Online Accredited PsyD Degree Programs
Find an Online Degree
Can you get a PsyD online? Yes! A professional who wants to earn their Psy.D. degree in clinical psychology should ensure that the program is certified by a major accrediting body in the United States. This will help to ensure that your doctoral degree adheres to the highest possible standards of quality in the United States.It also will ensure that potential employers will recognize that your Psy.D. comes from a highly rigorous program. This is very important to think about, when you consider that earning your doctoral degree is going to take at least four years.
The most recommended online PsyD programs that are accredited by a major accrediting agency in the US are:
#1 Capella University
The Clinical Psychology Psy.D. Online program at Capella University will provide you with complete clinical training, which is based upon key theoretical and scientific foundations of the field of psychology. These include psychological assessment and intervention. This specialty is set up to prepare you for state licensure eligibility so you can practice as a clinical psychologist. This is a professionally aligned program that includes demanding coursework, residencies, clinical practicum, internships, and research that makes you put psychology theory into practice. It requires daily online classes and also residency and clinical training in your city. No GRE Required!
You will delve deeply into important clinical psychology topics, including the study of mental disorders, psychotherapy, and clinical training.
Required courses for this online Psy.D. program include Advanced Psychopathology, Advanced Psychological Testing, Theories of Psychotherapy, Evidence-Based Practice in Psychology, Strategies of Clinical Supervision and Consultation, and Professional Issues in Clinical Psychology.
During the program, you are required to complete a minimum of 1,000 practicum hours and 2,000 pre-doctoral internship hours. Twenty-five core courses four electives for a total of 145 quarter credits are required to graduate.
Other important aspects of this accredited Psy.D. program are:
- Blend of online and in-person class experiences: Students will enjoy a mix of online courses, face-to-face residencies, clinical practica, internships, and research. This multi-faceted learning style will help to ready you for real-world clinical environments.
- Professional and credible: This online Psy.D. program was created around the objectives, core goals, and competencies that are vital to the practice of professional psychology.
- Designed for working professionals: 81% of doctoral alumni surveyed said their education at Capella was designed well for working professionals.
- Engaging online learning: Students can access their online learning environment when they like, from any location, and on any device. You can set your own class schedule while continuing to meet your professional and personal obligations.
- Support from an experienced team: Each student has a high level of support from licensure experts, advisors, professors, and teaching assistants. You will always be kept on the path of success to graduating with your doctoral degree.
Students also gain vital knowledge so that they can:
- Properly administer psychological testing
- Act consistently with the professional ethics of psychology
- Effectively apply intervention strategies
- Carefully consider issues of diversity in a psychology context
- Learn how to implement empiraclly supported psychological treatment
The university offers many resources to help you begin your journey on your doctoral path:
- Enrollment counselors: Help to understand everything about this doctoral program and explain the differences from other related programs. Ensures you are making the right educational choice for your future.
- Community and networking groups: Connect to students and faculty on Linkedin and Facebook, as well as the Capella University Open Forum.
- Career Center: Help you with questions about how to use your doctoral degree to find the job of your dreams.
Featured Capella Spotlight
Program Requirements
- You can transfer a maximum of 30 quarter credits towards your Psy.D.
- You must complete three years of full-time enrollment at minimum to earn your doctoral degree.
- You need to finish 125 quarter hours of classes, which includes core and specialization classes, and 20 hours of electives, for a total of 135 quarter credits.
- You also need to finish at least three doctoral practicum series classes, and also must complete a site-based practicum.
#2 Walden University
Walden University features an online Psy.D. in Behavioral Health Leadership that offers leadership and cross-disciplinary abilities to improve and manage the delivery of mental and behavioral healthcare in many healthcare environments.
The modern healthcare system needs behavioral health professionals who can manage how quality behavioral health and mental health services are delivered in a growing integrated setting. This Psy.D. program in leadership will prepare you to meet this vital need.
Highlights of this accredited program are:
- Applicable to your workplace: This doctoral degree program is designed, but not limited to, practicing behavioral health workers, such as therapists, social workers, counselors, therapists, and health agency workers, who want to develop the skills in management and leadership, financial management, and instruction and training.
- Six specializations: These are healthcare management, health psychology, international practice, public health, teaching, and industrial and organizational psychology.
- Two residencies: An in-person consulting skills workshop provides the hands-on practice you need to develop your new abilities, while the virtual doctoral project residency will help you with your capstone class.
