Postdoctoral training, a critical component in the sequence of health service psychology training, has evolved significantly over the past two decades and largely in the absence of any organizing body or structure. In 2012, APPIC formed a postdoctoral workgroup, now the APPIC Postdoctoral Committee (PDC), which hosted a Postdoctoral Training Summit in 2016, and has driven the development of unified processes for recruitment and selection, as well as resources to support recruitment and selection (i.e., the Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory). More information on the state of postdoctoral training can be found in the special issue of Training and Education in Professional Psychology (2018), Vol 12, Issue 2 which contains articles discussing topics pertinent to postdoctoral training. APPIC and the APPIC PDC continue to work toward learning more about the heterogeneous nature of postdoc programs and postdoctoral training with the goal of increasing community and cohesion around this stage of training.
All Postdoctoral programs and Applicants are strongly encouraged to adhere to the new Postdoctoral Selection Standards with Common Hold Date (CHD). Click the blue link above to learn more about the new Selection Standards with CHD.
New for this year, the Selection Standards have been separated into documents specific to Applicant and Programs.
The APPIC Postdoctoral Committee and the APPIC Board of Directors believe that establishing overall organization and consistent selection processes are in the best interest of applicants, Programs, and the larger postdoctoral community. While substantial progress has been made in building community among postdoctoral programs using the Uniform Notification Date process, APPIC, the APPIC Postdoctoral Committee, and results of a recent call for public comment support the transition to the Postdoctoral Selection Standards with Common Hold Date. We believe it will provide a more flexible process that will serve both applicants and programs well.
Some key resources to help applicants successfully utilize the Selection Standards with Common Hold Date include:
(Those marked with an asterisk are under development)
- Email communication templates (for Applicants and Programs) to facilitate communication between programs and applicants. Hyperlinks to the relevant templates are embedded throughout the Standards and recommendations.
- A PowerPoint on Postdoctoral Selection to help applicants and programs further understand and successfully navigate the Selection Standards and the CHD.
- A revised Spreadsheet Template to track important information about postdoctoral programs. This is intended to help applicants compare critical variables and rank Programs they are considering applying to.
- Revised Graphic Timelines for postdoctoral selection have been developed for applicants and directors of internship and postdoctoral programs.
- Postdoc-News
- Applicants and Program directors are strongly advised to subscribe as this e-mail list is the primary source through which information about postdoctoral selection and training is disseminated.
- Information only group
- The primary source through which information about postdoctoral selection and training is disseminated
- Information on posting Major Program Changes can be found below - link.
- Click on the blue link above for more information to sign up
- Postdoc-Network
- Discussion list for postdoctoral applicants and programs
- Click on the blue link above for more information or to sign up
The UPPD is a centralized resource for all postdoctoral programs (APPIC and non-APPIC member programs) to list positions and for applicants to search for positions. The Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory (UPPD) and the APPIC Directory are distinct. The UPPD contains listings of postdoctoral programs and includes both APPIC member and non-member programs. The APPIC Directory lists only APPIC member postdoctoral (and internship) programs that have been reviewed by the APPIC Postdoctoral Membership Review Committee.
Note that the UPPD has been updated to reflect the new Selection Standards. Some fields have been added and others revised. Also, to ensure that applicants are informed, Programs will be flagged that:
- Are not following the Selection Standards
- Have not undergone an external quality review process (e.g., APPIC Membership, APA Accreditation, or APPCN membership)
-
Do not meet all markers of quality clinically-focused postdoctoral training.
Postdoctoral applicants:
- Click on the blue link above to search the UPPD
- Click on the following link for instructions how to search the UPPD (search instructions).
Postdoctoral training directors:
To create a new account and enter a Program listing in the UPPD:
- Click on the following link to create an account - Register. Enter your email and create a password. Then watch your inbox for an email indicating that your registration has been approved. Be sure to save the email and password you used.
- After you are approved, log into the directory - Login. You will automatically be redirected to the directory page where a large blue button will allow you to add or manage listings.
To edit an existing listing in the UPPD:
- Click on the following link to log in - Login
- Your email is your username. Make sure you use the same email you used when you set up your account.
- If you forgot your password, you can request to have it reset.
- The email or username must be the one used when the account was established.
Training Director Change - If there has been a change in Training Director or administrative support, to access your Program's UPPD listing(s).
- The new Training Director needs to create a UPPD account - click Register
- Email katherine.meyers@va.gov who will link the new account to your Program listing(s). This will allow you to edit your Program listing(s). Be sure to include the names of all Program(s) exactly as they are listed in the UPPD. The UPPD link to the listing(s) would be ideal.
It is essential that UPPD listings from last year be updated for the current selection cycle (2024/2025) by September 1, 2024. We encourage you to review and update all of your Program information for all listings in addition to those fields that are cleared every year.
APPA CAS (APPIC Psychology Postdoctoral Application)
- APPA CAS is APPIC's sponsored online application for postdoctoral programs.
