Practicum placements are typically assigned for 12 months beginning the first week of July. Students are required to accrue a minimum of 500 clinical hours before applying for internship. Students are required to be trained in evidence-based assessments and interventions.
All students must complete their first practicum in the SDSU Psychology Clinic. This experience begins at the beginning of July between your first and second year in the program. Students can expect to spend around 15 hours a week in practica in the SDSU Psychology Clinic in the second year. That time will include direct service hours, supervision (both group and individual), and any didactic experiences the specific practicum may require. The experience is an intensive introduction to doing clinical work, with supervision by two different supervisors. Each student receives four hours of supervision a week, typically in 2 two-hour time slots, and an additional hour of didactic training designed to provide basic skills to the beginning therapist. Each time slot is shared with one or two other students. All sessions in the SDSU Psychology Clinic are recorded, and sessions are reviewed with supervisors in detail. Students typically see two clients with each supervisor. Each student also will complete psychological assessments and prepare integrated psychological reports during the SDSU Psychology Clinic practicum year.
Advanced graduate students enrolled in the third year and beyond of the training program complete advanced practica at sites affiliated with the JDP including SDSU, UC San Diego, the Jennifer Moreno Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Rady Children’s Hospital. Students can expect to spend around 10 hours a week in advanced practica. That time will include direct service hours, supervision (both group and individual), and any didactic experiences the specific practicum may require. Students in advanced practica can expect to receive high quality practicum training that will be geared to your specific level of skills and experience. Guidelines for Advanced Practica for students and supervisors can be found below.
JDP Guidelines for Advanced Practicum
Selecting Practicum Sites
The selection of a practicum after the year in the SDSU Psychology Clinic is a two-stage process. First, possible practicum sites must be thoroughly discussed with your Guidance Committee. It is never too early to begin to plan for practica over the course of your time in the JDP, in part because some sites are very popular and you may not be able to get your desired site the first time you request it. You and your Guidance Committee should be planning 2-3 years in the future so that you have a clear idea of what experiences you intend to receive while in the program. While the practica choices may change from time to time, in general you should be able to identify the types of patients, the kinds of problems, and the range of interventions you want to have experience with before you leave the program. Check back in the spring of each year for updated information about what will be available. With the consultation of the Guidance Committee, the student will be asked to provide a rank ordered list of desired practicum sites each year.
The actual assignment of students to practica sites is done by the Practicum Committee. This Committee takes into account information about a student’s progress in prior practica, the rank ordered list of desired sites, and the requirements of various practicum sites. The Practicum Committee makes final decisions about placements in practica each year. Practicum options for the current academic year can be found below and will be updated annually.
List of Advanced Practicum Sites Available for 2024-2025
Last updated 8/20/2024