Quicklinks

Accreditation

Drexel's doctoral (PhD) program in Clinical Psychology is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association. Please direct any questions about the program’s accredited status to:

American Psychological Association
Commission on Accreditation: Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
750 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202.336.5979 | apaaccred@apa.org
apa.org/ed/accreditation

Student Admissions, Outcomes and Other Data

• APA accredited programs outcomes(PDF)
• APA accredited programs outcomes: Match rates (PDF)
• APA accredited programs outcomes: EPPP scores combined (PDF)

Program Format

The Clinical Psychology doctoral (PhD) program admits full-time students only and coursework is required in years one through four of the degree program. It is designed to be completed in five years, although students who enter with a master’s degree may be able to complete all requirements within four years. Students are required to work in 12-month practicum placements in years two through three; optional in year four. A pre-doctoral internship is typically conducted in year five. Students earn a Master of Science (MS) degree upon completion of two years of coursework and their master's thesis. The program begins annually in the fall; classes are scheduled for the fall, winter and spring terms only.

Major Areas of Study

In addition to general clinical training, with an emphasis on cognitive-behavioral approaches to assessment and intervention, the Drexel doctorate program in Clinical Psychology offers students the option to elect one of four major areas of study. While training in the major area of study is not all that is necessary for individuals to specialize in one of these areas, it does prepare students to continue further training that will eventually facilitate professional specialization.

Clinical-Child Psychology

The clinical child psychology major area of study is designed for students who have strong clinical and/or research interests in working with children and adolescents. Students in this major area of study will complete the required courses taken by all clinical psychology students and will also enroll in child-related elective courses designed to help them develop a greater degree of expertise in working with child and adolescent populations. It is expected that students completing this specialization will develop an appreciation of the research literature in the clinical child area and will possess specialty skills that enable them to function as competent practitioners in the child/adolescent area upon graduation.

Additionally

Clinical Neuropsychology

The clinical neuropsychology area of study includes courses, research, and clinical experiences designed to train the students for professional practice in neuropsychology. Clinical neuropsychology involves the application of psychological assessment and intervention to the problems encountered by people with brain injury or illness. The knowledge of brain-behavior functioning and the incorporation of neuropsychological conceptualizations with traditional clinical conceptualizations of functioning are aimed at providing the student with a wider perspective regarding the range of human functioning and disability. The student is able to pursue specific interests in geriatrics, pediatrics, traumatic brain injury, and rehabilitation.

Additionally

Forensic Psychology

Forensic psychology involves the application of assessment and intervention techniques to informing legal decision-makers and attorneys on questions in criminal, civil, and family law. The goal of the forensic psychology area of study is to provide students with advanced training in relevant law, behavioral science research, and assessment and intervention approaches with a particular focus on juvenile and criminal issues.

Additionally

Health Psychology

Health psychology adopts a broad-based, bio-psycho-social perspective in order to: (1) better understand the interplay among behavioral, emotional, cognitive, social, and biological factors regarding health, wellness, and physical disease; (2) promote and maintain wellness and positive physical health; (3) prevent, treat, and rehabilitate illness and disability, and (4) improve the health care delivery system. The health psychology area of study aims to provide students with specialty training in order to prepare them for academic, clinical, and/or administrative positions where the primary focus is on medical and physical health problems.

Additionally

Faculty Accepting Students: 2024-2025

Consistent with our scientist-practitioner philosophy of training, our department and core adjunct faculty serve as dedicated mentors to our graduate students. Students work under the mentorship of one or two faculty members who serve as the incoming student’s advisors. For students who are admitted to work under two faculty members, one faculty member is established as the student’s major advisor, and the other as the student’s minor advisor.

