PsyD Elective Concentrations (AUNE)

The Elective Concentration

Although not required, students often choose to take a group of elective courses in a single concentration area. An elective concentration consists of six 3-credit elective Advanced Seminar courses, selected by a student in consultation with his or her advisor. They are taken one per semester during the fall and spring of the third year, one per summer and fall semesters of the fourth year, and two per semester during spring of the fourth year. There are no prescribed tracks or special proficiency areas as such. Students create their own elective concentration. Another possibility is the Major Area of Study in Behavioral Health Integration and Population Health. Supplementary elective experiences are offered in the form of Weekend Courses and Supervised Individual Studies. The specific array of elective courses available during any one semester depends on a process that assures that choices are appropriately diverse, meet logistical needs of the program, and are consistent with students’ interests and preferences. Usually 16 different electives are offered during an academic year. Therefore, the possibilities may change from year to year. Elective Advanced Seminars are typically restricted to twelve students. Our experience is that students do not choose electives on the basis of career focus alone. As in universities across the country, students often choose to take courses with faculty seen as particularly gifted psychologists and teachers, even if the course content in itself is not directly in line with a particular student’s long-term goals. Other students specifically decide not to take electives relevant to their primary interests, opting instead to get as broad an education as they can while in graduate school. For these reasons, the actual selections students make often differ somewhat from the examples of possible elective concentrations listed below, as selected by four hypothetical students with differing interests. Most popular electives are offered on an annual basis; others are offered every second year or on demand. In examining the sample elective concentrations above, it is important to keep four things in mind. First, all of these are Advanced Seminars; students will previously have had one or more required courses in directly-related areas. Second, elective Advanced Seminars comprise at least one-third of the academic day during the third and fourth years of the program. Third, by the end of the program, students also will have had six Advanced Seminars, practica consistent with their career plans, and more than four additional credits of weekend courses and/or supervised individual studies that add variety, breadth, and depth to their overall program. Finally, many students select a broad array of courses rather than taking only those within a single concentration.

Sample Advanced Seminars by Interest Area

Child Clinical Psychology

• Attachment and Complex Trauma in Development and Psychotherapy
• Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies
• Clinical Neuropsychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Psychological Testing of Infants, Children, and Adolescents
• Weekend Courses and SISs

Assessment

• Weekend Courses and SISs
• Health Psychology
• Psychological Testing & Evaluation of Infants, Children, and Adolescents
• Infant Mental Health
• Intervention with Children and Adolescent

Adult Psychotherapy

• Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies
• Contemporary Psychoanalytic Practice
• Brief Psychotherapy
• Integrative Psychotherapy
• Professional Geropsychology
• Couples Therapy
• Health Psychology
• Substance Abuse
• Weekend Courses and SISs

Health Psychology

• Health Psychology
• Integrated Care
• Psychopharmacology or Neuropsychology
• Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies
• Weekend Courses and SISs