1
Proposal to Extend the Masters of Arts in Applied Clinical Psychology
to Penn State Erie, the Behrend College
Program Justification
1. Demand for the Program Extension to Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
In a joint partnership between campuses, Penn State Harrisburg seeks authorization to extend the
Masters of Arts in Applied Clinical Psychology to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences
at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. The addition of the Applied Clinical Psychology
Master’s degree program to Behrend will provide a number of benefits:
a. Due to the increasing national and state-wide demand for mental health professionals,
an extension will expand Penn State University’s impact on the community we serve.
b. Cooperation between the psychology graduate faculty of Penn State Harrisburg and
Penn State Behrend will improve the research and educational opportunities for
students at both campuses due to a greater diversity of faculty expertise.
c. Cooperation between the graduate faculty of both campuses will foster collaborative
spirit and provide additional research, teaching, and service opportunities for faculty.
d. Attracting to Penn State Behrend students who seek advanced training for a career in
psychology, the social sciences, or mental health.
e. Meeting the demands of current Behrend students and students from the region for
advanced training and preparation for work in psychology and the mental health field.
f. Supporting the strategic vision of Penn State Behrend to add new, graduate level,
academic programs and continue to grow enrollments.
g. Meeting the needs of employers in northwestern Pennsylvania and beyond who seek to
employ graduates trained in psychological research, clinical psychology, and those
who have achieved licensure as professional counselors.
h. Enhancing Behrend’s and Harrisburg’s ability to provide academic programs that offer
our graduates a competitive advantage in educational and professional arenas.
National market feasibility
The national data on clinical mental health counselors1’ employment and forecasts for future
hiring needs are provided by the federal Employment Projections program in the U.S.
Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. These projections include growth and
replacement openings, whereas the Occupational Outlook Handbook data typically used in
market research only reports growth, thereby underestimating employment demand.
There are approximately 120,300 clinical mental health counselors employed in the United
States. This represents 17.6% of counselors and 7.3% of all mental health professionals, and it
represents the fourth highest mental health professional employment field (after social workers,
1
Students who graduate from the Applied Clinical Psychology graduate program who also complete the 12 credit
certificate in Applications in Clinical Psychology have completed the educational requirements for licensure as a
professional counselor in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Licensed professional counselors are counted as
clinical mental health counselors in national employment data.
2
guidance counselors, and clinical psychologists). The growth in clinical mental health counseling
employment from 2010 to 2020 is expected to be 36%, the highest rate of growth in the mental
health professional fields. Earnings are also expected to remain very strong and similar to those
of social workers (see Table 1).
Statewide demand
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry’s Center for Workforce Information and
Analysis estimated that employment of clinical mental health counseling is strong in
Pennsylvania and is projected to grow over the next decade. Their data show that clinical mental
health counseling employment is second in demand among mental health professions (see Table
2).
a. Estimated clinical mental health counselor employment in 2010 = 16,770
b. Projected industrial clinical mental health employment in 2020 = 19,490
c. 10 year growth rate = 16.2%
Potential Regional Competitors
Only three of the 24 masters programs in the Western Pennsylvania, Northeastern Ohio, and
Western New York tri-state areas offer a program with a similar educational focus as the
proposed Applied Clinical Psychology program, based on each program’s Web site description.
The remaining 21 programs have a focus on counseling education, addictions counseling,
rehabilitation counseling, marriage and family therapy, school counseling, or community
counseling.
The three similar programs, Carlow University (Pittsburgh), State University of New York at
Buffalo, and Cleveland State University, graduated 43, 24, and 31 students in 2011, respectively.
This is an average of 33 students per program. The remaining 21 tri-state master’s programs
averaged 28 graduates per program in 2011.
Applicant pools
Analysis of applicants to both the Applied Clinical Psychology program at Penn State Harrisburg
and the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Master of Education degree program at Penn State
University suggest that the proposed extended Masters of Arts in Applied Clinical Psychology
will have little to no impact on applicants to either of these other programs because only a small
number of applicants come from the Western Pennsylvania, Northeastern Ohio, and Western
New York tri-state area.
Examining the characteristics of students who have graduated with undergraduate psychology
majors from the involved and potentially affected Penn State colleges provides support for our
program. Of 250 students who graduated from Penn State Erie between 2008 and 2013 with an
undergraduate degree in psychology, 90% were from PA zip codes beginning with 15 or 16
(representing the Western Pennsylvania regions) and 8.8% were not from PA; only 1.2% were
from zip codes beginning with 17, 18, or 19 (representing Eastern Pennsylvania regions). On the
other hand, of the 340 students who graduated from Penn State Harrisburg with a psychology
degree during the same time period, only 2.4% were from PA zip codes beginning with 15 or 16;
the remaining 97.6% of students came from PA zip codes beginning with 17 (80.3%), 18 (3.8%)
or 19 (5.0%), or they were not from PA (8.5%).
