Popular Accredited Psychology PsyD Programs in Washington State [2026 Guide]

You can find a range of accredited PsyD programs in Washington State that prepare you for advanced clinical roles in psychology. These programs combine research-based coursework with supervised practicum and internship experiences, helping you develop the skills needed to provide assessment, therapy, and consultation services.

As a student, you will learn about psychological theories, intervention methods, and professional ethics, preparing you to serve individuals and communities across Washington.

PsyD Programs in Washington State

Listed below are some of the popular schools offering PsyD programs in Washington State:

• Antioch University Seattle
• Northwest University
• Gonzaga University
• George Washington University
• Pacific University
• Walden University
• Grand Canyon University

To find out how we select colleges and universities, please click here.

Antioch University Seattle

PsyD in Clinical Psychology

The APA-accredited PsyD in Psychology at Antioch University Seattle (AUS) provides doctoral education and training for the practice of professional and health service psychology. You will grow your clinical, applied research, and assessment skills with strong attention to multicultural competency and social justice ideas and placements.

At AUS, you will join a community of students and faculty who will be active, engaged, and socially aware. You will study with a small cohort of classmates in an environment that will support collaboration. You will prepare for many roles in the growing field of clinical psychology, which will include therapy, assessment, supervision, management, applied research, administration, consultation, and public policy.

The PsyD program uses a competency based system to evaluate how you meet program goals and objectives. These competencies guide every part of student assessment. The core set reflects the many roles of psychologists and Antioch’s mission by including advocacy for social change.

Practicum, pre internship, and clinical internship placements may include work in the AUS Community Counseling and Psychology Clinic and various community settings. You will receive supervision and mentoring from qualified professionals. These practical experiences lead to the clinical internship, which is required either as one full time year or two years at half time in a setting for advanced training in professional psychology. Both national and local placements are available.

AUS takes part in the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) match program, and you are required to apply for APPIC member internships.

For students who already hold a master’s degree in psychology, counseling or a related mental health field, some of the following “core” or foundational courses may be waived based on a syllabus review, to a maximum of eight (8) total credits:

• Cognition and Affect
• Biological Bases of Behavior I & II
• Psychopathology I & II
• Psychopharmacology I & II
• Learning Theory
• Life Span Development I and II
• History and Systems of Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Individual Differences and Personality Theories I & II
• Integrated Behavioral Health Psychology
• Advanced Ethics
• Community Psychology
• Professional Issues in Career Management
• Consultation and Supervision
• Writing Seminar for PsyD

To prepare you for doctoral level work, the learning plan is sequential, cumulative, and grows in complexity. All students, no matter prior training, must complete a one year full time residency to confirm that base conceptual and experiential competencies are met.

The curriculum and training plan give every student broad generalist doctoral training that follows current and developing trends in clinical psychology. For example, three first year courses build basic clinical skills, professional identity, and multicultural competency while you complete a social justice practicum:

• Foundational Clinical Skills
• Social Justice and Cultural Competency I
• Social Justice and Cultural Competency II

With the generalist design, you also finish the Intervention series, created to supply wide theoretical and scientific bases for clinical practice that connect with the existing and developing body of knowledge, skills, and competencies in applied psychology.

You will take the following three concept based courses while you also enroll in Professional Seminars that offer case consultation and training on clinical topics. In addition, you start clinical training in the AUS Community Counseling and Psychology Clinic and, when appropriate, you may train at another suitable community practicum site.

