Medical/Clinical Psychology

To obtain specific instructions for how to apply to the graduate concentration in Medical/Clinical Psychology, prospective students should visit this page: https://www.uab.edu/cas/psychology/graduate-programs/medical-clinical-psychology

The Medical/Clinical Psychology specialization places strong emphasis on integration of biological and behavioral sciences. Thus, the research and clinical training that the program provides assumes an undergraduate background in both psychology and life science. The program engages students in continued pursuit of knowledge and skill fundamental to research and clinical practice. In addition, students focus their research and a clinical training in one or more of the several areas of clinical and health psychology that the program emphasizes, and pursue advanced scientific and applied coursework, clinical practica, and directed research activities that culminate in the doctoral dissertation.

Course requirements for the Medical/Clinical Psychology specialization include:

General Psychology and Neuroscience – cognitive, biological, social, emotional and developmental bases of behavior, as well as the history of the discipline
Statistics and Research Design – statistical methods, research design, and the responsible conduct of research. The statistics courses have associated computer labs.
Foundations of Clinical and Health Psychology – personality, psychopathology, an overview of psychotherapeutic methods, health psychology and the ethics of professional practice
Psychological Assessment and Intervention – interviewing; behavioral, cognitive and personality assessment; and an introduction to cognitive-behavior therapy.

Additional courses and/or seminars may be taken as electives and may be required depending on the student’s area(s) of emphasis.

Students in Medical/Clinical Psychology are actively engaged in research throughout the time that they are enrolled in the program and typically complete a master’s thesis project during their second or third year. Clinical practicum experiences begin in the summer of the first year, and in their final year students complete an APA-accredited clinical psychology internship, typically in a medical facility. The doctoral degree is awarded upon successful defense of the dissertation and completion of the internship.

Master's Degree

Requirements		Hours
Graduate Coursework ¹		24
PY 701	Professional Issues and Ethics in Psychology
PY 619	Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Research and the Workplace
PY 716	Introduction to Statistics and Measurement
PY 716L	Lab for Introduction to Statistics and Measurement
PY 717	Applied Statistical Methods
PY 717L	Lab for Applied Statistical Methods
PY 740	Adult Personality and Psychopathology
PY 760	Interviewing and Behavioral Observation
PY 764	Cognitive Assessment: Child and Adult
PY 765	Personality Assessment
PY 770	Survey of Psychotherapeutic Methods
PY 777	Psychotherapy Practice Shadowing
Thesis Research		6
PY 699	Master's Level Thesis Research
Total Hours		30

Individual course requirements may be waived based on evaluation of coursework completed prior to matriculation, either at UAB or elsewhere. If a course requirement is waived, then the credit hours must be replaced by approved electives or by coursework required for the doctoral degree in Medical/Clinical Psychology. Course waivers may not exceed half of the required credit hours across the master’s and doctoral degrees in Medical/Clinical Psychology; research, clinical practicum and internship hours are not included in this computation. No course may satisfy requirements for both the master’s in Medical/Clinical Psychology and another degree, whether completed at UAB or elsewhere.

Doctoral Degree

Requirements		Hours
Required Coursework ^1,2		28
PY 704	Social Psychology
PY 707	Brain and Cognition
PY 708	Developmental Psychology
PY 718	Advanced Research Design
PY 719	Multivariate Statistical Methods
PY 719L	Lab for Multivariate Statistical Methods
PY 720	Human Neuropsychology
or PY 731	Health Psychology
or PY 741	Child and Adolescent Psychopathology and Treatment
PY 769	Cognitive Behavior Therapy
PY 779	Foundations of Clinical Supervision and Consultation
PY 797	Clinical Practicum in Medical Psychology (1 credit hour)
PY 798	Predoctoral Degree Graduate Research (1 credit hour)
GRD 717	Principles of Scientific Integrity
Wavier Deficit ³
Doctoral Dissertation		12
PY 799	Doctoral Dissertation Research
Internship ⁴		27
PY 790	Internship in Clinical Psychology
Total Hours		67

Individual course requirements may be waived based on evaluation of coursework completed prior to matriculation, either at UAB or elsewhere. If a course requirement is waived, then the credit hours must be replaced by approved electives. Course waivers may not exceed half of the required credit hours across the master’s and doctoral degrees in Medical/Clinical Psychology; research, clinical practicum and internship hours are not included in this computation. No course may satisfy requirements for both the doctorate in Medical/Clinical Psychology and another degree, whether completed at UAB or elsewhere.

At least 28 hours (including 3 hours of GRD 717) must be completed prior to admission to candidacy. Remaining hours must include at least 15 hours of graduate-level Psychology coursework. PY 797 and PY 798 do not count towards this 15 hour coursework minimum.

Students who do not meet the 28-hour minimum in this category due to course waivers can make up the deficit with any combination of the following:

Other elective courses approved by the program for this purpose.
Up to 3 additional hours of non-dissertation research credits (PY 698, 699, and 798) that were not used to satisfy requirements for the master’s degree.

⁴

Includes 12 hours that satisfy the Graduate School’s requirement for “appropriate research-based coursework which has been approved by the graduate student’s program.”