Prospective Graduate Students

Dr. Dougherty hopes to accept a new PhD student for the 2024-2025 academic year

Are you a good fit for the BEAD lab?

The UMD Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program values clinical science and practice and adheres to a clinical scientist training model. We look for applicants with strong research experiences during their undergraduate and post baccalaureate training. We also seek applicants who demonstrate a passion for child mental health and who bring a diverse range of lived experiences as we strive to increase diversity in clinical science. Many characteristics of applicants who succeed in our program are detailed in our Program’s Technical Standards.

Are you concerned that you cannot afford the application fee? Contact the graduate school about fee waiver options: https://gradschool.umd.edu/feewaiverinformation.

More information about the University of Maryland’s APA- and PCSAS-accredited clinical psychology doctoral program is available here. The application submission deadline for students applying is December 1.

What are some resources for applying to a PhD program in clinical psychology?

For information about applying to doctoral programs in clinical psychology, see:

Jessica Schleider's lab page has a great collection of resources about clinical psychology doctoral programs. These resources explain different paths to take as well as provide example personal statements
- http://www.schleiderlab.org/prospectivestudents.html

Mitch Uncensored Advice for Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology, provided by Dr. Mitch Prinstein, UNC Chapel Hill.

Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology: 2020/2021 Edition
- This is a great book that features the profiles of hundreds of different clinical psychology programs and goes in depth of different career paths and ways to get to a professional setting.

Getting Into Psych Grad School, provided by the Council of University Directors in Clinical Psychology.
Graduate school programs and career presentation
- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oo931eOoGDao4KrOKYwi8p2PLLt-KPqJ/view
- this presentation covers different kinds of programs and careers relating to psychology. It also provides insight into what prerequisites are required for each career and how to best prepare for them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the qualifications of applicants who succeed in UMD's clinical program?

We aim to accept between 3-7 new students each year from over 250 applicants to maintain our small student-faculty ratio. This ratio allows for high quality supervision of both research and professional training. Please refer to our program’s Technical Standards, which describe qualifications the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program considers essential for successful completion of its curriculum. Students need not necessarily have an undergraduate degree in psychology, although students typically have a background in general psychology or related fields. We believe a diverse student body enhances our training environment, and entering cohorts of new graduate students to our program include students who vary in gender, age, culture, race, sexual orientation, educational background, and geographic background.

What are some of the placements of the graduates from UMD's clinical program?

The great majority of students entering the program in recent years have successfully completed their doctoral studies. Our most recent graduates have taken positions in the following types of settings: academic departments, academic medical centers, hospitals, VAs, community mental health centers, and private practice.

Do students receive funding during their graduate studies at UMD?

Clinical students have access to a multitude of funding opportunities. Students are guaranteed to receive department stipends for the first five years of the program, which include stipend and tuition support. Departmental stipends are sourced by teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and department-sponsored fellowships.

Multiple students in the Clinical Program have obtained competitive fellowships from the University and from external sources such as NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA), National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Programs, American Psychological Association (APA) Minority Fellowship Programs, APA Scholarships, Grants and Awards, and APA Science Directorate Student Travel Award.

What is the difference between a Psy.D. and a Ph.D.?

Although both Psy.D. and Ph.D. are doctoral level graduate paths, there are a few notable differences between them. A Psy.D. is a doctorate of Psychology and a Ph.D. is a doctorate of philosophy. Psy.D. programs tend to be more clinically focused whereas Ph.D. programs tend to be more research focused. This does not always have to be the case, however. Ph.D. programs tend to take longer (5-7 years) to complete than Psy.D. programs (4-6 years). Students in Ph.D. programs tend to receive funding, but this is typically not the case for students in Psy.D. programs.

For resources on this topic, check out:

What’s the internship year about?

All doctoral programs (clinical, counseling, school) require an internship experience, either full time for one year, or part-time for two (more rare). This year involves almost exclusively clinical experiences. Although you also get clinical experiences on practicum during graduate school, this year is a more intensive training experience that allow you to immerse yourself in the role of a clinician.

What if I don’t get into graduate school the first time? Is it useful to reapply? Should I reapply to the same schools/mentors?

Yes, and yes – particularly if you have some more research experience! But don’t only reapply to the same sites – pick some new sites as well. Also, you may be able to get some frank feedback from programs about how far your application was considered in the process. If you did not meet educational requirements, obviously it does not pay to reapply unless this changes. Programs often cannot give personalized feedback, so it may be best to only request this information at a single site, and then only if you have few other clues as to why you were not accepted.

If you have any questions, send us an email bead-lab@umd.edu.