Welcome to the TREATment Lab! We hope you are well and are glad you’re considering a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and want to share a bit more information to guide your process.
The UNLV Clinical Psychology Doctoral program adheres to the scientist-practitioner tradition, which prepares students to address psychological concerns through scholarly research and applying psychological knowledge and skills in practice.
The TREATment lab has a general focus on the mental, physical, and cognitive health of older adults, with a focus on making psychological treatments more acceptable, available, and accessible. Students who are most likely to thrive in our lab are those with a passion for clinically relevant research, especially with older adult populations. Therefore, the most successful applicants to the lab typically have broad interests in behavioral treatment development, implementation, and outcomes across common mental health conditions in adulthood and aging, and/or comorbidities such as chronic disease or cognitive decline. We use a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods in our work, and are increasingly partnering with community organizations. Because of the multiple projects occurring in the lab at any given time, students with some flexibility in research focus in these areas tend to be more satisfied with their experience.
Dr. Renn’s mentorship is particularly well suited for those with a strong interest in careers in academic health systems and/or academia. As such, successful applicants will have strong research experiences, such as experience working as a research assistant/coordinator, post-baccalaureate work experience, or completing a research-focused master’s degree. Successful applicants will clearly articulate how their research interests and career goals fit within the lab and Dr. Renn’s areas of expertise. We welcome students who are passionate about working with older adults and are mature, warm, engaged, hard-working, self-motivated, reflective, flexible, and open to feedback. Students are expected to lead independent research projects, be involved in multiple projects, attend professional conferences to present their findings, write manuscripts, and actively contribute to lab activities.
Dr. Renn welcomes applications from a diverse range of prospective students, including first-generation professionals and those from working-class backgrounds, ethnic and racial minorities, nontraditional students, and applicants from other marginalized groups.
Dr. Renn plans to accept one Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student for the 2024-2025 academic year.
There is no need to email Dr. Renn directly to express interest before applying to the Ph.D. program. The UNLV Clinical Psychology page lists faculty who plan to accept students during the admission cycle. Dr. Renn also updates this page to reflect her intent to accept students or not in a given year. While she is happy to briefly answer specific questions over email or offer feedback about how specific research ideas may fit with the lab, she will make interview offers and admission decision.
Helpful resources when considering a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology:
- Getting Into Clinical Psych Grad School
- Before You Apply, written by a former graduate student at UNC
- A wealth of knowledge and information about pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Dr. Mitch Prinstein
- Please also watch this webinar on Getting into Graduate School during the Current COVID Pandemic
- A thorough review of applying to graduate school, including information on contacting potential mentors, from my colleague Dr. Stephen Benning
- Marginalized survival kit for prospective and current students from marginalized backgrounds
- Tips on requesting letters of recommendation from Ohio University
