About

Do you want to be a psychologist with a biopsychosocial approach to understanding health and illness? Are you interested in being a clinical psychologist? Are you interested in being a school psychologist?

Our training model is one in which psychologists are trained as both scientists (competent to engage in scientific research) and practitioners (competent to provide psychological services). The PhD in health psychology provides distinctive educational experiences with exemplary teaching, scholarship and service. We prepare students for careers in health care, education and business, and provide leadership with the field through cutting-edge research and prominent national roles. We have three distinct health psychology concentrations: clinical health psychology (CHP), pediatric school psychology (PSP), and occupational health psychology (OHP).

The goal of the clinical health psychology (CHP) program is to prepare highly qualified, clinical psychologists to work within primary care teams, hospitals, health organizations and academic settings. This program has a scientist-practitioner model, training students in both the science and the practice of clinical health psychology in order to be experts in both being consumers, and producers, of research and provision of patient care. We train students in the most evidence-based cutting edge assessments and treatments for multiple clinical and chronic health conditions. Students completing this program are eligible for licensure as Licensed Psychologists and Health Service Providers by the NC Board of Psychology. This program is accredited by the American Psychological Association.

The goal of the pediatric school psychology (PSP) program is to prepare highly qualified doctoral-level school psychologists to work with children, families and other professionals in both public school and health care settings. The PSP program prepares students to advance school psychology through original research and to apply health psychology principles to school psychology practices across a three-tier model of service delivery. Students completing this program meet educational requirements for licensure by NC Board of Psychology as Licensed Psychologist and Health Services Provider; graduates are also eligible for school-level licensure. This program is currently in the process of seeking accreditation by the American Psychological Association.

The goal of the occupational health psychology (OHP) program is to prepare highly qualified psychologists to work with industry and workforces to improve the quality of working life and to enhance the safety, health and well-being of workers across occupations, either within the industry or in an academic setting. This is a four-year program requiring full-time attendance. Students are admitted knowing they will pursue a master's degree on route to their doctoral degree. This program is not designed for students to become licensed psychologists.

ECU Advantage

While we are a relatively young doctoral program, our dynamic faculty (including world-renowned experts) and programs are nationally recognized through outstanding research, clinical and service roles. We are committed to maintaining small class sizes in order to maximize an outstanding student to faculty ratio. In addition, we are committed to providing students with a challenging, yet supportive learning environment so our students are optimally prepared to gain elite internship placements, as well as post-doctoral level positions. We have also been successful and/or are securing national accreditation (for our accredited-eligible programs) and partnering with nationally recognized industries, while securing tuition remission and assistantships for students upon entry into the program.

As an ECU student, you can research your future career in Steppingblocks. Explore real-world stats about your major, your interests, and your dream job title with data-powered career exploration tools designed for doers like you.

What You Will Study

Program Co-Coordinators:

The Health Psychology, PhD is a post-baccalaureate program (95-108 s.h.). Students choose a concentration in either clinical health (108 s.h.), occupational health psychology (95 s.h.), or pediatric school psychology (102 s.h.) at the time of their application to the program. A one-year pre-doctoral internship is required for the clinical health and pediatric school concentrations. A summer internship is required for the occupational health psychology concentration.

Completion of the clinical health or the pediatric school psychology concentration meets the current educational requirements for licensure by the North Carolina Psychology Board as a licensed psychologist. Completion of the occupational health psychology concentration meets the standards set forth by Division 14 of the American Psychological Association in the Guidelines for Education and Training at the doctoral level in industrial and organizational psychology. 

Students enrolled in the occupational health psychology concentration must complete the requirements for earning a master's degree in psychology with a concentration in industrial and organizational psychology prior to taking 8000-level courses. Continuation in the occupational health psychology concentration is based upon satisfactory course work and effective personal functioning and ethical behavior. Students who consistently show borderline course performance, who are not developing good applied skills in the practice of psychology, who fail to complete course work on a timely basis, or who otherwise perform unprofessionally or unsatisfactorily, may be removed from the program. Students who do not complete the PhD program may be allowed to complete the coursework necessary to earn a master's degree in psychology.

