Doctor of Psychology in Health Service Psychology

Program Overview/Mission

The Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Health Service Psychology (Combined Clinical/School) provides broad practitioner-scientist training with an emphasis on clinical practice.  The aim is to prepare students for careers as health professionals in clinical and school settings. The overarching model of the program is the provision of health services with particular emphasis on cognitive-behavioral psychology.  Graduates from this program are well prepared to function as licensed professional psychologists in a variety of roles across a variety of settings.

The field of psychology, this program, and its individual faculty highly value diversity, understanding, inclusiveness, compassion, and equal human rights, and strongly reject and condemn violence, intimidation, discrimination, and judgmental action towards groups or individuals in all forms. Given our field's acute focus and understanding of the human toll exacted by these societal problems, psychology has an important ethical role in advocacy and educating the broader public in hopes of minimizing these problems for individuals and groups in our societies. Our program actively seeks to reduce systemic barriers for our clients and students. Review the APA Advocacy page to learn more about some of these important areas and how they can be supported.

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Program Degrees

• Health Service Psychology Psy.D.

Accreditation Information

University of Houston–Clear Lake and the Doctor of Psychology program are approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS). The contact information for SACS is: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033; Phone: 404-679-4500; Fax: 404-679-4558; www.sacscoc.org

The Psy.D. in Health Service Psychology was accredited on contingency by the American Psychology Association in April 2019. Questions related to the program’s accreditation status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation: Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 1st Street NE, Washington, DC 20002; Phone: 202-336-5979; Fax: 404-679-4558; apaaccred@apa.org; www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

Admission Requirements

• Health Service Psychology Psy.D.
• Admission Deadline

  December 15, 2020

• Application

  Applicants must apply for admission to both the Doctorate of Psychology program and to University of Houston-Clear Lake through ApplyTexas.org.

• Requirements

  Admitted students typically have these qualifications:

  • Earned Bachelor's, Master's, or Specialist degree in psychology, clinical psychology, school psychology, or a closely related discipline
  • GPA of 3.4 or higher
  • Score of 300 or higher on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), with a minimum score of 3.5 in Analytical Writing
  • The Doctor of Psychology program is offering a GRE waiver for those who apply for the Fall 2021 semester only. The GRE waiver will be automatically applied after successful submission of the admission application.
  • Research evidence/potential (publication, thesis, formal research project, participation in research)

  You must submit the following documents through ApplyTexas.org: 

  • A current curriculum vitae
  • A statement of purpose
  • Transcripts 
  • Scores on the general test of the GRE and TOEFL (if required)
  • You must also have three (3) Recommendations for Applicant Admission submitted on your behalf. Each writer must complete the recommendation form and write a separate letter. Each recommender should email their letters to Psyd@uhcl.edu.
  • A $50.00 check or money order made payable to the UHCL Psy.D. program

  For a more detailed explanation, you can download the Application and Admission Process.

  After initial review of the application materials (application, recommendations, and supplemental material) an admissions committee will invite selected applicants to campus for an interview. Interviews will typically be scheduled in February. Applicants will be notified of their program admission status by April 15.

• Transcripts

  Students should submit official transcripts from every college or university attended to the Office of Admissions at Admissions@uhcl.edu. These should be sent to UHCL electronically for all universities attended.

Program Faculty

Curriculum and Instruction

As a practitioner-scientist program, the PsyD program's primary aim is to train practitioners, scholars, and applied researchers in the areas of Clinical and School Psychology.  The program develops graduates who use scientific methods in the professional practice of psychology with the aim or improving health and behavioral-health outcomes.  The program emphasizes the importance of the scientific method as the primary basis for advancing knowledge and informing practice.  Graduates will be competent in evidence-based practice (assessment, intervention, and consultation).  The program emphasizes the reciprocal relationship between psychological, biological, and social aspects of both personal and community health.  Through coursework, clinical experiences, and research, students may individualize their training, including clinical, school, and clinical-health experiences.

The PsyD program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake is guided by eight competencies designed to ensure that all candidates attain the requisite knowledge base that serves as a foundation for all psychological practice, acquire skills in the techniques that constitute the practice of psychology, develop skills to analyze and conduct research, understand and adhere to ethical practice in psychology, and become culturally competent practitioners. Specifically, the competencies are: 

1. Research - To train students to conduct and consume research and to disseminate this psychological knowledge through publication, presentation, and practice
2. Ethical and Legal Standards - To enable students to understand ethical, legal, and professional issues and to adhere to ethical and legal standards in all of their professional activities
3. Individual and Cultural Diversity - To enable students to understand and appreciate individual differences and diversity, thereby becoming culturally competent in the delivery of psychological services
4. Professional Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors – To train students to have the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct themselves professionally
5. Communication and Interpersonal Skills - Write and present professional products, including articles, evaluations, treatment plans, progress notes, case presentations, and presentations
6. Assessment - To competently administer and use multimodal and multimethod assessment approaches as well as empirically-based diagnostic techniques and to write professional evaluations
7. Intervention – To competently implement multimodal and empirically-supported treatment approaches and treatment plans and to write professional intake reports, treatment plans, and progress notes
8. Supervision – To develop skills in training and supervising others by demonstrating knowledge of models and methods of clinical supervision and demonstrate ability to supervise master’s level students in assessment and treatment
9. Consultation and Interprofessional/Interdisciplinary Skills - To develop skills to collaborate effectively with psychologists and other individuals or groups to solve problems, share knowledge, or promote professional activities

Student Data and Outcomes

• Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data
• Psy.D. Student Handbook
• Discipline-Specific Knowledge and Profession-Wide Competencies Tables
• UHCL Student Handbook
• FAQs
• Cost Data

Student Resources

Additional Information

For information, please contact:

Dr. Mary Short
Full Professor of Clinical Psychology
Program Co-Director
ShortMB@uhcl.edu

Dr. Thomas Schanding
Associate Professor of School Psychology
Program Co-Director
Schandingjr@uhcl.edu

For immediate assistance, please call or email Senior Secretary Shelly Matejka at 281-283-3491 or Matejka@uhcl.edu.