The Clinical Science program was accredited for ten years by the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS) in 2019 under the strong leadership of area chai rDr. Patty Deldin.  The program is also accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA).

The PCSAS mission is to advance public health by using the accreditation to promote the training of psychological clinical scientists. PCSAS programs graduate clinical psychologists who can widely disseminate the best clinical knowledge we now have about mental health, who can generate new knowledge related to mental health at both a basic and applied level, and who can use this knowledge to advance public health.

The review from the PCSAS site visit was stellar.  They were impressed that the, “Michigan clinical program has systematically transformed itself into a clinical science program with such obvious excellence over a relatively brief period and in particular over the past ten years that were the main focus of this accreditation review. The Committee raised this notion of transformational change several times in its extensive discussion, mentioning it in this document and its attachments more than once. We send our congratulations to the university, to the department and its clinical leadership.” Further, “The Michigan program has developed a formula for inculcating strong scientific, ethical and professional values in its students; for arming its students with cutting edge knowledge, skills and methods; and for supporting graduates once they have left the program to pursue careers.” One reviewer mentioned, “I really do think your program has the potential to be the top clinical science program in the country.” Another mentioned that we probably have the highest number of students of any program who graduate and go onto clinical science positions.  Finally, they wrote, “In summary, this is a high-quality program reflecting first-rate clinical science faculty in a first-rate department, excellent students, and a clinical science training model that is well implemented. The PCSAS Review Committee judged the University of Michigan Doctoral Program in Clinical Science to be a very strong one that meets and exceeds PCSAS’s high standards for accreditation. The program, department, and university have well-earned this special designation. PCSAS is proud to add the University of Michigan to its distinguished roster of accredited clinical science programs.”

 It is important to emphasize that this transformation into clinical science has not been at the expense of the program's excellent clinical training as noted by the high student and supervisor ratings, internship match rates, and APA accreditation site visitor summary.   The APA completed a site visit in December 2016. APA’s mission is to promote the advancement, communication and application of psychological science and knowledge to benefit society and improve lives.

APA's feedback suggests that the program is doing an excellent job training their students on all dimensions. “Based on the evaluation methods and sources of information outlined above, the site visit team members were unanimous in their judgment that the CSP-UM [Clinical Science Program-University of Michigan] is a strong program and an excellent exemplar of a well-integrated clinical science model of training in clinical psychology. Students in the CSP-UM receive high quality, graded, sequential, well-supervised training in clinical assessment and intervention, professional aspects of clinical psychology, the fundamental areas of psychology, and the principles and methods of clinical research. The faculty members are well qualified and maintain positive mentoring relationships with the students. The Program is especially sensitive to issues of diversity in training and in the student body and faculty composition.”