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Table 1. National occupational employment and job openings data, projected 2012-2022, and worker characteristics, 2012
(Numbers in thousands)
2012 National Employment Matrix title and code
Employment
Employment
change, 2012-2022
Job openings due
Percent self to growth and
employed, replacement
2012 needs, 20122022
6.4
278.3
Median
annual
wage,
Typical on-the-job
training needed to
Typical education
attain competency in
2013 (1)
needed for entry
the occupation
$43,060 —
—
High school diploma or Moderate-term on-the$37,100 equivalent
job training
2012
2022
Number Percent
Counselors
21-1010
665.5
802.3
136.8
20.6
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder
Counselors
21-1011
89.6
117.7
28.2
31.4
7.9
47.2
Educational, Guidance, School, and
Vocational Counselors
21-1012
262.3
293.5
31.2
11.9
2.9
87.0
$53,380 Master's degree
Marriage and Family Therapists
21-1013
37.8
49.4
11.6
30.6
7.4
19.6
$45,720 Master's degree
Mental Health Counselors
21-1014
128.4
165.1
36.7
28.5
8.3
64.0
$40,580 Master's degree
Rehabilitation Counselors
21-1015
117.5
140.9
23.4
19.9
7.2
48.4
$32,350 Master's degree
Counselors, All Other
21-1019
29.8
35.6
5.8
19.4
5.2
12.1
$41,650 Master's degree
Footnotes: Data is unavailable for values denoted with a "—".
(1) Data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics program, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: Employment Projections program, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Note: Students in the Applied Clinical Psychology Master's Program will be trained primarily as Mental Health Counselors; however, they may be able to secure jobs as
counselors listed in the table depending on their work and internship experience.
None
Internship/residency
Internship/residency
None
None
any of the types of
Table 2. Pennsylvania occupational employment and job openings data, projected 2010-20
Average Annual Openings
SOC
Code
21-1010
Estimated Projected
Occupational Title
Counselors
Percent
Due to
2020
50,060
Change
9.5%
Growth Replace. 1/ Total 2/ Total 2020
480
970
1,450
14,500
8,000
8,760
9.0%
75
171
247
2,470
11,890
12,410
4.0%
52
255
306
3,060
2010
45,270
Due to
21-1011
Substance Abuse & Behavioral Disorder Counselors
21-1012
Educational, Vocational, & School Counselors
21-1013
Marriage & Family Therapists
1,010
1,220
21.0%
20
20
40
400
21-1014
Mental Health Counselors
16,770
19,490
16.2%
272
359
631
6,310
21-1015
Rehabilitation Counselors
7,020
7,570
7.8%
56
150
206
2,060
21-1019
Counselors, All Other
580
610
6.0%
5
15
20
200
Last column is Total 2/ multiplied by 10 to equate to national labor market data since this state data reports annual openings, not a total for the 10 year projection period
FOOT NOT ES:
Data may not add to totals due to rounding. Confidential data & occupations with employment less than 10 are not shown but are included in all sub-total & total employment values.
1/ Labor force net replacements due to death, retirement, disability, or withdrawal for personal reasons.
2/ T otal openings equal replacements plus annual growth, except for cases when negative growth is greater than annual replacements, where total openings are expressed as zero.
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We also find no evidence that the extended Masters of Arts in Applied Clinical Psychology at
Penn State Erie will have a significant impact on the applicant pools for the other Penn State
programs potentially affected. Of the 217 students who have graduated with one of the four
possible Master’s degrees in psychology from Penn State Harrisburg between 2008 and 2013,
only 5.6% of the students are from PA zip codes beginning with 15 or 16 (Western
Pennsylvania). Of the 47 students not from PA (21.7% overall), only one was from western NY
and none was from Northeastern OH. In addition, during that time, only one of the students
enrolled in any of the four Master’s degree programs (Applied Behavioral Analysis, Applied
Clinical Psychology, Applied Psychological Research, and Community Psychology and Social
Change) earned their undergraduate degree from Penn State Erie.
