Practica & Internships, Fresno PhD Program

Fresno's clinical PhD program emphasizes the integration of academic coursework with clinical, research and teaching practice. In order to integrate appropriate skills with material learned in the classroom, students participate in a professional training placement experience beginning in the first year. The professional training placement experiences completed prior to the full-time predoctoral internship are known as practicum experiences. Both the practica and internship comprise the professional training component of the program.

Students begin their research practica in their first year. Students are assigned to work with a faculty member over the course of four semesters. In this practicum students learn about the process of developing, executing and writing up research results by working on their faculty mentor's research. At this time, all research practica are completed on campus under the direct mentorship of faculty members.

Students are placed in a clinical practicum in their second year after successfully completing Basic Foundations of Clinical Practice, Intellectual Assessment, Personality Assessment and Introduction to Ethics. The settings where students complete their clinical practica include community mental health centers, clinics, inpatient mental health facilities, medical settings, specialized service centers, rehabilitation programs, residential/day care programs, forensic/correctional facilities and educational programs. Students are required to train in a different setting each year and will gain experience in inpatient and outpatient settings, as well as with child and adult populations.  Those students involved in special emphasis areas within the program generally have at least one placement experience with a setting and population appropriate to their area of concentration.

During their third year the majority of Fresno students will complete a 20 hour/week practicum at the Gary S. Cannon Psychological Service Center on the Fresno campus.

Clinical PhD students enter teaching practica in their fourth year of their program. All of these practica involve teaching psychology to undergraduate students either at the university or at local community colleges.

Assignments to the practica are accomplished with guidance from the Director of Professional Training and the Professional Training Department. Each practicum agency is screened prior to being presented to the student for placement.  The student and the Professional Training Liaison make the final placement decisions jointly.

Fifth year students are responsible for obtaining an appropriate APA, APPIC or CAPIC full year internship (2080 hours) and are assisted in this process by the Field Placement Officer under the direction of the Director of Professional Training and the Professional Training Department staff.  During the time that students are completing their internship requirements, payment of the full internship fee is required. For many students, in the fifth year the internship stipend covers the costs of tuition and living expenses.

Students who intern at the Golden State Psychological Internship Consortium Association (GSPIA), which is CSPP supported and includes APA and/or APPIC accredited members, generally receive internship stipends of $15,000 or more. GSPIA makes every effort to ensure that internships for clinical doctorate students meet the licensing standards of the California Board of Psychology and nationally.