- A Program does not need to be an APPIC member to use APPA CAS. For the 2023-2024 selection cycle, use of APPA CAS is free to both programs and applicants. There is no fee to submit an application, though your university fee for requesting a transcript will apply.
- Clicking on the blue link above will take you to the APPIC APPA CAS page which contains detailed information for programs and applicants about accessing and using APPA CAS as well as several educational resources.
- For Training Directors, note that APPA CAS is not linked to your UPPD (Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory) listing. Programs wanting to use APPA CAS to receive applications must register with our vendor and configure a Program portal.
Virtual Interview Guidance
It is strongly recommended that all postdoctoral programs review APPIC's Virtual Interview Guidance as they consider interview format options. The document highlights guiding principles and recent survey data that will help programs make informed decisions.
Education Resources for the Selection Process (applicants and programs)
- The Postdoctoral Committee has developed a PowerPoint for applicants and internship training directors and others to use to educate current interns (postdoctoral applicants) about the selection process and how to more successfully navigate the Postdoctoral Selection Standards.
- The Postdoctoral Committee has developed a Frequently Asked Questions document to help applicants and program directors learn about and use the Postdoctoral Selection Standards.
- The Postdoctoral Committee has developed email communication templates to facilitate communication between programs and applicants. Hyperlinks to the relevant templates are embedded throughout the Selection Standards and recommendations.
- The Postdoctoral Committee will hold a series of Webinars on the postdoctoral selection process for postdoctoral applicants. Downloadable copies of the webinars are available on that page.
- The Postdoctoral Committee has developed a PowerPoint presentation to assist psychology graduate students and recently matched interns in learning about postdoctoral training and the postdoctoral selection process. Postdoctoral training is an important part of the sequence of psychology training. The PowerPoint can be used by graduate students or by graduate Program faculty.
Guidelines for the APPIC POSTDOC-NEWS Major Program Changes:
Please note that these announcements are restricted to MAJOR PROGRAM CHANGES ONLY (e.g., receiving APA/CPA accreditation or APPIC membership for the first time, adding or removing a major training area, discovering a major error or omission in your UPPD – Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory listing or program materials, implementing a major change in the stipend, closing of a program). In most cases, this will be information that you feel will significantly affect applicants' decisions to apply to your program or that is related to the application process at your site (rather than changes that you could easily communicate to applicants in other ways, such as updating your Universal Directory Program listing, emailing them or notifying them during interviews).
Since most programs experience some changes each year, we are restricting this service to major changes between October and February that may impact students' decisions to apply to programs. Changes that would typically NOT qualify for this service include a change in Training Director or other personnel (unless such a change significantly impacts your program), a minor change in stipend (e.g., less than 10%), re-accreditation by APA/CPA, renewal of an existing APPIC membership, and the addition of a position in an existing track, emphasis or specialty area.
Having an unfilled position does not qualify as a “Major Program Change” and changes that involve just extending your application deadline will only be made through the end of January.
While a majority of applicants will receive your announcement, some will not if they are not yet subscribed to POSTDOC-NEWS. Thus, we strongly recommend that you also directly inform applicants of program changes.
UPPD listings MUST be updated prior to making a request for a “Major Program Change” posting.
If you wish to make use of this service, please first review the above guidelines. If your announcement meets these guidelines, e-mail the following information to Dr. Wayne Siegel at siegel@appic.org:
1. Program Name (exactly as it is listed in the Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory)
2. Institution
3. Location of site (i.e., city and state)
4. APPIC membership status (Yes/No - refers to if the Program is an APPIC member that is also listed in the APPIC Member Directory)
5. APA Accreditation status (Yes/No)
6. Name and contact information (e-mail and/or phone number) for the Training Director.
7. A brief (hopefully one or two sentences) description of the major change to your Program including a rationale as to why it constitutes a major change (e.g., We added a postdoctoral position in the treatment of XXX)
8. Url link to the Program’s UPPD listing https://www.appic.org/Postdocs/Universal-Psychology-Postdoctoral-Directory-UPPD/Detail/id/XXXXX
Your request MUST be in the following format. Make sure the headings are in bold and the content to the right is not.
Program Name: XXXX
Institution: XXX
APPIC membership status: XXX
APA Accreditation status: XXX
Location: XXX
Training Director: XXX
Description of the major change: XXX
UPPD link: XXX (do not use an APPIC Member Directory link)
Please do not include additional information about your propgram, beyond what is stated above.
While a majority of applicants will receive your announcement, some will not as they are not yet subscribed to POSTDOC-NEWS. Thus, we strongly recommend that you also directly inform applicants of Program changes.
We appreciate the subjective nature of what constitutes a MAJOR CHANGE. In making such decisions, we will balance the need to keep applicants informed and maintain the purpose of the APPIC POSTDOC-NEWS and POSTDOC-NETWORK list serves.
Postdoctoral programs that are accredited by the American Psychological Association are recognized as meeting the APPIC Postdoctoral Membership criteria. All others must meet APPIC’s Membership Criteria. Click on the blue heading to access the APPIC eMembership portal and submit an application to become an APPIC Member Postdoctoral Program.