need three (3) letts of recommendation sent directly by referees to the department address. A completed recommendation letter form http://gradschool.ufl.edu/pdf-files/recommendation-letter-form.pdf must accompany each letter of recommendation.

f. Application for Fellowship and Assistantship

Application for Fellowship and Assistantship at http://gradschool.ufl.edu/pdf-files/fellowship-assistantship-form.pdf (required for file to be complete)

g. GRE scores

A student copy is acceptable temporarily, but official scores must follow immediately.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Program Assistant if you have any questions regarding this process.

The final destination of your entire application is the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology. The department does not contact you regarding missing materials.  Please remember that having materials sent does not always mean that they are received. Letters do get lost in the mail, transcripts do get mixed, and GRE scores sometimes take up to 8 weeks for delivery.

If after reading all of the above instructions, you have questions regarding the program or your application, please contact the Program Director or Program Assistant at 352-273-6455.

Financial Aid

Faculty in the department continually compete on the university, state, and national level for support of research projects and clinical service programs. Almost all funded grants administered by the department support graduate students as research assistants. In the absence of such funding the Department often can offer first-year students a 1/3-time departmental assistantship. The duties of this assistantship are jointly negotiated by the department chair, program director, and the student, and may involve research, teaching, or other responsibilities. A limited number of Fellowships (Alumni Fellowship, Presidential Fellowship) may be available to qualified students.

As students focus an interest area and gain exposure to research conducted by faculty, other assistantship and fellowship opportunities become available. In addition to the financial support which is available through the faculty's participation in the competitive grant review process, students are encouraged to submit their own projects under faculty sponsorship for external funding consideration.

At the present time the department and its collaborating units support 100% of its active graduate students seeking funding through fellowships or assistantships. Most of these students are funded by federal grants or clinical training monies, though some have been assigned clinical or research duties in other departments or agencies, and others have succeeded in securing their own support through competitive review at the local and national level.

For more information on various university, college, and department fellowships go to http://www.aa.ufl.edu/fellows/index.html.

Minority Fellowships

Fellowships for minority students may be awarded from different sources:

The McKnight Doctoral Fellowship may be awarded to African American and Hispanic students newly admitted into selected doctoral degree programs at universities in the State of Florida. The stipend is $12,000 for 12 months. In addition, the fellowship pays for tuition and fees, and all allowance for health insurance, computer equipment, books, and supplies up to $5000 annually. The fellowship may be funded for a maximum of 5 years. African Americans and Hispanics who are U.S. citizens are eligible. The application deadline is January 15th.

To receive an application for the McKnight Doctoral Fellowship, write to: Florida Education Fund (F.E.F.), 201 East Kennedy Blvd., Suite 1525, Tampa, FL 33602, or telephone 813-272-2772 or visit their website at www.fefonline.org/mdf.html. You may also want to check out The Gates Millennium Scholars Program administered by the United Negro College Fund which will provide scholarships and fellowships for outstanding low-income African-American, Native American, Hispanic American, and Asian-Pacific American students to attend graduate institutions of their choice.

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This page was last updated Nov. 16, 2009.

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This page was last updated Nov. 16, 2009.