students walking on campus

What does it cost?

Check out our cost calculator or visit student financial services for information on estimated costs.

Typically, graduate students receive stipends (≈$20,000/year) and tuition waivers.

How long will it take?

Typically, students complete the Ph.D. in 6-7 years.

Where will I take classes?
Atlanta Campus

Application Deadlines View Admissions Requirements

  • Fall: December 1
  • Spring: Does not admit
  • Summer: Does not admit

Psychology, Ph.D., Clinical/Community Psychology

Department of Psychology: 
[email protected]

Graduate Program: 
[email protected]

Training in the joint Clinical/Community Psychology concentration is informed by the traditions of prevention and social justice in community psychology and by the focus on assessment and individualized mental health interventions in clinical psychology. This dual-enrollment program provides a strengths-based, culturally competent approach to mental health and healthy development that emphasizes theory, research and practice at multiple levels of analysis – psychological, sociopolitical and ecological.  Upon graduation, students will have completed predoctoral requirements for clinical licensure in most states and will have solid preparation for American Board of Professional Psychology certification in their areas of specialty. For more information about professional licensure, download our Professional Licensure Sheet PDF document.

In addition, CLC students receive training in a range of indirect services necessary for interventions at the institutional and community levels:

  • Consultation
  • Program development and evaluation
  • Social policy
  • Action research

The CLC concentration is jointly administered by the Community and Clinical program areas. Students participate in both the Clinical Psychology and Community Psychology program areas. Faculty in areas serve as primary advisers. A secondary adviser is assigned in most cases to ensure appropriate training in both areas.

We offer three clinical training concentrations: General Clinical Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology and Clinical/Community Psychology. Each prepares students for distinctive paths within psychology.

Welcome from the Directors of Graduate Studies

FAQs for Graduate Program Applicants

Faculty Accepting Students

Program Highlights
  • APA-accredited since 1973
  • 14 full-time clinical faculty
  • Faculty research in the university lab and in community settings, with an emphasis on applied research
  • Multiple theoretical orientations (cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, mindfulness-based, neuropsychological)
  • On-campus clinical training at the Psychology Clinic for Assessment, Therapy and Research, and at the Regents Center for Learning Disorders, which share space
  • Off-campus clinical training at more than 35 external practicum sites in the Atlanta area, supervised and sanctioned by the clinical program
  • Training in multicultural competence across all professional activities
  • Opportunities for research and clinical work with diverse groups across multiple identities (age, gender, nationality, race, ethnicity, disability)
  • Collaboration (a hallmark of the program)
  • In the heart of a thriving, diverse, metropolitan city

The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. Inquiries may be directed to: Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, The American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002-4242; Phone: 202-336-5979; E-mail: [email protected]; Web address: http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

Program Details
  • Statement of purpose
  • Resume/curriculum vitae
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Transcripts (one from each institution attended)
  • The GRE is not required and GRE scores will not be reviewed
  • Writing sample

The statement of purpose should summarize your skills and experiences that are relevant to your particular area(s) of interest in graduate study in psychology. Discuss how your experiences might have shaped the research questions you are interested in exploring. Address the fit between your objectives and the graduate training offered at GSU (including the fit with the faculty member(s) with whom you would most like to work). We are particularly interested in specific examples that illustrate your quantitative abilities, problem-solving skills, initiative, leadership, perseverance and maturity. We are also interested in how your educational, professional, clinical (if applicable), or personal (e.g., cultural, economic or social) experiences prepare you to contribute to our department's emphasis on diversity and inclusion during your graduate career. It should be approximately 1000-1500 words.

Please submit a writing sample from your past work, preferably on a topic relevant to psychological science. There are no specific parameters or required length for the writing sample. You might submit a class paper, honors thesis, conference submission, journal article for which you are the primary author, or another writing sample that demonstrates your writing, critical thinking, and research skills.

The resume or CV should summarize your academic, research, clinical and other relevant experiences.

Previous research experience and, in the case of the Clinical and Community programs, relevant applied experience are evaluated favorably in the admission process.

Although an undergraduate major in psychology is not required, applicants are expected to have a background in psychology that includes a minimum of two courses that cover psychological statistics and research methods.

* Institutional code 5251 should be used for reporting TOEFL scores.

Please review the following resources before starting your application:

As detailed in the Graduate Program Handbook, the curriculum requires mastery of professional competencies and discipline-specific knowledge via coursework (such as Research Methods; Affective, Biological, Cognitive, Developmental and Social Bases of Behavior; History; Quantitative Methods), research, supervised clinical and community-based work and other training activities (dissertation, general exam, clinical internship).

Students are offered a monthly stipend during their first four years of graduate school as long as they remain in good standing with the department by maintaining the required GPA and meeting departmental responsibilities.

The level of support for incoming students is determined when they are accepted. No separate financial application procedure is required. All support includes a tuition waiver. Beginning students may also make applications to the University’s Office of Financial Aid (404-413-2400) for non-departmental sources of aid, such as loans and university-provided scholarships.

The Clinical Psychology program is based on the scientist-practitioner model and trains clinical psychologists who take a scientific approach for contemporary and innovative careers in research, practice and/or teaching.

Upon graduation from the program, students will have completed predoctoral requirements for clinical licensure in most states and will have solid preparation for the American Board of Professional Psychology certification in their area(s) of specialty.

Find out more about the program's goals, objectives and competencies.

The Clinical Psychology Program will hold virtual interview days on February 9 & 11, 2022. These interview dates are for all Clinical applicants, including those applying to the general Clinical (CLG), Clinical-Community (CLC), or Clinical-Neuropsychology (CLN) concentrations. Because interviewees will be asked to attend one of the two virtual interview days, applicants should reserve both days.”

Description

Careers

Graduates typically secure postdoctoral fellowships and subsequent career placements in teaching hospitals, medical schools, academic research settings, Veterans Administration medical centers and university counseling centers.

Contacts

Office/Delivery Address:
Department of Psychology
Georgia State University
Urban Life Building
11th Floor
140 Decatur Street
Atlanta, GA 30303-3083

General Inquiries
[email protected]

Psychology Graduate Program
[email protected]

USPS Mailing Address:
Department of Psychology
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 5010
Atlanta, GA 30302-5010

College of Arts & Sciences Lockup25 Park Pl NE #2500
Atlanta, GA 30303

The information shared provides an overview of Georgia State’s offerings. For details on admissions requirements, tuition, courses and more, refer to the university catalogs.