Program requirements include:

1. Professional standards and ethics - 3 s.h.
  • PSYC 6404 - Ethics and Law in School Psychology OR
  • PSYC 6465 - Ethics and Professional Practice
2. Foundations of psychology - 18 s.h.
    a. History and systems - 1 s.h.
    • PSYC 6408 - History of Psychological Thought
    b. Content areas in scientific psychology - 9 s.h.
    • PSYC 6406 - Advanced Developmental Psychology
    • PSYC 6421 - Social Psychology
    • PSYC 6428 - Biological, Cognitive, and Affective Foundations of Behavior
    c. Individual differences - 3 s.h.
    • PSYC 6407 - Cultural Psychology OR
    • PSYC 6475 - Personality and Individual Differences
    d. Health psychology - 5 s.h.
    • PSYC 8001 - Colloquium in Health Psychology (take two times)
    • PSYC 8002 - Health Psychology
3. Research methods and practice - 27 s.h.
    a. Statistics and research design - 9 s.h.
    • PSYC 6430 - Statistics and Research Design
    • PSYC 7431 - Regression and ANOVA
    • PSYC 7433 - Multivariate Statistical Analysis
    b. Thesis and predissertation research - 6 s.h.
    • PSYC 7000 - Thesis
    c. Dissertation - 12 s.h.
    • PSYC 9000 - Dissertation
4. Concentrations - 47-60 s.h.

Choose one concentration from the following:

    a. Clinical health concentration - 60 s.h.
      Core - 9 s.h.
      • PSYC 8416 - Psychopharmacology
      • PSYC 8468 - Health Psychology: Psychotherapy Methods and Interventions
      • PSYC 8995 - Seminar in Health Psychology
      Psychopathology - 3 s.h.
      • PSYC 6450 - Advanced Psychopathology
      Interventions - 6 s.h.
      • PSYC 6466 - Psychotherapy Concepts and Techniques
      • PSYC 6468 - Psychotherapy: Theories, Research, and Practice
      Assessment - 6 s.h.
      • PSYC 6484 - Cognitive Assessment
      • PSYC 6485 - Clinical Assessment
      Practicum - 29 s.h.

      (Select any combination of practicum courses from the following list.)

      • PSYC 6460 - Clinical Psychology Practicum I
      • PSYC 6461 - Clinical Psychology Practicum II
      • PSYC 6462 - Advanced Clinical Psychology Practicum I
      • PSYC 6463 - Advanced Clinical Psychology Practicum II
      • PSYC 7995 - Advanced Clinical Psychology Practicum III
      • PSYC 8460 - Health Psychology Practicum
      Clinical supervision training - 1 s.h.
      • PSYC 8500 - Seminar in Clinical Supervision
      Internship - 6 s.h.
      • PSYC 8990 - Predoctoral Internship (take two times)
    b. Occupational health psychology concentration - 47 s.h.
      Core - 9 s.h.
      • PSYC 7504 - Occupational Health Psychology
      • PSYC 7506 - Counterproductive Work Behavior
      • PSYC 8996 - Seminar in Applied Occupational Health Psychology
      Methods in human measurement - 3 s.h.
      • PSYC 6437 - Psychometrics
      Psychology of organizational behavior - 3 s.h.
      • PSYC 6343 - Psychology of Organizational Behavior
      Issues in personnel selection - 3 s.h.
      • PSYC 6420 - Issues in Personnel Selection
      Internship - 3 s.h.
      • PSYC 6970 - Internship in Industrial and Organizational Psychology
      Electives - minimum of 26 s.h.

      Select from the following courses:

      • PSYC 6423 - Employee Motivation and Leadership
      • PSYC 6521 - Special Topics in Industrial and Organizational Psychology
      • PSYC 7501 - Employee Evaluation and Development
      • PSYC 7502 - Leadership Assessment
      • PSYC 7503 - Career Development and Executive Coaching
      • PSYC 7505 - Structural Equation and Hierarchical Linear Modeling OR
      • Any approved electives
    c. Pediatric school psychology concentration - 54 s.h.
      Core - 9 s.h.
      • PSYC 6452 - Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
      • PSYC 8404 - Pediatric School Psychology
      • Any approved elective
      • Any approved elective
      Interventions - 9 s.h.
      • PSYC 6402 - School Consultation
      • PSYC 6467 - Psychotherapeutic Interventions with Children and Families
      • PSYC 7442 - School Interventions I
      Assessment - 9 s.h.
      • PSYC 6353 - Behavioral Assessment and Intervention
      • PSYC 6409 - School Assessment I
      • PSYC 6410 - School Assessment II
      Practicum - 21 s.h.

      (Select any combination of practicum courses from the following list.)

      • PSYC 6462 - Advanced Clinical Psychology Practicum I
      • PSYC 6463 - Advanced Clinical Psychology Practicum II
      • PSYC 7950 - School Practicum I
      • PSYC 7951 - School Practicum II
      • PSYC 7995 - Advanced Clinical Psychology Practicum III
      • PSYC 8460 - Health Psychology Practicum
      Internship - 6 s.h.
      • PSYC 8990 - Predoctoral Internship (take two times)
For more information about this degree visit the university's academic catalogs.
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