For the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Master of Education degree program at Penn State
University, there is also no evidence of a significant impact on applicant pools. Of the 133
students who have graduated from the Counseling Education Master’s degree program between
2008 and 2013, 6.8% came from a PA zip code starting with 15 and 38.3% (N = 51) came from a
PA zip code beginning with 16. Of those 51 students, only 8 (16%) were from the Butler or
Altoona areas; the remaining 43 (84%) were from State College and surrounding towns. Of
21.8% that were not from PA, only two were from western NY and two were from northeast OH.
None of the students enrolled in the Counseling Education Master’s degree programs earned his
or her undergraduate degree from Penn State Erie.
Survey Research
Clinical and counseling psychology programs are the two most popular master’s degree
programs in the US according to a 2009 national survey by the American Psychology
Association (APA)2. In 2007-2008, the median number of applications to clinical Master’s
Programs was 40 per program resulting in 15 acceptances and 10 new enrollments. Counseling
Master’s programs had medians of 35 applications, 18 acceptances, and 15 new enrollments.
This national pattern of interest in psychology Master’s programs is mirrored in Behrend
students. A 2011 survey of about 200 current and potential Behrend psychology majors asked
whether they would be interested in applying to a psychology Master’s degree at Penn State
Behrend. Approximately 98% of the respondents indicated that they would be either “very
interested” (80%) or somewhat interested (18%) and would consider applying. Of those
interested, 68% expressed interest in an applied clinical/counseling degree, 34% in a business
(I/O) psychology degree, and 11% in an applied research psychology degree. Approximately
50% of Behrend graduates in psychology attend graduate school immediately after graduation,
and of those who do, approximately 30% select clinical/counseling graduate programs. The
majority of other students say they plan to attend graduate school within five years.
Two more recent surveys of students at Behrend show a continued strong interest in an Applied
Clinical Psychology Master’s program. A total of 93 students participated in a survey designed
to assess the current and future plans of psychology majors during the fall semester of 2013. Of
the 93 students, 20 were first year students, 10 sophomores, 24 juniors, and 39 seniors. The
majority (58%) planned to apply directly to graduate school after graduation, while 30% planned
to work for a few years before applying. The majority of students (55%) who planned to attend
2
http://www.apa.org/workforce/publications/09-grad-study/index.aspx
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graduate school want to pursue a program in clinical or counseling psychology and 88% are
somewhat to very likely to apply to a master’s level program. Of those students who will be
applying to a clinical or counseling psychology program, 74% are somewhat to very likely to
apply to a program at Behrend. In fact, 57% of the survey participants requested information
about the proposed Applied Clinical Psychology Master’s program. A second survey assessed 95
currently enrolled students at Behrend (in a wide variety of majors) about their interest in various
possible Master’s degree programs. Of the 90 students who answered the questions regarding an
Applied Clinical Psychology Master’s program, 48% stated that they were moderately to very
interested in this degree program, 41% would want to start the program directly after graduation,
and 37% stated they would apply to the program after working in the field for a few years. This
shows that there is a strong interest in a Master’s program in Applied Clinical Psychology that is
consistent across time and appeals to students from various majors at Behrend.
2. Projected Size and Duration
The high level of expressed interest in having a Master’s program at Behrend by current and
former students, along with the APA data regarding national enrollments, suggests that the
Behrend psychology program would be able to recruit 10 students into a new clinical/counseling
Master’s degree program during the first year. This would be a strong start to our ultimate goal
of 20-30 total Masters’ students within 2-3 years.
These projections are modest in comparison with Penn State Harrisburg’s Capital College. In
2014, Harrisburg had 111 applications for the Applied Clinical Psychology Master of Arts
degree, made 27 offers, and enrolled between 18 students. Harrisburg has averaged nearly 42
enrolled clinical Master’s students a year over the past 5 years, reflecting the attractiveness of
this degree program to Penn State undergraduate students and to members of the local
community.
Although some Master’s degree candidates will come from outside of Behrend, it is anticipated
that the extended Master’s degree in Applied Clinical Psychology will draw primarily from our
undergraduates who want to stay and get a Master’s degree from Penn State. The roll out of this
new graduate program will increase our profile in the community and attract well-qualified
students who will enter the undergraduate program with the intent to complete an MA. This
should also increase our undergraduate enrollments.
3. Departmental Ability
The Behrend psychology program is well-positioned to offer a quality graduate program in
Applied Clinical Psychology. The program currently has 13 full-time faculty (11 tenured/
tenure-track professors and two lecturers) who all hold doctoral degrees, including three licensed
clinical/counseling psychologists, Drs. Eric Corty, Melanie Hetzel-Riggin, and Angela Rood.
