Pre-Clinical Psychology

Students who aspire to become clinical psychologists are considered to be on the “pre-clinical psychology”, or pre-CP” track. Pre-clinical psychology is not an academic major, nor must students major in Psychology in order to be pre-CP. Every pre-CPstudent must declare and work towards a degree as they fulfill the admission requirements for their preferred graduate programs.

Academic requirements to apply for clinical psychology graduate schools will vary by program. You will need to check the requirements for the specific programs you are interested in. Students may seek participation inthe Accelerated Special Consideration Programs (ASCP) for Clinical Psychology described in detail on the Special Consideration Programs page.

Some programs will require applicants to have an undergraduate degree with a major in psychology. Others will not require you to have majored in psychology, but many of these will require some psychology coursework (usually around 18 hours) prior to application or enrollment in the graduate program. In this case, common psychology course requirements (passed with a B or higher) include:

• Introduction to Psychology (PSY 101)
• Human Behavior and Development, or Lifespan Development (PSY 245)
• Abnormal Psychology (PSY 265)
• Statistics (STA 126 or PSY 306) or Tests and Measurement (PSY 325)

Many programs will require a minimum GPA, which varies between a 3.2 and a 3.5 GPA.

Current Mercer Students

Students enrolled at Mercer who are following one of the pre-health professions tracks should enroll in the “GPS” (pre-Graduate & Professional School) advising course on Canvas.