Hands-on training for future mental health professionals
Our Clinical Science program, housed in newly renovated Stuit Hall, aims to reduce the burden of mental illness and improve public health by producing the next generation of leading clinical researchers who share three intertwined characteristics.
Learning outcomes
First, students in the program conduct research that advances the understanding, assessment, and treatment of psychopathology as well as identifies factors that may influence health behaviors and coping, all with the ultimate aim to improve physical and mental health.
Research may also examine bidirectional interactions between mental and physical health. Such research can be conducted in a wide variety of settings, ranging from academic and medical-center contexts to service-provision, school, and public-policy contexts.
Second, students apply evidence-based methods to address behavioral-health problems. And third, students disseminate clinical science through publishing, teaching, training care providers, developing and evaluating programs of care, or contributing to public policy. We emphasize training experiences that integrate research, application, and dissemination.
The Program
Our program offers students integrative and cross-disciplinary training opportunities that capitalize on relevant expertise throughout psychological science, as well as in allied disciplines, such as Psychiatry, Neurology, Genetics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Neuroscience, and Public Health. This includes participation of interested clinical science students in our NIH-funded T32 Behavioral and Biomedical Interface Training Program and pursuit of specialized neuropsychology training opportunities through the Clinical Neuropsychology Subtrack. Consistent with our goals, we seek students who wish to pursue careers that are primarily research-focused and who place significant value on high-quality clinical training in their development as a clinical scientist.
Students can also receive specialized training through the Developmental Psychopathology Research Group, which focuses on understanding the origins, course, and mechanisms of adaptive and maladaptive developmental trajectories and pathways, and through the Health Psychology Research Group, which is concerned with the application of psychological theory, methods, and treatment to the understanding and promotion of physical health. Students with interests in developmental psychopathology or health psychology should contact potential mentors for more information about opportunities for graduate study.
Our program is a charter member of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science (APCS), a coalition of leading doctoral and internship training programs that share a commitment to advancing clinical science.
Accreditation
Our program is accredited by the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS), which aims to advance the training of clinical scientists who both “generate new knowledge relating to mental health and use this knowledge to advance public health.” Our program is accredited by PCSAS until 2031. Our accreditation by PCSAS attests to our success in producing graduates who produce, apply, and disseminate clinical science. We have also been continuously accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA) since 1948. Our program is accredited by APA until 2028.
Future Accredidation
The University of Iowa Clinical Science program strongly values providing students with high-quality scientific training that fully integrates research and application/practice activities. We plan to seek reaccreditation from APA by submitting our next renewal application in 2027. However, after that process, the program will consider whether to be accredited solely by PCSAS. Regardless of this decision, we will remain committed to placing students in the best internships, postdoctoral positions, and research-oriented career opportunities. We also will maintain our emphasis on training clinical scientists who approach psychological problems from an evidence-based perspective and who integrate interdisciplinary approaches into their work.
Prospective Graduate Students
If you are thinking about applying to our Ph.D. program in Clinical Science and want to learn more about the program and its faculty, please view our F.A.Q. page.
If your questions are not answered by these materials, please feel free to contact our training area coordinator, Prof. Molly Nikolas. Please be aware that we no longer distribute any materials by mail.
E-mail: psych-clinical@uiowa.edu
Office phone: 319-335-2436
Mailing address: Department of Psychological & Brain Science, The University of Iowa, G60 PBSB, Iowa City, IA 52242-1407
Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data (updated September 2023)
Iowa Psychology Licensure Consumer Disclosures (updated September 2023)
Faculty in Clinical Science
For information about the accreditation of our clinical science program, contact:
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE
Washington DC, 20002-4242
TEL: 202-336-5979
Alan G. Kraut, Executive Director
Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS)
1800 Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite 402
Washington, DC 20036-1218 USA
(301) 455-8046
akraut@pcsas.org