Identifying and Targeting Compatible Graduate (Doctoral) Programs

Brooke J. Cannon, Marywood University

J. Timothy Cannon, The University of Scranton

Job Prospects (US Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/oco/ocos056.htm)

• 4 in 10 psychologists are self-employed.

• "Competition for admission to graduate psychology programs is keen."

• Through 2014, employment growth for psychologists is expected to be faster than average for all occupations. School psychology is projected to have the greatest growth.

Training Models

• Research Scientist (Ph.D.)
  

  • Trained to be research scholar

  • Programs in area of specialization

  • Fewer students in recent years

• Clinical/Counseling/School - Scientist-Practitioner (Ph.D.)
  

  • Boulder model

  • Trained to be researcher and clinical practitioner

• Clinical/Counseling/School - Professional Training (Psy.D.)
  

  • Vail model

  • Trained to be clinical practitioners and consumers of research

If you choose the Research Scientist or Scientist-Practitioner paths:

• Find experts in your field of interest

• Research where they were trained

• Read their work over the last 3-5 years

• Consider library facilities, research space, computer access, research funding

If you choose either Scientist-Practitioner or Professional Training paths:

• Determine amount of practica available

• Who are the supervisors?

• Where are the placements?

• Who are the clients?

• Consider theoretical orientation

• Determine student APA-accredited/APPIC member internship placement success - visit APPIC website for individual program data (under "match statistics"): 
  http://appic.org
  • Licensure application process typically easier if you attended an APA-accredited or APPIC member internship program
  • Among Psy.D. programs - higher acceptance rates correlated with lower internship placement rates

Financial Aid

• Could be in the form of stipend, assistantship, tuition waiver

• Find out % of students receiving financial aid and the average amount

• Much more likely to get significant funding in research-oriented programs

• General rule of thumb: The higher the acceptance rate, the lower the financial assistance

APA Accreditation (Clinical/Counseling/School Ph.D./Psy.D. only)

• Visit APA’s website to see list of accredited programs (http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/doctoral.html)

• APA accredited programs are not all identical

• Should you consider programs that are not accredited? Maybe.

  • Determine why they are not accredited (applied and rejected, too new, etc.)

  • Compare their curricula with those of APA accredited programs

Your Credentials

• Apply to range of programs – sure things to long shots  

• Don’t shoot too high or too low

• Pay attention to language of admission requirements (minimum vs. actual)

 

Quality of Life

• Don’t select school based on undergraduate or sports team reputations

• Don’t rule out schools based on location

 

Internet Resources for Applicants to Clinical & Counseling Psychology Doctoral Programs

The World Wide Web is a rich resource for exploring graduate school options.

Here are some useful links to get you started.

American Psychological Association Student Information
www.apa.org/students/
APA’s site for students. Includes a list of all accredited programs, relevant articles, etc.

Doctoral Programs Meeting Designation Criteria
http://www.nationalregister.org/designate.htm
This site contains all doctoral psychology programs which have been determined to meet designation criteria as doctoral programs in psychology, according to the standards set forth by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards/National Register. Graduates of these programs meet the education requirements to sit for licensure as a psychologist in any state or Canadian province. The list includes APA-accredited programs, as well as other programs not APA-accredited.

Doctor of Psychology Programs

http://www.lemoyne.edu/OTRP/otrpresources/psyd/psyd.html

Location of all Psy.D. programs in the country, accredited and non-accredited.

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Psychology Departments on the Web
www.psychwww.com/resource/deptlist.htm
Exhaustive list (over 1000) of Psych Department websites. Impressive.

Peterson’s Virtual Campus – Graduate Study in Clinical Psychology
www.petersons.com
This site has brief descriptions of schools and their programs offering Master’s and Doctoral training in various areas, including clinical and counseling psychology.

Clinical Psychology Graduate School Programs
www.gradschools.com
Again, you can search for schools, but the nice feature here is that you can easily search by region of the country. You also can search for clinical or counseling psychology separately.

Ranking of Psychology Ph.D. Programs

http://www.socialpsychology.org/clinrank.htm

This site contains various types of rankings of doctoral psychology programs, such as by their graduates’ scores on the licensing exam.

Marky Lloyd’s Careers in Psychology Page
http://www.psychwww.com/careers/index.htm
Excellent site containing diverse information related to careers and to the graduate school application process, as well as related links.

Quick Tips for Applying to Graduate School in Psychology

http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_86.asp

Bill Lammers’ article in Eye on Psi Chi, full of helpful suggestions.