Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology
About
This clinical psychology doctoral program, located in Louisville, Kentucky, was among the first PsyD programs in the U.S. and has been continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) since 1989. Engage in generalist training in clinical psychology using a scholar-practitioner model based on scientific principles, grounded in evidence-based practice, and learn in a collaborative and cooperative setting.
Become a trained and licensed professional prepared to practice with clients across the lifespan. Our strong generalist program is unique in that the core curriculum provides training in working with children, adolescents, and adults. This ensures marketability and mobility for our graduates in the current job market. Students can choose to customize their training and select five electives or choose to take one elective and four content-specific classes.
Facts
You may be eligible to transfer up to 30 hours of master’s level courses from another university.
Our program is a recipient of three federal HRSA-sponsored grants:
- $1.15 million federal grant that provides stipend support to students who complete final practicums in primary care settings serving vulnerable and medically underserved populations.
- $750,000 grant to train psychology doctoral students and students in other allied health professions
(nursing, OT, dentistry, etc.) in how to build resiliency skills, and to fund 8 PsyD students per year in learning to deliver the program. - $1,000,000 grant to fund students in learning and delivering integrated primary care services in Underserved areas of Kentucky.
Features
- Carry with you an emphasis on critical thinking, ethical decision-making and the promotion of social justice
- through our practicum program and internships, gain clinical experience and provide services under stellar supervision in our Center for Behavioral Health, Spalding’s community-based psychological services center, or at one of our other 70+ community partners.
- Provide assessment and treatment to under-served populations as part of your curriculum
- Develop data-driven research skills during your dissertation that can be applied to future practice
- Participate in faculty-led Research Interest Groups (RIGs), where you can earn authorship on publications and presentations
- The Collective Care Center provides psychological services and supports to individuals who have had harmful identity based experiences.
Visit our PsyD in Clinical Psychology Curriculum page for more information on our PsyD courses.
Emphasis Areas
- Advanced Clinical Psychology
- Forensic Psychology
- Geropsychology
- Health Psychology
- Neuropsychology
Learn more about these emphasis areas.
Career Options
You’ll complete three years of practicum plus a summer of pre-practicum to get you ready to provide evidence-based psychological assessment and psychotherapy to a diverse range of clients.
This training along with the curriculum will prepare you to work in a wide range of psychological service settings:
- Hospitals
- University counseling centers
- Community mental health centers
- Schools
- Forensic settings
- Private practice
- Primary care and other health care settings
See our professional licensure disclosure.
Internship Match Rate
Our internship match rate is consistently above the national average for PsyD programs:
- 97-100% of our students have matched every year since 2013-14; 100% ten out of the last eleven years!
- 100% of our students who have matched since 2014-15 have matched to accredited sites.
Visit our Clinical Psychology Admission Requirements page for more information about the requirements or tracking a submitted application to our PsyD program.
Tuition & Fees
The PsyD program is a 120-hour degree, including practicum and internships courses. For the ’25-’26 academic year, tuition is $1065 per credit hour.
PsyD Tech Fee
There is a technology fee of $5.00 per credit hour that is billed to the student’s account.
For more information about tuition, fees or other associated expenses, please visit our Cost of Attendance page.
Federal Student Loans
Tuition, housing and other expenses may be covered by federal student loans.
Federal loans for graduate school are available to most U. S. citizens (and eligible non-citizens) unless they have defaulted on previous student loans or have reached the lifetime limit (see www.fafsa.gov). Full-time PsyD students are usually eligible to borrow up to $138,500 per year.
Learn more about how to apply for federal aid.
Graduate Assistantships
A number of graduate assistantships are available to support PsyD students through tuition assistance. The assistantships are awarded each year based on availability and student skills. Approximately 40% of students are funded by graduate assistantships at some point in their training. Notably, for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 years, all PsyD students who requested an assistantship received one. Applicants requesting to be considered for a graduate assistantship will complete the application during the interview process.
More About Our PsyD
Program Aims
Spalding University’s clinical psychology doctoral program’s aim is to educate strong generalist clinical psychologists who demonstrate mastery of profession-wide competencies, and who can conceptualize human behavior using a biopsychosocial perspective. The program utilizes a scholar-practitioner/local clinical scientist model that emphasizes the ability to balance and integrate research and clinical practice using high-level critical thinking skills. Within these professional goals is the overarching aim to train ethical psychologists who demonstrate a high level of professional integrity and a commitment to individual and collective well-being.
Program Accreditation
Our Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology program has been continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) since 1989. The program most recently received the maximum of 10 years of reaccreditation in 2017. For further information about the accreditation status of this or any other psychology doctoral program, please contact: APA Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street NE, Washington DC 20002-4242, (202) 336-5979; apaaccred@apa.org; www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/.