The UCSF Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program offers rigorous training in civil, criminal, correctional, and consultative forensic psychiatry. The goal of the program is to enable psychiatrists to understand and effectively interface with the legal system. The program is accredited by the ACGME. Each year, the program trains two fellows at the PGY-5 level. The program is designed to facilitate forensic residents' successful completion of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology's examination for certification in forensic psychiatry.
Requirements
Applicants must have completed an ACGME-accredited general psychiatry residency program. At the time the fellows begin the program, they must have a California medical license.
How to apply
UCSF will begin accepting applications for the 2024–2025 fellowship year on June 1, 2023, and interviews will begin on September 1, 2023. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until our two positions are filled.
Applicants can apply using the UCSF application form or download the common application from the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.
Please provide the following:
- checklist form
- dean's report
- training director's report
- copy of California medical license
- copy of DEA
- statement of purpose
- reference letter from three supervisors
- curriculum vitae
- passport-sized photo
- recent work product: two writing samples which may include forensic reports or evaluations, authored articles, papers, or patient evaluation/discharge summaries
Curriculum
Program curriculum includes:
- Extensive didactics
- Mock trials
- Landmark case review
- Case conferences
- Forensic research seminar
- Courses relevant to forensic psychiatry at the UC Hastings School of Law
- Elective opportunities dependent on the interests of the fellows
Fellows also participate in a wide variety of civil and criminal forensic evaluations with intensive faculty supervision. These include disability, psychic injury, medical malpractice, civil commitment, and juvenile and adult criminal court referrals. Fellows participate in clinical rotations at San Quentin State Prison, the San Francisco VA Medical Center, and an outpatient sexual offender treatment practice. Consultative experiences to health professionals, employers, law enforcement agencies, professional organizations, and legislative bodies exist as well.
During the fellowship year, fellows are expected to make a scholarly contribution by participating in a forensic research project or by undertaking a review of the legal and/or psychiatric literature. Fellows will receive direct research supervision from faculty members. Research interests of faculty include violence risk assessment, civil commitment, and criminalization of the mentally ill.
Salary, policies, and benefits
Salary is set annually by UCSF.
Potential applicants should review the UCSF Graduate Medical Education website for policies, regulations, and services. In particular, applicants should download and carefully review the details in the Housestaff Information Booklet.
Contacts
Renée Binder, MD, Director
Hugo Sosa, Program Administrator
Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
University of California, San Francisco
675 18th St., Box 3134
San Francisco, CA 94143
Telephone: (415) 476-7712
Core faculty members
Affiliated faculty members
- Paul Burton, MD
- Martin Epson, MD, JD
- Jeffrey Gould, MD
- Mikel Matto, MD
- Nathaniel Morris, MD
- Alan Newman, MD
- UC Hastings College of the Law faculty members