Three additional faculty members have received training and/or provide clinically-related
outreach programs. Dr. Vicki Kazmerski has a background in special education; Dr. Dharma
Jairam is an educational psychologist who also holds a master's degree in counseling
psychology. Dr. Charisse Nixon, who also holds a Master’s degree in counseling psychology,
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provides prevention education for bullying and teen pregnancy (respectively) in primary and
secondary education settings. A majority of the faculty has published research related to the
Table 3. Existing psychology faculty qualifications
Name
Dawn
Blasko
(Graduate
Faculty)
Degree
Ph.D. (1994)
Experimental
Psychology/
Developmental
Psychology
Eric Corty
(Graduate
Faculty)
Ph.D. (1983)
Clinical
Psychology
Melanie
HetzelRiggin
(Graduate
Faculty)
Dharma
Jairam
Ph.D. (2005)
Clinical
Psychology
Northern
Illinois
University
Ph.D. (2009)
Educational
Psychology;
M.Ed. (2002)
Counseling
Psychology
Ph.D. (1992)
Biological
Psychology
University
of
NebraskaLincoln;
SUNY at
Buffalo
State
University
of New
York at
Stony
Brook
University
of Central
Florida
Victoria
Kazmerski
(Graduate
Faculty)
Institution
Binghamt
on
University
, State
University
of New
York
Indiana
University
Heather
Lum
Ph.D. (2011)
Applied
Experimental
and Human
Factors
Psychology
Charisse
Nixon
(Graduate
Faculty)
Ph.D. (1997)
West
Applied
Virginia
Developmental University
Psychology
Teaching Specialty
Research methods,
cognition, perception,
gender and
multiculturalism,
professional ethics
Research Specialty
Individual differences in
linguistic and spatial
intelligence; aggressive
language; triggers and
treatment of trauma
Human sexuality,
tests and assessment,
personality
psychology, clinical
psychology,
abnormal psychology
Clinical psychology,
abnormal
psychology, trauma
and resilience,
clinical supervision
Learning and
instruction, statistics,
field experience
Addictive behaviors;
human sexuality and
dysfunction; dual
diagnosis; psychometrics
Neurological bases of
behavior, cognitive
neuroscience, child
psychopathology,
learning research
methods
Human factors
psychology,
engineering
psychology,
psychology of
gaming, comparative
psychology
Developmental
psychology,children’s
social emotional
development, gender
Social influence on
language; dementia;
schizophrenia; learning
disorders
Interpersonal violence;
posttraumatic stress
disorder; violence
prevention
Study methods; applied
educational psychology
Animals and robotics in
therapeutic recovery
from physical or mental
illness/ disabilities.
Impact and amelioration
of trauma from peer
mistreatment in school
settings
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Name
Degree
Institution
Teaching Specialty
Research Specialty
Clare Porac
Ph.D. (1974)
Experimental
Psychology
New
School for
Social
Research
Human visual perception
and lateralization;
neuropsychology
Angela
Rood
Psy.D. (2008)
Counseling
Psychology
Our Lady
of the
Lake
University
Shariffah
Sheik
Dawood
Ph.D. (2008)
Industrial/
Organizational
Psychology
University
of
Leicester,
UK
Perception,
neurological bases of
behavior, learning,
measurement,
cognition, behavior
genetics
Clinical psychology,
abnormal
psychology,
internship and
practicum
experiences
Industrial/Organizatio
nal psychology,
cognitive psychology,
motivation, personnel
psychology, and
multicultural
psychology
Nicole
Ph.D. (2012)
Schoenberge Sociology
r
Bowling
Green
State
University
Carol
Wilson
Texas
A&M
University
Ph.D. (2006)
Social
Psychology
Military psychology,
adjustment
Violence, bullying,
emotional abuse, and
harassment in work
settings; occupational
stress; conflict
management;
criminological theories;
cross-cultural
psychology
Sociology,
Criminal desistance;
criminology, statistics social inequalities in
criminal justice;
delinquency, deviance,
and the family.
Social psychology,
Stress in romantic
personality
relationships; attachment
psychology, close
theory, social support,&
relationships,
pain; , transition to
statistics
parenthood
Applied Clinical Psychology Master of Arts degree. Five of the faculty at Behrend currently
have graduate faculty status and the majority of the remaining faculty are qualified to become
graduate faculty. We therefore have the personnel to teach the 500-level Psychology courses for
the clinical core.
