Improving access to mental health care

UD’s master of science in clinical psychological science is a 60-credit, full-time program that can be completed in three years. Students gain immersive, in-person experience through clinical training at UD’s on-campus community clinic, located on its STAR Campus. These rigorous learning opportunities occur while students complete courses in psychotherapy, psychopathology, research design for clinicians, and other areas. Students also complete a clinical research project that will serve as their master’s thesis, intended to train students as clinicians who are adept at understanding scientific foundations of their work. In the final year of the program, students complete a full-time clinical internship that will make them eligible to sit for licensure exams through the Association of State and Provincial Psychology in order to practice in an ever-growing list of states.

The graduate-level program is the latest of several new academic offerings from the University of Delaware aimed at addressing the health needs of Delawareans and beyond, including a graduate certificate in epidemiology and a master’s of social work program.

The need for clinical psychologists couldn’t be greater.

Today, professional clinicians are struggling to meet the ever-expanding needs of their patients. Data from the American Psychological Association found that clinical psychologists have experienced yearly increases in their workload since 2020—the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients with mental health concerns have limited access to care, with nearly six in 10 clinical psychologists are unable to accept new patients and aren’t even maintaining a waitlist. In 2024, the APA began accrediting master’s programs in health services psychology, like those in clinical psychological science, to help address the need for access to mental health care. 

Roughly 121 million Americans live in areas with mental health professional shortages, according to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, needing more than 6,100 practitioners to close the gap in available care. Simultaneously, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting that employment for clinical psychologists nationally will increase by 10% by 2031.

“In the U.S., we have a major problem with a lack of access to quality, science-based mental health care in our communities,” Beveridge said. “The problem existed before the pandemic, has gotten worse, and is showing no signs of slowing. Almost everyone you talk to can feel this need. We are excited that this novel master’s program can be part of the solution, by graduating students who can help meet the mental health workforce needs of our society, and also serve as a training model for other programs across the country.”

To learn more about the program and apply, visit the program website.