View All

	Faculty Member	Expertise
	Meghan Butryn, PhD Professor; Associate Department Head Stratton 286 mlb34@drexel.edu MS in Psychology program – Mentor and co-mentor, with Erica LaFata PhD in Clinical Psychology program – Mentor	Obesity prevention and treatment Physical activity promotion Lifestyle modification Behavioral therapy Cancer prevention
	Brian P. Daly, PhD Department Head; Associate Professor Stratton 118 brian.daly@drexel.edu	School mental health Mental health promotion Socioemotional learning (SEL) Evidence-based practice Trauma Risk and resilience Child and adolescent intervention
	Evan Forman, PhD Professor Director, WELL Center Stratton 282 evan.forman@drexel.edu MS in Psychology program – Mentor and co-mentor, with Charlotte Hagerman PhD in Clinical Psychology program – Mentor	Health behavior change, obesity, weight loss Technological innovations to promote health behavior change Innovations in cognitive-behavioral treatments The development and evaluation of acceptance-based interventions for health behavior change Neurocognition of eating
	Naomi E. Goldstein, PhD Co-director of the JD/PhD Program in Law and Psychology; Director of the Juvenile Justice Research and Reform Lab; Professor Stratton 328 neg23@drexel.edu	Juvenile justice system reform Using social science research to improve juvenile justice policy and practice Addressing inequality and promoting equity in the justice system Psychology, criminal justice, and law Forensic psychology
	Adrienne Juarascio, PhD Director, Practicum Training; Assistant Professor Stratton 288 asj32@drexel.edu MS in Psychology program – Co-mentor with Paakhi Srivastava PhD in Clinical Psychology program – Mentor	Enhancing treatment outcomes for eating disorders and obesity Acceptance-based behavioral treatments Evaluating mechanisms of action in behavioral treatments
	Nancy Raitano Lee, PhD Associate Professor Stratton 290 nancy.raitano.lee@drexel.edu	Neuropsychological and neuroanatomic correlates of intellectual and developmental disabilities Language, reading, and executive function in Down syndrome and other genetic disorders Comorbid autism spectrum disorder symptoms in youth with genetic disorders Neuroanatomic correlates of individual differences in typical and atypical cognition
	Stephanie Manasse, PhD Assistant Professor; Director, MS and Accelerated BS/MS in Psychology Programs; Director, mPOWER Program (WELL Center); Director, Child and Adolescent Program (WELL Center) Stratton 244 smm522@drexel.edu	Novel treatments for adolescents and adults with eating disorders Momentary drivers of binge eating Self-regulation Ecological momentary assessment
	Arthur M. Nezu, PhD, DHL, ABPP Distinguished University Professor of Psychology; Co-Director, Nezu Stress and Coping Lab; Professor of Medicine; Professor of Community Health and Prevention Stratton 268 amn23@drexel.edu PhD in Clinical Psychology program – Co-mentor with Christine Nezu	Stress Coping Emotion-centered Problem-solving Therapy Suicide Depression Veterans Mental Health Scientific Publishing
	Christine Maguth Nezu, PhD, ABPP Professor of Psychology; Professor of Medicine Stratton 278 cn25@drexel.edu PhD in Clinical Psychology program – Co-mentor with Arthur Nezu	Emotion-centered Problem-Solving Therapy (PST) for mood, personality, stress-related disorders EC-PST as an evidence-based, trans-diagnostic intervention across many clinical problem areas and populations including Veterans/US Service Members, and their families Clinical case formulation Integrative psychotherapy approaches Emotionally-focused interventions and CBT Departmental concentration areas of cognitive behavioral and clinical health psychology

All Program Faculty

The Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences is actively engaged in vibrant research initiatives to advance the science and practice of psychology. Faculty publish widely in top-tier, peer-reviewed journals; are featured experts in national and international media; and are the recipients of major research awards from prestigious grantors including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

