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The dissertation project provides an
opportunity for students to demonstrate doctoral level
scholarship in clinical psychology. It may take a variety
of forms, which include an empirical investigation (quantitative
or qualitative), a theoretical contribution/critique, a
program evaluation, an analysis of a public policy issue
as related to professional practice, or other projects
as agreed upon by the faculty.
Students have completed
dissertation work on a wide range of topics from program
evaluation of our campus clinic to quasi-experimental studies
of treatment protocols implemented with psychotic inpatients.
Many of our students complete dissertations with explicitly
faith integrative scholarship components.
Students should
begin to pursue their dissertation topic from their first
semester in the program. Ordinarily, students must complete
dissertation projects relevant to and guided by their sponsoring
faculty chair. During the fall of the third year of the
program, all students take a Dissertation Project Class
(Psy 700) in which they complete a literature review and
perform a mock dissertation proposal presentation. Thus,
students must have formulated a topic with a faculty chair
by this time. During the spring of the third year all students
enroll in the Dissertation Proposal Class (Psy 718). In
order to successfully pass this class a student must submit
a dissertation topic approval form to the course instructor
which specifies the topic, dissertation chair and other
committee members, and a proposed dissertation time-line,
all approved by the signatures of the proposed committee.
Once a dissertation proposal has been completed, students
register for a minimum total of nine dissertation credits
(PSY 701-703).
Students must pass a formal defense of their
completed dissertation project and submit the required
number of copy-edited, revised manuscripts for binding
to the library in order to fulfill the dissertation requirement.
To review past Psychology and Counseling student dissertations,
please visit the dissertations
database page. |
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