Overview of Clinical Psychology Program

The Master’s program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Dayton is a small, selective program with the primary goal of facilitating our students' admission into Ph.D. programs in psychology. We provide extensive training in statistics and research methods, require an empirical Master’s thesis, and provide multiple opportunities for both collaborative and individual research projects. There are ample facilities for conducting psychological research, including laboratories equipped with computers and equipment for collecting physiological and behavioral data, and specialized research facilities such as sound-isolated observation rooms with intercoms. Opportunities for publications and presentations under faculty mentorship are also readily available. Examples of publications by current and recent clinical M.A. students include:

1. Anderson, K. L., Weimer, M., Fuhs, M. W. (2020). Teacher fidelity to Conscious Discipline and children’s executive function skills, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 51, 14-25.
2.  Fadoir, N.A., Lutz-Zois, C.J., Goodnight, J.A. (2019). Psychopathy and suicide: The mediating effects of emotional and behavioral dysregulation. Personality and Individual Differences, 142, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.01.021
3. Reeb R.N., Barry A. R. (2020). The Processes of Reciprocity and Reflection in Service-Learning Pedagogy. In: Lovett K. (eds) Diverse Pedagogical Approaches to Experiential Learning. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42691-0_6
4. Walsh-Messinger, J., Kaouk, S., Manis, H., Kaye, R., Cecchi, G., Meyer, P., Malaspina, D. (2020). Reduced odor detection and hedonic changes in asymptomatic university students as SARS-CoV-2 emerged locally. MedRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.17.20106302.
5. Wetter, S.E., Fuhs, M., Goodnight, J.A. (2019). Examining sleep as a protective mechanism for executive functioning in children from low-income homes. Early Child Development and Care (available online). https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2019.1573226

A secondary goal specific to our Clinical Psychology M.A. program is to prepare students for jobs at the master's level that do not require clinical licensure. We provide students in our Clinical M.A. program with clinical and community placements where they receive experience in diagnostic interviewing, case management, psychological assessment, group psychotherapy, or individual psychotherapy. Although the program is not designed to lead to licensure,  previous students have successfully obtained positions at community mental health agencies, research-based positions, psychological assessment positions, or in private practice under supervision.

Graduate research assistantships that cover the tuition and provide a stipend are available each year on a competitive basis, and strong efforts are made to provide some type of funding to all students.