Standards of Accreditation
As an APA-accredited program, the program adheres to the Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology. Therefore, Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data are made available for examination by the public, current students, and students who may consider applying to the program.
About the Program
The PsyD (APA-Accredited) program prepares students who seek specialized training in the professional practice of clinical psychology.
Like clinical PhD students, PsyD students are expected to take foundational courses in the scientific bases of psychology and empirically-supported treatments. However, PsyD students begin working in supervised clinical settings at the end of the first training year, work with individuals, couples, and families in the psychology clinic throughout the second year, and work in a variety of clinical settings at Loma Linda University Medical Center and throughout the community during years 3 and 4.
Our PsyD program is one of only a handful of PsyD programs in the nation that is housed together with a PhD program in a university psychology department. Our PsyD students have the opportunity to receive rigorous, evidence-based training alongside our PhD students in a range of health care settings. Students also have the opportunity to receive specialized training in health psychology, neuropsychology, and clinical child psychology, all of which represent specialization areas that are projected to be in high demand in the broader healthcare landscape in the years to come.
Training sites are varied and offer students the ability to work with a tremendous diversity of clinical populations. For example, our students are currently providing services related to substance abuse and addictions, hospice/palliative care, forensic neuropsychological evaluations, university-based student counseling, severe mental illnesses, combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder, geriatric primary care, community behavioral health, hospital-based consultation and liaison, sex offenders, and pediatric obesity to name just a few.
Eligibility to Apply for Internship
Eligibility to apply for internship requires that all PsyD students successfully complete the following requirements: all required coursework, all sections of the comprehensive exam and defend the doctoral project proposal. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the doctoral project and final defense prior to departing for pre-doctoral internship.
Application Information