- Interactive case studies: Cutting-edge learning tools that allow you to apply new leadership skills to real-world issues and problems.
Required courses include:
- Behavioral Health Management
- Consulting for Organizational Change
- Behavioral Health Social Entrepreneurship and Advocacy
- Governance, Law, and Policy for Healthcare Leaders
- Leadership and Leader Development
- Healthcare Financial Management and Economics
Students must complete approximately 90 credit hours to graduate. They also must complete their doctoral dissertation. Most students complete the Psy.D. in four years but you can take as long as eight years.
Walden University is regionally accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. This accreditation validates that the university offers programs that are academically rigorous and that the faculty are academically qualified.
#3 NOVA Southeastern University
The major goal of this accredited Psy.D. program is to provide academic, internship, practicum and research experience that is directly relevant for your career, while also keeping the key scientific base upon which your professional competence and knowledge rest. The clinical skills in the program will be formed by a course sequence in both intervention and assessment, which are in both theory and practice. You have the option of taking most classes either on campus or online, but you will need to fulfill residency requirements in your local area. NOVA Southeastern University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
SEE ALSO: Nova Southeastern University Psy.D. Program Review
You can focus your studies in these concentrations:
- Forensic Psychology
- Health Psychology
- Long Term Mental Illness
- Neuropsychology
- Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
- Child, Adolescent and Family Psychology
Program Requirements
All doctoral students in this accredited Psy.D. program must finish at least 119 credits, and have to pass the Clinical Competency Examination. You also must finish a one year internship. Some of the classes that you will need to complete include:
- Adult Psychopathology
- Developmental: Child and Adolescent
- Developmental: Adult and Older Adult
- Professional Issues and Ethics
- Assessment: Intelligence Testing with Lab
- Diversity in Assessment and Intervention
- History and Systems of Psychology
- Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
- Psychobiology
- Assessment: Interviewing
- Diversity in Assessment and Intervention
- Adult Intervention
- Objective Personality Assessment
- Behavioral Assessment
- Clinical Practicum I
- Supervision I
#4 Touro University Worldwide
Touro University Worldwide offers an online Psy.D. in Human and Organizational Psychology. In this four year, 100% online program, you will learn how to gain a superior understanding of what motivates a workforce to boost their productivity, reduce turnover and increase profitability. This doctoral program promotes a better understanding and more effective use of psychological principles in the workplace.
SEE ALSO: Touro University Worldwide Psy.D. Psychology Review
This program provides the following benefits to students:
- Offers you the psychological skills and tools that are needed to design evidence based solutions in a professional workplace
- Doctoral level academics provide you with detailed faculty research guidance, learning opportunities and technology.
- A support system that gives you the maximum opportunity for student success in your Psy.D. program.
Other important aspects of this program are:
- 100% online with no residency requirement or campus visits
- No GRE scores are needed for admission
- Accelerated admissions for professionals with significant work experience and master’s level work
- Tuition is affordable at only $700 per credit hour
#5 Alaska Pacific University
Alaska Pacific University offers a Psy.D. program that prepares students who are culturally competent, and will be able to reduce suffering and empower groups, individuals and communities so that they are healthier, and in a state of better well being.
This Psy.D. program was devised in 2011 when it was determined there was a greater need for doctoral-level psychology programs in Alaska. Most of the state qualifies for the Health Resources and Services Designation (HRSA) known as Mental Health Professional Shortage Area. This Psy.D. program is one of just two such programs in the state.
SEE ALSO: Alaska Pacific University Psy.D. Psychology Review
The core faculty in this partially online Psy.D. program have highly diverse skills and interests in many clinical, research and cultural areas. The areas of expertise of faculty reflect the unique landscape of Alaska, and enhance student development to work with the diverse needs in the state.
Regarding the online program, these features stand out:
- Program has face to face and technology supported doctoral instruction that meets the needs of students who live from from campus.
- Each course meets for three days weekends three times, and six, two hour, live eLearning sessions in the evening during the semester.
- The three day weekends involve time for planning internships, practicums and interacting with students and faculty.
#6 University of the Cumberlands
The University of the Cumberlands offers an online Psy.D. in clinical psychology that consists of 103 semester credit hours. It is a blended program, with 73 credit hours offered in a weekend format, which meet once per month Friday through Sunday. Also, 16 credit hours are offered online in a bi-term format, and five credit hours are offered online in a full semester format. Nine credit hours are offered for your predoctoral internship. (UCumberlands.edu).