4. Current Course and Advising Impact
In anticipation of the extended Master of Arts degree in psychology at Penn State Erie, the
Behrend College, two new faculty members were hired in 2013: Drs. Melanie Hetzel-Riggin and
Angela Rood. Dr. Hetzel-Riggin was hired as a tenured Associate Professor and will serve as the
Director of Graduate Training, teaching classes and supervising clinical work and research in the
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master’s program. Dr. Rood was hired as a fixed term, multi-year instructor to teach
undergraduate courses as other faculty member's loads are adjusted to teach graduate courses and
to supervise theses. She also has the expertise to supervise students in the clinical program and
teach some clinical graduate courses.
Psychology does have a major service load because almost all 100 and 200 level courses satisfy
general education requirements. Behrend added two new faculty members in 2013-2014 and
have a current search to hire a tenure-track faculty member during the 2014-2015 academic year.
A fourth TT clinical psychologist (child clinical) will be hired to replace a retiring faculty
member for the 2016-2017 academic year as the upper level clinical courses come on-line. As
the program grows to a full capacity of 20-25 students per year an additional psychology faculty
member will need to be hired.
The extended Applied Clinical Psychology program is an academic degree (M.A.), and therefore
includes faculty supervision of student research papers, advanced training in the conduct of
research, and the generation of new knowledge. It is imperative for the graduate faculty at Penn
State Behrend to devote more time to research in order to adequately train graduate students as
well as promote an atmosphere dedicated to the development of new knowledge and the
scientific study of psychology. It will therefore be necessary that faculty teaching in the Applied
Clinical Psychology Master’s program uphold a 3/2 teaching load; the time provided by the
course release will be dedicated to developing and maintaining a strong, active research
environment that will lead to increased publications and external funding, which will most likely
result in a more competitive graduate program, more competitive graduates entering doctoral
programs or the workforce, and possibly student assistantship funds from external funding. In
addition to graduate-level courses, the supervision of graduate research/theses (PSYC 580) will
need to be counted toward the regular teaching load of faculty in the clinical/counseling master’s
program (e.g. 6 thesis students may equal one course).
5.
Fiscal Responsibility
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College will retain fiscal responsibility for the implementation and
management of the extended Applied Clinical Psychology Master of Arts degree program at the
Behrend campus. Additional costs will be minimal as the program has already hired two new
faculty members in psychology for the 2013-2014 program in anticipation of the graduate
program. The Otto Behrend Building Annex III, which will serve as a clinical training space, will
need to be furnished with appropriate furniture, computing equipment, telecommunications, and
recording equipment to allow for graduate student training and practice. Students will receive
supervision off-site at their practicum and internship placement sites during their second year,
incurring no cost to Behrend. Since the Psychology Labs were moved into the renovated
Turnbull facility in January 2008, there was no investment in new equipment and the lab budget
was not increased. The lab budget for maintenance and/or purchase of research and testing
equipment will need to be increased modestly to meet the demands of the additional student
research projects.
Tuition costs for a PA resident for the 48-credit program based on average 2014 graduate credit
rates for the commonwealth campuses is $37,632; for non-PA residents the cost would be
9
$49,872. Although full assistantships are rare in Master's programs, we have identified several
wages positions at Behrend that will provide some support for full-time students. These include
working with Housing and Residence Life, the Center for Organization Research and Evaluation
(CORE), the Prevention of Aggression Resource Center (PARC), and funding from faculty
grants. Further, Behrend will submit qualified applicants for consideration for University-wide
graduate assistantships and scholarships (e.g., the Bunton-Waller Scholarship).
Program Description
1. Admission Requirements
The applicant must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited academic institution,
or the equivalent, must have completed at least 18 semester hours in psychology, and must have
a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or above in the last 60 semester hours of course work.
The undergraduate work must include a statistics course and a psychology research method
course with grades of B or higher.
Students will be admitted on a competitive basis and must submit the following:
 A completed online application form with the application fee;
 Two official transcripts of all colleges and universities attended;
 Three professional letters of recommendation, at least two of which should be academic;
 A brief (two-page) interest statement;
 Verbal, quantitative, and analytical scores on the Graduate Record Examinations.
A personal interview is required.
2. Complete Degree Requirements and List of Required Courses
Applied Clinical Psychology
The M.A. in Applied Clinical Psychology requires 48 credits of course work. Included in the
core courses are 100 hours of clinical practicum, 600 hours of supervised internship experience,
and a master’s research paper.
Psychology Core Courses
Psychology Core Courses (23 credits) provide a foundation in professional ethics, individual
differences and cultural diversity, the scientific bases of behavior, and scientific research skills.
These courses are intended to facilitate the development of an awareness of the context in which
clients live and in which interventions must work.
 PSYC 500 ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN PSYCHOLOGY AND
COUNSELING (3). Prerequisite: admission to the Applied Clinical Psychology or
Applied Psychological Research programs
 PSYC 501 CULTURAL COMPETENCY IN PSYCHOLOGY (3). Prerequisite:
admission to the Applied Clinical Psychology or Applied Psychological Research
programs
 PSYC 502 APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY (3)
10




PSYC 520 RESEARCH METHODS (4). Prerequisite: admission to the Applied Clinical
Psychology or Applied Psychological Research programs
PSYC 521 STATISTICS (4). Prerequisites: PSYC 520, admission to program,
satisfactory performance on a statistics proficiency exam
PSYC 524 BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOR (3). Prerequisite: admission to the
Applied Clinical Psychology or Applied Psychological Research programs
PSYC 530 RESEARCH PAPER (3). Prerequisites: PSYC 520, 521, and permission of
the program
Clinical Core Courses
Clinical Core Courses (25 credits) provide a general background in clinical diagnosis,
assessment, and interventions with appropriate supervised experience to allow students to
develop the clinical skills appropriate for master's level practitioners.
 PSYC 510 HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT (3)
 PSYC 517 PSYCHOPATHOLOGY (3). Prerequisite: admission to the program
 PSYC 518 INTERVIEWING AND COUNSELING (3). Prerequisite: admission to the
program
 PSYC 519 THEORIES AND MODELS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY (3).
Prerequisites: PSYC 518, and admission to the program
 PSYC 540 GROUP INTERVENTIONS (3). Prerequisites: PSYC 518, and admission to
the program
 PSYC 571 TESTS AND MEASUREMENT (3). Prerequisite: admission to the program
 PSYC 595A CLINICAL PRACTICUM (1). Prerequisites: PSYC 500, 517, 518, and 519;
and professional liability insurance
 PSYC 595B CLINICAL INTERNSHIP (6). Prerequisites: PSYC 595A, and professional
liability insurance
Elective Courses in Psychology
 PSYC 514 PREVENTIVE PSYCHOLOGY (3). Prerequisite: admission to program
 PSYC 515 CLINICAL HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY (3). Prerequisite: admission to the
program
 PSYC 516 CHILD HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY (3). Prerequisite: admission to the
program
 PSYC 525 FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY (3). Prerequisite: admission to the program
 PSYC 526 BEHAVIORAL SYSTEMS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE (3). Prerequisite:
admission to the program
 PSYC 535 BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT (3)
 PSYC 572 NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT (3). Prerequisite: PSYC 524,
571
 PSYC 594 APPLIED PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH (1-18)
3. Course Sequence and Typical Scheduling Pattern
Year
1 (26 credits)
Fall
PSYC 500: Blasko
Spring
PSYC 518: Hetzel-
Summer
PSYC 519: Hetzel-
11
Year
Fall
PSYC 517: Hetzel-Riggin
PSYC 520: Lum
2 (17 credits)
PSYC 540: Corty
PSYC 510: Nixon
PSYC 595A (1 cr): Rood
3 (5 credits)
PSYC 595B (2cr): New
Clinical Hire (Aug, 2016)
PSYC 530: All Faculty
Spring
Riggin
PSYC 521: New
Experimental Hire
(Aug, 2015)
PSYC 571: Corty
PSYC 502: Wilson
PSYC 524: Kazmerski
PSYC 595B (2 cr):
New Clinical Hire
(Aug, 2016)
Summer
Riggin
PSYC 501: Wilson
PSYC 595B (2 cr):
New Clinical Hire
(Aug, 2016)
Note. The Graduate Faculty will rotate teaching the courses; this is a possible schedule.
Residency
Since the extended graduate program in Applied Clinical Psychology will be offered completely
at the Penn State Behrend College campus, issues related to residency are not applicable.
Program Operation and Maintenance
2. Program Director/Program Leadership
Marissa Harrison, Ph.D., will continue to serve as the Program Coordinator of the Master of Arts
in Applied Clinical Psychology at the Penn State Harrisburg campus, while Melanie D. HetzelRiggin, Ph.D., will become the Program Coordinator of the Master of Arts in Applied Clinical
Psychology at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College campus. The faculty at Penn State Behrend
and Penn State Harrisburg will work collaboratively to facilitate the extension of the program.
