Teaching Statistics in APA-Accredited Doctoral Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology

Abstract

Although statistical methods and research design are crucial areas of competency for psychologists, few studies explore how statistics are taught across doctoral programs in psychology in the United States. The present study examined 153 American Psychological Association–accredited doctoral programs in clinical and counseling psychology and aimed at identifying specific aspects of statistics instruction within these programs. We conducted a comprehensive review of statistics syllabi to clarify how much emphasis and time were spent on each topic, and whether different types of programs differed significantly in their approach to statistics instruction. We detected relative consistency of the material covered in statistics classes across the various doctoral programs.