Clinical Psychology

 

The Clinical Psychology PhD program at East Tennessee State University is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) Commission on Accreditation. APA accreditation is recognized in all 50 states as providing required education for psychologist license eligibility.

Individual State Boards of Psychology determine training requirements for licensure, which typically include post-doctoral training as well as examinations beyond educational requirements.  Thus, a doctoral degree from East Tennessee State University alone is not sufficient to meet licensure requirements in most states.  Students should confirm state licensing requirements directly with the state in which they are interested in becoming licensed.  The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards provides a compendium called PsyBook (https://www.asppb.net/page/psybook), which summarizes requirements for each state and may be a helpful resource.

 

Generally, the way licensure works in clinical psychology is as follows:

  1. Complete an approved doctoral education program – APA-accredited programs are recognized in all states, although some states impose additional education and training requirements;
  2. Complete an APPIC (Association of Psychology and Postdoctoral Internship Centers) accredited full-time one year internship – internship is a requirement for the degree if you are in an APA-accredited program like ours at ETSU, and APPIC coordinates a nationwide internship match for students each year;
  3. Complete a one-year post-doctoral fellowship with supervised clinical experience under the appropriate license or registration for the state you are located in (some states do not require a post-doc);
  4. Take the national Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology and state examinations as required; and
  5. Complete any additional requirements for the state in which you are seeking licensure (typically background checks and credential verifications, but some states have specific training requirements as well).

 

ETSU produces graduates who are successfully licensed in many states.  No ETSU graduate from the Clinical Psychology PhD program has been turned down for licensure due to insufficiencies in the education and training we have provided, but as noted above, some states do have additional training and education requirements, and most states have post-doctoral clinical supervision requirements as well. The ETSU Clinical Psychology PhD program makes every effort to ensure state licensure or certification information is current; however, state requirements may change. If you are planning to pursue professional licensure or certification, it is strongly recommended that you contact the appropriate licensing entity in that state to seek information and guidance regarding licensure or certification requirements before beginning an academic program.

 

For more information about each state’s requirements, review this link.
Licensing Boards, by state
Professional Associations: APA / ABPP / NASP

 

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