Florida Institute of Technology

GR-3 DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY POLICIES (Rev.10/20/05)

The program leading to the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) degree is based on a practitioner-scientist model. Therefore, emphasis is placed on course work, practice, and the internship experience.

3.1 ADMISSION

Admission to doctoral study is granted to a limited number of applicants. The successful applicant must possess a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher learning. Although it is not necessary for the major area to have been psychology, it is expected that at least 18 semester credit hours of course work in psychology will have been included. A student without an undergraduate background in statistics, personality theory, abnormal psychology, learning, physiological psychology and social psychology will be required to take these courses at the undergraduate level before registering for the graduate-level courses. These undergraduate courses will not be applied toward the minimum credit required for graduate degrees.

All application materials must be received by January 15. Applications cannot be acted upon until all required materials have been received. Each applicant must submit:

a.	The fully completed application form, together with the application fee
b.	The School of Psychology's Supplemental Application form
c.	A resume of professional experience
d.	Official undergraduate and graduate transcripts, mailed directly from the degree granting institution(s)
e.	Three letters of recommendation, to be mailed directly by the writers
f.	A statement of professional career objectives
g.	Graduate Record Examination results (basic aptitude and psychology subject test).

Attendance at the scheduled interview day is recommended but not required. Acceptance requires a recommendation by the Director of Clinical Training of the School of Psychology, based on an evaluation by the admissions committee. Each admissions committee will include at least three members of the graduate faculty from the School of Psychology. This recommendation is submitted to the Dean of the College of Psychology and Liberal Arts for review and approval.

Accepted students must sign a statement that the student will comply with the professional conduct requirements of the School of Psychology. Students who do not sign the statement will not be allowed to register for classes.

3.2 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

To receive the Doctoral degree, the candidate must have been a matriculated student at the School for a minimum of four calendar years, determined by the date of first registration.

Other requirements include:

1.	A minimum of 121 semester hours beyond the Bachelor's degree. (For a student entering with a Master's degree or post-baccalaureate courses, see Policy 3.3, Transfer Credit).
2.	A minimum of four years in full-time residency: eight semesters and three summer terms. Full-time status is defined as nine or more credits.
3.	Admission to Doctoral Candidacy. (See Policy 3.2.4.)
4.	Written comprehensive examination. At the end of the third year of study, all students are required to take and pass a written comprehensive examination. The examination includes both on-site and take-home components, and covers the core academic and clinical areas of psychology.
5.	Completion of the doctoral research project.
6.	Internship. Two thousand clock hours of supervised experience under an approved doctoral-level psychologist in an approved internship setting. The internship must be full-time for one year or half-time for two years. The student's internship performance is evaluated in each term of registration, and grades of S (Satisfactory) or U (Unsatisfactory) are assigned. These grades do not affect the student's grade point average.

Students admitted to the Doctoral program will be awarded the Master of Science in Psychology when the following have been successfully completed:

1.	appropriate course work
2.	the Clinical Proficiency Exam (CPE)

Prior to receiving the Master's degree, the student should demonstrate competence in biological bases of behavior, cognitive/affective bases of behavior, social bases of behavior, individual differences, scientific and professional ethics and standards, statistics and research design, and methodology. Awarding of the degree of Master of Science in Psychology requires an overall grade point average of at least 3.2, and is subject to Graduate policies as delineated in Policies 1.3, 1.4, 1.8, 1.9, and 4.12.

3.2.1 Curriculum

The Doctor of Psychology program course requirements are specified in the catalog in effect at the time of the student's first attendance. Modification of the course requirements may only be made in written agreement between the student and the Director of Clinical Training.

3.2.2 Program Examinations

The following two examinations must be successfully completed during the course of graduate training:

Clinical Proficiency Examination (CPE): At the completion of nine practice-related credits, an assessment of student progress in clinical skill development will be made by the clinical faculty of the school of psychology. The student is required to pass all components of the CPE.
Written Comprehensive Examination: At the end of the third year of study, all students will be required to take and pass a written comprehensive examination. The exam will include both an on-site and take-home component, and will cover the core academic and clinical areas of psychology.

Students will have two opportunities to retake failed components of the CPE and Written Comprehensive Examination. If a second retake is failed, the student will be denied Admission to Candidacy and thereby dismissed.

3.2.3 Research Requirement

All students must complete a doctoral research project to fulfill the research requirement for the Doctor of Pyschology degree.

