The Master of Arts Clinical Psychology Program is a terminal master's program offered at the UCF Sanford/Lake Mary Campus. The Applied Pre-Licensure/Non-Thesis Track is designed for students interested in delivering clinical services in a variety of settings including community agencies and private practice. After completing the program and after two years of postgraduate supervised clinical experience, graduates are eligible to become Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs) in the state of Florida. Please visit the program's website for more information, including a list of program faculty members and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs): https://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/graduate/ma-clinical/faqs/.
The Clinical Psychology Applied Pre-Licensure/Non-Thesis Track requires a minimum of 61 credit hours beyond the Bachelor's degree, including 49 credit hours of required courses and 12 clinical internship credit hours. This track is for students primarily interested in clinical practice at the Master's level upon graduation; however, some students in this track have applied to and gained admission into doctoral programs after graduation.
The primary areas of emphasis include assessment or evaluation skills and intervention or psychotherapy skills, and the program curriculum is consistent with the educational criteria for licensure as a mental health counselor in the state of Florida. Program graduates have been involved in mental health service delivery through individual, marital, family, and group psychotherapy, as well as crisis intervention and other specialized therapeutic procedures. Although research is not required in this track, students in this track do have the opportunity to engage in collaborative research with program faculty.
Total Credit Hours Required: 61 Credit Hours Minimum beyond the Bachelor's Degree
Track Prerequisites
A bachelor's degree in Psychology or a related area. A minimum of 15 semester hours of undergraduate psychology courses are required as a prerequisite for applicants with a degree in a field other than psychology. Completion of courses in abnormal psychology and research methods and/or statistics is strongly recommended. Other recommended courses include clinical psychology, developmental psychology, personality theory, physiological psychology, and psychology of diversity.
Degree Requirements
Required Courses
49 Total Credits
- Complete the following:
- CLP5166 - Advanced Psychopathology (3)
- CLP6181 - Psychological Theories of Substance Abuse Treatment (3)
- CLP6191 - Multicultural Psychotherapy (3)
- CLP6195C - Introduction to Psychotherapy (3)
- CLP6321 - Psychotherapy in Community Settings (3)
- CLP6441C - Individual Psychological Assessment I (3)
- CLP6457C - Group Psychotherapy (3)
- CLP6459C - Human Sexuality, Marriage, and Sex Therapies (3)
- CLP6461 - Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (3)
- CLP6449C - Career and Lifestyle Assessment (3)
- CLP6932 - Ethical and Professional Issues in Mental Health Practices (3)
- CYP6942 - Practicum in Psychological Counseling (3)
- DEP5057 - Developmental Psychology (3)
- PSY6216C - Research Methodology (4)
- PSB5005 - Physiological Psychology (3)
- CLP6460C - Introduction to Child, Adolescent, and Family Therapies (3)
Internship
12 Total Credits
- Complete all of the following
- Earn at least 12 credits from the following:
- CYP6948C - Psychology Internship (1 - 99)
- The purpose of the internship requirement is to provide the MA candidate in Clinical Psychology with comprehensive, practical experiences under the supervision of licensed mental health professionals. A public agency or nonprofit institution with nondiscriminatory practices is the prototype. The intern is assigned to an acceptable agency for a total of 1000 hours during three consecutive academic semesters (20 hours per week for 16 weeks during fall and spring terms, and 30 hours per week for 12 weeks during the summer term). An additional commitment of three hours per week is required for the interns to meet as a group with a departmental faculty member for review, feedback, and discussions. A major portion of intern training is in the area of psychotherapy/counseling. The intern also engages in differential diagnosis and participates in a wide variety of psychological assessment procedures. It is believed that supervision by qualified and experienced personnel is the primary learning mode by which the intern develops professional expertise and augments classroom didactics. Satisfactory completion ("B" [3.0-grade point average] or better) of the following courses is required prior to internship: CLP 5166, CLP 6195C, CLP 6441C, and CYP 6942. The program director and clinical placement coordinator approve internship placements. Interns are provided with a system for maintaining accurate accounts of their activity during each week of their internship. In addition, both the intern and supervisor(s) complete an Internship Evaluation form each semester.
Comprehensive Exam and Case Presentation
0 Total Credits
- The culminating academic experience for all students in the program is successful completion of a comprehensive exam and case presentation. All students must complete the comprehensive exam their final semester. The exam covers the core professional knowledge required by state licensing agencies. Students also are required to complete a written and oral clinical case presentation. Criteria for passing the exam and presentation are provided in the program handbook.
Grand Total Credits: 61
Application Requirements
Financial Information
Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see the College of Graduate Studies Funding website, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.
Fellowship Information
Fellowships are awarded based on academic merit to highly qualified students. They are paid to students through the Office of Student Financial Assistance, based on instructions provided by the College of Graduate Studies. Fellowships are given to support a student's graduate study and do not have a work obligation. For more information, see UCF Graduate Fellowships, which includes descriptions of university fellowships and what you should do to be considered for a fellowship.