• Interventions I
• Interventions II
• Interventions III

Professional Seminars:

• Professional Seminar I
• Professional Seminar II
• Professional Seminar III

The PsyD program follows a mastery model of education. You are supported and expected to gain the clinical competencies needed to serve as an effective entry level clinical psychologist. The doctoral degree is awarded at the end of the quarter in which all requirements are completed. Graduation requirements include these standards:

• Completion of a one year residency, defined as at least nine credits each quarter for three straight quarters during the first year in the PsyD program. Residency in another year may be allowed case by case only for personal exigencies.
• Successful completion of 140 graduate quarter credits from courses listed for the degree.
• Completion of 50 hours of Social Justice Service Project.
• Passing marks on the most recent student Annual Review.
• Successful passage of the Clinical Competency Examination.
• Confirmation of satisfactory completion of the dissertation by all dissertation committee members and APA editor approval.
• Proof of 3 to 10 hours of personal psychotherapy with a licensed mental health practitioner.
• Completion of at least 900 supervised pre internship hours.
•  Satisfactory completion of a 1500 to 2000 hour clinical internship.
• Completion of all parts of the PsyD program ( academic credits, clinical training, and dissertation ) within a maximum of seven years. See the Time to Completion Statute of Limitations located at Sakai/ PsyD Community/ Resources/ Dissertation/ Dissertation Extension Request and Completion Plan Form.
• Attendance at 20 Saturday Community Meeting didactics per year.

The AUS PsyD program is planned for completion in five years on a full time year round schedule, including coursework, clinical training, and a dissertation. Students beyond seven years must petition each year to continue, with a maximum of ten years in rare cases.

Graduates have earned licenses and jobs outside Washington State, including Oregon, California, Illinois, and New York, as well as outside the United States in Canada, Guam, and Japan.

The AUS PsyD program seeks applicants with academic, clinical, professional, and interpersonal promise, together with a commitment to cultural competency and social justice. Academic strength is reviewed through past academic performance (GPA of 3.0 or higher ), letters of recommendation, and quality of essay writing.

About two thirds of applicants hold bachelor’s degrees, and about one third hold master’s degrees. A psychology degree is preferred, yet successful candidates have also come from medicine, law, business, and related human services. A mix of new and experienced clinicians adds depth to learning. Applicants with direct clinical and research experience are preferred.

• Admission requirements include:
  Complete the online admissions application.
• Hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. Send official transcripts from all colleges and universities you attended to the Admissions Office.
• Prerequisite Courses: Finish the following with a grade of B or better. All academic work must be within the last ten years at a regionally accredited institution. Applicants with an undergraduate psychology degree from regionally accredited schools are exempt from Abnormal Psychology and Developmental Psychology. Introduction to Statistics is required for all applicants. All prerequisites must be fully finished by the time you submit your application.
  • Abnormal Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Introduction to Statistics
• Two recommendation letters are required. They should be people who can judge your readiness for graduate clinical training, such as social science instructors and supervisors from roles where you helped people in mental health, social service, or education settings. Letters from friends, relatives, or personal therapists are not accepted.
• Resume/ Curriculum Vitae (CV): Provide documentation of related professional and volunteer experience, professional affiliations, publications, and licensure.
• Admission Essays:
• Personal Essays: Submit a typed, double spaced response of 300 to 500 words to each question below:
  • How do your academic and research experiences, clinical interests, and skills fit with the AUS doctoral program and model, how have they prepared you, and what strengths do you bring?
  • In what ways has your life history, such as facing adversity, engaging in personal therapy, or other major events, shaped your wish to become a clinical psychologist?
• Analytical Writing Essays: Submit a typed, double spaced response of 400 to 600 words to each prompt below:
  • Issue Task: Evaluate this statement and present a well reasoned argument with examples: “ Social media is harmful to our mental health. As psychologists, we should support the reduction of social media use. ” Your response should explain how much you agree or disagree and why, and should discuss possible results of your position and how those results shape your view.
  • Argument Task: Review this vignette and respond as directed: A student therapist was assigned a new client from a different race and socioeconomic background. In the first session, the client said the student therapist would not be able to understand the client’s point of view and asked to move to a different therapist. The student therapist spoke with a supervisor. After that talk, the student therapist reached out to the client to discuss working together while recognizing their differences. Write a response explaining why you agree with this action or, if you do not agree, provide another course of action and fully explain your reasoning with a sound argument supporting your choice.

Select applicants may be invited to an in person interview with faculty.

