Program Curriculum	Program Timeframe
Professional Standards	Primary Requirements

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College	Social and Behavioral Science
Academic Award	Doctor of Psychology
Credits Required	119 semester credits
Faculty Lead	Leihua Edstrom
CIP Code	42.2803

The Doctor of Psychology in Counseling Psychology program is designed to prepare individuals to become licensed counseling psychologists in the state of Washington. In doing so, graduates will achieve the following aims (i.e., outcomes) and will demonstrate:

1. The necessary skills and abilities needed for providing professional psychological and counseling services as demonstrated in program competencies 1-6.

• Competency 1a Students display integrity and honesty.
• Competency 1b Students display professional communication.
• Competency 1c Students display professional conduct.
• Competency 1d Students display personal responsibility.
• Competency 2a Students demonstrate knowledge of ethical and legal standards of professional psychology.
• Competency 2b Students demonstrate compliance with ethical and legal standards of professional psychology.
• Competency 2c Students understand the importance of self-care.
• Competency 3a Students demonstrate self-reflection.
• Competency 3b Students demonstrate awareness of their impact on others.
• Competency 3c Students demonstrate empathy.
• Competency 3d Students demonstrate the ability to form therapeutic alliances.
• Competency 4a Students demonstrate proper administration and scoring of psychological assessments.
• Competency 4b Students demonstrate the ability to accurately interpret psychological assessments.
• Competency 4c Students demonstrate the ability to report the results of psychological assessments.
• Competency 5a Students demonstrate clinical skills in psychotherapeutic interventions.
• Competency 5b Students demonstrate the ability to diagnose psychopathology.
• Competency 5c Students demonstrate skills in case conceptualization.
• Competency 5d Students demonstrate the ability to develop a treatment plan.
• Competency 5e Students will demonstrate the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and the flexibility needed to make adjustments based on evaluation results.
• Competency 6a Students demonstrate respect for those of other cultures and backgrounds.
• Competency 6b Students are able to identify personal and social barriers faced by clients.
• Competency 6c Students show capability in advocating for clients at the individual, institutional and public level.

2. Scholarship with the ability to critically analyze and evaluate scientific literature, and to conduct psychological research as demonstrated in program competencies 7-8.

• Competency 7a Students demonstrate knowledge of various research methodologies.
• Competency 7b Students show knowledge of research ethics.
• Competency 7c Students show the ability to analyze research quality and meaningfulness to the field of professional psychology.
• Competency 8a Students demonstrate skill in designing an effective and ethical research study.
• Competency 8b Students demonstrate the ability to implement a research study and collect data.
• Competency 8c Students demonstrate the ability to analyze data and interpret data.
• Competency 8d Students demonstrate the ability to report the results of data analysis and disseminate research findings.

3. An understanding of the knowledge of the fundamental theories and scientific foundations of psychology as demonstrated in program competencies 9-10.

• Competency 9a Students demonstrate knowledge of the scientific bases of human behavior.
• Competency 9b Students display knowledge about human development.
• Competency 9c Students show knowledge about the history of psychology and counseling.
• Competency 9d Students demonstrate proficiency in understanding psychometrics.
• Competency 10a Students exhibit knowledge about theories of personality.
• Competency 10b Students demonstrate the ability to articulate theories of interventions.
• Competency 10c Students display knowledge of systems of psychology.

Admission Requirements

• Bachelor of Arts or Science (or an equivalent) degree from a regionally accredited college of university with a 3.0 (out of 4.0) GPA. It is preferred that students have a major in psychology.
• If an applicant does not have previous degree in psychology, he or she must of 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.
• Online application including references.
• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) General Test.
• An individual interview and a group interview.

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. 

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.

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 to 20 credits from an APA-accredited doctoral program. Only courses in which the student earned a B or higher will be considered for transfer.

Transfer credit is not allowed toward practicum or internship requirements. Credits may be transferred into the Psy.D. program at the sole discretion 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(s) 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 pursue enrollment at 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.

APA Proficiency Requirement

Before enrolling PSYC 7000-level courses, students must show APA writing proficiency before enrollment by passing the APA assessment test or providing verification of successfully completion of the APA online course Basics of APA Style.

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 (at the student’s own expense) 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 professional conduct 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 serves 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 and professional growth. Documentation of the student’s probationary status and progress monitoring 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 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 after a predetermined period of time 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 3.000 and/or earn a grade of B- or higher in all courses the semester following being placed on probation, the student 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.
• In addition, if a student is placed on probation more than once throughout the course of the program, 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 second year of the program. Students must submit a completed application to the Psy.D. Program Coordinator at the beginning of the second year. The Coordinator will then present the application to a committee of Psy.D. faculty and staff for review. In order to qualify, the student must have successfully completed all requirements and courses for the first two years of the program.v

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 the 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.

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 through 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 prescribed coursework.
2. At their own expense, 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. Written verification of completion from the student’s psychotherapist must be provided to the program (see current Psy.D. Student Handbook for specific requirements).
3. Doctoral Student Progress Assessment – Obtain minimal levels of achievement on all program competencies. Assessment includes annual reviews at the end of Years One, Two, and Three.
4. Cultural Immersion Experience, as part of PSYC 7662 International Field Study – Spring semester, Year Two.
5. Qualifying Examination – Year Three.
6. Doctoral Dissertation – Year Four (and further, if needed). The dissertation is comprised of faculty-guided, original quantitative or qualitative research. The process will include: a dissertation proposal, proposal defense, and dissertation defense to the respective dissertation committee. Dissemination of the dissertation is also required (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)