Oregon Psychology Education Overview
Psychology Licensure in Oregon
Oregon is a beautiful state to live in and an excellent choice of places to begin your career in human services as a licensed Psychologist. There are a wide variety of institutions, agencies and corporations that have need of Psychologists. Whether you want to work as a school Psychologist in Salem, or a in a hospital in Ashland, you will find that Oregon has a vast array of options for licensed Psychologists. Oregon can boast of a total population of over 3.8 million people. With this many people there is plenty of need for the services of licensed Psychologists. If you take the time to sift through the data at the Bureau of Labor and Statistics website, you will discover that Psychologists in Oregon earn a mean yearly wage of $70,2001. For those who desire the stimulation of a fast paced medical setting, it is worth your while to research potential employment in one of Oregon’s 65+ Major hospitals2. If you have a degree in child Psychology or find you want to help children with their emotions, you may wish to explore a possible career in one of Oregon’s 200+ school districts3. You will find that once you have your Psychology license a vast diversity of career niche’s become available. Below you will see that we have created a step-by-step guide for the licensure process in Oregon in order to stream line the process.
Required Educational Background
If you wish to become a licensed Psychologist in Oregon, you must have already earned your doctorate in Psychology. Of course you will first need to have earned both your Bachelor and Master of Psychology degrees to get a Doctorate.
By earning your Bachelor of Psychology you will gain valuable information about what your potential career in psychology will look like. You can also use your Bachelor’s to help you find employment in many other human services careers. Of course your Bachelor’s is also a requirement as part of your educational background if you wish to become a licensed psychologist.
Master Level Licensure
- You must provide proof of your Master of Psychology degree from a board approved program
- You must complete an internship with an approved institution of education or other year of training approved by the board under the supervision of a person with the appropriate supervisory competence as determined by the board.
- You must then complete at least 36 months of post-internship full-time experience that is satisfactory to the board. It must be under the supervision of a psychologist licensed in Oregon or someone deemed to have equivalent supervisory competence by the board.
To begin your path to licensure you will need your doctorate in psychology from a board approved school. Once you have your doctorate you will need to earn your field experience.
Field Experience
To begin earning your field experience on the way to licensure, you will need to do the following:
- Submit proof of graduation from a board approved doctoral program
- Accumulate 2 years (3000 hours) of work experience under the supervision of a board approved supervisor
- You may complete one of your two years in a board approved internship while earning your Ph.D.
- You must earn one year of experience after you have been granted your doctorate.
- You will need to apply for licensure, receive permission to take your exam and pass your required examinations
You will want to familiarize yourself with Oregon’s specific laws and regulations regarding licensure. These laws change so it is good to make sure you have current information, which you can find here:
Examination
Once you have completed your field experience you can apply to take the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP).
Pass the EPPP with a score meeting the Oregon minimum
Provide a written request for the Oregon Jurisprudence examination
You can find some helpful information about your EPPP here:
1 http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes193031.htm
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hospitals_in_Oregon
3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_districts_in_Oregon