The Vanderbilt Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences offers a Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program in Professional Psychology. This one-year APPIC fellowship in an academic medical setting offers multiple tracks, each within clinical and research programs affiliated with the department. Completion of the post-doctoral fellowship provides sufficient hours and supervision for licensure as a clinical psychologist within the state of Tennessee (and many other states).
The majority of each fellow’s time is spent at their primary sites, with one-half day per week (typically on Fridays) spent in collective training activities with other members of the Postdoctoral Fellow cohort and/or with advanced trainees and faculty members in other disciplines, such as psychiatry residents and fellows. These combined training activities include didactic presentations, research seminars, case conferences, and weekly Grand Rounds presentations.
The specific constellation of activities is determined by the primary sites, which are described in detail in the Fellowship Training Manual. However, all tracks include a minimum of two hours of individual weekly supervision provided by a licensed psychologist, a combination of clinical and research activities, and opportunities to specialize in a particular area of intervention.
The following training tracks are available for the 2027-2028 training year:
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Autism Spectrum Disorder;
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Child Welfare and Trauma-Informed Care at the Vanderbilt Center for Excellence;
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Psychotic Disorders;
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Psychology at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt.
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Forensic Psychology
Graduates from our post-doctoral program have gone on to work in a variety of roles and settings, including (but not limited to):
- Tenure-track professor in a Department of Psychiatry
- Tenure-track professor in a Department of Psychology
- Clinical Faculty in an Academic Medical Setting
- Attending Psychologist in an inpatient setting
- Private practice Psychologist
- Director of Clinical Training
Key Information for the 2027-2028 training year
Application Deadline: January 1, 2027
Notification Date: February 28, 2027
Start Date: August 2, 2027 (negotiable)
Stipend: $63,480 (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-044.html)
Anticipated Number of Slots: 5
Applications can be submitted through APPA CAS: https://appicpostdoc.liaisoncas.com
Julia Sheffield, PhD
Co-Director, Post-doctoral Fellowship Training
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Julia.sheffield@vumc.org