If you are accepted, you must submit a non refundable enrollment deposit of $500 within three weeks of acceptance. After payment, the fee holds your place in the program and is applied to your first quarter’s tuition.

Northwest University

PsyD in Counseling Psychology

You can earn your APA-accredited Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) degree at Northwest University, which allows you to meet the qualifications needed for licensure as a psychologist in Washington State. You will be prepared to become a culturally competent therapist, diagnostician, and evaluator. The PsyD Program also helps you get ready for research or teaching roles at colleges or universities.

This PsyD program is designed as a five-year plan that begins after you finish your bachelor’s degree. The courses you take focus on theoretical and practical research that is supported by scholarly writing. You will pay special attention to international, multicultural, and social concerns.

Following the practitioner-scholar model, you will be trained as a skilled practitioner who uses methods and knowledge based on proven theories and research. There is a strong focus on serving communities worldwide and building multi-cultural awareness.

During your studies, you will work with research and literature that have proven value. You will focus on issues that affect cultures worldwide and topics connected to social fairness. Throughout the program, you will build your skills in critical thinking and understanding of differences among people as you gain advanced abilities as a practitioner, researcher, and academic.

You will follow a cohort structure that operates throughout the year. To graduate, you need to complete 121 credits. For the first three years, your schedule centers on classroom learning, including a cultural immersion and practicum. In the final two years, your main focus shifts to clinical training. Your fourth year includes fewer courses, work on your dissertation, and advanced practicum or a pre-internship. The fifth year is spent in a full-time internship.

As you start the program, you are encouraged to get involved in the professional field of psychology during your first two years. You might do this by shadowing or interviewing licensed psychologists, joining research projects, or taking part in volunteer or paid work within the field.

The program is designed to help you achieve three main goals:

• You will develop the skills and abilities needed to provide psychological and counseling services at a professional level.
• You will become a scholar who can think critically about scientific research and conduct your own research in psychology.
• You will gain a solid understanding of key theories and scientific foundations in psychology.

The program highly values scholarship that helps move the field of psychology forward. You will be encouraged to conduct original research that builds new knowledge in the area of psychological science. You may also test innovative treatment methods to address human needs. You are also guided to study how people understand their experiences and culture.

You will complete clinical training through demanding coursework, research projects, and a dissertation, along with supervised field placements. The Director of Clinical Training reviews practicum and pre-internship sites to make sure you get organized, progressive, and increasingly complex experiences. You are required to apply for and attend APA accredited internships. All applications are submitted through the national APPIC match system.

Program Sequence

• Year 1 – Individual Therapy (10 hours), Theoretical/Scientific Foundations, Annual Assessment
• Year 2 – Pre-Practicum Training, Psychological Assessment, Research Methods Series, Cultural Immersion Trip
• Year 3 – Clinical Skill Training, Practicum, Dissertation Preparation, Qualifying Exams (Written and Clinical)
• Year 4 – Clinical and Supervision Coursework, Dissertation, Pre-Internship or Advanced Practicum
• Year 5 – Internship

This program is designed to last five years, but many students may need extra time to finish their dissertation or internship. You will spend the first four years on courses and class attendance.

Your fifth year is for internship, which can be located anywhere in the United States. You are required to complete your degree within seven years of starting the program. If you have a master’s degree before starting this program, your time to finish will not be shortened.

One practicum, pre-internship, or internship training site you may work with is NUhope Community Counseling Center. The purpose of NUhope is to offer high-quality clinical training to psychology graduate students; help you respond to human need by providing counseling and assessment services; create an environment where you improve your cultural awareness while you work with people from diverse backgrounds; and make counseling affordable for those in the community.

A doctoral dissertation is required for graduation. Your dissertation is your opportunity to create an important academic work that shows the knowledge you have gained in psychology as well as your own growth and specialization.

