Fort Hays State University

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Program Overview

The M.S. degree in clinical psychology at FHSU has a long history of preparing students for entry into the professional of clinical psychology. Completion of the program will prepare you for licensure as a master’s level psychologist in the state of Kansas and other states. Master’s level psychologists conduct psychotherapy, psychological assessment, and other professional functions in a variety of settings, including community mental health centers, private practices, psychiatric hospitals, and various types of residential treatment centers. In addition to preparing you for master’s level licensure, the program also prepares you for future doctoral study.

The program consists of 60 semester hours of coursework in the areas of assessment, psychological interventions, research methodology, and supervised practicum and internship experiences. The program can be completed in two years of full-time study.

Opportunities in Clinical Psychology

Program graduates have been very successful in securing employment in community mental health centers, psychiatric hospitals, and various types of treatment facilities. Master’s level psychologists in the state of Kansas are licensed by the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board. For information on licensure of master’s level psychologists in various states, please review the website of theNorthamerican Association of Masters in Psychology.

To ensure a quality education, a Clinical Psychology Advisory Committee has been created, consisting of area professionals. The committee members are:

Austin DesLauriers - Chief Psychologist of Larned State Hospital
David Anderson - Program Director of High Plains Mental Health Center
Michael Hinton - Clinical Director of KVC Wheatland Psychiatric Hospital
Robert Fossum - Recent Alumni, LMLP/High Plains Mental Health Center

Applications should be submitted directly to the Graduate School and must include each of the following:
1) Graduate Record Exam (GRE) results
2) Official transcript of all college credit
3) 2 Letters of Recommendation
4) Letter of Intent/Personal Statement
5) Graduate School Application
See downloadable application materials

Practicum and Internships

As a student in the clinical psychology program, you’ll have the opportunity to gain extensive supervised experience in the application of mental health services. The required 15 credits of practicum and internship are designed to give you practical experience and professional skills, in addition to exposure to the organization and structure of mental health service agencies. During your first year of study, you’ll complete an on-campus practicum in the Kelly Center, which serves as the campus counseling center for the university. Staffed by clinical psychology faculty members, the Kelly Center provides therapy experience with college students and adults.

After completion of the on-campus practicum, you’ll complete a 600 clock hour internship in an off-campus mental health agency under the supervision of a qualified psychologist. Internship opportunities are offered at area mental health centers, state hospitals, adolescent treatment centers, and chemical dependency programs. Teaching assistantships are not available during the internship semester.

Financial Assistance

You will find that attending the clinical psychology program at FHSU is very affordable and it is an excellent investment in your future career. FHSU's graduate tuition rate is extremely competitive compared to other colleges and universities across the country. In addition, Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA's) are available, which provide a stipend and, in some cases, a tuition reduction.

Program of Study

The program consists of 60 hours of graduate credit. Additional program requirements include successful completion of comprehensive exams and a master’s thesis.

Clinical Psychology Program Requirements

Methodology: 12 Total Credits

• PSY 845 Experimental Methods (3 Credit Hours)
• PSY 850 Inferential Statistics (3 Credit Hours)
• PSY 899 Thesis (6 Credit Hours)

Clinical: 40 Total Credits

• PSY 800 Advanced Abnormal Psychology (3 Credit Hours)
• PSY 861 or 685 Couples Therapy or Behavior Therapy (3 Credit Hours)
• PSY 830 Professional Ethics (3 Credit Hours)
• PSY 840 Appraisal of Children (4 Credit Hours)
• PSY 855 Appraisal of Adults (6 Credit Hours)
• PSY 860 Approaches to Psychotherapy (3 Credit Hours)
• PSY 877 Community Mental Health (3 Credit Hours)
• PSY 890 Practicum (5 Credit Hours)
• PSY 892 Internship (10 Credit Hours)

General Core: 6 Total Credits

• PSY 810 Must take Developmental Psychology (3 Credit Hours)
• Choose 1 of the following:
  Physiological Psychology, Advanced Learning and Motivation or Neuropsychology (3 Credit Hours)