Doctor of Psychology program receives accreditation status

Riverside, Calif. (June 6, 2022) – The Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology program at California Baptist University recently received its “accredited, on contingency” status, retroactive to September 2021.

The five-year program began in 2018. The first cohort is set to graduate in the summer of 2023.

A team from the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Commission on Accreditation visited the program in September. The team reviewed the curriculum, instructional plans and student work.

The CBU program is now considered accredited, said Dr. Joshua Knabb, director of the PsyD program. The “on contingency” part means that CBU still needs to submit outcome data on interns in the program and graduates who have completed the program. This outcome data includes psychology licensing exam results and the number of students who remain in the field. To become fully accredited, the program must provide the required data by the time two cohorts have completed the program.

“Students graduating from an APA-accredited doctoral program in clinical psychology will have the confidence that the program meets APA’s strict requirements for quality training,” Knabb said. “In addition, many employers require applicants to have graduated from an APA-accredited program. A wide variety of job opportunities now will be available to graduates of the CBU PsyD program.”

In order to practice psychology in California, graduates need to pass two exams: the nationally required Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology and the California Psychology Law and Ethics Examination.

“This is a monumental step for both the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and for CBU,” said Dr. Jacqueline Gustafson, dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. “We are very excited about the ways that the PsyD Program has continued to grow and this particular achievement signifies the excellence with which the program operates.”