The current proposal has been created jointly by the faculty members at both campuses, and the
first meeting of the joint graduate faculty of both programs was held at the Harrisburg campus in
December, 2014. At this meeting the extension of the program was unanimously approved by all
graduate faculty in attendance. It was agreed at this meeting that the Harrisburg Program
Coordinator and other graduate faculty at Harrisburg would serve in an advisory capacity to the
Behrend Program Coordinator and other graduate faculty at Behrend. The graduate faculty from
both campuses would meet at least twice a year (either in person or via electronic means) to
discuss programmatic and student issues specific to the graduate program. The programs at both
campuses would also try to schedule a meeting during the fall Psychology Disciplinary
community meeting usually held in October at University Park and again in spring after the
Psychology Disciplinary Community Executive Committee meeting at University Park in late
March. Email and telephone consultation will also occur as needed. Faculty from both campuses
will collaborate on supervising Master’s thesis and student research projects, as well as
coordinate class offerings so that students at both campuses can benefit from the expertise of the
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entire graduate faculty. However, admissions decisions, hiring of additional personnel as needed,
selection of faculty advisers, remediation plans, internship placements, and all other day-to-day
activities specific to each campus will be the responsibility of each campus’s Program
Coordinator and their respective graduate faculty. Graduate certificates may be developed in the
future at Behrend with consultation from Harrisburg. At the extension campus (Behrend),
admissions decisions and other campus-specific programmatic and student issues will be handled
primarily through regular meetings of the graduate faculty and Program Coordinator with final
responsibility resting with the Dean of the College.
3. Academic Advising, Counseling, and Learning Support for Graduate Students
Penn State Behrend has a Graduate Admissions office because it offers four graduate programs
in the School of Business. The Graduate Admissions office has the staff and facilities to manage
online graduate school applications, provide graduate financial aid information and guidance to
potential and incoming students, and serve as the point of contact for overall graduate admission
to Penn State Behrend.
All incoming graduate students will be assigned a faculty adviser (one of the full-time, tenuretrack faculty) during their first semester. The faculty advisers will meet regularly with their
student to help plan their course schedules, discuss topics for their Master’s Papers (the program
capstone project), and recommend possible practicum and internship sites. Students will be able
to change their advisers by completing a Change of Adviser form; this may occur if the student’s
master’s research paper is more consistent with the expertise of another faculty member or if
schedule conflicts make it difficult for the faculty advisor and student to meet regularly. The
Program Director will also consult with students regularly on recommended plans of study and
program progress.
In addition to the John M. Lilley Library (see next section), Penn State Behrend has a number of
learning supports for graduate students. The Learning Resource Center (LRC), located in the
John M. Lilley Library, provides free tutoring, writing assistance, and guided study groups for
students. The Academic and Career Planning Center (ACPC) in the Reed Union Building
provides workshops and seminars on a number of academic and career-related issues, holds
career and internship fairs, and maintains a job and internship search manual. ACPC staff
members also provide assistance with resumes, cover letters, and interviews. For graduate
faculty, the ACPC also maintains a number of advising tools and trainings. The Center for Adult
Students works closely with many offices on campus to assist adult learners, including students
returning to school from the workforce to earn a graduate degree, in transitioning to college; they
also work closely with students with disabilities to obtain appropriate learning accommodations.
Penn State Behrend also has both an on campus Personal Counseling Center and a Health and
Wellness Center to assist students with mental and physical health needs.
4. Facilities
Classroom, Laboratory, and Clinical Facilities
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The School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Penn State Behrend, within which the
Psychology program is located, has 14 dedicated classrooms in four different buildings with
capacities ranging from 27-80 students. All of the classrooms are smart classrooms that include a
computer, projector, DVD and video players, projection cameras, speakers, laptop connections,
and Internet access. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences also has a dedicated
computer lab (capacity: 35) and auditorium (capacity: 265).
The Psychology program at Penn State Behrend maintains an eleven-room laboratory in Turnbull
for faculty and student research. The lab is equipped with computers in two computer labs with
printers and computer software to aid in data collection. Research equipment includes a 64channel ERP system for the collection of brainwaves, eye-tracking equipment and software,
psychophysiological recording equipment for heart rate and skin conductance, and equipment for
the recording and coding of facial expressions. The lab rooms include two observation rooms
attached to a control room, four interview rooms, and a neuroscience laboratory, as well as
storage space for data and other research supplies and equipment (see Appendix 1 for a floor
plan of Turnbull Hall). The Psychology program also maintains an online human participant
management system to manage an undergraduate student subject pool and also has access to
online data collection programs including Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey.
