Program Highlights

• Meets the needs of emerging trends in healthcare delivery, with a specific focus on
  the integration of psychology into healthcare generally and primary care practice
  specifically.
• Provides a unique setting for professional training in both urban and rural
  health.
• Provides the opportunity to work within medical facilities throughout the region.
• Training is based on a scientist-practitioner model and evidence-based care is
  emphasized throughout the program.
• Allows students to develop increasingly complex and sophisticated
  competencies using a vertical model of training.
• Provides close research and clinical supervision of students using a mentorship
  model.
• 93 credit, five-year program (four years on campus and one year at off-site
  internship placement).
• Classes will be held on Glassboro main campus. All classes will be day classes.
• Undergraduate teaching opportunities available in both online and in-person formats.
• Curricular content is consistent with the American Psychological Associations
  (APA) Accreditation Standards and the Standards for Specialty Training of the
  APA.

Training in Integrated Primary Care and Health Psychology

• Additional didactic and applied experiences in health psychology to bridge the gap between traditional models of mental and physical health service.
• Interdisciplinary collaborations with Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and others.
• Health-focused course highlights:
  • Health Psychology
  • Health Care Models and Service Delivery
  • Social Issues in Health and Wellness
  • Behavioral Pharmacology and Psychopharmacology

Internship Training Sites for Students

Our students have succesfully procured internship training at the following sites:

• Center for Anxiety, New York, NY
• Fargo Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Fargo, ND
• Medical College of Georgia/Norwood VA Med Center, Augusta, GA 
• Rutgers Biomedical & Health Sciences, Newark, NJ
• Memphis VA Medical Center, Memphis, TN
• The Guidance Center, Leavenworth, KS
• University of California-San Diego-Consortium/Veterans Affairs, San Diego, CA

About Rowan University

Since its founding in 1923, Rowan University has evolved from a teacher preparation college to a bustling regional university that's ranked among the best public universities in the North by U.S. News and World Report. Today, Rowan's more than 18,000 students choose from more than 74 bachelor's and 51 master's degree programs, four doctoral programs and two professional programs. The university is one of just 56 institutions in the country with accredited programs in business, education, engineering and medicine. Learn more about Rowan University.

The Department of Psychology, part of the College of Science and Mathematics, also offers Master's degrees and advanced graduate certificate programs in Applied Behavior Analysis, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and School Psychology. Learn more about the Department of Psychology. 

About South Jersey

Rowan is located in Glassboro, New Jersey, 20 minutes southeast of Philadelphia, one hour from the Jersey Shore beaches and less than two hours from New York City. Local communities include urban, suburban, and rural living. The Glassboro area offers much to explore, including shopping, restaurants, outdoor recreation areas, farmers' markets, and the South Jersey Wine Trail. Learn more about Southern Jersey.  

About National Rankings of Clinical Psychology Programs

 

Some applicants to doctoral programs in Clinical Psychology may consider national rankings when deciding where to apply for graduate school. Applicants are encouraged to carefully review the methodology used by any national ranking system. For example, the approach used by the U.S. News and World Report relies simply on rankings of programs by the chairs of psychology departments and directors of clinical training (click here for their methodology). As such, their rankings rely purely on the subjective estimation of the reputation of programs by the individuals completing the survey; no specific metrics or objective data are used in the rankings (see additional critiques of these national ranking systems by Malcolm Gladwell and John Byrne).

Only 18% of chairs and directors completed the last iteration of this reputational survey, the lowest of any health profession. As such, the rankings are not representative of the opinions of chairs and directors. The low rankings are due, in part, to the training council representing scientist-practitioner and clinical scientist doctoral programs in clinical psychology, the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology (CUDCP), passing a resolution in 1995 encouraging programs not to participate in the survey:

“Be it resolved that CUDCP encourages its member programs to refuse to complete the U.S. News & World Report reputational survey for 2001; that CUDCP requests that the U.S. News & World Report magazine develop mechanisms to provide more information for decision-making of prospective applicants for clinical psychology training; and that CUDCP offers its assistance to U.S. News & World Report in developing these mechanisms and accessing necessary information.”

Given these concerns, we strongly encourage applicants – and others – to ignore national rankings when considering the quality of a doctoral program in Clinical Psychology.

Even with improved methodology, national rankings are likely to be of little use to applicants in identifying their best programs. Instead, applicants need to consider if a program’s goals and objectives align with their goals and objectives. A national ranking system will never be able to capture the individualized strengths and weaknesses of programs for unique applicants.

Please note that every clinical psychology program accredited by the American Psychological Association must post data on admissions and outcomes, including time to completion, program costs, internship placement, attrition, and licensure. CUDCP programs are also encouraged to provide information on their selectivity/yield (e.g., # of applicants, offers, matriculated students) and the number of students with funding.