The Doctor of Psychology degree (Psy.D.) in Counseling Psychology at Northwest University prepares students to qualify for professional licensure as a Licensed Psychologist in Washington State with tangible knowledge and skills that can be used to serve the needs of others in a globally relevant and socially conscious manner. Using the practitioner-scholar model, we provide excellent training to equip psychologists with counseling, assessment, and intervention skills leading to qualification for licensure as a psychologist. Our program has a unique focus on cross-cultural psychology and service to the global community, with commitment to social justice, from a Christian worldview. Whether alleviating psychological suffering for those who reside here in our own city, or developing services for the afflicted around the world, we strive to equip our graduates to serve others with compassion and excellence. This applied program focuses on training skilled practitioners with a solid focus on scholarly research, discipline and inquiry. Students learn to integrate a strong theoretical knowledge base with practical, theory-informed, evidence-based skills to provide psychological and counseling services.

In addition to achieving the general goals of the university and of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Psy.D. Program has the following program goals:

• To produce graduates who have obtained the necessary skills and abilities needed for providing professional psychological and counseling services.
• To develop scholars with the ability to critically analyze scientific literature, and to conduct psychological research.
• To develop graduates with knowledge of the fundamental theories and scientific foundations of psychology.

Admission into the Doctor of Psychology in Counseling Psychology Program requires the completion of a Bachelor of Arts or Science (or an equivalent) degree from an accredited college or university to qualify for admission to the program. It is preferred that students have a major in psychology. However, if you do not, you must have completed: (a) General Psychology, (b) Theories of Personality or Theories of Psychotherapy, (c) Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology, (d) Developmental or Lifespan Psychology, and (e) Statistics or Research Methods.

Among application materials listed online, students are required to submit scores for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) General Test. The information from the GRE will be considered along with the other application materials during the admission process. A maximum of 20 graduate-level semester credits may be transferred from regionally accredited institutions if they are specifically evaluated as equivalent to those required in the program and approved by the Director of the Psy.D. Program. Under special circumstances additional graduate credit beyond this limit may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

State Licensure as a Psychologist

Since licensure requirements differ slightly from state to state, the required course sequence may not fulfill all educational licensure requirements for every state. Given this, it is the student’s responsibility to determine the licensure requirements for the state through which he or she desires to become licensed and to determine whether or not the required course sequence meets those requirements. The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences may be able to offer electives to students in order to meet licensure requirements not met by the required course sequence; however, students must work in conjunction with the Director of Psy.D. Program and have the Director’s express permission in order to enroll in electives for the purpose of meeting licensure requirements.

Program Curriculum

Overview

The Psy.D. degree is a five-year post-bachelor’s program designed to prepare the doctoral student to serve in diverse community settings as a counseling psychologist. The program focuses on theoretical and applied evidence-based scholarly literature and research. Emphasis is placed on international, multicultural, and social justice issues. Students build on their critical thinking skills and their understanding of diversity while acquiring, refining, and demonstrating doctorate-level skills as practitioners, researchers, and academics.

The program is organized as a year-round cohort system, with 119 credits required for graduation. Classroom instruction is the focus of the first three years, along with a requirement for cultural immersion and a practicum. Clinical training is the focus of the last two years. The fourth covers fewer courses, dissertation work and advanced practicum or a pre-internship. The fifth year is a yearlong internship.

To aid in the development of students’ professional identities, students are encouraged to gain exposure to professional psychology during the first two years of the program. This may be accomplished by shadowing and interviewing licensed psychologists, conducting research, and volunteering or working part-time within the field.

During the fifth year of the doctoral program, Psy.D. students have the option to register for a 6 credit internship course should the student wish to receive Federal Financial Aid support. If the student registers for the 6 credit internship course, the university will provide a scholarship equal to 4 credits of tuition so the students’ end tuition expense is the required 2 credits per semester. This allows students to qualify for financial aid by meeting the minimum credits required but does not cost the students more than their counterparts who register for the traditional 2 credit internship.

