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Why do you need to pass the EPPP exam? Why do you need a web site that teaches you how to pass the EPPP? Why can't you just walk in, take the EPPP exam, and pass the EPPP without preparing?
The Importance of the EPPP Exam
As a psychologist, the EPPP is one of the most important exams you will ever take.
You may have gotten all A's in your graduate psychology classes. You may have passed your comprehensive exams with flying colors. The professors may still speak in hushed whispers about the brilliant answers you gave during your dissertation defense. Your dissertation may have been published in the Journal of the American Psychological Association. And your internship director may have thought you hung the moon. But guess what?
Effect of Not Passing the EPPP
If you do not pass the Examination for the Practice of Professional Psychology (EPPP) you will not be allowed to practice as a licensed psychologist in the United States or Canada.* Not now. Not ever. Never.
No private patients. No insurance company reimbursement. No “Licensed Psychologist” title on your business cards. Your employment prospects will be severely limited. You will not be able to partake of the full benefits of being a psychologist. In short, you will have wasted thousands of dollars on graduate school education and years of study and sacrifice.
What is the EPPP?
The EPPP is the examination that you must pass as part of the requirements to practice in the USA and almost all Provinces in Canada.
Creator of the EPPP
The EPPP was created by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards in the United States and Canada. The ASPPB is physically located in Montgomery, Alabama.
EPPP Content Areas
The EPPP exam consists of 225 multiple choice questions from eight content areas which are as follows:
- Biological bases of behavior
- Cognitive-affective bases of behavior
- Social and multicultural bases of behavior
- Growth and lifespan development
- Assessment and diagnosis
- Treatment, intervention, and prevention
- Research methods and statistics
- Ethical, legal, and professional issues
EPPP Exam Locations
The EPPP test is administered at local Pearson VUE testing centers on a computer. You only have four hours and fifteen minutes to complete 225 questions.
You may think that surely since you have passed through a graduate school program in psychology and been awarded a doctoral degree that you will be able to easily answer the questions on the EPPP. After all, you are familiar with the content areas. You did well in your classes and maybe even went to a highly competitive psychology program that was fully accredited by the American Psychological Association. You successfully wrote a dissertation or research project and even have experience in the field.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
EPPP Tricky Questions
These are some of the trickiest questions you will ever be tested on. Differences between the four answers to each question on the EPPP are extremely subtle. You must select the “best answer” not necessarily the correct answer on the EPPP. Questions and answers are frequently negatively worded on the EPPP.
You must know the particular content the eight domains usually focus on. You must both understand, and be able to apply, knowledge from each content area on the EPPP.
Why You Should Not Plan On Retaking The EPPP Examination
You may be thinking, “I'll take the EPPP exam without much preparation and if I don't pass I'll retake it until I do.” Think again.
EPPP Exam Registration Costs
Taking the EPPP exam is expensive. The current administrative fee from Pearson VUE testing centers to sit for the EPPP is $87.50. The cost from ASPPB to sit for the EPPP exam has increased to $600.
Before you can register to sit for the EPPP you must receive a Permission to Test letter from your state psychology board. State psychology boards charge you licensing and administration fees ranging from several hundred to over a thousand dollars as part of the process of obtaining permission to sit for the EPPP exam.
Limits On EPPP Testing Attempts
The ASPPB limits the number of times you may retake the EPPP exam. You may only take the EPPP exam up to four times per year. Most state psychology boards limit your ability to retake the EPPP exam even further. In some states after several failures on the EPPP exam you are required to explain to the state psychology board why you should be permitted to retake the EPPP exam. You may be asked to complete remedial work. The board of psychology may impose a waiting period on you before you can retest. At the least, you must wait the time that the EPPP reapplication and approval process consumes. It may be months before you are authorized to retake the EPPP exam again.
EPPP Retesting Fees
Each time you retake the EPPP exam, of course, you need to pay fees to the state psychology board, the Pearson VUE testing centers, and the ASPPB.
No—Passing the Examination for the Professional Practice in Psychology is no casual matter. And that is why this web site exists to help guide you through the process. With the proper knowledge, strategies, skills, and preparation you can and will pass the EPPP Exam.
Footnotes
*All U.S. states and Canadian provinces whose boards are members of ASPPB require applicants to pass the EPPP (except for Prince Edward Island and Quebec). Quebec requires out-of-province candidates to pass the EPPP.
(revised 6/1/2020)
(revised 6/1/2020)
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