Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System
Advancing Public Health through Science-Centered EducationWelcome to the official web site of the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS). PCSAS is an independent, non-profit body incorporated in December 2007 to provide rigorous, objective, and empirically based accreditation of Ph.D. programs in psychological clinical science (the terms psychological clinical science and scientific clinical psychology are used interchangeably). PCSAS was created to promote superior science-centered education and training in clinical psychology, to increase the quality and quantity of clinical scientists contributing to the advancement of public health, and to enhance the scientific knowledge base for mental and behavioral health care.
PCSAS's first year, 2008, was devoted primarily to start-up activities: (a) establishing the essential infrastructure for inviting, accepting, and processing accreditation applications from eligible doctoral programs; (b) establishing positive working relationships with relevant entities; (c) building a solid fiscal foundation for effective and sustained operation; and (d) articulating the distinct mission, goals, principles, policies, procedures, and criteria that define PCSAS accreditation and make it unique.
PCSAS started accepting applications for accreditation on June 1, 2009. The first round of reviews was held November 12, 2009, at which time the PCSAS Review Committee fully accredited the Doctoral Program in Clinical/Community Psychology at the University of Illinois—Urbana/Champaign. The second round of reviews was held on May 26, 2010, at which time two additional Doctoral Programs in Psychological Clinical Science were accredited: University of Arizona and Washington University in St. Louis. The next round of reviews is scheduled for November 2010. We hope you find this web site informative and useful. Always eager to improve it, we invite your comments and feedback.