Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology

Location offered: Springfield, Missouri only

The Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology or PsyD program is a doctoral program in clinical psychology designed to educate and train future clinical psychologists. The degree program requires completion of 129 credit hours of classroom and clinical experience, completion of a dissertation and clinical internship experience. Students may choose between a number of core concentrations including Child and Adolescent Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Integrated Health Care, Neuropsychology, Pain Management, or Psychology of Religion.

Forest also provides a Dual degree program allowing students in the PsyD program to obtain their Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology (MACL) or Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy (MAMFT) en route to the doctorate. The credit hours required for the MACL or MAMFT are gained simultaneously with completion of doctoral credit requirements. This option includes the further addition of a Master's Thesis and allows students the opportunity to gain licensure at the Master's level prior to completion of the doctorate.

Requirements for the PsyD and Dual Degree Programs

Before completion and submission of the application, please read the following requirements thoroughly.

Applicants need a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution and must have earned a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) or better on a 4.0 scale during the last 60 hours of undergraduate work. Applicants without the required GPA are considered on a highly selective basis and are invited to address this issue in their personal essay. If the applicant is extended an invitation to interview, this issue will be discussed in detail.
Applicants need the equivalent of 18 semester hours in psychology, with a grade of B or better in each course. Prerequisite courses for incoming students include Abnormal Psychology, Developmental Psychology and one biological science course (e.g. Human Physiology, Biology, Human Anatomy, Biological Psychology or Physiological Psychology). A prior course in Statistics is highly recommended, but not required.

The application packet consists of a completed application form and a non-refundable application fee of $50, in addition to the following:

Three Professional Recommendations
College professors, supervisors, or others who have known the candidate for one year or longer and who have evaluated the candidate's personal, professional, and academic qualifications should be contacted to complete the Professional Recommendation Form. At least three professional recommendations are required and must be completed using the forms provided in the admissions packet.
Personal Essay
Through the personal essay much is learned about the candidate, including his/her interests, goals, character and if he/she is a good fit for the programs at Forest. Personal essays should range from five to eight pages in length using 1" margins, double spacing, and preferably Times New Roman 12 pt. font. Essays should be tailored to the program or cluster for which admission is sought. Ex. Prospective MFT students should discuss the MFT focus in their essay. Essays must specifically address the following:
- What personal knowledge, skills, attitudes, qualities, and life experiences do you possess that would make you a good mental health professional? Elaborate on which of these you will bring to your training at Forest Institute. Which do you hope to develop during your training at Forest Institute?
- Discuss why you believe that you are "fitted for a future in being of service to the diverse human community" as a mental health professional.
- Please tell us any additional information that you believe the Admissions Committee should know to assist in making their decision regarding your application.
Current Resume/Vitae
List other activities since high school, including military service, that are relevant to professional goals.
Official Transcripts
Official transcript of all graduate and undergraduate work are required, including part-time and summer sessions, and should be mailed directly from all institutions attended since secondary school. If college credits were earned while in secondary school, an official transcript is required of the college/university from which those credits were received.
GRE/TOEFL
Students making application to the program are required to complete and submit their scores for the Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical sections of the GRE. International applicants, who do not hold a United States undergraduate degree and whose native language is not English, are required to submit their TOEFL scores. Forest's code number for forwarding GRE and TOEFL results is 8525. For information about GRE test dates and requests for scores, write to the Educational Testing Services, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000. The phone number is (609) 771-7670 ; the web site is http://www.gre.org/.

Final Steps in the Admission Process for PsyD and Dual Degree Applicants

Notification of Interview
As a final step in the application process, selected candidates are invited to participate in an on-site interview with Forest faculty during one of the scheduled interview days. The interview process is intended to provide both the candidate and the Admissions Committee an opportunity to learn more about each other. Following the personal interview, the Admissions Committee will conduct the final review of application materials. Members of the Committee include the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the Program Deans, a Core Faculty member, and the Director of Admissions. The Committee will only review an application once a candidate has successfully met all admissions requirements.
Notification of Acceptance
Candidates are selected for admission to Forest Institute on the basis of demonstrated intellectual capacity for the study of psychology and evidence of the character and personal integrity expected of a person who serves the public as a clinical psychologist. The Admissions Committee usually notifies candidates of their acceptance status within two weeks following the personal interview process. Candidates are then given approximately two weeks in which to submit their "Letter of Intent" to enroll in the program along with the non-refundable Enrollment Deposit, or decline the offer of acceptance. At the end of the two-week period, the offer of acceptance will be rescinded if no response is received from the candidate.

Candidates that have accepted an offer of enrollment from Forest but wish to postpone matriculation may submit a written request to delay enrollment to the Director of Admissions. Such an extension may only be granted for up to one year, and may not carry-over into another academic year. In situations where a candidate wishes to begin enrollment in an academic year other than that which was offered, reapplication may be required, including payment of the application and matriculation fees.

Acceptance into one of Forest's programs does not guarantee acceptance into another program. Current students wishing to pursue secondary degree or certificate programs at Forest must make application for such programs through the Admissions Office.

Applications for admission are available from the Admissions Office and on-line, and should be submitted either in person, by mail, by FAX, or electronically through the Forest web site. Because those accepted into the program will render services to the public, Forest routinely performs a personal background check on all incoming students, following written consent.