The Psychology program is affiliated with two outreach and research centers on the Penn State
Behrend campus. The Center for Organizational Research & Evaluation (CORE) was established
to provide research, evaluation, and proposal development services to teen pregnancy prevention
providers. CORE has broadened the original focus to encompass healthy youth development and
provides process and outcome evaluation, scientific literature searches and reviews, survey
design and scale construction, data collection and database management, data analysis, and
reports. The Prevention and Aggression Reduction Center (PARC) provides research, evaluation,
training, and prevention programming in order to improve school culture and decrease bullying
and aggression in children. PARC provides peer mentoring for at-risk children, consultation,
evaluation of prevention and intervention strategies, and seminars to parents, children, teachers,
and community members.
The Applied Clinical Psychology Master’s program will have additional dedicated space in the
Otto Behrend Building Annex III (see Appendix 2 for a floor plan). The OBB Annex III has five
office rooms (8’ x 9’) that will be used as therapy rooms, as well as a larger room (24’ x 24’ with
a 4’ x 6’ alcove) that will be used for graduate student offices, a reception area, a client waiting
room, and a psychological testing library. Two parking spaces close to the building will be
reserved for clients. This space will mainly be used for practicum classes and other clinical
training.
The Psychology program at Penn State Behrend has connections with a number of local mental
health agencies and providers, including the Barber National Institute, Stairways Behavioral
Health, Northshore Neuroscience/Northshore Psychological Associates LLC, UPMC Hamot,
Millcreek Community Hospital, Safe Harbor Behavioral Health, Perseus House, Family Services
of NWPA, Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center, Community Country Day School, Erie Veterans
Administration Medical Center, and the Family Institute, Inc. These agencies have all served as
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internship placement sites for our undergraduate field placement internships and have indicated
an interest and willingness to serve as sites for graduate level internship placements.
Library and Information Technology Resources
The John M. Lilley Library is a campus signature building that provides a variety of seating
options for more than 700 hundred users with a mix of study carrels, casual seating, tables for
group study, and individual and group study rooms. The staff is composed of four librarians,
three full-time staff assistants, two part-time assistants, and approximately twenty student staff.
Thirty-five library public computers are available, and a 55-seat computer lab and campus
tutoring services are also housed within the building. During the academic year the library is
open 95 hours per week; 113 hours per week at the end of each semester.
The vast resources of the University Libraries are common to all Penn State students and faculty,
regardless of campus location. Easy, reliable online access is provided to library catalogs and
databases, including full-text journals. Online full-text journals now total more than 117,000
titles, including many in psychology and related fields. Some of the databases of central
importance to psychology include PsycInfo, ERIC, Mental Measurements Yearbook, ProQuest
Education Journals, Web of Science (including Social Sciences Citation Index), the Annual
Review of Psychology, and Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, to name a few. Books can
quickly be requested and delivered within a few days from the 5.8 million volumes that are held
throughout the Penn State University Libraries. The Lilley Library book collection is
approximately 130,000 volumes.
Librarians welcome Behrend faculty involvement in the selection of new books, electronic
books, and video materials for the Lilley Library holdings. Over the years the active participation
of Behrend psychology faculty in the selection of library books has helped to build a strong local
collection of materials. More details about the library, its services, and its holdings can be found
on the website: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/erie.html
Faculty, students and staff at Penn State Behrend have access to the information technology
resources available to all individuals at Penn State (such as ANGEL, lynda Campus technology
training, Penn State Access Account Storage Space, and the Media Commons). Penn State
Behrend is a wireless campus and also houses 12 public computing labs on campus. Computers
have access to software for word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentations, Web page
design, statistics (including SPSS and stata), email, and Web browsing. Computing and network
support is provided by the General Electric Foundation Computer Center, which has 17 full-time
support staff and also employs a number of student workers. Each public lab contains a blackand-white laser printer; color or large volume copies are available through the Copy and
Multimedia Center housed in Erie Hall.
5. Technological Resources and Related Specifications
Students in the Applied Clinical Psychology graduate program will be required to obtain
professional liability insurance before they can take either their practicum or internship courses.
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Original written responses from departments affected, either by potential overlapping content
or audience or by potential opportunities for collaboration (received during consultation phase).
Although Penn State Harrisburg is the only academic unit currently offering the MA in applied
clinical psychology, consultation will be sought from all academic units offering similar graduate
programs.
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Appendix 1. Floor plan of Turnbull Hall
Appendix 2. Floor plan of Otto Behrend Building Annex III – Clinical Space
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