Requirements for the PCOM PsyD program, offered at our Philadelphia, Pennsylvania campus, include didactic clinical psychology courses, practicum experiences, electives, dissertation preparation and an internship. Students are required to attend the program on a full-time basis.
Please note, due to the impact of the pandemic, or in the event that dangerous weather prevents students and faculty from coming to campus, electronically-mediated synchronous classes may be conducted. However, this is not the norm for coursework, supervision or clinical practice.
The information listed below is from the PCOM course catalog. Terms, sequences, courses and credit hours are subject to change at any time without notice.
APPLY ONLINEPlease note that due to PCOM's transition to trimesters starting 2025-2026, some curriculum adjustments are not reflected below. Current students should refer to the course sequence update provided to them by the program or view the addendum to the 2024-2025 course catalog.
Students are required to attend the program on a full-time basis. The learning in the first two years of the Clinical PsyD program is through didactic courses that cover the scientific and clinical foundations of the discipline, with inclusion of experiential components, and labs for skills training, and interprofessional education. Use of standardized patient actors provides a means for gaining formative feedback on the integration of knowledge and clinical skills.
Completion of the essay portion of the comprehensive examination makes students eligible to begin the dissertation process. Students who have successfully completed the first two years of coursework with a B- or better, have a 3.0 GPA or better and who are in good academic standing may progress to practicum. Fieldwork and seminar experiences in the third and fourth years enable the student to integrate knowledge of theory and research with practicum experience. During this time, students are also mentored through the dissertation process. Successful completion of the first three years of coursework and the comprehensive examinations (STEPPS and essay portions) confers doctoral candidate status on the PsyD student, who may then proceed to internship. Upon completion of the comprehensive examinations and admission to doctoral candidacy, students are awarded a master of science in clinical psychology.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Hours | |
| Fall | ||
| CPSY 102 | Doctoral Writing Skills Seminar | 0 |
| CPSY 601 | Learning Theories | 3 |
| CPSY 603 | Behavioral Medicine | 3 |
| CPSY 622 | Ethics in Psychology | 3 |
| CPSY 695A | Professional Development Seminar I | 1 |
| Hours | 10 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| Winter | ||
| CPSY 103 | Doctoral Writing Skills Seminar | 0 |
| CPSY 608 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| CPSY 616 | Lifespan Development | 3 |
| CPSY 624 | Research I: Research Design and Methodology | 3 |
| CPSY 695B | Professional Development Seminar II | 1 |
| Hours | 10 | |
| Term 3 | ||
| Spring | ||
| CPSY 104 | Doctoral Writing Skills Seminar | 0 |
| CPSY 620 | Psychopathology | 3 |
| CPSY 623 | Human Diversity: Multiculturalism and Individual Differences | 3 |
| CPSY 625 | Research II: Univariate and Multivariate + Lab | 4 |
| CPSY 695C | Professional Development Seminar III | 1 |
| Hours | 11 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Term 1 | ||
| Summer | ||
| CPSY 605 | History and Systems | 3 |
| CPSY 607 | Cognitive & Affective Bases of Behavior | 3 |
| CPSY 626 | Assessment I: Assessing Cognitive Ability | 3 |
| CPSY 698A | STEPPS Comprehensive Exam A | 0 |
| Hours | 9 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| CPSY 627 | Assessment II: Objective Personality + Lab | 3 |
| CPSY 629 | Physiological Basis of Behavior | 3 |
| CPSY 662 | Behavior Therapy | 3 |
| CPSY 688A | Integrative Health Care I | 1 |
| Hours | 10 | |
| Term 3 | ||
| Spring | ||
| CPSY 628 | Assessment III: Advanced Topics + Lab | 3 |
| CPSY 630 | Cognitive Therapy | 3 |
| CPSY 688B | Integrative Health Care II | 1 |
| CPSY 681 | Essay Comprehensive Exam | 0 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Term 1 | ||
| Summer | ||
| CPSY 652 | Practicum I | 2 |
| CPSY 698B | STEPPS Comprehensive Exam B | 0 |
| Hours | 2 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| CPSY 653 | Practicum II | 2 |
| CPSY 661 | Administration, Consultation and Supervision: Behavioral Health Care | 3 |
| CPSY 674 | Research III: Dissertation Development Seminar | 2 |
| CPSY 788A | Integrative Behavioral Health Seminar I | 1.5 |
| Hours | 8.5 | |
| Term 3 | ||
| Spring | ||
| CPSY 654 | Practicum III | 2 |
