SECTION 463.15. Criteria for Degrees Conferred Prior to 1979

(a) For applicants for licensure as a psychologist with a doctoral degree conferred prior to January 1, 1979, the transcript must reflect a doctoral degree that designates a major in psychology or the substantial equivalent of a doctoral degree in psychology in both subject matter and extent of training. A doctoral degree will be considered the substantial equivalent to a doctoral degree in psychology if the training program meets the following criteria:

(1) Post-baccalaureate program in a regionally accredited institution of higher learning. The program must have a minimum of 90 semester hours, not more than 12 of which are credit for doctoral dissertation and not more than six of which are credit for master's thesis.

(2) The program, wherever it may be administratively housed, must be clearly identified and labeled. Such a program must specify in pertinent institutional catalogs and brochures its intent to educate and train professional psychologists.

(3) The program must stand as a recognizable, coherent organizational entity within the institution. A program may be within a larger administrative unit, e.g., department, area, or school.

(4) There must be a clear authority and primary responsibility for the core and specialty areas whether or not the program cuts across administrative lines. The program must have identifiable faculty and administrative heads who are psychologists responsible for the graduate program. Psychology faculty are individuals who are licensed or certified psychologists, or specialists of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), or hold a doctoral degree in psychology from a regionally accredited institution.

(5) The program must be an integrated, organized sequence of studies, e.g., there must be identifiable curriculum tracks wherein course sequences are outlined for students.

(6) The program must have an identifiable body of students who matriculated in the program.

(7) The program must include supervised practicum, internship, field or laboratory training appropriate to the practice of psychology. The supervised field work or internship must have been a minimum of 1,500 supervised hours, obtained in not less than a 12 month period nor more than a 24 month period. Further, this requirement cannot have been obtained in more than two placements or agencies.

(8) The curriculum shall encompass a minimum of two academic years of full-time graduate studies for those persons have enrolled in the doctoral degree program after completing the requirements for a master's degree. The curriculum shall encompass a minimum of four academic years of full-time graduate studies for those persons who have entered a doctoral program following the completion of a baccalaureate degree and prior to the awarding of a master's degree. It is recognized that educational institutions vary in their definitions of full-time graduate studies. It is also recognized that institutions vary in their definitions of residency requirements for the doctoral degree.

(9) The following curricular requirements must be met and demonstrated through appropriate course work:

(A) Scientific and professional ethics related to the field of psychology.

(B) Research design and methodology, statistics.

(C) The applicant must demonstrate competence in each of the following substantive areas. The competence standard will be met by satisfactory completion at the B level of a minimum of six graduate semester hours in each of the four content areas. It is recognized that some doctoral programs have developed special competency examinations in lieu of requiring students to complete course work in all core areas. Graduates of such programs who have not completed the necessary semester hours in these core areas must submit to the Council evidence of competency in each of the four core areas.

(i) Biological basis of behavior: physiological psychology, comparative psychology, neuropsychology, sensation and perception, psycho-pharmacology.

(ii) Cognitive-affective basis of behavior: learning, thinking, motivation, emotion.

(iii) Social basis of behavior: social psychology, group processes, organizational and system theory.

(iv) Individual differences: personality theory, human development, abnormal psychology.

(10) All educational programs which train persons who wish to be identified as psychologists will include course requirements in specialty areas. The applicant must demonstrate a minimum of 24 hours in his/her designated specialty area.

(b) Any person intending to apply for licensure under the substantial equivalence clause must file with the Council an affidavit showing:

(1) Courses meeting each of the requirements noted in subsection (a) of this rule verified by official transcripts; and

(2) Appropriate, published information from the university awarding the degree, demonstrating that the requirements noted in subsection (a) of this rule have been met.

Source Note: The provisions of this §463.15 adopted to be effective March 7, 2023, 48 TexReg 1301