Applied Clinical Psychology (ACPSY)

Degree Conferred: M.A.

The Graduate Faculty

• Michael A. Becker, Ph.D. (SUNY-Albany) Associate Professor of Psychology
• Thomas G. Bowers, Ph.D. (Virginia Tech) Associate Professor of Psychology
• Gina M. Brelsford, Ph.D. (Bowling Green) Assistant Professor of Psychology
• Barbara A. Bremer, Ph.D. (Bryn Mawr) Associate Professor of Psychology
• Richard Fiene, Ph.D. (Newport) Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies
• Marissa Harrison, Ph.D. (SUNY Albany) Assistant Professor of Psychology
• Senel Poyrazli, Ph.D. (Houston) Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology
• Maria A. Turkson, Ph.D. (Maryland) Assistant Professor of Psychology
• Xu Xu, Ph.D. (Northern Illinois) Assistant Professor of Psychology

Associated Graduate Faculty

• John Steven Backels, Ph.D. (Ball State) Affiliate Assistant Professor of Psychology, Director of Personal Counseling

The Program

The Master of Arts program in Applied Clinical Psychology offers the educational background to prepare students to work as mental health professionals in various settings. It is intended to provide a broad training program in empirically validated clinical psychology which, when accompanied by an additional 12 credits in advanced graduate studies in psychology and/or counseling, can provide the academic training necessary for graduates to apply for master’s level licensing as a Professional Counselor in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The M.A. program requires 48 credits of course work. Optional 12-credit certifi cate programs are available in the areas of clinical health psychology,
and applications in clinical psychology through the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education for students seeking licensure. Additionally, successful completion of this program may be a good indicator of potential to succeed in a doctoral program, and thus may be valuable for individuals seeking to develop their research and or clinical skills to support future doctoral studies.

The overall model emphasizes the scientifi c bases of behavior, including biological, social, and individual difference factors. The training model is health-oriented rather than pathology-oriented and emphasizes the development of helping skills, including both assessment and intervention.

The degree program is intended for both part-time and full-time students, with classes in late afternoon or evenings. Admission is for the fall semester only. The deadline for fall admission is April 30. Early application is encouraged, especially for anyone who is hoping to be considered for merit-based awards. Decisions are made on a rolling basis beginning in January.

Admission Requirements

Students will be admitted on a competitive basis and must submit the following:

• completed online application form with the application fee;
• two official transcripts of all colleges and universities attended;
• three professional letters of recommendation, at least two of which should be academic;
• a brief (two-page) interest statement.
• verbal, quantitative, and analytical scores on the Graduate Record Examinations.

The applicant must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited academic institution, or the equivalent, must have completed at least 18 credits in psychology, and must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or above in the last 60 credits of course work. The undergraduate work must include a statistics course and a psychology research methods course with grades of B or higher. A personal interview is required.

The Curriculum

The M.A. in Applied Clinical Psychology requires 48 credits of course work. Included in the core courses are 100 hours of clinical practicum, 600 hours of supervised internship experience, and a master’s research paper.

Psychology Core Courses (23 credits) provide a foundation in professional ethics, individual differences and cultural diversity, the scientifi c bases of behavior, and scientifi c research skills. These courses are intended to facilitate the development of an awareness of the context in which clients live and in which interventions must work.

• PSYC 500 ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN PSYCHOLOGY AND COUNSELING (3). Prerequisite: admission to the Applied Clinical Psychology or Applied Psychological Research programs
• PSYC 501 CULTURAL COMPETENCY IN PSYCHOLOGY (3). Prerequisite: admission to the Applied Clinical Psychology or Applied Psychological Research programs
• PSYC 502 APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY (3)
• PSYC 520 RESEARCH METHODS (4). Prerequisite: admission to the Applied Clinical Psychology or Applied Psychological Research programs
• PSYC 521 STATISTICS (4). Prerequisites: PSYC 520, admission to program, satisfactory performance on a statistics proficiency exam
• PSYC 524 BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOR (3). Prerequisite: admission to the Applied Clinical Psychology or Applied Psychological Research programs
• PSYC 530 RESEARCH PAPER (3). Prerequisites: PSYC 520, 521, and permission of the program

Clinical Core Courses (25 credits) provide a general background in clinical diagnosis, assessment, and interventions with appropriate supervised experience to allow students to develop the clinical skills appropriate for master’s level practitioners.

• PSYC 510 HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT (3)
• PSYC 517 PSYCHOPATHOLOGY (3). Prerequisite: admission to the program
• PSYC 518 INTERVIEWING AND COUNSELING (3). Prerequisite: admission to the program
• PSYC 519 THEORIES AND MODELS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY (3). Prerequisites: admission to the program
• PSYC 540 GROUP INTERVENTIONS (3). Prerequisites: PSYC 518, and admission to the program
• PSYC 571 TESTS AND MEASUREMENT (3). Prerequisite: admission to the program
• PSYC 595A CLINICAL PRACTICUM (1). Prerequisites: PSYC 500, 517, 518, and 519; and professional liability insurance
• PSYC 595B CLINICAL INTERNSHIP (6). Prerequisites: PSYC 595A, and professional liability insurance

ADDITIONAL COURSES
PSYCHOLOGY (PSYC)

• PSYC 514 PREVENTIVE PSYCHOLOGY (3). Prerequisite: admission to program
• PSYC 515 CLINICAL HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY (3). Prerequisite: admission to the program
• PSYC 516 CHILD HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY (3). Prerequisite: admission to the program
• PSYC 525 FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY (3). Prerequisite: admission to the program
• PSYC 526 BEHAVIORAL SYSTEMS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE (3). Prerequisite: admission to the program
• PSYC 535 BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT (3)
• PSYC 572 NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT (3). Prerequisite: PSYC 524, 571
• PSYC 594 RESEARCH TOPICS (1-18)

Transfer Credits

Penn State allows for the approval of up to 10 transfer credits to graduate programs.

Grade-Point Average

Students must have a 3.00 grade-point average to graduate from the program.

For a list of courses, visit the web at http://www.psu.edu/bulletins/whitebook/$programs.htm

* Pending approval

** Please use the Whitebook for the most current prerequisite information.

Please note: This page is not a part of the official Penn State Graduate Bulletin.