| CPSY 674A | Research IV: Method Development and Strategic Planning | 2 |
| CPSY 788B | Integrative Behavioral Health Seminar II | 1.5 |
| Elective 7 credits of electives to be completed after 2nd year courses are completed. Students choose from various 1, 2, or 3 credit electives. | 2 | |
| Hours | 7.5 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Term 1 | ||
| Summer | ||
| CPSY 655 | Practicum IV | 2 |
| CPSY 698C | STEPPS Comprehensive Exam C | 0 |
| Following CPSY 674A: Research IV, all students must register for CPSY 675: Dissertation Advisement at 1 credit/term until successfully defending their dissertation. Dissertation Advisement credits do not count toward the minimum of 89 credits required for degree completion. | ||
| Hours | 2 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| CPSY 710 | Practicum V | 2 |
| Following CPSY 674A: Research IV, all students must register for CPSY 675: Dissertation Advisement at 1 credit/term until successfully defending their dissertation. Dissertation Advisement credits do not count toward the minimum of 89 credits required for degree completion. | ||
| Elective 7 credits of electives to be completed after 2nd year courses are completed. Students choose from various 1, 2, or 3 credit electives. | 2 | |
| Hours | 4 | |
| Term 3 | ||
| Spring | ||
| CPSY 711 | Practicum VI | 2 |
| Following CPSY 674A: Research IV, all students must register for CPSY 675: Dissertation Advisement at 1 credit/term until successfully defending their dissertation. Dissertation Advisement credits do not count toward the minimum of 89 credits required for degree completion. | ||
| Elective 7 credits of electives to be completed after 2nd year courses are completed. Students choose from various 1, 2, or 3 credit electives. | 3 | |
| Hours | 5 | |
| Fifth Year | ||
| Term 1 | ||
| Summer | ||
| CPSY 667 | Internship Students who begin internship placements within 2 weeks or less of the end of the summer term starting year 5 will not register for internship this term. Instead, register for internship starting in fall of year 5 and register for 1 credit/term from fall through summer. A total of 3 credits of internship must be completed over the terms which align with students' internship placements. | .5 |
| Following CPSY 674A: Research IV, all students must register for CPSY 675: Dissertation Advisement at 1 credit/term until successfully defending their dissertation. Dissertation Advisement credits do not count toward the minimum of 89 credits required for degree completion. The credit fee is waived when concurrently enrolled in CPSY 667: Internship. | ||
| Hours | 0.5 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| CPSY 667 | Internship | 1 |
| Following CPSY 674A: Research IV, all students must register for CPSY 675: Dissertation Advisement at 1 credit/term until successfully defending their dissertation. Dissertation Advisement credits do not count toward the minimum of 89 credits required for degree completion. The credit fee is waived when concurrently enrolled in CPSY 667: Internship. | ||
| Hours | 1 | |
| Term 3 | ||
| Spring | ||
| CPSY 667 | Internship | 1 |
| Following CPSY 674A: Research IV, all students must register for CPSY 675: Dissertation Advisement at 1 credit/term until successfully defending their dissertation. Dissertation Advisement credits do not count toward the minimum of 89 credits required for degree completion. The credit fee is waived when concurrently enrolled in CPSY 667: Internship. | ||
| Hours | 1 | |
| Sixth Year | ||
| Term 1 | ||
| Summer | ||
| CPSY 667 | Internship Students who begin internship placements within 2 weeks or less of the end of the summer term starting year 5 will not register for internship that term. Instead, register for internship starting in fall of year 5 and register for 1 credit/term from fall through summer. A total of 3 credits of internship must be completed over the terms which align with students' internship placements. | .5 |
| Students who have successfully defended their dissertations will register for CPSY 795: Dissertation Editing until all edits are made to the satisfaction of their dissertation chairs/committees and the final documents are submitted for binding. The fee will be waived for the first term and any term in which students are concurrently enrolled in CPSY 667: Internship; for any subsequent terms, students will be charged for one credit/term until the final documents are submitted for binding. Dissertation Editing credits do not count toward the minimum of 89 credits required for degree completion. | ||
| Hours | 0.5 | |
| Total Hours | 89 | |
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