Psychology and the Law

Psychology and the Law Program

We are pleased to announce our Joint J.D.-Ph.D. Program in Psychology and the Law. Begun in 1997, this program, the first on the west coast, is a collaboration of the Palo Alto University and Golden Gate University School of Law. We are now accepting applications.

This is an integrated program in both psychology and the law, leading to a Ph.D. degree in Clinical Psychology from the Palo Alto University (PAU) and a Juris Doctor degree from Golden Gate University School of Law (GGUSL). PAU is accredited by the American Psychological Association, and GGUSL is accredited by the American Bar Association. We expect students who complete the joint degree program to make significant contributions in the areas of forensic psychology, the practice of law related to mental health issues, litigation consultation, university teaching, research, and advancing public policy.

It is important to note that students must be eligible for admission to both the doctoral training program in clinical psychology at PAU and to the law program at GGUSL. Thus, they are required to take both the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).

Psychology and law students are enrolled concurrently in PAU and GGUSL, taking courses at both institutions for a total of six years, plus a one-year psychology internship. Since this is an integrated joint program, students will be able to complete the requirements for both degrees in significantly less time than if they were to pursue each degree separately. Emphasis in the first year is on course work at GGUSL and in the second year, at PGSP. Students must complete a psychology internship in an approved setting and a doctoral dissertation. Students who complete the program are eligible for licensure as a psychologist, subject to the postdoctoral statutory requirements in each jurisdiction, and for admission to the bar.

The Joint J.D.-Ph.D. Program has three major purposes:

1. To develop psychologists who can perform sophisticated social science research to assist the legal system in making better empirically based decisions;
2. To educate highly trained clinicians who can contribute to the advancement of forensic psychology;
3. To produce attorney-psychologists who can participate in the development of data-based mental health policy in the legislature and the courts.

Program Faculty

Wendy Packman J.D., Ph.D.

Director, Joint Program in Psychology and the Law Associate Professor, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology

Rebecca Jackson , Ph.D.
Assistant Director, Joint Program in Psychology and the Law
Assistant Professor, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology

Bruce Bongar, Ph.D., ABPP, FAPM
Founding Director, Joint Program in Psychology and the Law

Allen Calvin Professor of Psychology, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology
Consulting Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford University School of Medicine