Overall degree requirements include:

• 121 semester hours of coursework.
• 10 hours of individual psychotherapy (personal expense) in Year One.
• Cultural Immersion Experience in Year One.
• 10-14 day cultural immersion experience.
• Qualifying Examination in Year Three
• Doctoral Dissertation

You can choose to focus your dissertation on either quantitative or qualitative research. Your process will include making a proposal, presenting your proposal to a committee, defending your dissertation, and sharing your research through a publication, speaking event, or report.

To become licensed in Washington State, you must complete 3,300 clinical hours (including 300 practicum, 1,000 pre-internship or postdoc, and 2,000 internship hours). The program helps you to meet these hour requirements, but if you do not complete all hours during your studies, you may need additional postdoctoral work.

After you finish your third year and pass both comprehensive exams, you have the option to apply for a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology (MACP) as you work toward your PsyD. You need to submit your application at the start of your fourth year.

To apply for admission, you must have a Bachelor of Arts or Science from an accredited institution. If your undergraduate or graduate degree is not in psychology, you need to complete five prerequisite courses before starting the program. These are not required at the time of application but must be finished before you begin. Having a minor in psychology is not enough unless you have all these prerequisites:

• General Psychology or Introduction to Psychology
• Theories of Personality or Theories of Psychotherapy
• Developmental Psychology or Lifespan Development
• Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology
• Statistics

Other requirements include:

• A 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale
• GRE general test (recommended, not required)
• Application submission
• Group interview

Sending GRE scores is encouraged but not required. If you do send your GRE scores, use the following information: Northwest University 4541; Counseling Psychology 2005.

Your application must be submitted by December 15 each year, and all materials are due by January 15.

Gonzaga University

PsyD in School Psychology

The Psy.D. School Psychology program at Gonzaga University prepares you to qualify for licensure as a psychologist. The program is built around the “scientist-practitioner” framework, training you to use psychological and educational principles to support academic and emotional development within school communities.

This model helps you combine scientific research with practical skills so you can create effective interventions and systems that promote both well-being and academic progress for students.

You will follow a curriculum that meets APA’s Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology, including Operating Procedures and Implementation Regulations. Full accreditation is expected by 2026.

During your training, you will develop a strong background and practical abilities in assessment, intervention, consultation, and research. The program covers topics such as developmental psychology, cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychometrics, educational law, and ethics.

You will also complete hands-on experiences through supervised practicums and internships in both school and clinical settings. By finishing the program, you become eligible for licensure and can work in a range of environments, such as:

• Pre-K-12 Schools: You will support students’ academic, social, and emotional growth by providing assessments, counseling, and collaborating with educators and families.
• Hospitals: You may deliver psychological care to children and teens within medical environments, addressing mental health needs and supporting general well-being.
• Residential Facilities: You can work with youth in treatment centers, giving therapy and support to those who experience emotional or behavioral difficulties.
• Higher Education: You may become involved in teaching, research, and student support within colleges and universities.
• Private Practice: You are able to conduct assessments and collaborate with families and local groups to determine student needs and deliver evidence-based services.
• Outpatient Clinics: You provide therapy to individuals, psychoeducation, group counseling, and behavioral health interventions to children.
• Supervision and Training: You can guide and train future school psychologists, interns, residents, and mental health workers to ensure strong assessment and intervention skills.

You will be well-prepared to serve the varied needs of your community, make a positive difference for others, and help advance the field of school psychology.

Depending on your academic background, you have two paths to earn your Psy.D. in School Psychology.

• Psy.D. in School Psychology: Post-Baccalaureate: If you enter after earning a bachelor’s degree, you will attend classes with Ed.S. candidates for your first two years. In your third year, you move forward with doctoral-level training while Ed.S. students begin their internship.
• Psy.D. in School Psychology: Post-Certification: This option is for you if you are a certified school psychologist who completed a 60-credit program such as the Ed.S. degree at Gonzaga University or a similar program in school counseling.

There are 10 students in the post-bachelor’s program and 10 students in the post-certification program. If you are starting with a bachelor’s degree only, the program length will be 5 years. If you are starting with an Ed. Specialist the program will take 3 years.