Credit Transfer Procedure for New Incoming Psy.D. Students

After receiving notification of acceptance into the Psy.D. program, incoming Psy.D. students may submit a written request to the Director of Psy.D. Student Services to transfer up to 20 credits from an accredited graduate school(s). Transfer credit is not allowed toward practicum or internship requirements. Credits may be transferred into the Psy.D. program at the sole discrimination of the Director of the Psy.D. Program and the Director of Psy.D. Student Services. To be eligible for transfer, a course must match the Northwest University Psy.D. course in content and credit number. The process for transferring credits is as follows:

Step 1. The accepted student submits a written request to the Director of Psy.D. Student Services proposing that previous credit(s) earned from another institution be substituted for required course(s).

Step 2. The student must obtain an official transcript and a copy of course descriptions and syllabi obtained from the other school’s published catalog and submit all items to the Director of Psy.D. Student Services.

Step 3. The Director of Psy.D. Student Services will cross-check the proposal and submit a completed proposal form to the Director of the Psy.D. Program.

Step 4. The Director of Psy.D. Student Services and the Director of the Psy.D. Program will audit the proposal. A list of accepted credit substitutions will be marked on the proposal form and returned to the Director of Psy.D. Student Services.

Step 5. The Director of Psy.D. Student Services will inform the student of the accepted credit substitutions.

Step 6. The student will accept or deny the accepted proposal, at which time the student will inform the Director of Psy.D. Student Services whether he or she plans to make a deposit with NU.

Step 7. If the student agrees to the accepted substitution of credits, then the Director of Psy.D. Student Services submits a Degree Requirement Substitution / Waiver form to the Registrar’s office.

Professional Standards

The student’s academic progress, clinical competency, emotional stability, interpersonal skills, maturity, and ethical conduct will be evaluated annually by Psy.D. Program faculty. Faculty reserve the right to request a student to engage in psychotherapeutic counseling and may require counseling as a condition for remediation or re-admittance in the program. Students are expected to adhere to:

• American Psychological Association (APA) Ethics Codes: (http://www.apa.org/ethics)
• Laws of the Washington State Board of Examiners of Psychologists: (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC)

The student’s academic and/or failings will be considered by a committee of program administrators and faculty of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Failure to adhere to the above standards may be cause for dismissal from the program at any time (see Dismissal from the Program).

Probation

Probation is not intended as a punitive measure, but as a warning that improvement is needed for continuation in the program. Program administrators and faculty will continue to provide guidance and support in helping the student to assume responsibility for his or her academic success. The Director of the Psy.D. Program will provide support and monitoring of the student’s progress. Documentation regarding the student’s probationary status will be placed in his or her file.

A student may be placed on probation for one of the following reasons:

1. The student’s academic history prior to entry into the Psy.D. Program reflects a GPA of below a 3.000 (“B” level), yet the application review board deemed him or her a worthy candidate for admission into the program.
2. A student fails to maintain a grade of B- or higher in all courses and/or a minimum 3.000 cumulative GPA. In addition, the student must retake the course with less than a B- within a time period determined by the Program Director.
3. A student fails to meet the criteria of professional behavioral standards, including, but not limited to: emotional stability, interpersonal skills, maturity, and ethical conduct.
4. If a student is placed on probation a second time, the student may be dismissed from the program.

A student will be taken off of probation when:

1. A grade of B- or higher in all courses the following semester and a minimum of a 3.000 cumulative GPA are achieved.
2. The student meets the criteria of professional behavioral standards, including, but not limited to: emotional stability, interpersonal skills, maturity, and ethical conduct according to the student’s yearly evaluation as assessed by faculty.

Dismissal from the Program

A student may be dismissed from the Psy.D. Program due to any one of the following factors:

• Continual Poor Performance in the classroom or in applied settings. Should the student be unable to achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and/or earn a grade of B- of higher in all courses the semester following being placed on academic probation, the student may be dismissed from the program. In addition, if a student is placed on probation more than twice throughout the course of the program, he or she may be dismissed from the program. Furthermore, if a student fails to retake the course within a time period determined by the Program Director, he or she may be dismissed from the program.
• Professional Conduct. Students are expected to comply with the behavioral standards of Northwest University, the ethical code of the American Psychological Association and laws established by Washington State or local government bodies. Should a student fail to meet the criteria of professional behavioral standards, including, but not limited to: emotional stability, interpersonal skills, maturity, and ethical conduct, the student may be dismissed from the program.

