Psychology Ph.D. - Clinical Psychology
General Graduate Program Requirements
Graduate School policies and standards can be found on the Graduate School Policies page.
The minimum GPA for any graduate program is 3.0. Individual programs may require more than a 3.0 to remain in good standing.
The minimum grade for a course to be accepted toward any requirement is C. Individual programs may require higher grades for specific courses.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY - PSYCHOLOGY; CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY CONCENTRATION
- This program requires a minimum grade of B-.
- A Master of Arts degree is conferred on route to the terminal doctoral degree based on credits and completion of the MA Thesis Project.
- In the first year, and in addition to Psychopathology, Statistics, and Ethics, students take a course in Clinical Interviewing as well as a two-course sequence of Psych Eval I & Psych Eval II, where they learn intelligence testing, the use of objective tests, and begin report-writing
- In the second year, and in conjunction the study of clinical interventions, students begin direct clinical therapeutic contact & practice at the Clinical Psychology Center
- Each semester, on a rotating basis, faculty offer Interventions or Special Topics courses in their specific treatment specialty, research area or methodology. Topics include: Multicultural Psychology, Family Psychology, DBT, Substance Misuse, Integrated Behavioral Health, Motivational Interviewing, and LGBTQ Issues.
- Clinical Training
Training for our students includes both classroom instruction and direct clinical experience. Our students work with people of diverse backgrounds, lifestyles, and experiences and are trained to adapt to a rapidly changing service-delivery environment in mental health and human service arenas.
Much of our students’ clinical training is done at the Clinical Psychology Center (CPC) on the UM campus. In the second year of training, clinical PhD students enter practicum and begin seeing clients.- The CPC is a training clinic, offering assessment, consultation, intervention, and psychotherapy services to the general Missoula community; clients receive services on a sliding fee scale
- Staffed by Clinical and School doctoral students, the CPC is the primary training site for both programs
- Clinicians are supervised by Department of Psychology clinical and school faculty members & licensed community psychologists
- Students take practica from a variety of supervisors and are exposed to a range of theoretical and applied points of view
- Some schools of thought represented in the techniques and approaches are: Cognitive-Behavioral, Psychodynamic, Emotion-Focused, Interpersonal Therapy, Functional Analytic
- Our student clinicians carry fairly small caseloads (typically 3 – 5 clients) in order to provide optimal care and have close supervision
- As they progress, student clinicians assume increasing responsibility for the care of their clients; they are encouraged in their development of case conceptualizations and treatment plans
- The CPC has therapy rooms for individual, group, family, child therapy, as well as assessment
Course Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| PSYX 501 | Teaching of Psychology | 3 |
| PSYX 511 | Professional Issues | 1 |
| PSYX 520 | Advanced Psychological Statistics I | 3 |
| PSYX 521 | Advanced Psychological Statistics II | 4 |
| PSYX 523 | Research Design | 3 |
| PSYX 525 | Psychological Evaluation I | 3 |
| PSYX 526 | Psychological Evaluation II: Objective Approaches and Applications | 3 |
| PSYX 530 | Clinical and Diagnostic Interviewing | 3 |
| PSYX 531 | Principles of Psychological Intervention | 3 |
| PSYX 532 | Advanced Psychopathology | 3 |
| PSYX 534 | Applied Clinical Methods | 17 |
| PSYX 551 | Advanced Personality | 3 |
| PSYX 555 | Advanced Social and Developmental Psychology | 3 |
| PSYX 565 | Advanced Cognition | 3 |
| PSYX 571 | Advanced Physiological Psychology | 3 |
| PSYX 630 | Ethics, Professional & Cultural Issues | 3 |
| PSYX 599 | Thesis/Research Project | 3 |
| PSYX 631 | Intervention | 12 |
| or PSYX 632 | Current Clinical Topics | |
| or PSYX 535 | Child Interventions | |
| or PSYX 536 | Advanced Child and Adolescent Psychopathology | |
| or PSYX 537 | Child Assessment | |
| PSYX 638 | Clinical Psychology Internship | 3 |
| PSYX 699 | Dissertation | 6 |
| Total Hours | 85 | |
Master of Arts - Psychology; Clinical Psychology Concentration
The University of Montana Department of Psychology does not admit students seeking only a master's degree; however, a Master of Arts degree is is conferred on route to the terminal doctoral degree based on credits and completion of the MA Thesis Project and the requirements listed below.
Course Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| PSYX 501 | Teaching of Psychology | 3 |
| PSYX 511 | Professional Issues | 1 |
| PSYX 520 | Advanced Psychological Statistics I | 3 |
| PSYX 521 | Advanced Psychological Statistics II | 4 |
| PSYX 523 | Research Design | 3 |
| PSYX 525 | Psychological Evaluation I | 3 |
| PSYX 526 | Psychological Evaluation II: Objective Approaches and Applications | 3 |
| PSYX 530 | Clinical and Diagnostic Interviewing | 3 |
| PSYX 531 | Principles of Psychological Intervention | 3 |
| PSYX 532 | Advanced Psychopathology | 3 |
| PSYX 534 | Applied Clinical Methods | 8 |
| PSYX 630 | Ethics, Professional & Cultural Issues | 3 |
| PSYX 599 | Thesis/Research Project | 3 |
| PSYX 631 | Intervention | 3 |
| or PSYX 632 | Current Clinical Topics | |
| Complete 2 of the following courses: | 6 | |
| Advanced Social Psychology | ||
| Advanced Personality | ||
| Advanced Social and Developmental Psychology | ||
| Advanced Cognition | ||
| Advanced Physiological Psychology | ||
| Total Hours | 52 | |