Ala. Admin. Code r. 750-X-2-.04

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 11, August 30, 2024

Section 750-X-2-.04 - Doctoral Degree From Department Or School Of Psychology

All applicants (see Rule 750-X-2-.08 below for certain exceptions) shall have a doctoral degree from a department of or school of psychology as defined herein. Departments or schools which have programs fully or provisionally accredited by the American Psychological Association at the time the applicant graduated will be recognized as meeting the Board's definition of a department or school of psychology, and applicants who graduated from these APA accredited programs will be considered to have met the Board's educational requirements. Departments or schools which do not meet the requirements above will be recognized as meeting the Board's definition of a department or school of psychology if they met the following organizational and curriculum criteria at the time the applicant graduated:

(1) Organizational Requirements.

(a) Training in psychology must have been doctoral training offered in an institution of higher education accredited by a nationally recognized regional accrediting body in the United States or, in the case of Canadian programs, the institution is publicly recognized by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada as a member in good standing.

(b) The department or school, at the time the applicant graduated, must have specified in pertinent institutional catalogs and brochures its intent to educate and train psychologists.

(c) The department or school was a recognizable, coherent organizational entity within the institution.

(d) The department or school assumed authority and primary responsibility for course work in the core and specialty areas whether or not the program cuts across administrative lines.

(e) The department or school provided a curriculum that was an integrated, organized sequence of study.

(f) The department or school provided an identifiable full-time psychology faculty, some of whom were licensed psychologists; and a psychologist was responsible for the curriculum.

(g) The department or school had an identifiable body of students who were regularly matriculated in that program for the doctoral degree.

(2) Curriculum Requirements.

(a) The applicant's curriculum shall have encompassed a minimum of three academic years (nine months each) of full-time graduate study.

(b) At least two years of the full-time graduate study must be at the institution from which the doctoral degree is granted.

(c) At least one year of the full-time graduate study must be in full-time residence at the institution from which the doctoral degree is granted.

(d) Full-time graduate study includes residence at the educational institution in which the students pursue full-time graduate study together with other students enrolled in that program. Residence provides students access to a core psychology faculty whose primary time and employment responsibilities are to the educational institution, and access to other students matriculated in that program. Full-time study in residence also requires education and training to be distributed over the days and weeks of an academic year on campus. However, there should be flexibility in the application of residency requirements with respect to an individual student who has particular needs, assuming that such an exception does not interfere with the general applicability of the residency requirement for the program. The intent of a full-time residency requirement is to provide the interactions with faculty and fellow students necessary for acculturation and socialization in the science and practice of psychology. An internship year requirement will not contribute to the academic year requirements of this criterion.

(e) The curriculum must have included a minimum of 60 semester hours (90-quarter hours) of graduate -level course work in psychology, excluding internship. Course work must have been programmatic and sequential in nature. If the applicant's doctoral and master's degree programs were in different departments or schools, the majority of psychology coursework must have been taken at the doctoral level. Only courses with grades of B or above will be counted in evaluating graduate transcripts. Where grades are recorded as Pass (P) or Fail (F), passing grades will be required. Course credit for masters' thesis research, doctoral dissertation research, research projects, practical or internship will not count as meeting any of the curriculum requirements. Post-doctoral work in psychology submitted for the Board's consideration must have been taken from a department which offered a doctoral degree as defined herein.

(f) Required Core Areas.

1. A minimum of 24 semester (36 quarter) hours must have been taken from the areas as specified in (4)-(5). Courses which were limited to a particular student population (e.g., "Theories of Learning for Teachers"), are not applicable.

2. Courses must have been generic and comprehensive in nature and must have provided the student with an empirical and theoretical foundation of the subject matter. For instance, "Personnel Motivation" and "Research in Guidance" would be disallowed. Applied coursework will be evaluated only under specialty and elective areas as defined in f. below.

3. Transfer of credit from a master's degree or undergraduate department must have been accepted by the doctoral degree granting department and reflected on the doctoral transcript or otherwise have been documented as acceptable transfer credit from the master's degree program by the doctoral degree granting department.

4. The following core courses are required:

(i) Statistics

(ii) Ethics and Professional Standards*

(iii) Experimental Design/Research Methods

(iv) Theory of Psychological Measurement

(v) History and Systems of Psychology

*If the applicant did not have a specific course in ethics, the burden is on the applicant to demonstrate coverage in this area.

5. In addition, at least one core course of at least 3 semester or 4.5-quarter hours is required in each area as follows:

(i) Biological Bases of Behavior

e.g., Comparative

Physiological

Perception/Sensation

Psychopharmacology

Neuropsychology

(ii) Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

e.g., Cognitive Psychology

Learning

Memory

Motivation and Emotion

(iii) Social Bases of Behavior

e.g., Cultural/Ethnic/Sex Role Processes

Group Processes

Organizational Theory and Systems

Social Psychology

(iv) Individual Behavior

e.g., Abnormal Psychology/Psychopathology

Developmental Psychology

Individual Differences

Personality Theory

(g) Psychology Specialty and Elective Courses.

1. A minimum of 36 additional semester (54 quarter) hours in psychology is required. Each course may be counted only once; if already credited under a "core area," a course will not be credited again under "specialty and/or elective area."

2. If the applicant wishes an untitled seminar, independent study, or special problems course counted, he/she must provide a detailed description of course taken, including the name of the instructor/professor, books required, and content of course. The Board must be given university references (specific professors) so that course content may be verified. In all cases the burden of proof rests with the applicant that special seminars, special problems courses, etc., meet the Board's requirements for coursework in either core or specialty/elective areas.

(h) Course Deficiencies. Applicants who have a doctoral degree from a department or school of psychology, as defined herein, and who meet all other requirements excepting only two courses as noted above may take up to 6 semester (9 quarter) hours from a psychology department which grants a doctoral degree with prior approval from the Board. Applicants who elect to meet curriculum requirements in this manner must register for a grade of "B" or better as reflected on the official transcript. Such courses must be taken within one year of the Board's letter of approval or re-application will be required.

(i) Total Graduate Hours Required. Psychology coursework must include a minimum of 60 semester (90 quarter) hours; 24 semester (36 quarter) hours core, and 36 semester (54 quarter) hours specialty and elective courses.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 750-X-2-.04

Rule entitled "Appropriateness of Training Offered: References" filed September 23, 1982. Repealed and New rule entitled "Doctoral Degree from Department or School of Psychology" filed November 5, 1987. Amended: Filed April 5, 1990 Amended: Filed December 3, 1993. Amended: Filed September 21, 1994, November 25, 1997. Amended: Filed May 14, 1998; effective June 18, 1998. Amended: Filed September 17, 2002; effective October 22, 2002. Amended: Filed July 23, 2007; effective August 27, 2007.

Author: Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §34-2 6-1, et seq. § 34-26-41