Key terms on this page (6)
- APA accreditation
- Review of doctoral programs, internships and postdocs by the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation. Most state boards name it in their rules.
- APPIC match
- The national system that pairs doctoral students with internship programs using ranked preferences, in two phases each winter.
- Internship
- A year of full-time (or two of half-time) supervised practice at the end of the doctorate. It is part of the degree, not after it.
- Postdoc
- Supervised experience after the doctorate is conferred. Some states require it for licensure; others do not.
- EPPP
- The Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology, owned by ASPPB. Every state uses it.
- Psychological associate
- A title used two ways: for a doctoral graduate practicing under supervision before licensure, and in some states for a separate master’s-level credential.
PhD or PsyD
Both degrees lead to the same license, the same exam and the same jobs. What differs is the balance of the training and how you pay for it.
PhD
Scientist-practitioner model
- Heavier research training and a research dissertation.
- Usually at research universities, often with tuition waivers and assistantships.
- Smaller cohorts and more selective admission.
- Opens research and academic careers as well as practice.
PsyD
Practitioner-scholar model
- More clinical hours and coursework; the dissertation is often applied.
- Often at professional schools, with larger cohorts.
- Less often funded, so debt can be much higher.
- Built for people who know they want to practice.
Every APA-accredited program has to publish its outcomes: time to completion, cost, internship placement, attrition and licensure. Read those numbers side by side. They tell you more than the type of degree, and much more than the brochure. If you are still choosing between licenses, start with which license is right for you and choosing a graduate program.
The road, stage by stage
Years 1–2
Coursework and first practicum
Foundations, assessment and therapy courses, a first supervised placement, and often a master’s along the way.
Years 2–4
Advanced practicum, research, qualifying exams
More clinical hours across settings, a research project or dissertation proposal, and the program’s own comprehensive exams.
Fall of year 4 or 5
Apply to internship through the APPIC match
One application service, interviews over the winter, rank lists, and results in February (Phase I) or March (Phase II).
Final year
Full-time internship
A year of supervised practice, usually 1,500 to 2,000 hours. The doctorate is conferred once it and the dissertation are done.
One year, or none
Postdoctoral supervised experienceVaries by state
Required in most states, not required or optional in many others. You work under a title such as psychological associate or resident.
When the board allows
EPPP and any state exams
Usually after the degree; some states now allow it once coursework is done. Then the license.
The internship match
The internship is the gate most students worry about, because it is competitive and national. You register for the APPIC match in the fall of the year before internship, apply through a single online application, interview over the winter, and submit a ranked list of programs. The programs rank applicants too, and an algorithm pairs them.
- Phase I
- February
In 2026, 3,513 applicants matched in Phase I; 44% got their first choice.
- Phase II
- March
Unmatched applicants rank the positions still open. Combined, 87% of applicants who ranked programs matched in 2026.
- After the match
- Vacancies
APPIC lists remaining positions. Many unmatched students reapply the next year.
What tends to help:
- Fit. A clear account of the populations and settings you want, backed by the practicum hours to show it.
- Assessment experience. Integrated reports, not just administered tests, are what many sites look for.
- An accredited site. Of applicants who matched in 2026, 93% went to APA- or CPA-accredited programs. Some employers and some states treat an unaccredited internship as a problem later.
- A wide geographic net. Applicants tied to one city have fewer programs to rank. If you can move for a year, say so with your list.
The postdoc depends on your state
For decades the formula was two years of supervised experience, one of them after the doctorate. Many states have moved away from it. In our September 2026 research, 28 states still require postdoctoral hours, 11 do not, and 11 treat the postdoc as one route among several, usually because enough supervised hours before the degree can take its place. Pick your state:
Pick a state to see its rule. Nothing is saved or sent.
Even where a postdoc is not required, many new psychologists do one anyway, to specialize (clinical neuropsychology, for example, expects a formal two-year postdoctoral residency) or because the first job they want offers it. Where it is required, you usually register with the board first, and hours before registration may not count. That rule catches people out every year. The supervised hours page covers how to log them.
The EPPP, and what happened to Part 2
The EPPP is a multiple-choice exam on the knowledge base of psychology: biological, cognitive-affective, social and developmental bases of behavior, assessment and diagnosis, intervention, research methods and statistics, and ethics and professional practice. Every state uses it, and many add a jurisprudence exam on their own laws, and a few an oral exam.
In 2022 ASPPB, which owns the exam, decided that from January 2026 every candidate would also take a skills-based Part 2. It later paused that decision. Part 2 is now optional for states that choose to use it, and ASPPB is developing a single-session EPPP that tests knowledge and skills together. In our research, nearly every state requires Part 1 only.
