Health Psychology Doctoral Program
The Department of Psychology offers a Ph.D. in Health Psychology with concentrations in Clinical Health Psychology, Occupational Health Psychology, and Pediatric School Psychology.
Health Psychology is the educational, scientific, and professional contribution of psychology to (1) understanding the etiology, promotion, and maintenance of health; (2) the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of physical and mental illness; (3) the study of psychological, social, emotional, and behavioral factors in physical and mental illness; and (4) the improvement of the health care system and formulation of health policy.
The Health Psychology Ph.D. program is based on a biopsychosocial approach to understanding health and illness. Health and illness are viewed as the product of a combination of factors, including biological characteristics (e.g., genetic predispositions), psychological and behavioral factors (e.g., lifestyle, stress, health beliefs), and psychosocial conditions (e.g., cultural influences, family relationships, social support, school experiences).
Our philosophy of training is rooted in the scientist-practitioner model in which psychologists are trained as both scientists (competent to engage in scientific research) and practitioners (competent to provide clinical services).
