645—240.3 (154B) Educational qualifications. A new applicant for licensure to practice as a psychologist shall possess a doctoral degree in psychology.
	 240.3(1) The degree in psychology shall be granted by an institution accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools or an equivalent accrediting association or entity in other regions of the United States.
	 240.3(2) The program from which the doctoral degree in psychology is granted must be accredited by the American Psychological Association or shall meet all the following criteria:
	  a.   	 The program, wherever it may be administratively housed, must be clearly identified and labeled as a psychology program. A program must specify in pertinent institutional catalogues and brochures its intent to educate and train professional psychologists.
	  b.   	 The psychology program must stand as a recognizable, coherent organizational entity within the institution.
	  c.   	 There must be a clear authority and primary responsibility for the core and specialty areas whether or not the program cuts across administrative lines.
	  d.   	 The program must be an integrated, organized sequence of study.
	  e.   	 There must be an identifiable psychology faculty on site sufficient in size to ensure that the ratio of faculty to students is adequate for instruction. The faculty must also have sufficient breadth in order to ensure that the scope of knowledge in psychology provides for adequate instruction. There must be a psychologist responsible for the program.
	  f.   	 The program must have an identifiable body of students who are matriculated in that program for a degree.
	  g.   	 The program must include supervised practicum, internship, and field or laboratory training appropriate to the practice of psychology.
	  h.   	 The curriculum shall encompass a minimum of three academic years of graduate study.
	  i.   	 The program shall require a minimum of one year’s residency at the educational institution granting the doctoral degree.
	  j.   	 In addition to instruction in scientific and professional ethics and standards, research design and methodology, statistics and psychometrics, the core program shall require each student to demonstrate competence in each of the following substantive content areas. This typically will be met by including a minimum of three or more graduate semester hours (five or more graduate quarter hours) in each of these four substantive content areas:
	 (1) 	 Biological bases of behavior: physiological psychology, comparative psychology, neuropsychology, sensation and perception, psychopharmacology;
	 (2) 	 Cognitive-affective bases of behavior: learning, thinking, motivation, and emotion;
	 (3) 	 Social bases of behavior: social psychology, group processes, organizational and systems theory; and
	 (4) 	 Individual differences: personality theory, human development, and abnormal psychology.
	  k.   	 In addition, all professional education programs in psychology will include requirements in specialty areas.
	 240.3(3) As of January 1, 2006, at the time of an applicant’s graduation:
	  a.   	 The program from which the doctoral degree in psychology is granted must be:
	 (1) 	 Accredited by the American Psychological Association; or
	 (2) 	 Accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association; or
	 (3) 	 Designated by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB)/National Register Designation Project as a doctoral program in psychology; or
	  b.   	 The applicant must hold a specialty diploma by examination from the American Board of Professional Psychology.
	 240.3(4) Foreign-trained psychologists shall:
	  a.   	 Provide an equivalency evaluation of their educational credentials by one of the following: International Educational Research Foundations, Inc., Credentials Evaluation Service, P.O. Box 3665, Culver City, CA 90231-3665, telephone (310)258-9451, Web site www.ierf.org, or E-mail info@ierf.org; or International Credentialing Associates, Inc., 7245 Bryan Dairy Road, Bryan Dairy Business Park II, Largo, Florida 33777, telephone (727)549-8555. The professional curriculum must be equivalent to that stated in these rules. The candidate shall bear the expense of the curriculum evaluation.
	  b.   	 Provide a notarized copy of the certificate or diploma awarded to the applicant from a psychology program in the country in which the applicant was educated.
	  c.   	 Receive a final determination from the board regarding the application for licensure.