Students dismissed from the Psy.D. Program by the program leadership may appeal the decision to the Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and further appeal could be made to the Provost of the university. The reviewing personnel will be provided with all relevant information regarding the student’s academic performance and professional conduct.

MA in Counseling Psychology en Route to Psy.D.

Students have the option of applying for a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology (MACP) degree en route to the Psy.D. degree after completing the third year of the Psy.D. Program. Students must submit a completed application to the Assistant Director of Academic Programs who will present the application to a committee of Psy.D. faculty and staff for review. In order to qualify, the student must have (1) successfully completed all 92 credits of coursework for the first three years of the program, (2) passed the qualifying exam, (3) completed all required practicum hours, and (4) completed the elective course PSYC 5701 - Abusive Relationships .

Process of Submitting/Disseminating Doctoral Dissertation

As a requirement of the Psy.D. Program, each student will complete and disseminate a doctoral dissertation. The dissertation is intended to provide the student with the opportunity to produce a significant piece of scholarly work that represents the culmination of both the student’s acquisition of knowledge in the field of psychology as well as his or her professional development and area of specialization. In addition, the student is required to have their dissertation bound and published through an online database as specified by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Lastly, the student must successfully defend and disseminate his or her dissertation prior to participating in commencement.

Psy.D. Candidacy Status

A Psy.D. student achieves candidacy after completing all academic course work (with the exception of internship courses), passing the qualifying exams, and successfully defending his or her dissertation proposal. The term Psy.D. candidate is strictly an academic status and must not be used in association with clinical work.

Program Timeframe

Students are required to complete the Psy.D. Program requirements of 119 semester credit hours of the prescribed coursework, an original dissertation, an organized, sequential and coordinated practicum, pre-internship, and internship within seven years of beginning the program. Extra fees related to additional dissertation credits, practicum, pre-internship and/or internship credits and program continuation fees may be applied within the fourth thru seventh year.

• Students are expected to be continuously registered during continuation; however, should a student not register for a semester (or more), when the student chooses to register once again, he or she will be assessed the full tuition he or she should have paid during the previous semesters that he or she was not registered. For example, if a student does not register for Fall or Spring continuation, but does register in Summer semester, the student would be charged tuition for all three semesters, Fall, Spring and Summer during the Summer term.
• Students would need to complete the university re-admittance form to re-enroll after a leave of absence (form processed by CSBS).
• Students are responsible for managing and paying back loans if loans come due while students are not registered.
• If students request to register half-way through a semester, students will not be given permission to register until the following semester thus eliminating the need for the Registrar’s Office to manually enroll these students.

Primary Requirements for the Psy.D. Degree:

1. 119 semester hours of coursework
2. Psy.D. students are required to participate in 10 hours of individual psychotherapy with a licensed psychologist within the first year of the doctoral program and to provide written verification of the completion of these hours from their psychotherapist (see current Psy.D. Student Handbook for specific requirements).
3. Doctoral Student Progress Assessment – Year One, Two, and Three
4. Cultural Immersion Experience – course requirement of PSYC 7662 International Field Study – Spring semester, Year Two
5. Qualifying Examination – Year Three
6. Doctoral Dissertation: There are options for a focused dissertation that is comprised primarily of one of the following:

• Quantitative research;
• Qualitative research;

The process will include a dissertation proposal, proposal defense, and dissertation defense to the respective dissertation committee. It is also required that the student formulates and delivers a presentation of the dissertation (e.g., publication, speaking engagement, formal report to a clinic or other agency).

7. An approved Doctoral Practicum that meets Washington State and program requirements.
8. An approved Pre-Internship or an Advanced Practicum that meets Washington State and program requirements.
9. An approved Internship that meets Washington State and program requirements.
10. In order to graduate and participate in the Northwest University Spring Commencement Ceremony, the student must complete all requirements as noted in the Psy.D. Student Handbook. The student will receive the diploma at the next regularly scheduled graduation period. (May, August, and December)

Courses may be taught in a different semester sequence.