Bachelor's Degree

• Generally, bachelor's degrees are not offered in clinical psychology, but in the broader field of psychology. A bachelor's degree is not enough to qualify you to work on your own as a clinical psychologist or to gain a state license. However, a bachelor's degree in psychology may qualify you to assist in community mental health centers, rehabilitation centers and correctional programs. A bachelor's degree in psychology may also prove useful if you want to work for a company that writes psychometric tests, or in marketing or business management.
  
  

Master's Degree

• A master's degree in clinical psychology requires a minimum of two years' full-time study, practical experience as an intern in a clinic and a thesis based on original research. Although a master's degree will not qualify you to work on your own as a clinical psychologist, it will allow you to conduct research in clinical psychology, under the supervision of a licensed clinical psychologist, or to work as a school psychologist. In order to gain a place on a clinical psychology master's programs, you should have a bachelor's degree in psychology, or a bachelor's degree in another field with coursework in biology, social science and statistics or advanced math.
  
  

Doctoral Degree

• A Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) is usually required for anyone who wants to work in independent practice as a clinical psychologist. A Ph.D. will also qualify you to work in research or clinical settings or to teach clinical psychology at university level. A doctoral degree in clinical psychology generally involves five or six years of full-time study, including a one-year clinical internship and researching and writing a doctoral thesis. Doctoral students in clinical psychology may choose to specialize in areas such as cognitive-behavior therapy, adult psychopathology or behavioral medicine.
  
  

Licensing

• Clinical psychologists wishing to work in patient care are required by all states to hold a license. Licensing laws vary in every state, and depending on the type of practice. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, gaining a license to practice clinical psychology generally requires a doctorate in clinical psychology, a period of internship and a one or two years of post-doctoral experience. Many states also require clinical psychologists to pass a state exam before they can be licensed. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) awards its own national license in school psychology, which is recognized in 31 states. This license requires 60 semester hours of graduate coursework in school psychology; 1,200 hours of internship work, including 600 in a school setting; and a passing grade on the NASP licensing exam.