Nov 21, 2024  
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog

Health Psychology, PhD


Program Co-Coordinators:

  • Clinical Health Psychology Concentration: Robert Carels (344-B Rawl Building; 252-737-5070; carelsr14@ecu.edu)
  • Occupational Health Psychology: Mark Bowler (111 Rawl Building; 252-328-0013; bowlerm@ecu.edu)
  • Pediatric School Psychology: Christy Walcott (214 Rawl Building; 252-328-1378; walcottc@ecu.edu)

The Health Psychology, PhD is a post-baccalaureate program (95-108 s.h.). Students choose a concentration in either clinical health (108 s.h.), occupational health psychology (95 s.h.), or pediatric school psychology (102 s.h.) at the time of their application to the program. A one-year pre-doctoral internship is required for the clinical health and pediatric school concentrations. A summer internship is required for the occupational health psychology concentration.

Completion of the clinical health or the pediatric school psychology concentration meets the current educational requirements for licensure by the North Carolina Psychology Board as a licensed psychologist. Completion of the occupational health psychology concentration meets the standards set forth by Division 14 of the American Psychological Association in the Guidelines for Education and Training at the doctoral level in industrial and organizational psychology. 

Students enrolled in the occupational health psychology concentration must complete the requirements for earning a master’s degree in psychology with a concentration in industrial and organizational psychology prior to taking 8000-level courses. Continuation in the occupational health psychology concentration is based upon satisfactory course work and effective personal functioning and ethical behavior. Students who consistently show borderline course performance, who are not developing good applied skills in the practice of psychology, who fail to complete course work on a timely basis, or who otherwise perform unprofessionally or unsatisfactorily, may be removed from the program. Students who do not complete the PhD program may be allowed to complete the coursework necessary to earn a master’s degree in psychology.

Program requirements include:

2. Foundations of psychology - 18 s.h.


3. Research methods and practice - 27 s.h.


b. Thesis and predissertation research - 6 s.h.


c. Dissertation - 12 s.h.


4. Concentrations - 47-60 s.h.


Choose one concentration from the following:

a. Clinical health concentration - 60 s.h.


b. Occupational health psychology concentration - 47 s.h.


c. Pediatric school psychology concentration - 54 s.h.


Licensure/Certification Requirements in North Carolina


The curriculum for all ECU Certificates, Degrees, and other Graduate Programs  have been designed to meet the licensure/certification requirements in North Carolina and prepare students to sit for licensure/certification exams in North Carolina. The various licensure boards in each state are responsible for setting requirements for licensure/certification in their state. Other states have their own requirements, and you’ll want to make sure your program meets criteria in your home state (or state where you intend to work) before you apply. Search our state  Licensure Dashboard to see if the program you’re interested in meets the educational requirements for licensing/certification in your home state (or state where you intend to work).