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Illinois Psychology Doctorate Programs

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With the incidence of mental illness, anxiety and other serious emotional problems on the rise across the U.S., for many students it’s a natural next step to wonder about what degrees can help them make a difference in the emotional well-being of others.

The Doctor of Psychology, or Psy.D. degree, is the primary educational step needed in becoming licensed as a psychologist in the U.S., including right here in Illinois. What degree options are available here in Illinois, and what do people need to know to become licensed here?

What’s On This Page

  • Quick Facts
  • Illinois PsyD Programs
  • Illinois Psychologist Requirements
  • Illinois Doctorate Salary Outlook

Quick Facts:

  • The Chicago School of Professional Psychology offers a PsyD program with a campus and online option, both cost $1260 per credit hour.
  • Wheaton College offers a PsyD program that had a total of 115 graduates between 2007-14. They took an average of 5.78 years to complete the program.
  • Wheaton College’s tuition for the program is $36,840 per year.
  • The doctoral program at Midwestern University has a total class size this year of 15. That class is 83% female and 17% male.
  • Midwestern’s tuition is $24656 per year.
  • Roosevelt University’s PsyD program costs $22,595 per year.
  • Roosevelt graduated 79 doctoral students from 2007-14, who took an average of 6.24 years to complete the program.

List of PsyD Degree Programs in Illinois

Five institutions of higher learning offer APA-approved Psy.D. degrees in Illinois, with varying focus areas and reported academic outcomes. Let’s take a look at the options for Psy.D. education in Illinois.

SEE ALSO: 5+ Online Accredited PsyD Programs

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

*Featured Partner School

As the flagship program at The Chicago School, the APA-accredited Psy.D. offered on the Chicago campus was first accredited by the APA in 1987. About 800 students have completed their Psy.D. degrees at the school since the 2009-10 school year, and 87% of them have become professionally licensed.

  • Institution type: Private, not-for-profit
  • Campus: Chicago
  • Annual tuition: $52,200
  • Degrees offered: PsyD in Clinical Psychology
  • Accreditation: APA
  • Visit school: Click here

Wheaton College

Accredited by the APA since 1998, Wheaton College’s Psy.D. is the only APA-accredited psychology program at a Christian school in the Midwest. Offered within the School of Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy, about 160 students have completed the program over the past 10 years, and 94% have gone on to earn professional licensure.

  • Institution type: Private, not-for-profit
  • Campus: Wheaton
  • Annual tuition: $41,990
  • Degrees offered: PsyD in Clinical Psychology
  • Accreditation: APA
  • Visit school: Click here

Adler University

Adler University’s Psy.D., accredited by the APA since 1998, is billed as the only Psy.D. degree in the nation with a programmatic focus on social justice. Emphasis areas available include child/adolescent, military, trauma and substance abuse. Nearly 600 students have earned their Psy.D. through the program since the 2008-09 school year, and 87% have become professionally licensed.

  • Institution type: Private, not-for-profit
  • Campus: Chicago
  • Annual tuition: $49,980
  • Degrees offered: PsyD in Clinical Psychology
  • Accreditation: APA
  • Visit school: Click here

Roosevelt University

Roosevelt University’s Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology has been APA-accredited since 2002, and since the 2009-10 school year, nearly 170 graduates have finished their degrees. The program has a professional licensure rate of 87% in that time.

  • Institution type: Private, not-for-profit
  • Campus: Chicago
  • Annual tuition: $25,925
  • Degrees offered: PsyD in Clinical Psychology
  • Accreditation: APA
  • Visit school: Click here

Midwestern University

The Psy.D. program at Midwestern University’s main campus in Downers Grove first earned APA accreditation in 2012, and students today can opt to focus their Psy.D. on child and adolescent psychology. Nearly 175 students have earned their degrees since the 2009-10 academic year, and the licensure rate is 85%.

  • Institution type: Private, not-for-profit
  • Campus: Downers Grove
  • Annual tuition: $33,768
  • Degrees offered: PsyD in Clinical Psychology
  • Accreditation: APA
  • Visit school: Click here

How to Become a Psychologist in Illinois

A career as a professional psychologist is a multi-year journey that for many people starts with earning an undergraduate degree in psychology. Let’s take a closer look at what’s involved in earning licensure here in Illinois.

  1. Complete a bachelor’s degree in psychology or a related field. Depending on your doctoral program, those with majors in social work or biology could be accepted, but most schools look for undergrad transcripts heavy with psychology courses. For some, earning a master’s degree before applying for a doctoral program helps make them better candidates.
  2. Get your Psy.D. or Ph.D. The biggest educational step in becoming a licensed psychologist in Illinois is earning a doctoral degree in psychology, and the state accepts both Psy.D. and Ph.D. degrees.
  3. Apply for licensure. In Illinois, licensure applicants must have a year of supervised post-doctoral experience, which equates to 1,750 hours, which is separate from any internships or professional experience they got during their doctoral training. Prospective psychologists must then apply for examination, and if they’re accepted, they’ll be able to take the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology.
  4. Keep your license. Psychologist licenses in Illinois are up for renewal on a two-year cycle, and 24 hours of continuing education is required.

Illinois Clinical Psychologist Salary and Job Outlook

Clinical, counseling and school psychologists in Illinois earn far more than the average wage for all occupations in the state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These professionals make an average of $75,050 in Illinois, compared with about $53,000 for all workers in the state.

SEE ALSO: Illinois Clinical Psychologist Salary Outlook

Clinical psychologist jobs are expected to see about average growth in Illinois as compared to the growth rate expected for all jobs in the U.S. over the next decade. Jobs for clinical psychologists in Illinois are projected to grow by nearly 6%, compared to about 5% for all occupations across the U.S.