Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Child Psychology

The following curriculum outline meets the criteria for APA Accreditation and the requirements of the University of Kansas Office of Research and Graduate Studies for the Ph.D. in Clinical Child Psychology.  For more information, please See the Training Manual of the Clinical Child Psychology Program or the University's Academic Catalog. 

Psychology Core

1. Biological Aspects: ABSC 857 Biological Foundations of Psychopathology
2. Cognitive/Affective Aspects: PSYC 870 Cognitive Development
3. Social Aspects: ABSC 825/PSYC 825 Social Development
4. History of Psychology: PSYC 805 History of Psychology or
   ABSC 921 The History and Systems of Psychology or
   PRE 998 Seminar in: History of Psychology
5. Cultural and Ethnic Diversity: ABSC 888/PSYC 888 Diversity Issues in Clinical Psychology or
   PRE 875 Cross-Cultural Counseling

Clinical Child Psychology Specialty Skills

Psychopathology, Psychodiagnosis, and Psychological Assessment

Required:

1. ABSC 905/PSYC 905 Psychopathology in Children
2. ABSC 803/PSYC 803 Fundamentals of Assessment and Intervention with Children
3. ABSC 811/PSYC 811 Achievement and Intellectual Assessment in Clinical Child Psychology
4. ABSC 812/PSYC 812 Behavioral and Personality Assessment of Children

Elective:

1. ABSC 814/PSYC 814 Advanced Child and Family Assessment

Intervention and Therapy Procedures

Required:

1. ABSC 976/PSYC 976 Therapeutic Interventions with Children
2. PSYC 967 Psychotherapy with Families or
   PRE 956 Theory of Marriage and Family Counseling or
   PSYC 946 Theories and Methods of Psychotherapy or
   PSYC 949 Empirically Supported Treatment or
   PSYC 936 Group Therapeutic Techniques

Clinical Practica

Required (17 credit hours, 275 contact hours):

1. ABSC 846/PSYC 846 Practicum in Clinical Child Psychology I
2. ABSC 847/PSYC 847 Practicum in Clinical Child Psychology II
3. ABSC 943/PSYC 943 Advanced Practicum in Clinical Child Psychology III
4. ABSC 944/PSYC 944 Advanced Practicum in Clinical Child Psychology IV
5. ABSC 947/PSYC 947 Advanced Practicum in Clinical Child Psychology V

Ethics/Professional Standards

Required:

1. PSYC 975 Professional and Ethical Problems in Clinical Psychology or
   PRE 880 Ethical and Legal Issues in Professional Psychology
2. ABSC 809/PSYC 809 Professional Issues: Clinical Child Psychology (one semester)
3. Clinical adult psychology workshop (offered every other year)

Students are expected to function within the code of professional ethics of the American Psychological Association in their behavior and personal demeanor. Adherence to these ethical principles is part of the regular evaluation of students for completion of the degree in clinical child psychology.

Consultation and Supervision

1. PRE 945 Clinical Supervision and Consultation

Research and Statistics Core Courses

Required:

1. PSYC 815 Design and Analysis for Developmental Research or
   PSYC 968 Research Methods in Clinical Psychology
2. PSYC 790 Statistical Methods in Psychology I or
   PRE 811 Analysis of Variance
3. PSYC 791 Statistical Methods in Psychology II or
   PRE 810 Regression Analysis

 Research Skills and Responsible Scholarship

Consistent with RGS and University Policy, every doctoral student at the University of Kansas is required to have training in Responsible Scholarship pertinent to her or his field of study.  Responsible Scholarship in the CCPP involves pertinent areas of protection of human subjects, collaborative research, conflicts of interest, authorship, publication, plagiarism, copyright, data management, professional practices, mentor/student responsibilities, maintenance of confidentiality, approach research conduct and research misconduct, HIPAA, ethics of publishing clinical case material, among other related topics.

There are two components required for students in the CCPP to fulfill the RGS Responsible Scholarship requirement:

1. Completion of three (3) specific courses in the CCPP curriculum:
   1.  Professional Issues in Clinical Child Psychology (ABSC/PSYC 809)
   2.  Design and Analysis in Developmental Research (ABSC/PSYC 815), and
   3.  Ethics in Clinical Psychology (PSYC 975) or  Ethics in Counseling Psychology (PRE 880)
2. Completion of the online Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative tutorial for Responsible Scholarship, IRB (HSC-L) and HIPAA data.

Every doctoral student at the University of Kansas is also required to obtain specific research skills pertinent to the doctoral level of research in her or his field of study. The additional Research Skill requirement in Clinical Child Psychology is fulfilled by one additional course above   the two required courses in statistical or data analysis (quantitative, applied behavior analysis, qualitative). No course is specified, but must be approved by the student’s research advisor and the Program Director.

Master’s Degree and Thesis

The master’s degree requires a thesis consisting of empirical research and a minimum of 30 hours of course work (24 of which must be nonthesis credit hours). A minimum of 6 credit hours in ABSC 897/PSYC 897 Master’s Thesis in Clinical Child Psychology is required.

Ph.D. Preliminary Examination: The Task

The program uses the Task system for its preliminary examination in research methodology, teaching, or applied/clinical area. Details are available on the Clinical Child Psychology Program Resource page.

Ph.D. Oral Comprehensive Examination

Upon completion of all course requirements for the Ph.D. and of the Task, except for dissertation and internship, the student must pass the oral comprehensive examination. Details are available in the Clinical Child Psychology Program Training Manual linked at the top of our Resources page.

Doctoral Dissertation

The Ph.D. dissertation must be based on an original, empirical investigation. A minimum of 12 hours in Dissertation in Clinical Child Psychology (ABSC/PSYC 998)  is required.

Predoctoral Internship

An 11-month clinical internship at a setting accredited by the American Psychological Association is required. Students enroll in ABSC 963/PSYC 963 for a total of 3 credit hours.