Welcome! Thank you for your interest in Radford University's Doctor of Psychology Program.  We hope the material on the various pages helps you get a sense of us and what we have to offer.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Program Director, Dr. James Werth, Jr., at the following address:

Department of Psychology
Radford University
Box 6946
Radford, VA 24142
(540) 831-6817
psyd@radford.edu or jwerth@radford.edu

Radford University offers an APA-accredited Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Counseling Psychology with a focus on rural mental health and additional emphases on cultural diversity, social justice, and evidence-based practice in psychology. The Psy.D. degree in Counseling Psychology is designed for persons interested in careers as psychologists in mental health settings and institutions where clinical supervision and the direct application of counseling, therapy, and psychological assessment are required. The program follows the practitioner-scholar model with an emphasis on clinical training and the application of research to practice. Students will complete a 2,000 hour internship approved by the program faculty. Applicants must have completed a Master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education, in a human services field, where they provided face-to-face counseling services for at least a total of 60 hours, working with multiple clients, under the supervision of an appropriately credentialed professional (except under unusual circumstances), by August of the year in which they wish to enroll in the Psy.D. program.

The Program's first cohort of students started in the Fall of 2008. The program was just accredited by the American Psychological Association as of June 21, 2012. The next site visit will take place in 2016. 

The Program is listed in the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards / National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology Doctoral Programs Meeting Designation Criteria (see www.nationalregister.org/desig_about.html for information about the Designation program). The Program’s listing can be found at www.nationalregister.org/desig_VA#radford.

Many potential applicants are, understandably, interested in what sort of financial package we offer students. We anticipate that all admitted students will receive graduate assistantships and will not have to pay tuition while they are enrolled full-time in classes on campus, maintain good academic standing, and receive positive assistantship evaluations.

There are several recent developments related to training that will have a positive impact on the opportunities we can offer our students. Some of these are summarized below.

We collaborated with our colleagues in the School Psychology Ed.S. Program to establish the Center for Assessment and Psychological Services (CAPS) in the Department. CAPS became operational in the late spring of 2010. School Psychology students and Psy.D. students are seeing individuals for assessment, primarily referred by the University’s Disability Resource Office but we have also been receiving referrals from the community and from other clinics and professionals. We also can provide counseling services at CAPS. Both assessment and counseling services are offered based on a sliding scale, which is consistent with our social justice emphasis.

The Virginia Board of Psychology changed the regulations pertaining to licensure that will allow practicum training that meets certain requirements to count toward licensure. Our practica will meet the  requirements and we project that students will earn more than the 1500 required hours (so far, all graduates have earned more than 1500 hours). Therefore, we anticipate that our students will be able to become licensed in Virginia immediately upon graduation (after passing the national licensing exam) instead of having to work for a year to earn the 1500 hours.

There are several developments related to training that will have a positive impact on the opportunities we can offer our students. Some of these are summarized below.

The Virginia Board of Psychology has proposed changes to the regulations pertaining to licensure that will allow practicum training that meets certain requirements to count toward licensure. Our practica will meet the proposed requirements and we project that students will earn more than the 1500 required hours. Therefore, we anticipate that our students will be able to become licensed in Virginia immediately upon graduation (after passing the national licensing exam) instead of having to work for a year to earn the 1500 hours.

As we mentioned above, the Radford University Psy.D. Program is now accredited by the American Psychological Association. If you have questions about the accreditation process for doctoral programs in psychology, you can contact the APA via the following means:

American Psychological Association
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation / Commission on Accreditation
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979
TDD/TTY: 202-336-6123
Fax: 202-336-5978
E-mail: apaaccred@apa.org
Internet Webpage: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/