The program is committed to regular improvement. You will benefit from a structured assessment process that uses feedback from external partners for continuous program growth.

Faculty review student progress and program outcomes often. This review includes checking admission data, professional competencies, graduate employment information, and the program environment. Practicum and internship supervisors share feedback to help faculty improve courses and experiences.

Your training will be cohort-based, which lets you build relationships with peers who may become your colleagues in the future. You must complete at least three full-time academic years plus an internship before finishing your Psy.D. Two of those years must be within the Gonzaga University Psy.D. program. You must complete all requirements, including your internship, before you can graduate.

You are allowed to select internships and practicums based on your interests. Sites may include school districts, clinical facilities, hospitals, courts, or mental health organizations. Your final year internship can take place anywhere in the United States.

Each student must also spend at least one year as a full-time resident of the Gonzaga University Psy.D. program. You need to keep full-time, in-person enrollment throughout the program to help build teamwork, steady progress, and involvement in the academic community. Residency helps you work closely with faculty to gain the values and behaviors needed for the field, as well as learn the terms and language of school psychology. Being in residence also gives you chances to join seminars, discussions, professional growth activities, and research projects that are not available otherwise.

Residency as a full-time student lets faculty support your growth in building professional relationships and social skills, which are important for your future career. Student progress is monitored during residency to ensure that you have the emotional stability and readiness needed for effective practice.

Because this is a cohort-based program, you are expected to remain a full-time student. If you wish to move to part-time status, you need to meet with the program director and your advisor to discuss ways to help you continue with full-time studies.

Program Goals

• Improve schools and the community through service learning, practical work, and volunteering, as measured by supervisor feedback, self-reflection, and both quantitative and qualitative approaches.
• Encourage life-long learning through participation at conferences at local, state, regional, and national levels.
• Use psychological practice to improve social, emotional, academic, and behavior outcomes for students with both direct and indirect service models (including individual and group counseling, consultation, collaboration, and assessments).
• Support the rights of others by increasing social awareness and participating in policy change.
• Learn the differences between disadvantage and disabilities in relation to student development and learning.
• Carry out and share research in school psychology that addresses important issues in education, mental health, and child development, adding to the knowledge and practices in the profession.
• Develop scientist-practitioners in school psychology who apply psychological principles and conduct research, preparing you to contribute to evidence-based practice and make decisions using data.

Admission application is reviewed based only on academic and professional qualifications such as past academic records, relevant experience, and potential for success in school psychology. The program does not use any requirements or practices that would limit access based on culture or individual characteristics including age, disability, background, gender, gender identity, language, country of origin, race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, or economic status.

Admission requirements for the program include:

• A suitable bachelor’s degree (for example, psychology, education, or counseling) from a regionally accredited institution.
• A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.5 (or graduate GPA of 3.5 if you have a graduate degree).
• Three recommendation letters from people who can comment on your leadership, people skills, critical thinking, judgment, professional work, and your readiness for graduate studies.
• A statement of purpose that explains your reasons for wanting to join the Psy.D. in School Psychology program.
• A resume or curriculum vitae.

It is also recommended that you have completed these courses (or equivalents) in undergraduate or graduate study:

• Introductory psychology
• Child development
• Research methods
• Statistics
• Psychopathology

You can begin your application at the start of the fall semester, one year before you wish to enroll. The School Psychology program uses a priority deadline of January 15. After this deadline, core faculty review complete applications. If your application is successful, you may be invited to interview with faculty and current students. If you are admitted, you will receive an offer to join the program.

George Washington University

PsyD in Clinical Psychology

You can enroll in the Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology at George Washington University to prepare yourself to assess and treat psychopathology through extensive clinical training and structured research methods.

The degree includes four years of clinical psychology education and training, with a typical full-time schedule requiring three years (nine semesters) in residence at GW, followed by a full year of internship. While completing the PsyD program, you also have the option to earn a Master of Psychology degree.

