Kansas City University has taken an important step in reaching the goal of attaining full accreditation in its doctorate of clinical psychology program.
As of April 11, 2021, the University‘s PsyD program is accredited on contingency by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA). The APA commission is the primary accreditor in the United States for professional education and training in doctoral-level psychology programs.
KCU began its PsyD program in 2017 and received “Intent to Apply” status from the APA Commission on Accreditation (CoA) that same year. The PsyD program continued the multi-year process of seeking APA accreditation and submitted their application for “Accredited on Contingency” in September 2019. The application was reviewed by the Commission on Accreditation in April 2020 and the program received approval for a site visit at that time. The site visit was conducted virtually on December 17-18, 2020. The program is accredited on contingency through the following date May 1, 2024. The program will apply for full accreditation during the 2022-2023 academic year.
“Accreditation on contingency is a major milestone for our program,” said Sarah Getch, PhD, program director for health services psychology and assistant provost for accreditation. “We owe our students a huge debt of gratitude for their hard work, dedication, and faith in the program. This achievement is a testament to the hard work of our students, support from the KCU community, and the dedication of a wonderful PsyD team. Importantly, accreditation on contingency is an accredited status. Our students can say that they are at an accredited program and all of our students will graduate from an accredited program.”
PsyD students receive training in research, ethical and legal standards, individual and cultural diversity, assessment, intervention, consultation and interprofessional/interdisciplinary skills as they prepare for private practice or as critical members of a hospital treatment team. The program has partnered with over 20 clinical training sites to provide a wide range of clinical training opportunities including federally qualified healthcare centers, hospital systems, rehabilitation centers, community mental health centers, the bureau of prisons, and veteran’s affairs.
