George Fox University | Admissions | Graduate | PsyD | Research Vertical Teams

Frequently Asked Questions About the Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

Research Vertical Teams

How do you do research at George Fox University?

We provide research in a sequence. Classwork is completed within the first two years.

First year: Students visit all of the research vertical teams (RVT). A team consists of a faculty adviser, second-, third-, and fourth-year students, all of whom are engaged in research at various stages.

Second year: Students commit to a team and choose a topic or theme. The faculty adviser of the team becomes their adviser. It is hoped that a dissertation proposal will be submitted by the end of the year.

Third year: Students begin research on their chosen topic. Often faculty advisers will take members of their team to conferences to present their findings during their third or fourth years.

Fourth year: Students are encouraged to complete their research in the form of a dissertation before beginning their internship. This allows students to devote full attention to their internship experience and may help in their selection of an internship site. We are pleased that a very high percentage of our students complete their dissertations on time.
APA Monitor Article on Mentoring

Sample topics of current research include:

• Cognitive testing in children
• Validation studies on new projective assessment tool, Thurston-Cradock Test of Shame
• Diagnosing ADHD among gifted students
• Attention and working memory, visual perception
• Sports psychology
• Postmodernism (recent dissertations: modern parents and their postmodern teens)
• Religious issues and integration
• Spiritual well-being, spiritual maturity, spiritual disciplines
• Marital satisfaction among psychologists
• Marriage and family dysfunction and assessment
• Rural psychology
• Treatment of depression
• Mental health services in a correctional setting
• Child and adult memory assessment
• The role of memory in exceptional spellers
• Fathering and locus of control
• Forensics
• Social responsibility

Miscellaneous Opportunities:

Faculty often include students in periodic training opportunities, such as providing consulting services on site at a Philippines missionary school or co-leading a training workshop to an under-served region of Hawaii.