Psychological associate: one title, two meanings
The words “psychological associate” and their cousins mean different things in different states.
- A doctoral graduate on the way to licensure. California registers psychological associates; Texas issues a provisional license; Washington’s postdoctoral associate license took effect in 2025. Others use resident, fellow or no title at all.
- A separate master’s-level credential. About 20 states have one in our data, such as the Licensed Psychological Associate in Texas, North Carolina and Kentucky, or the Limited Licensed Psychologist in Michigan. Scope and supervision rules vary widely, a few are closed to new applicants, and none is the same as the doctoral license.
Three people on the long road
Invented composites, not real people.
Lena
24, research assistant
Funded PhDShe chose a clinical PhD with a tuition waiver and an assistantship, ranked internship sites in four states, and matched in Phase I. Her state required a postdoc, which she did in a hospital.
Marcus
35, school counselor
PsyD, no postdocHe wanted to practice, not teach, so a PsyD fit. He banked enough pre-doctoral hours that his state let him skip the postdoc, and he was licensed within months of graduating.
Ana
29, unmatched in year one
Matched the next yearShe applied only near home and did not match. A year later, with more assessment reports and a wider list, she matched in Phase I.
Myths worth dropping
Myth
“A PsyD is a lesser degree.”
Actually
Boards license PhDs and PsyDs the same way. Program quality and accreditation matter; the letters do not.
Myth
“Everyone does a postdoc.”
Actually
About half of states no longer require one for most applicants. Check your state before you assume another year.
Myth
“The EPPP now has two required parts.”
Actually
The national mandate for Part 2 was paused before it took effect. Nearly every state requires Part 1 only.
Is the pay worth the extra years? The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median for clinical and counseling psychologists at $100,580 in May 2025, against $66,940 for marriage and family therapists. The gap is real; so are four or more extra years of school. See paying for it before you decide.
Next · Step 20
Licensing exams
Every license ends in an exam, and some can be taken earlier than you might think. Which exam is yours, when you can sit it, and a study plan that fits around a full-time job.
Questions people ask
Is a PsyD as good as a PhD for becoming a licensed psychologist?
For licensure, yes. Both are doctoral degrees in psychology and both lead to the same license and the same exam. The differences are in training emphasis (PhD programs weigh research more heavily), funding (PhD programs are more often funded) and cohort size. Look at each program’s published internship match and licensure outcomes rather than the letters.
Do all states require a postdoc to become a psychologist?
No. In our September 2026 research, 28 states require postdoctoral supervised hours, 11 do not, and 11 treat the postdoc as one route among several, usually because enough pre-doctoral hours can substitute. Check your state’s rule before you plan the year after your doctorate.
Do I have to take EPPP Part 2?
Probably not. ASPPB paused its plan to require Part 2 (Skills) everywhere from January 2026, and the skills exam is now optional for states that choose to use it. In our research only a couple of states still reference it, Nevada for graduates of non-accredited programs among them. ASPPB is developing a single-session exam that combines knowledge and skills.
What happens if I don’t match for internship?
You can enter Phase II of the match a few weeks after Phase I, and after that APPIC runs a post-match vacancy service. Many unmatched students reapply the following year, often with more hours or a broader geographic search. In 2026, 87% of applicants who submitted rank lists matched across both phases.
Sources
Checked 28 October 2026. Postdoc and exam rules change; your state psychology board is the final word.
- Becoming Licensed 50-state psychology data (2026) — Degree rules, internship and postdoc requirements, EPPP Part 2, PSYPACT and master’s-level credentials in every state, each sourced to the state board or statute; checked 25 September 2026.
- APPIC, 2026 Match Statistics, combined — 3,919 of 4,480 applicants who submitted rank lists (87%) matched across both phases; 93.4% of matched applicants placed in APA- or CPA-accredited programs.
- APPIC, 2026 Match Statistics, Phase I — 3,513 applicants matched in Phase I; 44% of them matched to their first-choice program.
- ASPPB, The EPPP: legacy and future — The 2026 Part 2 mandate paused; Skills remains available to jurisdictions that choose it; a single-session exam in development.
- ASPPB, EPPP — The exam, its content areas and candidate information.
- APA Commission on Accreditation — Accreditation of doctoral programs, internships and postdoctoral residencies, and the outcome data programs must publish.
- PSYPACT — Participating jurisdictions for interjurisdictional telepsychology.
- BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Median pay, May 2025: clinical and counseling psychologists $100,580.
- BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Marriage and family therapists — Median pay, May 2025: $66,940.