Graduate

Overview

The Department of Psychology is organized into three divisions (Adult, Child, and Health) which oversee the major graduate and research programs of the Department. Cutting across all three divisions is the Clinical Psychology Program, which provides clinical training with an emphasis on adult, child, pediatric, and health clinical psychology. The clinical program abides by the guidelines and principles for APA accreditation and has been continuously accredited for the past 40 years. The APA Committee on Accreditation can be contacted at:

American Psychological Association
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979
Email: apaaccred@apa.org

In addition to the Clinical Program, graduate programs in Developmental, Behavioral Medicine, and Behavioral Neuroscience are represented in the Department. There are approximately 95 graduate students (80 percent women, 30 percent ethnic minorities) enrolled full time within the Department; all of these students are supported by scholarships, fellowships, teaching assistantships, research assistantships, or by one of five research training grants. Typically, 9-12 clinical students per year are on paid, full-time APA-accredited internships. Each year 15-20 Ph.D.s are awarded in Psychology. The American Psychological Association Graduate Student Association recently honored our graduate program for its efforts on behalf of graduate student education.

Consistent with the program goals and objectives, it is the intent of the Department that graduates be well-rounded and informed psychologists. Students' training in the breadth of scientific psychology is achieved through a combination of coursework, Clinical Qualifying Exams, and students' teaching-requirement.

In the first semester students begin the 3-semester research design and statistic course sequence. Students also begin taking the 7 required foundation courses in their first year, with additional foundation courses completed during second year. Required courses cover the biological, cognitive/affective, and social aspects of behavior, as well as research methods and data analysis. All students are also required to take courses in human development and psychopathology. Students take two courses pertinent to professional standards and ethics. These courses precede students' practicum placements and cover the APA Ethical Principles and other professional and legal issues, including confidentiality and conflicts of interest.

Clinical Program

In the clinical program, The philosophy and model of training for the UM program in clinical psychology is that of a scientist-practitioner model, as elaborated at the Boulder Conference in 1949, with a somewhat greater emphasis on the clinical science component. To facilitate the clinical science component, the UM program uses a "mentor model" for research training, in that applicants are admitted to the program based in part on their "match" with the research interests of a specific faculty mentor; mentors closely supervise the research activities of the students working in their labs. The UM clinical program prepares students to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field and to practice clinical psychology. In addition to broad and general training in clinical psychology, the program provides training in one of the following substantive areas of focus within clinical psychology: adult, child, pediatric, and health psychology.

Following from the program's philosophy, the educational model and curriculum plan focus on two major and interrelated goals that integrate science and practice: 1) to produce graduates who have the requisite knowledge and skills to produce and disseminate knowledge in clinical science and who understand the interface between science and practice, and 2) to produce graduates who have the requisite knowledge and skills for entry into the practice of professional clinical psychology with a track-specific area of focus (adult, child, pediatric or health psychology), and who understand and value the importance of a scientific basis to clinical practice.

The integration of science and practice takes place through coursework, practicum, and research training. [ Summary of Clinical Training Requirements (.pdf)]

• Coursework - required and elective clinical courses in psychopathology, assessment, and intervention emphasize empirical findings that are pertinent to clinical practice, and the literature that is reviewed in these courses is critiqued from a science perspective.
• Practicum - all students spend at least two semesters at the Department's Psychological Services Center (PSC), where they are required to use evidence-based assessment measures in evaluating clinical cases, and to incorporate evidence-based treatment strategies. Several other advanced practicum sites that are primary external practicum placements, such as the Mailman Center for Child Development, the University of Miami Counseling Center, and the Miami VA, are also APA-accredited clinical internships that emphasize the scientific basis of practice. (More information on clinical practica)
• Research - the emphasis of the Department is on applied research that focuses on important clinical issues in psychopathology, assessment, and/or intervention with clinical or clinical health populations. (For example, the SMART Program is a series of randomized controlled trials that test the effectiveness of a manualized cognitive behavioral stress management intervention in chronically ill populations.) Consequently, with the exception of a very rare student who has interests in animal models, all graduate students are engaged in clinically relevant research activities (for master's thesis, dissertation, and grant-funded research activities) that involve clinical populations, investigate clinical treatments, and/or have direct implications for clinical practice. The dissertation topics of our graduates since 2000 have focused on applied clinical issues, such as: cognitive-behavioral interventions for HIV infected individuals; stress management among breast cancer patients; the relationship between peer victimization and adolescent depression; affective dysregulation and bipolar disorder, and so on.

All of the Clinical Tracks are overseen by the Director of Clinical Training (Annette La Greca, Ph.D.) and the Clinical Committee to ensure compliance with APA standards (UM Clinical Applicant Data).