Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology

Old Dominion University offers a Doctor of Philosophy degree in psychology with a concentration in clinical psychology. ODU’s Department of Psychology is a founding member of the American Psychological Association (APA) accredited Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology. ODU has led the administration of the Consortium and trained doctoral students in clinical psychology for over 43 years. The Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology is being discontinued and no longer accepting new applications. Thus, the ODU Clinical PhD Program is applying for APA accreditation as an independent clinical psychology PhD program in Summer 2025 with a site visit anticipated in Fall 2026. Although the timeline and application outcome are not assured, we hope to receive APA Accreditation on Contingency in Spring 2027; if a student completes a program that is Accredited on Contingency prior to graduation, that student is deemed to have completed an APA accredited program. We will provide ongoing updates on the status of accreditation. Students in ODU’s Clinical PhD program take coursework, conduct research activities, and engage in clinical work throughout their training. The Program follows a scientist-practitioner training model. The Virginia Consortium emphasizes the following areas in its training model: (1) research (2) ethics; (3) competence with working with diverse groups, and (4) clinical assessment and intervention.

Transcripts of academic coursework from each college or university attended.A personal statement outlining: (a) personal career goals, (b) how those career goals fit with the training program, (c) clinical interests, experiences, and goals, (d) research interests, experiences, and goals, (e) how those research interests and goals align with the program and with potential specific research mentor(s).Statement of Community Commitment: Articulate how your background and experiences have shaped your connections to different communities and how you hope to contribute to a supportive, welcoming environment in graduate school and the field of psychology. A curriculum vitae/resumeA minimum of three professional letters of recommendation.Ranked choices of potential research mentors.