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History of the Institute

The Institute for the Psychological Sciences (Institute or IPS) was founded in 1997 by a group of mental health professionals, academicians, and clinicians, under the leadership of Dr. Gladys Sweeney, who perceived a need for a proper understanding of the interrelationship between psychology and its philosophical foundations. 

  • In September 1998, the Institute for Faith and Psychological Sciences was incorporated in Virginia sponsoring workshops for licensed mental health professionals, incorporating philosophy and psychology.  It leased classroom and office space on the first floor of an office building located at 2001 Jefferson Davis Highway in the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.  After several years of experience sponsoring workshops, the founders became convinced of the need for a new degree-granting institution to educate and train future generations of psychologists integrating theology, philosophy, and psychology.
  • In September 1999, the Institute for Faith and Psychological Sciences changed its name to the Institute for the Psychological Sciences and began offering instruction leading to the Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychology.  The initial enrollment in this program was 17 students.
  • In January 2000, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) granted provisional approval for the Institute to confer the Master of Science and the Doctor of Psychology degrees in Clinical Psychology.  
  • In August 2000, the Institute awarded its first degrees in the Master of Science program.  The first students enrolled in the Doctor of Psychology degree program in Clinical Psychology.
  • In September 2000, the Institute founded the John Henry Cardinal Newman Lecture Series to feature speakers who are widely recognized for their contributions to the fields of psychology, moral and political philosophy, theology, and law, and to promote the interdisciplinary dialogue to advance the integration of modern social, psychological, and Catholic thought.
  • In the Fall of 2001, the Institute’s Scholarly Research Center was founded to sponsor various research projects of special relevance to the mission of the Institute.  The Idea of Human Nature: Roman Catholic Teachings and its Implications addressed the moral, political, and civic dimensions of life as they relate to the Roman Catholic conception of the human person. The Anthropology Project aims to identify those elements of the Christian tradition that remain indispensable for sustaining a proper dialogue between Christianity and secular psychology.
  • In August 2002, the Institute expanded the library and classroom space on the first floor and moved its administrative and faculty offices to the fifth floor of the same building.    
  • In 2004, the Institute opened the Centre for Philosophical Psychology in collaboration with Blackfriars Hall at the University of Oxford in England. The Centre hosts a visiting scholar program featuring both a senior and junior scholar who engage in research while in residence at Oxford and who present public lectures at the Institute to be published by the IPS Press.
  • In December 2004, the Institute established the IPS Press for publishing approaches to the psychological sciences that are integrated with a Catholic view of the human person and the moral life. 
  • The Institute received regional accreditation from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 2005.
  • In December 2005, the first Psy.D. student graduated from the Institute.
  • In 2006, the Psy.D. program was recognized as an Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB)/National Register Designation program.
  • The Institute expanded its graduate programs to include the Master of Science Program in General Psychology in the Fall 2006 semester. The campus also expanded into the entire first floor of 2001 Jefferson Davis Hwy, increasing classroom, library, student services & clinic areas. The Student Center was opened and most administrative offices were relocated to the first floor. 
  • The first publication of the IPS Press was released in July 2006.
  • In July 2007, the Institute offered its first Summer Program in Oxford, United Kingdom.
  • The first Psy.D. students were licensed as clinical psychologists in 2008.

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