College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Clinical Science
Our Clinical Science program, housed in newly renovated Stuit Hall, aims to reduce the burden of mental illness and improve public health by producing the next generation of leading clinical researchers who share three intertwined characteristics. First, students in the program conduct research that advances the understanding, assessment, and treatment of psychopathology as well as identifies factors that may influence health behaviors and coping, all with the ultimate aim to improve physical and mental health. Research may also examine bidirectional interactions between mental and physical health. Such research can be conducted in a wide variety of settings, ranging from academic and medical-center contexts to service-provision, school, and public-policy contexts. Second, students apply evidence-based methods to address behavioral-health problems. And third, students disseminate clinical science through publishing, teaching, training care providers, developing and evaluating programs of care, or contributing to public policy. We emphasize training experiences that integrate research, application, and dissemination.
Our program offers students integrative and cross-disciplinary training opportunities that capitalize on relevant expertise throughout psychological science, as well as in allied disciplines, such as Psychiatry, Neurology, Genetics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Neuroscience, and Public Health. This includes participation of interested clinical science students in the departmental NIH-funded T32 Behavioral and Biomedical Interface Training Program. Consistent with our goals, we seek students who wish to pursue careers that are primarily research-focused and who place significant value on high-quality clinical training in their development as a clinical scientist.
Students can also receive specialized training through the Developmental Psychopathology Research Group, which focuses on understanding the origins, course, and mechanisms of adaptive and maladaptive developmental trajectories and pathways, and through the Health Psychology Research Group, which is concerned with the application of psychological theory, methods, and treatment to the understanding and promotion of physical health. Students with interests in developmental psychopathology or health psychology should contact potential mentors for more information about opportunities for graduate study.
Our program is a charter member of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science (APCS), a coalition of leading doctoral and internship training programs that share a commitment to advancing clinical science.
We are accredited by the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS), which aims to advance the training of clinical scientists who both “generate new knowledge relating to mental health and use this knowledge to advance public health.” Our accreditation by PCSAS attests to our success in producing graduates who produce, apply, and disseminate clinical science. We have also been continuously accredited since 1948 by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA).
For information about the accreditation of our clinical science program, contact:
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE
Washington DC, 20002-4242
TEL: 202-336-5979
Alan G. Kraut, Executive Director
Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS)
1800 Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite 402
Washington, DC 20036-1218 USA
(301) 455-8046
akraut@pcsas.org
Prospective Graduate Students
If you are thinking about applying to our Ph.D. program in Clinical Science and want to learn more about the program and its faculty, please view our F.A.Q. page.
If your questions are not answered by these materials, please feel free to contact our training area coordinator, Prof. Alan Christensen. Please be aware that we no longer distribute any materials by mail.
E-mail: psych-clinical@uiowa.edu
Office phone: 319-335-2436
Mailing address: Department of Psychology, The University of Iowa, W311 Seashore Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242-1407
Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data (updated September 2018)
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Alan Christensen
Professor, Collegiate FellowClinical health psychology, Adjustment to chronic illness, Medical regimen adherence, Patient-provider interaction, Health services research, Personality and health
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Gregory Gullickson
Clinic Director, Clinical Associate ProfessorDirector of Seashore Psychology Clinic
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Grazyna Kochanska
Stuit Professor of Developmental PsychologySocial development, Processes of socialization, Development of conscience, Parent-child interaction, Child temperament and its role in social development, Developmental psychopathology
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Susan Lutgendorf
Professor , Starch Faculty FellowPsychoneuroimmunology, Biobehavioral mechanisms in Cancer, Aging, and Inflammatory Diseases, Behavioral Medicine Interventions and Immune Function, Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Approaches in Behavioral Medicine (e.g., Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and Biofield Therapies), Adjustment to Chronic Illness
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Molly Nikolas
Associate Professordevelopmental psychopathology and gene-environment interplay; etiology of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and externalizing spectrum behaviors; role of neurocogntiive functioning in developmental trajectories of ADHD; injury and health risks associated with ADHD
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Michael O'Hara
Professor, Starch Faculty FellowPostpartum and pregnancy depression; Psychotherapy for depression particularly in the postpartum period; Impact of maternal depression on children; Mental health services research; Women's reproductive health
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Isaac Petersen
Assistant ProfessorClinical child psychology, developmental psychopathology, externalizing behavior problems, self-regulation, school readiness, developmental cognitive neuroscience
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Jodie Plumert
Professor, Starch Faculty FellowRisk taking in typically- and atypically-developing populations, perceptual-motor development, unintentional childhood injuries, parent-child communication, development of spatial memory and communication
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Daniel Tranel
F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor (Psychological & Brain Sciences/Neurology)Cognitive neuroscience; clinical and experimental neuropsychology
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Teresa Treat
ProfessorClinical-cognitive science Sexual, social, and person perception Sexual aggression between acquaintances Disordered eating & food perception Psychometrics & measurement development