Clinical Science

Since 1948, the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at the University of Michigan has been integral to the mission of the Psychology Department and the University. The program in Clinical Science is committed to training doctoral clinical psychologists who will pursue careers that advance translational knowledge for the promotion of well-being and the reduction of mental illness. The program views clinical practice as an applied science and aspires to contribute to the foundation of evidence that guides ethical and effective psychological services.

Our program offers rigorous training in interdisciplinary research methods, teaching, statistics, clinical and research ethics, evidence-based assessment and treatment, developmental psychopathology, cognitive and affective neuroscience, resilience and coping, and individual and cultural diversity. Our program recognizes clinical training as a core component in the development of clinical scientists and we believe that clinical practice and service facilitates and informs clinical science. Thus, we strive to provide excellent clinical training that integrates science and practice through assessment, case conceptualization, prevention, and intervention.

Strengths and research areas of our program faculty currently include cognitive and affective neuroscience, health psychology, developmental psychopathology, risk and resilience, and cross-cultural investigations of clinical problems. These approaches span traditional diagnoses including addictive, affective, anxiety, personality, and disruptive behavior disorders. We encourage the multilevel integration of biological, psychological, familial, and developmental approaches. Several faculty members' interests overlap with more than one of these domains. As a result, our program recognizes these intellectual priorities as one means for organizing our collective activities and for determining how best to allocate attention and resources toward our stated training aims and goals. Given the interdisciplinary nature of research in the clinical area, our intellectual priorities also fuel ready and enduring collaborations with other faculty and researchers both in the Department of Psychology and beyond. Indeed, the University of Michigan is justifiably proud of, and nationally recognized for, its commitment to inter- and cross-disciplinary collaboration. For our program faculty, this includes intersections with other departmental areas (e.g., cognitive psychology, developmental psychology), other departments (e.g., Psychiatry, Public Health, Pediatrics), and other campus institutes and centers (e.g., the Depression Center, Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, Institute for Social Research). What binds our activities together is our shared commitment — distinctive in the University — to studying, preventing, and treating psychopathology and producing highly trained clinical scientists who will effectively apply a variety of research methods to pressing problems in the assessment and treatment of psychopathology.

Program Mission

The Ph.D. program in Clinical Science at the University of Michigan trains doctoral clinical psychologists to pursue careers that advance translational knowledge for the promotion of well-being and the reduction of mental illness. Grounded in the clinical science training model, the program fully integrates the science and practice of psychology with a commitment to understanding, preventing, and treating psychopathology. The program prepares graduates for a range of careers in academic, research, clinical, and public health settings consistent with local, state, and national needs for health service psychologists.

Program Aims

The program has four training aims that are consistent with health service psychology and accomplished through our curriculum, mentorship, and supervision.

Aim 1: Research

Train students to conduct rigorous empirical research concerning the etiology, assessment, and/or intervention for individuals who suffer from psychological distress and/or psychopathology.

Aim 2: Clinical Practice

Train students in ethical, effective, evidence-based clinical practice, including the prevention, assessment, evaluation, and treatment of psychological distress and psychopathology.

Aim 3: Teaching

Train students to be effective teachers who help others think scientifically about human behavior, critically evaluate evidence, and engage in clinical science inquiry.

Aim 4: Diversity, Culture, and Context

Train students to integrate knowledge of culture, context, and individual and group-based diversity into all aspects of clinical science research, practice, and teaching.

For additional information, please contact the Chair of the clinical science program, Dr. Ashley Gearhardt at agearhar@umich.edu or the Director and Coordinator of Clinical Training, Dr. Sarah Jonovich at jonovich@umich.edu .  

The Clinical Science program is accredited by the:

Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS)
1800 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 402
Washington, DC 20036-1218
Telephone: 301-455-8046
PCSAS Website: https://www.pcsas.org/

American Psychological Association
Commission on Accreditation
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979
APA Commission on Accreditation

PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE:

The University of Michigan Clinical Science Ph.D. Program, to the best of its ability, determined that the curriculum offered by our program meets – or does not meet – the educational requirements for licensure or certification to practice psychology in each of the states. Please refer to the link below to identify the states where educational prerequisites for licensure are satisfied, where they are not satisfied, and where no such determination has been made by the program. 

UM Psychology Licensure Disclosure by State

For states in which the Program’s educational offerings do not meet a specific state’s requirements for licensure or certification, students may be required to obtain alternate, different, or more courses, or more experiential or clinical hours required. These findings are accurate, to the best of our ability, as of July 16, 2025. 

Suinn Achievement Award

The Department of Psychology's Program in Clinical Psychology received the Suinn Achievement Award (2005) from the American Psychological Association (APA). The award is given to university psychology departments that have demonstrated excellence in the recruitment, retention and graduation of ethnic minority students. The award, named after Richard M. Suinn—past president of the APA—was presented in August at the APA's annual meeting in Washington, DC.