Principle: The foundation of professional practice in psychology is the evolving body of knowledge in the discipline of psychology.
The following criteria will be used to identify and designate educational programs as psychology programs:
1. Programs that are accredited by the American Psychological Association are recognized as meeting the definition of a professional psychology program. The criteria for accreditation serve as a model for professional training.
2. Training in professional psychology is doctoral training offered in a regionally accredited institution of higher learning.
3. The program, wherever it may be administratively housed, must be clearly identified and labeled as a psychology program. Such a program must specify in pertinent institutional catalogs and brochures its intent to educate and train professional psychologists.
4. The psychology program must stand as a recognizable, coherent organizational entity within the institution.
5. There must be clear authority and primary responsibility for the core and specialty areas whether or not the program cuts across administrative lines.
6. The program must be an organized sequence of study planned by those responsible for the training program to provide an integrated educational sequence appropriate to the professional practice of psychology.
7. There must be an identifiable psychology faculty and a psychologist responsible for the program.
8. The program must have an identifiable body of students who are matriculated in that program for a degree. Since the quality of any educational program is partially dependent on the quality of students, careful attention must be given that students meet appropriate standards of educational preparation and ability for admission.
9. The program must include supervised practicum, internship, field or laboratory training appropriate to the practice of psychology.
10. The curriculum shall encompass a minimum of three academic years of full-time graduate study. The doctoral program shall involve one continuous academic year of full-time residency at the university at which the degree is granted. In addition to instruction in scientific and professional ethics and standards, history and systems, research design methodology, statistics and psychometrics, the core program shall require each student to demonstrate competence in each of the following substantive content areas. This typically will be met by including a minimum of six or more graduate semester hours (nine or more graduate quarter hours) in each of these four substantive content areas:
a. Biological bases of behavior, e.g., physiological psychology, comparative psychology.
b. Cognitive-affective bases of behavior, e.g., learning, thinking, motivation, emotion.
c. Social bases of behavior, e.g., social psychology, group processes, organization and systems theory.
d. Individual differences, e.g., personality theory, human development, abnormal psychology.
Note: Item 10 identifies the core psychology program. In addition to these criteria, all professional education programs in psychology will include course requirements in specialty areas. The above curriculum requirements, then, represent the necessary, but not the sufficient number of graduate hours for a degree in professional psychology.
Notes
S.C. Code Regs. A
Added by State Register Vol 2, eff May 30, 1978Amended by State Register Volume 8, Issue No. 5, eff May 25, 1984; Amended by State Register Volume 15, Issue No. 6, eff June 28, 1991; State Register Volume 38, Issue No. 6, eff 6/27/2014.
Item 10 identifies the core psychology program. In addition to these criteria, all professional education programs in psychology will include course requirements in specialty areas. The above curriculum requirements, then, represent the necessary, but not the sufficient number of graduate hours for a degree in professional psychology.