Once students begin to register for the doctoral research project, they must register for at least three hours of doctoral research project each semester until it is successfully defended and the doctoral research project manuscript is accepted by the office of Graduate Programs. A written waiver of the requirement for continuous registration is required and is granted only if the student is not making use of university facilities or personnel. Such waivers must be approved in advance by the Major Advisor and Academic Unit Head, with policy compliance indicated by the Director of Graduate Programs.

Students may register for fewer than 3 semester credits of doctoral research project in the semester of graduation only. See Policy 4.10 for limitations.

3.2.4 Admission to Doctoral Candidacy

Admission to Candidacy will depend upon the successful completion of the following three components by the end of the Fall semester preceding the internship year:

1.	Passing the CPE.
2.	Passing the Second Year Student Review
3.	Maintaining satisfactory academic performance (See Policy 3.6)

3.3 TRANSFER CREDIT

If the courses constitute a logical part of the student's program, up to a maximum of 18 semester hours of transfer credit from regionally accredited institutions may be accepted, with the approval of the Academic Unit Head and the Director of Graduate Programs, under the following conditions:

1.	These courses must be eligible for graduate credit at the institution where they were taken.
2.	Courses transferred must have been passed with a grade of at least B or equivalent.

Transfer credit from foreign universities will be considered on a case-by-case basis, subject to the same overall limitations.

Courses applied toward a graduate degree at another institution may also be considered for transfer credit if they satisfy the above criteria.

3.4 MENTAL HEALTH PRACTICE DURING GRADUATE TRAINING

Students may not engage in any psychological or mental health related work (for pay or otherwise) without prior written approval of the Director of Clinical Training. To disregard this need for approval or to engage in activities that seem either unethical or inappropriate to their level of training will be cause for dismissal from the program.

3.5 STATUE OF LIMITATIONS

A student who has not completed the requirements for the degree within seven years of initial enrollment will no longer be considered a candidate for the degree. Appeals for reinstatement of candidacy status to the program must be directed to the Graduate Council.

3.6 ACADEMIC DISMISSAL

An overall grade point average less than 3.2, but at least 3.0 will result in probation; if the grade point average of 3.2 is not attained upon the completion of the probationary semester, the Graduate Council will consider dismissal of the student.

Dismissal will also result under any of the following circumstances:

1.	The student achieves an overall grade point average below 3.0 at any stage of the doctoral program.
2.	The student earns two grades of D, F or U during the pre-internship component of the program .
3.	The student earns an unsatisfactory grade for one semester (nine credit hours) of internship.
4.	The student is not admitted to doctoral candidacy. (See Policy 3.2.4.).
5.	The student fails to abide by the Mental Health practice standard as specified in Policy 3.4.

Dismissal may also result under any of the following circumstances:

6.	The student fails to abide by the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Ethics of the American Psychological Association
7.	The presence of the student hampers the academic efforts of other students
8.	The student fails to maintain satisfactory progress in course work and/or research. In this case, the graduate faculty of the School of Psychology may recommend dismissal regardless of grade point average. Concurrence of the Graduate Council is required.
9.	The student violates the legal or ethical standards of the University. Such conduct may result in mandatory withdrawal from all classes and denial of permission to register in future terms, for either a definite or indefinite period of time. Examples of misconduct that could result in these actions include, but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, knowingly furnishing false information to the University, or forging, altering, or misusing University documents or academic credentials.
10.	The student fails to demonstrate adequately those personal and interpersonal skills and attributes deemed suitable for the profession. These skills and attributes include, but are not limited to, the criteria utilized by the program in its formal Student Reviews and the professional values delineated in the School of Psychology Graduate Student Handbook.

A student must receive written notification of dismissal. The student will have the right to appeal the dismissal by submitting a letter to the Director of Graduate Programs, stating the basis for the appeal. Transcripts of dismissed doctoral students will be annotated as follows:

1.	The statement "not admitted to candidacy for academic reasons" will be used on the transcript of pre-candidacy dismissals.
2.	The statement "removed from candidacy for academic reasons" or "removed from candidacy for reasons of misconduct" will be used for dismissed doctoral candidates.

3.7 GRADING REQUIREMENTS

A 3.2 grade point average represents minimum satisfactory academic performance and is required for admission to candidacy and for graduation. In addition, an overall grade point average of at least 3.0 based on all courses taken as a graduate student at Florida Tech is also required (see Policy 1.11 for definitions and exceptions).

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