Clinical Psychological Science Overview

The Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychological Science

The Stony Brook Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychological Science began in 1966. Based on chair rankings in US News and World Report, it has been ranked among the very top clinical programs in the United States for the past several decades, and it has a long tradition of strong publication rates by both faculty and graduates (Mattson et al., 2005; Roy et al., 2006). In the 2025 US News and World Report Rankings, the Stony Brook Clinical Psychology doctoral program was ranked 6^th in the country. The clinical program was among the first in the country to espouse the behavioral tradition in clinical psychology. Currently, the program retains its behavioral roots, but has evolved to encompass a broader set of perspectives that are oriented around an empirical approach to clinical psychology. Our goal is to graduate clinical scientists who approach psychological problems from an evidence-based perspective and who are also skilled clinicians. As such, students receive research and clinical training in a broad range of approaches. Our program is most suited to students who are interested in pursuing academic and research-related careers.

The program is accredited by PCSAS (Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System) through 2030. Contact information: Joseph E. Steinmetz, Ph.D., Executive Director; 1101 E 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47401; jsteinmetz@pcsas.org; 479-301-8008. In addition, the program is a member of the PCSAS Founder's Circle. PCSAS provides rigorous, objective, and empirically based accreditation of Ph.D. programs in scientific clinical psychology. Its goal is to promote superior science-centered education and training in clinical psychology, increase the quality and number of clinical scientists contributing to the advancement of public health, and enhance the scientific knowledge base for mental and behavioral health care. PCSAS accreditation is in line with our program’s commitment to a clinical science training model.

The program is accredited (inactive) by the APA CoA (Commission on Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, Phone: 202-336-5979). The program was most recently accredited by APA CoA in the spring of 2018, and, at the time, received full accreditation until 2028.

The Psychology Department and the clinical program respect and value diversity. We view diversity broadly, including (but not limited to) age, race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, and ability status. Diversity in our student body is an important priority and contributes to the strength of our department. Our Diversity Committee, composed of faculty and students, is dedicated to promotion of awareness, support, and dialogue with regard to all aspects of diversity in research and clinical training.

The research interests of the core faculty center on mood and anxiety disorders, affective and social neuroscience, emotion and attention processes, personality, classification, child maltreatment, intervention with youth and families, romantic relationships and well-being, LGBTQ+ relationships and well-being, health disparities, prevention and implementation science, mental health services and policy, psychotherapy process and outcome, and sleep issues.

Departmental: Faculty maintain active laboratories for research and graduate training (see individual faculty pages for further description). Clinical facilities include the Krasner Psychological Center (KPC) and its affiliate, the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, which are training, research, and service units that provide psychological services and consultation to the community and campus.

Campus: Collaborative relationships exist with the Department of Psychiatry, the University Counseling and Psychological Services and the Center for Prevention and Outreach, where students can engage in research and clinical activities.

Off-campus: Affiliations have been established with numerous agencies on Long Island and in the surrounding areas, which provide opportunities for clinical externships and research collaboration.

Official program requirements are detailed on our Program Requirements page. More generally, the program is designed to provide students with competencies in research, clinical work, and teaching through coursework, research mentoring, and clinical supervision. Students follow a program of coursework through their first 3 to 4 years in the program that includes courses pertaining to the foundations of clinical psychology (e.g., psychopathology, assessment, and intervention), research methods and statistics, and ethics. Students are also required to take courses in other areas of psychology to increase breadth of training. Students become actively involved in a research lab upon arrival in the program and are required to complete two projects by the end of their third year in order to advance to candidacy, which is followed by the doctoral dissertation. Virtually all students present papers at major professional conferences and publish at least one (and often many) papers during the course of their graduate training. Clinical training, under the supervision of area faculty, begins in the second year of the program in our Krasner Psychological Center (KPC) and can continue until the internship year. Prior to internship, many students choose to complete externships at local agencies and hospitals in addition to their training in the KPC. Throughout the program, students often work as teaching assistants and are required to complete at least two semesters of substantial direct instruction of undergraduates, which involves lecturing in undergraduate classes. Students typically complete the program, including the internship year, in 6 years. For more information on time to completion see Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data on this website.

Please visit the Clinical Psychological Science Program’s Admissions FAQs for information about applying to the program. This document provides our application and admission policies, and our recommendations for preparing your application. We encourage applicants to prepare their application accordingly.

IMPORTANT! If you are admitted to our program and choose to attend, you will graduate from a program that is accredited only by PCSAS. You will not graduate from an APA accredited program.

The program typically receives over 300 applications (and recently many more) and has an entering class of 4 to 8 students. For information on characteristics of accepted applicants see Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data on this website.

In line with the Psychology Department’s value of diversity, the clinical psychological science program encourages applications from a diverse range of applicants, including (but not limited to) applications from people of different ages, races, ethnicities, national origins, gender identities, sexual orientations, socioeconomic statuses, religions, and ability statuses.

As a member of the Council of University Directors of Clinical Training (CUDCP), the Clinical Psychological Science program at Stony Brook University adheres to CUDCP’s policies and guidelines for graduate school admissions, offers and acceptance. For additional information about these policies, please visit this page.

Psychology GRE Test for Clinical Psychology Admissions:

Neither the GRE general test nor the Psychology subject test is required for application or admission to the program. In fact, to ensure fairness in our application review process, we do not accept general or subject test GRE scores as part of your application. Even if you have taken these exams, please do not include your scores on your CV or supplementary materials.

The Clinical Psychological Science Program has an outstanding placement record. Of all students graduating since 2004, the vast majority are in positions in which they function as clinical scientists (e.g., academic or research positions, research post-docs, clinical settings that involve research and/or the provision and dissemination of evidence-based approaches to treatment). Our students’ careers typically emphasize the scientific generation of new knowledge (in the form of research engagement, publishing, presenting, etc.) and the widespread dissemination of such knowledge (in the form of teaching, mentoring, supervision, consultation, program and policy development). Our students also are exceptionally well-trained in science-based clinical practice, and their careers often (and typically) include service provision.