Clinical-Community

Admission Information

The Clinical-Community Psychology Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign invites applicants for admission to our doctoral program for Fall 2025. We support diversity and inclusion in our graduate program and encourage applications from members of underrepresented groups.

The application deadline is November 15, 2024. More information can be found at https://psychology.illinois.edu/phd-psychology/phd-program-application-requirements.  The following faculty are planning to admit students as primary research advisors for the upcoming year: Joseph Cohen, Catharine Fairbairn, Carla Hunter, Thomas Kwapil, and Violeta Rodriguez. 

Program Information

The Clinical-Community psychology program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a Clinical Science program designed to train scholarly and scientifically oriented researchers and professionals with a variety of interests. A program of study leading to the Ph.D. degree is offered. Terminal Master’s degrees in Clinical-Community are not offered. Our program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS). Our program is also a member of the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology (CUDCP).

The Clinical-Community psychology program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a member of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science, which is a coalition of Ph.D. and internship training programs that share a common goal of producing and applying scientific knowledge to the assessment, understanding, and amelioration of human problems. Membership in the Academy is granted only after a thorough peer review process. Its membership in the Academy indicates that our program is committed to excellence in scientific clinical training and to using clinical science as the foundation for designing, implementing, and evaluating assessment and intervention procedures. Our program is proud to be the first program ever accredited by the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS) and is accredited through 2029. In addition, the program is a member of the PCSAS Founder's Circle. PCSAS is an independent, non-profit organization that provides rigorous, objective, and empirically based accreditation of Ph.D. programs. PCSAS programs adhere to a clinical science training model — one that supports and expands the scientific foundation for mental and behavioral health care and increases the quality and quantity of clinical scientists contributing to all aspects of public health for all people. Our accreditation by PCSAS is evidence of our program succeeding in its goal of increasing the quality and quantity of clinical scientists contributing to the advancement of public health, and to enhancing the scientific knowledge base for mental and behavioral health care. The large majority of our graduates go on to careers in which they are actively engaged in research and the integration of science and practice; they do so in a variety of professional roles, such as university professors, college teachers, public policy analysts, faculty in medical centers and research institutes, and social service, community organization, and healthcare setting managers and administrators.

Our educational philosophy emphasizes a creative, scholarly, and socially responsible approach to clinical and community psychology. Our mission is to produce graduates who assume leadership roles and contribute to the discipline and to society.  We do not aim to train students for careers in private practice, although our students do receive high-quality training in clinical and community practice.

While in our program, students are actively engaged in research and in the integration of science and practice. Our program has four primary goals: a) to prepare students to be independent scholars in the field of clinical-community psychology, b) to prepare students to engage in applied work that bridges science and practice, c) to prepare students to conduct research and applied work that is effective in meeting the needs of diverse individuals and communities with an approach that meets accepted ethical standards, and d) to prepare students to be skilled higher education instructors. For more detail regarding each goal and its associated objectives and competencies please click here: Goals, Objectives and Competencies.

Sensitivity to ethical issues as well as gender, ethnic, cultural, and other kinds of human diversity is strongly emphasized. Our program was awarded the Suinn Minority Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association in 2003 for our record of recruiting, and training ethnic minority scholars.  Members of our faculty have also received individual awards that reflect the program’s commitment to human diversity.  Review the links below to read further information about our program and to access our program data: 

• Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data
• Statement Of Diversity Values And Commitments
• Future Accreditation Plans
• Curriculum
• Commitment to Follow APA Ethical Principles
• Licensure Disclosure
• Facilities and Resources
• Clinical-Community Newsletters