RESEARCH AND DISSERTATIONS:

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

Research in the Department of Graduate Psychology Research plays a large role in the development of Ph.D.-level psychologists. You will have three major research-oriented opportunities in the doctoral program. These include your methods / research course sequence, participation in the research vertical teams (RVTs), and your dissertation. Each of these required activities help to establish research competencies that are listed within each section below. Additionally, the School of Psychology, Family, and Community offers you the opportunity to present student research at its annual research conference which occurs in late spring quarter.

Research Vertical Teams (RVTs) All core-DGP faculty conduct an on-going program of research in which a team of DGP students participate. These teams are known as research vertical teams (RVTs) which are composed of DGP faculty and students from varying cohorts. Students meet with their RVTs weekly or bi-weekly to work with their faculty advisor on their program of research. It is expected that more advanced students will get to the point where they independently direct an aspect of their Faculty advisor's research while training or mentoring newer members of the RVT. You will be involved in theory development, operationalization, data collection, analysis, and/or write-ups of empirical research for publication in peer review journals. RVTs will have 5-12 students . In some cases where professors are working on collaborative projects, some RVT members or teams may be combined or overlap.

Local Clinical Scientist Model Seattle Pacific University's Department of Graduate Psychology (DGP) is committed to training Local Clinical Scientists. In the Local Clinical Scientist model, research and practice are not separate domains but integrated such that practice informs research questions, while research informs the practice of clinical psychology (Stricker, 1997, 2000; Trierweiler & Stricker, 1998). Additionally Local Clinical Scientists think like researchers in the practice of psychology and value the use of evidence-based treatment. To this end SPU Graduate Psychology doctoral students are encouraged to produce, consume, and utilize research throughout their doctoral training and beyond into their professional practice. Our goal is to facilitate students' research skills and positive attitude towards research so that they will continue to view research as an integral part of professional psychology.