View All

	Faculty Member	Expertise
	Meghan Butryn, PhD Professor; Associate Department Head Stratton 286 mlb34@drexel.edu	Obesity prevention and treatment Physical activity promotion Lifestyle modification Behavioral therapy Cancer prevention
	Evangelia Chrysikou, PhD Director, Applied Cognitive and Brain Sciences PhD program; Associate Dean for Research; Associate Professor Stratton 324 lilachrysikou@drexel.edu	Cognitive neuroscience Neural bases of memory, language, and executive functions Neurocognitive processes associated with problem solving and flexible thought Functional neuroimaging and non-invasive brain stimulation in healthy and psychiatric populations (mood and anxiety disorders) Translational neuroscience Neuropsychology
	Brian P. Daly, PhD Department Head; Associate Professor Stratton 118 brian.daly@drexel.edu	School mental health Mental health promotion Socioemotional learning (SEL) Evidence-based practice Trauma Risk and resilience Child and adolescent intervention
	David DeMatteo, JD, PhD Director, JD/PhD Program in Law and Psychology; Professor Stratton 338 David.DeMatteo@drexel.edu	Psychopathy Forensic Psychology Forensic mental health assessment Testing in forensic assessment contexts Drug policy research
	Evan Forman, PhD Professor Director, WELL Center Stratton 282 evan.forman@drexel.edu	Health behavior change, obesity, weight loss Technological innovations to promote health behavior change Innovations in cognitive-behavioral treatments The development and evaluation of acceptance-based interventions for health behavior change Neurocognition of eating
	Pamela Geller, PhD Director, Clinical Training; Associate Professor, Ob/Gyn and Public Health Stratton 280 pg27@drexel.edu	Clinical and health psychology Stressful life events and mental and physical health outcomes particularly in the area of women's reproductive health
	Naomi E. Goldstein, PhD Co-director of the JD/PhD Program in Law and Psychology; Director of the Juvenile Justice Research and Reform Lab; Professor Stratton 328 neg23@drexel.edu	Juvenile justice system reform Using social science research to improve juvenile justice policy and practice Addressing inequality and promoting equity in the justice system Psychology, criminal justice, and law Forensic psychology
	Kirk Heilbrun, PhD Professor; Director, Reentry Project 334 Stratton Hall kirk.heilbrun@drexel.edu	Forensic mental health assessment Violence risk assessment Risk-reducing interventions
	Adrienne Juarascio, PhD Director, Practicum Training; Assistant Professor Stratton 288 asj32@drexel.edu	Enhancing treatment outcomes for eating disorders and obesity Acceptance-based behavioral treatments Evaluating mechanisms of action in behavioral treatments
	John Kounios, PhD Professor Stratton 318 jk342@drexel.edu	Cognitive Neuroscience Creativity Problem Solving Individual Differences Brain Aging
	Nancy Raitano Lee, PhD Associate Professor Stratton 290 nancy.raitano.lee@drexel.edu	Neuropsychological and neuroanatomic correlates of intellectual and developmental disabilities Language, reading, and executive function in Down syndrome and other genetic disorders Comorbid autism spectrum disorder symptoms in youth with genetic disorders Neuroanatomic correlates of individual differences in typical and atypical cognition
	Michael R. Lowe, PhD Professor Stratton 284 lowe@drexel.edu	Please visit the Lowe Lab for more details about the research topics below: Obesity Set point Eating disorders Dieting Hedonic hunger Weight variability
	Stephanie Manasse, PhD Assistant Professor; Director, MS and Accelerated BS/MS in Psychology Programs; Director, mPOWER Program (WELL Center); Director, Child and Adolescent Program (WELL Center) Stratton 244 smm522@drexel.edu	Novel treatments for adolescents and adults with eating disorders Momentary drivers of binge eating Self-regulation Ecological momentary assessment
	Christine Maguth Nezu, PhD, ABPP Professor of Psychology; Professor of Medicine Stratton 278 cn25@drexel.edu	Emotion-centered Problem-Solving Therapy (PST) for mood, personality, stress-related disorders EC-PST as an evidence-based, trans-diagnostic intervention across many clinical problem areas and populations including Veterans/US Service Members, and their families Clinical case formulation Integrative psychotherapy approaches Emotionally-focused interventions and CBT Departmental concentration areas of cognitive behavioral and clinical health psychology
	Arthur M. Nezu, PhD, DHL, ABPP Distinguished University Professor of Psychology; Co-Director, Nezu Stress and Coping Lab; Professor of Medicine; Professor of Community Health and Prevention Stratton 268 amn23@drexel.edu	Stress Coping Emotion-centered Problem-solving Therapy Suicide Depression Veterans Mental Health Scientific Publishing
	Diana Robins, PhD Professor, Director, AJ Drexel Autism Institute; Department of Community Health & Prevention diana.l.robins@drexel.edu
	Maria T. Schultheis, PhD Vice Provost of Research; Professor 3180 Chestnut Street, Suite 104 schultheis@drexel.edu	I am interested in the use of innovative technologies for meeting the clinical needs of individual with neurological compromise. Much of our work is focused on using virtual reality simulation, neuropsychological measures and portable imaging systems (i.e., fNIRS). I work with cognitively impaired populations—traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, stroke, dementia—in order to understand the effects of neurological involvement on functions, such as driving, returning to work and everyday activities of living. Our work intersects psychology, biomedical engineering, transportation, and rehabilitation medicine.
	Giacomo Vivanti, PhD Associate Professor, AJ Drexel Autism Institute giacomo.vivanti@drexel.edu

The Doctoral Dissertation in Clinical Psychology

The Drexel PhD program in clinical psychology first requires independent scholarly work in the form of a master’s thesis where students prepare and present a proposal and final defense of their thesis to a committee. Once this requirement is satisfied, students progress to independent scholarly work in the form of a doctoral dissertation, where they prepare and present a proposal and final defense to a dissertation committee.

All dissertations must be based on original research , and must clearly demonstrate the candidate's ability to work at the frontiers of the field. A variety of resources are available to all graduate students when conducting research during their training at Drexel University. One important feature of the Clinical Psychology program is that it was established with very close relationships to many supporting hospitals and facilities. There is considerable integration of research capabilities and agendas.

All doctoral dissertation examinations and committee appointments are monitored by the Office of Graduate Studies which approves the committees and the examinations.

Drexel Library: Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Recent Dissertations

We proudly invite prospective student to review recent dissertations authored by our PhD in Clinical Psychology degree recipients.