Utah Psychology Doctorate Programs

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Quick Facts
Utah PsyD Programs
Utah Psychologist Requirements
Utah Doctorate Salary Outlook

Quick Facts:

There are only five schools or universities in Utah that offer a master’s degree in psychology or higher, which is a lower number of options than what is offered by many other states.
Of those schools, Brigham Young University has an 82 percent graduation rate, which is the highest in the state.
The Utah governing body that you must apply to in order to get a license to practice psychology in that state is called the DOPL.
You can get licensure by endorsement if you are already licensed in another state and meet all the DOPL requirements.
Utah psychologist’s licenses expire on September 30 every two years, in the even-numbered year.

List of PsyD Degree Programs in Utah

Currently, there are no PsyD programs offered in the state of Utah.

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Other Psychology Doctorates in Utah

Utah features several good options for students who want to earn their Ph.D. in psychology. The Ph.D. is often the degree of choice if you want to focus on a research or academic career, while the Psy.D. is more concentrated on clinical training.

University of Utah

The University of Utah’s APA-accredited Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology offers robust training in the application of scientific principles in the research and applied parts of clinical psychology. This five-year program is designed to provide doctoral students with the best psychological training in empirical research and in clinical work that is grounded in the latest science. Students who do best in this Ph.D. program have a passion for research and intend for research to be a major part of their future psychology careers. In addition to core training in adult psychopathology, doctoral students can focus on Clinical Child and Family, Clinical Health/Behavioral Medicine, or Clinical Neuropsychology. The University of Utah also offers APA-accredited Ph.D. programs in Counseling and School Psychology.

Institution type: Public
Main campus: Salt Lake City
Annual tuition: Clinical: $10,776 in-state, $33,928 out-of-state; Counseling: $12,546 in-state, $41,200; School: $16,383 in-state, $39,534 out-of-state
Degrees offered: Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, Ph.D. in School Psychology
Accreditation: APA
Visit School: Clinical, Counseling, School

Utah State University

Utah State University offers a Ph.D. in Clinical Counseling that is accredited by the APA. The program offers a unique, combined approach to doctoral-level training in clinical and counseling psychology. Doctoral students receive comprehensive training across many problem areas, settings, populations, and approaches appropriate for a variety of future psychology careers. Each student conducts research, offers evidence-based professional psychology services, and considers context and culture in all activities. Faculty has leading scholars in neuropsychology, treatment of children and adolescents, ethics, parent management training, military psychology, trauma, dementia, and anxiety disorders. USU also offers a newly APA-accredited Ph.D. in School Psychology. The program is in a contingency status until enough student outcome data can be analyzed for full accreditation.

Institution type: Public
Main campus: Logan, Utah
Annual tuition: Clinical-Counseling: $6,982 in-state, $23,928 out-of-state; School: $6,982 in-state, $23,927 out-of-state
Degrees offered: Ph.D. in Clinical Counseling, Ph.D. in School Psychology
Accreditation: Ph.D. in Clinical-Counseling Psychology—APA accredited; Ph.D. in School Psychology—APA on contingency
Visit School: Clinical-Counseling, School

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University offers a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology that is APA-accredited and features four years of coursework, research, and clinical training. This is followed by a one-year, full-time paid internship at an approved psychological facility, usually outside of Utah. In keeping with the program’s scientist-practitioner model, doctoral students experience rigorous training in research design, statistics, and methodology. The program trains students to compete for some of the best psychology internships in the country, including Baylor University Medical School, DuPont Hospital for Children, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. BYU also offers an APA-accredited Ph.D. program in Counseling Psychology.

Institution type: Private
Main campus: Provo, Utah
Annual tuition: Clinical and Counseling: $10,120 for LDS students, $20,420 for non-LDS students
Degrees offered: Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology
Accreditation: APA
Visit School: Clinical, Counseling

How to Become a Practicing Clinical Psychologist in Utah

In Utah, just like in other states, you’ll need a license to practice psychology. But first you need to earn a degree. Some people earn an associate’s degree, or they get a mental health certification of some kind. You can certainly do that, but it’s not really going to give you a lot of progress toward practicing psychology. You’ll need a bachelor’s degree to really get started. If you get a bachelor’s that’s not in psychology, make sure it’s in a field that’s related in some way.

While you’re in the bachelor’s program at the Utah university you choose, look around for ways you can get experience through research work. Undergraduates often have opportunities to work with professors as psychology research assistants. When you do that, you gain a lot of valuable experience and information you can use to move toward the career you really want.

Getting your bachelor’s degree is exciting, but you’ll need to keep the educational momentum going and move on to a master’s degree in psychology. Along with other options you may want to look into, the programs above can help you get that degree. Then you’ll need to focus your efforts on your PsyD degree, which also has an internship component. Expect that degree to take you four or even five years before you can graduate.

After graduation, there are steps you can follow to get your license to practice psychology in Utah. These steps are relatively similar in many ways to what is required by other states, but there may be some differences. It’s important to make sure you read these requirements carefully and understand them. Here’s what you should be thinking about when you get ready to start that process.

To become licensed to practice psychology in Utah, the first thing you will need to do is make sure you have 4,000 hours of professional experience that has been properly supervised. This is the requirement in many states. There is a form to include with the licensing application that indicates the supervised experience.
A completed application and a fee must be submitted to the DOPL. Your transcripts will have to be sent there from your school, as well, and you need to submit supporting documents if you answered yes to certain questions on the medical form. Supervised experience verification goes along with the application.
If you are approved, you will need to take the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). There is also a Psychology Law and Ethics Examination that has to be taken and passed. If both of these exams are satisfactorily passed, you will be granted your Utah psychology license and can begin practicing in that state.

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Utah Clinical Psychologist Salary and Job Outlook

The average salary for clinical and counseling psychologists in Utah is $110,630 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with the top ten percent earning $169,260. This places Utah among the top-10 best states that offer the highest average annual salary for these professionals.

What’s more, Utah has the best job growth rate forecast in the nation for clinical and counseling psychologists. The profession is projected to see a 50% job growth rate over the decade leading up to 2032.

2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures shown here for Psychologists. Job growth projections are from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, CareerOneStop. Figures are based on state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed December 2024.