Required classes include the following:
- Cognitive and Behavioral Approaches to Treatment
- Practicum in Psychotherapy I-II
- Practicum Assessment I-II
- Advanced Practicum
- Supervision, Management and Consultation
- Psychodynamic Approaches to Treatment
- History and Systems of Psychology
- Extended Doctoral Research Project
- Clinical Applications
- Clinical Neuropsychology
- Forensic Psychology
Benefits of Getting Your PsyD Online
Students considering earning their PsyD degree online as opposed to attending a traditional brick-and-mortar university could see several advantages to this approach, depending on the school they choose and other factors in their lives. These benefits range from spending less money to maximizing flexibility.
Here are a few of the biggest benefits to earning an online PsyD:
You’ll spend less on tuition and fees
At many schools, online tuition is less expensive than on-campus tuition, and online students don’t need to pay for things like parking or labs, since they will quite possibly never step foot on the campus, depending on whether or not the program is 100% online. It’s important to remember, though, that you may eat into any savings that you could have seen if it takes you longer than expected to complete your degree and tuition costs rise. In addition to being able to avoid certain fees that are required for on-campus students, you’ll also avoid temptations that can often come with a campus visit, such as hitting up restaurants, bars and school bookstores filled with campus merch. Plus, students with children may be able to save on childcare costs since they won’t need to find a sitter for their kids while they have class.
It’s easier to balance your life and school
In addition to saving money on things like childcare, an online PsyD allows you to have the ultimate degree of flexibility while still providing you with a rigorous academic experience. Provided that you complete all your work, internships and other requirements, for the most part, you can complete your school work at the time of your choosing, rather than having to mold your life around an on-campus schedule. It’s certainly not an easy balancing act, but earning an online PsyD puts you in control of scheduling decisions rather than the school being in charge. After all, if you’re attending a traditional on-campus program and have a course that happens to conflict with, say, a work obligation, it’s pretty much guaranteed that the work obligation will need to take a backseat.
You’ll lower your carbon footprint
Your mileage will vary here, but if you don’t need to drive to a campus several times per week, that will likely add up to hundreds of miles of travel that you’re not doing and will offset at least some of your carbon footprint. Not only is driving less without a doubt great for the earth, but it’s also good for your wallet since you won’t need to fill up your gas tank as often (that’s also good for the environment). Also, many college campuses are heavy polluters thanks to industrial air-conditioners and other heavy-duty machinery. If fewer students are on-campus, over time, that will likely lead the university to reduce the amount of energy it’s consuming.
It might help your technical skills
A PsyD certainly isn’t a STEM degree, but successfully completing your education online will mean mastering several online tools for communicating with your professors and classmates, conducting and organizing researching and keeping yourself on track. While programs generally are fairly consistent throughout educational institutions, certain professors may have their favorites, and often students have to learn a few by the time all is said and done. All of that work builds hard skills that not only translate to finishing your degree but also will help you once you’re out in the workforce. Technical skills aren’t the only ones you’ll be building, either, since earning a degree online requires a great deal of personal motivation that more traditional delivery methods don’t, and the productivity and time management skills built through earning an online degree are invaluable, not just in the professional world but for life in general.
You’ll likely have greater access to faculty
Might seem counterintuitive, but online students could actually experience more regular interaction with faculty members than traditional on-campus students. That’s because a professor is going to establish a set schedule for office hours, and they may not even have office hours every day, so many on-campus students may miss their chance if they don’t get to the office in time. But because online communication can take place at any time of the day or night, professors may be more inclined to send or receive messages at home, even very late into the night. Many people also find it easier to communicate ideas via written messages, such as emails and chat programs, and this could lead not only to more regular communication but more profound and helpful guidance from faculty members.
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References
- Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ucumberlands.edu/academics/graduate/programs/psyd-clinical-psychology/degree
- Psy.D. in Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ashford.edu/online-degrees/social-behavioral-science/psyd-doctorate-psychology
- Psy.D. in Human Organizational Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tuw.edu/academics/psychology/psyd-human-organizational-psychology/
- Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ucumberlands.edu/academics/graduate/programs/psyd-clinical-psychology/degree
- Psy.D in Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.alaskapacific.edu/counseling-psychology/degrees/psyd-graduate-program/
- No GRE Psychology Doctorate Degrees. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://psydprograms.org/no-gre-online-psychology-phd-programs/