Palo Alto University

Palo Alto University (previously the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology) is a not-for-profit free-standing educational institution in Palo Alto, California. It offers two undergraduate degree programs (BS in Psychology and Social Action and BS in Business Psychology) and six graduate programs: a PhD in clinical psychology; a Clinical Psychology/Clinical Neuroscience and Women's Health PhD in collaboration with Stanford University; a PsyD in clinical psychology as part of a consortium with Stanford University, and four masters' degree programs: an MA in Counseling Psychology, an MA in Counseling with emhasis on Forensic and Correctional Counseling, an MA in counseling with emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy and Professional Clinical Counseling, and an MA in Counseling and an MS in Psychology both offered through distance learning. Palo Alto University subscribes to the practitioner-scientist training model, a variation of the Boulder scientist-practitioner model, which emphasizes clinical practice along with scientific training.

One of the unusual elements of Palo Alto University's organization is its interconnected relationship with Stanford University and its School of Medicine. PAU maintains two prominent doctoral programs in conjunction with Stanford University, often employs its students in Stanford research laboratories, houses prominent faculty members who teach at both institutions, and employs one of Stanford's most famous emeriti professors, Philip Zimbardo. Furthermore, along with other prominent members of the Stanford University faculty, the chair of the Stanford Department of Psychiatry holds a membership on the PAU board of trustees.