PsyD in Clinical Psychology, Fresno

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Overview

If you’re interested in building your own clinical practice, this APA-accredited PsyD program at our Fresno campus is an excellent place to gain the needed skills and experience. The program emphasizes clinical skills and the application of research knowledge with diverse populations in a wide range of settings.

The Fresno PsyD program takes a systemic approach, training you to consider the role of diverse systems in creating and remedying individual and social problems such as child abuse. It also teaches you to think beyond treating individual problems to becoming an advocate for groups of clients with similar issues, acting as a powerful agent of change in your community.

The Fresno PsyD faculty is committed to offering a broad array of elective courses reflecting theory, assessment, and intervention across systems, especially cultural systems. The importance of the cultural system is emphasized throughout your academic and clinical training. This focus on cultural issues will help prepare you for professional practice in a pluralistic society.

Admissions

Learn About Admissions Requirements

Faculty

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Degree Information

Forensic Psychology Experience Area

The field of clinical forensic psychology explores clinical services that can be provided to clients with criminal and non-criminal contact with the legal system. In addition to working in prisons and jails, you’ll learn about needs related to divorce, custody mediation, worker’s compensation evaluations, disability evaluations, child abuse, and adoption.

Learn more about the emphasis area here.

Program Competencies

All students are expected to acquire and demonstrate substantial understanding of and competence in the following nine profession-wide competency areas:

• Research
• Ethical and legal standards
• Individual and cultural diversity
• Professional values, attitudes and behaviors
• Communication and interpersonal skills
• Assessment
• Intervention
• Supervision
• Consultation and interprofessional/interdisciplinary skills

In addition, students are expected to possess discipline-specific knowledge in the following four areas:

• History and systems of psychology
• The basic content areas of scientific psychology, including biological, affective/cognitive, developmental, and social aspects of behavior.
• Advanced integrative knowledge in scientific psychology.
• Research methods, statistical analysis, and psychometrics.

Fresno: A Great Place to Study and Take a Break

Fresno is in California’s Central Valley, the agricultural center of the state, and is close to Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and other major recreation areas. It’s a medical and correctional hub, providing an array of career and experience opportunities.

Fresno Degree Features

Students in the Fresno PsyD degree program benefit from several unique, campus-specific features. In addition to their basic education in clinical psychology, they have the opportunity to focus their study and clinical expertise by specializing their degree with an experience or emphasis area.

The Fresno doctor of psychology program also offers students the opportunity to gain practical skills providing mental health services through campus-based practica.

Fresno Area Community Services and Placements.

Recent Awards Received by the Program

In 2025, the Fresno Clinical PsyD program was awarded a 3-year, nearly $1.2 million Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) grant by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This marks the second time the program has received this competitive grant, the first being in 2022 for over $600,000. The GPE grant allows the program to address the following priorities: (a) increasing the number of psychologists trained in integrated behavioral health, (b) building community-based partnerships in high-need, high-demand areas, (c) strengthening healthcare access through telehealth, (d) advancing health equity, and (e) improving healthcare in rural areas.

The program’s national recognition extends beyond grant funding. In 2021, the Fresno Clinical PsyD program also received the Suinn Minority Achievement Program Award from the American Psychological Association. Each year, this prestigious award goes to one or two graduate psychology programs in the U.S. that have demonstrated excellence in the recruitment, retention, and graduation of ethnic minority students.

Accreditation

The clinical psychology PsyD program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA), which requires that we provide data on time to completion, program costs, internships, attrition, and licensure. Please follow the link below for that information. We hope this information will help you to make an informed decision regarding your graduate study in higher education.

Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data (.pdf)

The California School of Professional Psychology clinical psychology PsyD program is offered on the Fresno, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco Bay Area campuses. Each is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA).

* Questions related to a program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation.

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 336-5979
Email: apaaccred@apa.org
Web: https://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

Our Campus Location

Alliant International University
5130 E Clinton Way
Fresno, CA 93727
Directions to Campus

Links and Downloads

School Performance Fact Sheet