The Psychology Department brings together outstanding faculty, staff, graduate, and undergraduate students to carry out our scientific and educational missions. At its core, Psychology seeks to understand the complexities of human behavior in a multitude of ways - how the brain gives rise to behavior, how behavior is affected by mental illness, injury, and disease, and finally, how to develop effective interventions to promote mental wellbeing. Our science examines everything from the single neuron to broad cultural and societal contributions to behaviorand the full range in between. As a 21st-century science, psychology is constantly exploring and incorporating emerging new approaches to our work, often by breaking down traditional academic and scientific boundaries.
Students graduate work will largely consist of courses, seminars, reading, and research in their graduate area, and all graduate students should discuss their proposed coursework with their area head prior to registration. There are, however, some departmental requirements that everyone must satisfy. These requirements are primarily designed to insure that students acquire a reasonable breadth of experience within psychology.
The Clinical Psychology Training Program at The University of Texas at Austin is broadly based on a clinical science training model. The primary objective of our training program is to prepare students for research and teaching careers, and the secondary objective is to train students for the professional practice of clinical psychology. The clinical science is emphasized in both research and clinical training. Thus, while students have the opportunity to be exposed to a variety of clinical perspectives, the major focus is on empirically supported/cognitive behavioral treatments. The program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (202-336-5979), the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS), and is a member of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science (APCS), an alliance of doctoral and internship programs with strong commitments to and established records of successful clinical science training.
