The Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Clinical Psychology degree program at the Hawaii School of Professional Psychology at Chaminade University of Honolulu is designed to prepare students for both contemporary and emerging roles in the practice of professional psychology. Training is provided so that students have the opportunity to be practitioner-scholars who are skilled in local and contextual investigation and problem solving. The school offers a five-year generalist program that supports the development of core competencies in psychological assessment, intervention, consultation/education, and management/supervision. The curriculum is completely on-ground (not online) and designed to provide for the meaningful integration of theory, research, and practice. The program emphasizes the acquisition of attitudes, knowledge bases, and skills essential for professional psychologists who are committed to the provision of ethical quality services. Both by virtue of the location of Hawaii and by the specific design of the faculty, attention to issues of human diversity occurs throughout the curriculum and within numerous additional learning opportunities outside of the classroom. Work with diverse and marginalized populations is a major focus of the teaching, scholarship, and clinical practice of the faculty at the Hawaii School of Professional Psychology at Chaminade University of Honolulu.
Chaminade University sits on a 65-acre campus of several Spanish mission-inspired buildings along with a number of newer, state-of-the-art structures, including the 30,000-square-foot Sullivan Family Library offering study areas, a 40-station computer lab and more than 70,000 print books, 240 print journals, and 150 testing instruments and kits. As part of the students-first commitment, the Psy.D. program at Chaminade offers a student-to-core-faculty ratio of 10-to-1, an extensive range of student support, including individualized academic advising, Counseling Center support, financial aid advising, and a Psy.D. Student Association. Students in the program have opportunities in various research designs and topics, dozens of practicum sites and experiences, and of course, various internship training sites across the country.
For questions or more information, please contact psyd@chaminade.edu or (808) 739-7424.
Program History
The current Hawaii School of Professional Psychology has had a long history in Hawaii, dating back over 30 years. The program was created in 1988 to help fulfill a growing need for clinical psychologists in the state. After humble beginnings at small campuses (i.e., Kaneohe, Kahala, Kaimuki, Downtown), and after undergoing several name and owner changes (e.g., Forest Institute, ASPP, Argosy), the Hawaii School of Professional Psychology has finally found its permanent home at the sprawling 60-acre campus of Chaminade University.
In 1998, the program received its first APA accreditation and had been continuously accredited through the time of Argosy University’s nationwide school closure in March 2019 (accreditation had been granted through 2023, prior to the closure). Because of our previous 20 years of accreditation along with the relocation to a campus with improved physical and fiscal resources, APA granted accreditation of our program at Chaminade University for all Argosy University impacted Psy.D. students. The Clinical Psy.D. program under the name Chaminade University/Argosy Teach-Out is “accredited, inactive” by the Commission on Accreditation of the APA. This accreditation status designates an accredited program that is no longer admitting students. This status was granted to accommodate teach-out students from Argosy University. Persons who were not enrolled in accredited Argosy programs are not to be admitted to the Chaminade University/Argosy Teach-Out “accredited, inactive” program. As for new students, we have been approved by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) to admit new students starting Fall 2019 to the non-teach-out part of the program. This applicant program is not APA accredited and is applying for full APA accreditation to establish APA accreditation for new students.
The ability for HSPP to survive a sudden campus closure by essentially moving the entire program (faculty, staff, and students) to a new campus is a testament to Chaminade University’s commitment to service based education in the community and a recognition of HSPP’s critical position to do so. Over the years, HSPP has trained hundreds of licensed psychologists, and through their work in academia, community mental health centers, correctional facilities, hospitals and medical centers, the military, private practice, psychiatric facilities, school systems, and university counseling centers, our graduates have helped thousands of people.
With a permanent home at Chaminade University, HSPP will continue to graduate mental health professionals to help our communities for many years to come.
The program must disclose its status with regard to accreditation, including the specific academic program covered by that status, and the name, address, and telephone number of the Commission on Accreditation. The program should make available, as appropriate through its sponsor institution, such reports or other materials as pertain to the program’s accreditation status. Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 336-5979
E-mail: apaaccred@apa.org
Web: apa.org/ed/accreditation
Program Information
Admissions Information
Tuition and Fees
Accreditation
Chaminade University of Honolulu is accredited by WASC Senior College and University Commission.
Faculty
Our faculty members are leaders in their fields. They believe in the power of personal experience—stressing mentorship, collaboration and project-based learning inside and outside the classroom.