Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology

Wayne State's Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology offers intensive training in clinical neuropsychology and childadolescent clinical psychology, with additional opportunities in clinical health psychology, clinicalcommunity psychology, substance abusedependence and trauma psychology. Our extensive network of affiliated faculty and facilities provides research and clinical training in many other areas, including infant mental health, gerontology, rehabilitation, forensics and primary care. Our students are prepared first as psychologists, second as clinical psychologists and third as clinical psychologists with specific expertise. Thus, all students receive a) discipline-specific knowledge in the broad areas of psychology, b) didactic and clinical training in psychopathology, ethics, assessment and intervention across the age range and with diverse populations and c) focused training in a specific minor area or concentration.

In selecting students for our doctoral programs, we do not set arbitrary minimums for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Grade Point Average (GPA) as these factors contribute only partially to our overall assessment of the application. Conversely, although high scores do not guarantee admission, they increase the probability of favorable consideration. Most students entering our program have performed well on these measures. A strong science background, both in psychology and the other sciences, and a strong math background help a candidate.The Graduate School requires a GPA of at least a 3.0 for undergraduate course work (or graduate course work if the applicant has a master's degree); however, most students accepted into the program have grade points much higher than 3.0.If your GPA is below a 3.0, you have two options: Complete a 2nd bachelors degree and earn a GPA higher than 3.0 or complete a Master's degree program without a minimum GPA admission requirement and earn a 3.0 or higher. If your GPA is above 3.0, but you earned poor marks in Psychology courses (especially stats, experimental, research methods courses) or Math and Science courses, you may want to consider retaking some of those to show competency. Retaking courses after you have graduated will not affect your final cumulative GPA.The department requires the general GRE for admission. Typically, students selected for admission score above the 50th percentile on the individual sections: Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytic Writing.