Students begin clinical foundations courses in the first year, and progress in the following years to approximately 16 hours per week in direct service delivery. Practicum and field placement assignments are made after a careful evaluation by the faculty of the students' clinical interests, goals, and training needs. Students are assisted in the selection of practicum placements in community settings that provide a wide range of clinical experiences. Practicum assignments for students with advanced standing are designed to provide novel clinical experiences. The internship, which occurs later in the students' training, is viewed as a mechanism for integrating and expanding upon earlier experiences in the field.
Students also engage in directed research beginning in the first or second year of graduate study.
Research practicum placements involve students in clinical and basic research conducted by PGSP faculty and distinguished investigators in the local community. Students are encouraged to pursue small, independent research projects, wherever possible, in addition to their involvement in directed research in classroom laboratories or at practicum sites. The dissertation is viewed as central to the student's training experience. It is through the formulation of a research question and completion of an independent and original investigation that the experiences necessary to critically evaluate research are learned and a dynamically-based appreciation of the research process is gained. Students become contributing members of the field of scientific psychology through the dissertation process and publication of findings.