Clinical Program Student Data

We provide these data in an effort to help applicants make informed decisions about graduate training programs and to comply with recommendations of the American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation and the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology (CUDCP). CUDCP provides a list of full disclosure websites of member programs. APA also provides a list of accredited doctoral programs.

The clinical psychology program at USC has been accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1948. Our next site review will occur in 2010.

Please note: For further information about the accreditation status of this or any other psychology doctoral program, please contact the APA Office of Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, Phone: 202-336-5979, Fax: 202-336-5978

Admission Statistics

Admission to USC is competitive. We favor applicants who demonstrate strong potential for research careers through their academic record (indicated by choice of course work and GPA), have experience conducting research at a high level of independence, have strong letters of endorsement from faculty who have known them well, express career goals consistent with our own model and mission to train clinical scientists, and who have strong GRE scores. We also consider research match – whether an applicant’s research interests are a good fit to a faculty mentor. The entire record contributes to the admissions decision.

Applicant Data	2002-2003	2003-2004	2004-2005	2005-2006	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009
Number of applicants	236	283	326	272	303	285	258
Number accepted for admission	14	12	14	12	13	15	16
Size of the incoming class	7	6	7	5	6	6	9
Number of incoming students receiving financial aid	7	6	7	5	6	6	9
GRE Verbal – Average Score	653	635	603	648	657	650	677
GRE Quantitative – Average Score	663	715	703	722	755	735	757
GRE Analytical – Average Score	664	730	5.2	5.4	5.8	5.25	5.0
GRE Advanced – Average Score	686	718	678	710	748	728	748
GPA – Average	3.50	3.57	3.61	3.68	3.74	3.62	3.82

Fellowships, Assistantships, Benefits, and Program Costs

All students in the 2009-2010 entering class have been offered five years of funding, including two years of fellowship. Remaining years may consist of research assistantships, teaching assistantships, or paid clinical placements. These awards come with at least 12 units of tuition remission per semester. Although students do not have to pay tuition as long as they are under the terms of their five year package and in good standing, the tuition cost is $1,299 per unit (or an estimated $31,176 estimated yearly benefit, based on 12 units per term). Funding packages currently include payment of Student Health Service Fees ($456 per year), Student Health Insurance ($810 per year), and Dental Insurance ($272 per year). Additional fees students may have to pay are: $62 Student Programming Fee, $20 Student Services Fee, and $16 Norman H. Topping Student Aid Fund fee (amounts are given based on 2 semesters). Some funding packages may offer coverage of some of these fees (total: $98 per year). Further information on standard fees assessed by USC can be found here.

Time to Program Completion

For the past seven completed academic years (students graduating between August, 2002 and August, 2008), the mean time to completion is 6.1 years. The median is 5.8 years.

Internships

In the table below, frequency (number) and percent of students obtaining internships are given. Percentage, in each case, is calculated by dividing the relevant number (such as the number obtaining an internship) by the total number of students who applied for internship in that year.

For each entry, the time interval refers to the year in which students applied for internship (internship typically runs on a calendar similar to but not precisely overlapping an academic year).

	2002-2003	2003-2004	2004-2005	2005-2006	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009	Full Period
Applying for Internship	7	3	5	8	3	5	7	36
Obtaining Internship	7 (100%)	3 (100%)	5 (100%)	8 (100%)	3 (100%)	5 (100%)	7 (100%)	38 (100%)
Obtaining Paid (Funded) Internship	7 (100%)	3 (100%)	5 (100%)	8 (100%)	3 (100%)	5 (100%)	7 (100%)	38 (100%)
Obtaining APPIC Member Internship	7 (100%)	3 (100%)	5 (100%)	8 (100%)	3 (100%)	5 (100%)	7 (100%)	38 (100%)
Obtaining APA/CPA Accredited Internship	7 (100%)	3 (100%)	5 (100%)	8 (100%)	3 (100%)	5 (100%)	7 (100%)	38 (100%)
Obtaining Two-Year Half Time Internship	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (14%)	1 (2.6%)

Attrition

	2002-2003	2003-2004	2004-2005	2005-2006	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009
Number Enrolled	7	6	7	5	6	6	9
Graduated With Doctorate	2 (29%)	1 (17%)	1 (14%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Still Currently Enrolled	4 (57%)	5 (83%)	6 (84%)	4 (80%)	5 (83%)	6 (100%)	9 (100%)
No Longer Enrolled	1 (14%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (20%)	1 (17%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

Note: this information reflects program data as of May, 2009

Licensure

In compliance with APA regulations, we provide the proportion seeking and obtaining licensure based on students graduating between 1999 and 2006. During this interval, 45 students graduated from our program. Of these, 33 (73%) have become licensed. Some students enter the program intending careers in which licensure is not helpful (e.g., full-time academic research careers not involving any clinical supervision), and licensure laws vary from one state to another. In some states, it takes considerable time beyond the Ph.D. to accrue sufficient post-doctoral experience to obtain a license, so these numbers should be examined with that in mind. This statistic was last updated Summer, 2009.