Qualifications
- To be considered a postdoctoral fellow, applicants must have met all requirements for their doctoral degree, including successful defense of the doctoral dissertation (which includes submission and final approval by the dissertation committee of any changes requested at the time of the dissertation defense) by the time the fellowship begins.
- With the exception of applicants to NIH-funded T32 fellowships, all postdoctoral fellowship applicants who are training to be health service psychologists must also hold a doctoral degree from an APA-accredited program or the equivalent. Applicants from non APA-accredited doctoral programs will be considered on a case-by-case basis only if their graduate program, in its public documents, states that it is in the process of submitting its self-study to APA, with a timeline for submission no more than 2 years from the time their first cohort of students enters the APPIC internship match.
- Applicants to APA-accredited Clinical Psychology Program (CPP), Clinical Child Psychology Specialty Program (CCPSP), and Clinical Neuropsychology Specialty Program (CNSP) fellowships must also come from an APA-accredited internship program or the equivalent (internship program MUST already be accredited at time of application submission). [Note: An exception is made only for applicants applying to APA fellowships who are coming from a VHA internship program that is in the process of applying for APA accreditation. The programs are acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement, provided that such programs were sanctioned by the VHA Central Office Program Director for psychology and the VHA Central Office of Academic Affiliations at the time that the individual was an intern.]
- Applicants to the Clinical Neuropsychology Specialty Program (CNSP) - internship training must have been done at a site that adheres to the Houston Conference Guidelines and must have had a Major Emphasis in Clinical Neuropsychology according to APA Taxonomy for Education and Training in Clinical Neuropsychology.
Citizenship Requirement for Applicants to Government-Funded Fellowships
Applicants to NIH- or Government-funded Fellowships must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment. To assure that this will not be a problem, we expect that postdoctoral fellows already meet eligibility requirements at the time their applications are submitted.
A non-citizen national is a person who although not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the U.S. They are generally persons born in lands which are not States, but are under U.S. sovereignty, jurisdiction, or administration, for example American Samoa. An individual lawfully admitted for permanent residence must submit a notarized statement upon activation of the award, indicating possession of the alien registration receipt card (I-151 or I-551).
Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible for support from the NRSA.
Selection Process
We seek applicants who have a sound clinical and scientific knowledge base from their academic program and internship; strong entry-level professional skills in assessment, intervention, and research techniques; and the personal characteristics necessary to function well as a doctoral-level professional in a medical center environment. Our selection criteria focus on all aspects of the application materials, with particular emphases placed upon background training and experience and an applicant’s commitment to a career in clinical psychology integrating science and practice. We seek the best fit between applicants and our training program. All hospitals in our training program are considered Equal Opportunity Employers; we are committed to attracting a range of diverse applicants and recruit candidates representing different kinds of programs and theoretical orientations, geographic areas, ages, racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, disabilities, and life experiences.
Applications to the Clinical Postdoctoral Program (CPP), Clinical Child Psychology Specialty Program (CCPSP), and Research Fellowship Program (RFP) are reviewed by faculty, the CPP/CCPSP/RFP Director, and the PFTP Training Director. Following this initial review, highly ranked applicants may be invited to interview. All interviews will be conducted virtually/remotely using formats such as video, Skype, telephone, or Zoom. Our CPP and CCPSP positions follow the APPIC Postdoctoral Selection Guidelines.
Applications to the Clinical Neuropsychology Specialty Program (CNSP) are reviewed by the CNSP Director, Associate Director, and faculty. Following this initial review, highly ranked applicants may be invited to interview. All interviews will be conducted virtually/remotely using formats such as video, Skype, telephone, or Zoom. Note: For applicants interested in the neuropsychology emphasis area, we do not participate in the APPCN Match and are not expected to follow the APPIC Selection Guidelines.
To be consistent with NIH policy, it is the Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program's requirement that individuals receiving NRSA research funding (e.g. F31 predoctoral award) cannot simultaneously hold this award and complete a full-time postdoctoral fellowship. For further details on the NIH policy, please refer directly to their website: National Institutes of Mental Health, Grants Policy Statement.
Questions related to the program's accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-336-5979 / E-mail: apaaccred@apa.org
Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation