As I mentioned in Tuesday’s President’s Spring Forum, I am delighted and proud to announce that Seattle Pacific University’s Ph.D. program in clinical psychology has earned national accreditation from the American Psychological Association (APA). While we just received the official letter from APA a few days ago, the formal date of our accreditation corresponds to the Association’s site visit, which occurred on campus in October 2006. As with so many of our other nationally accredited programs, our doctoral psych program now qualifies confidently as a premier, national Christian university preparation for mental health professionals. This is a very proud moment for Seattle Pacific, and I celebrate with this dedicated team.
What’s more, the APA Committee on Accreditation voted to award accreditation to SPU for seven years, the maximum duration APA will approve. It’s not uncommon for new programs such as ours to be given much shorter periods of accreditation. What we have experienced here is a tremendous recognition and affirmation by APA of the outstanding quality of a program that we have been carefully building since its inception in 1995.
As with all secondary accreditation, because clinical psychology programs must be well established before they can even apply for national accreditation, and because they must meet exacting requirements in a wide variety of areas, the School of Psychology, Family, and Community (SPFC) has worked tirelessly over a significant period of time in order to lead us to this day. APA accreditation demonstrates that Seattle Pacific’s Ph.D. program in clinical psychology — and its graduates — have attained recognition at the highest levels of scholarship in the profession. Achieving APA accreditation will open even more doors for SPU doctoral graduates in clinical psychology to pursue the most competitive positions at leading medical and mental health centers across the nation.
I commend SPFC Dean Mícheál Roe, Graduate Psychology Chair Jay Skidmore, and all of the graduate psychology faculty and staff for bringing this highly sought-after accreditation to Seattle Pacific. We rejoice with you all!
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