You will participate in practicum, which is the central experiential learning feature of the PsyD Program. Each term, you gain clinical experience in the Center Clinic. In your final year, you can complete practicum through an external internship.

You must complete at least 83 credits in approved graduate coursework to earn your degree. You may take up to 12 credits from courses offered by other schools in the Consortium of Universities of the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. You are required to fulfill all degree requirements within five years of entering the program.

Your curriculum is built to include a psychodynamic perspective in almost every course. Required core courses include biological, cognitive, social and cultural foundations; clinical training in psychopathology, group dynamics, assessment, psychotherapy, supervision, and consultation; plus research methods, history and systems, statistics, and ethics.

Along with your core courses, you will select a specialization in one of three tracks: Child and Adolescent, Adult, or Assessment.

You are required to complete the practicum seminar (PSYD 8203) in the summer of your first year and each fall and spring semester afterward, as well as one more practicum during a summer term.

Externship: You must complete an externship that consists of a year-long, part-time supervised clinical assignment over two years in the program. If you do not pass your externship and the program director approves, you may repeat it once. A second failure ends your eligibility for the degree.

Internship: You need to successfully complete a one-year, full-time internship at an institution approved by program faculty. Failure to complete the internship results in termination of your candidacy.

At the start of your second year, you will select a major area of study. You must finish at least four three-credit courses in your track.

• If you choose the Adult Track, you will focus on individual adult psychotherapy, including theory and practice.
• If you choose the Assessment Track, your focus will be on psychological evaluation, such as neuropsychology, learning about proper administration and interpretation of assessment tools.
• In the Child and Adolescent Track, you will study and treat children, especially early identification and intervention in individual, family, and school settings.

Each PsyD student must complete a Major Area Paper (MAP), where you select a case from your own clinical experience and write a detailed clinical or theoretical study.

Starting in the summer of your first year, you will work with faculty and supervisors to pick a clinical case to study and develop your MAP. You will use coursework, clinical supervision, and advisor guidance during your second and third year to complete your MAP. You may expand papers written in your second-year courses into your MAP. The MAP must be finished and approved by the end of the summer before your internship.

You are given two options for your course load: full-time and reduced-load. You must choose one option and cannot change between the two.

The reduced-load path lets you take one less course per fall and spring semester so that you finish coursework over four years instead of three. You must follow the sequence for assessment and psychotherapy courses as set for full-time students. Your advisor must approve your schedule at the start and it must be reviewed again by your advisor and the faculty by the end of your first year. Practicum enrollment is required in every year.

You are required to complete a practicum every year in the program. This experience is essential for connecting theory with real practice. You will join practicum each term you are enrolled.

All students must train in the in-house clinic for the first two years. For your third year, you may continue in the clinic or move to an external site for your practicum. If you wish to take on extra work outside of the program’s required clinical activities, you must discuss this with your advisor to make sure it is properly arranged.

When you apply, the Admissions Committee considers your academic record, recommendation strength, clinical interests, previous professional work, integrity, motivation, maturity, professionalism, ethics, and any undergraduate or graduate psychology and statistics courses you have completed.

To be eligible to apply, you need one of the following:

• A bachelor’s degree in psychology with a suitable background and experience, or a master’s degree in psychology.
• Three letters of recommendation.
• Official transcripts from all colleges and universities you attended, even if you did not earn credit or finish a program.
• A statement of purpose.

If your application is considered a strong match for the program, you will be invited to an applicant orientation and interview with the faculty.

You may be able to receive up to 27 graduate transfer credits, usually for standardized core areas such as statistics, research methods, or biological bases. Program-specific clinical courses are less likely to be accepted. Even if you have transfer credits, you cannot shorten the total required semesters of training due to the way clinical experience is structured.

Transfer credits are not reviewed before you are admitted. After you join the program, your advisor and the relevant course instructor will review your credits. You should request review of your transfer credits early in your first semester. Approval for the full 27 transfer credits is generally only possible if you have previously earned a doctoral degree.