Community Psychology Doctoral Theses: A South African University Case Study

The present investigation analysed the Community Psychology doctoral thesis trends with respect to student demographics, thesis topics, research methodology, research participant demographics, rural/urban focus, community empowerment focus, and programme development and evaluation at one institution. Of the 51 students who completed the course, 45.1% were Educational Psychologists, 33.3% Clinical Psychologists and 21.6% Counselling Psychologists. Self-help programmes, school-based programmes and non-professional-help programmes predominated. Of the 51 theses, seven addressed HIV and AIDS and one studied sexual violence. The majority used qualitative methodologies, and focused on adults. Only 11.8% focused specifically on rural communities, while 74.5% included community empowerment, 62.7% were programme evaluations.