Contact: Sasha Steinberg

STARKVILLE, Miss.— Now in its third year, Mississippi State’s clinical psychology doctoral program has been granted a five-year term of accreditation from the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation.

Scheduled for its next visit for continuing accreditation in 2021, the program is offered by the Department of Psychology, which is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, MSU’s largest academic unit.

In receiving the accreditation news, MSU President Mark E. Keenum commended psychology students and faculty for their efforts that “not only bring credit to the Department of Psychology, but to the entire university as well.”

“Our ability to offer a Ph.D. program brings new opportunities to the Department of Psychology and further strengthens this important field of study within the College of Arts and Sciences,” Keenum said.

Michael R. Nadorff, MSU assistant professor of psychology and director of clinical training, said gaining accreditation is “a tremendous outcome for this new program and is extremely important for our students for multiple reasons.”

“A student’s accreditation status is set at the time of graduation and our first cohort will graduate this August, so this accomplishment is significant because it ensures that all of our students graduate from an accredited program,” Nadorff said.

Graduation from an accredited program is required by some states for licensure. It also is mandatory for all federal jobs, including those within the Veterans Affairs Health Care System, the largest employer of psychologists in the U.S., Nadorff explained.

“In addition to providing a strong education in psychology, our program helps further the broader MSU mission by increasing the number of psychologists who are trained here, which will hopefully increase the number of psychologists who choose to make Mississippi home,” Nadorff said.

Rick Travis, dean of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, also praised those in MSU’s psychology department who put together an impressive accreditation application.

“Under the leadership of Dr. (Mitchell) Berman, the psychology department has made tremendous strides in developing this doctoral track. It is an excellent addition both to our academic offerings at MSU and to assisting Mississippi in meeting its mental health care needs,” Travis said.

Founded in 1892, the Washington, D.C.-based APA is the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the U.S. Its more than 115,000 members include researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Advancing the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives is its primary mission. For more, visit www.apa.org.

For more information about MSU’s Department of Psychology, visit www.psychology.msstate.edu; the College of Arts and Sciences, www.cas.msstate.edu.

Nadorff may be contacted at 662-325-1222 or MNadorff@psychology.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.