MA in Clinical Psychology?

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I've heard that it's a good idea if you don't get into a PhD clinical psychology program to try to get a master's first. I'm somewhat weary of this suggestion, because I question the ultimate advantage a MA candidate holds over a BA candidate (besides a nice debt). Any one have thoughts?

Also, I've heard there are MAs in clinical psychology available? Do people know which schools offer them? Do credits transfer? They are unlikely to in a regular psychology MA.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by zbombvt

I've heard that it's a good idea if you don't get into a PhD clinical psychology program to try to get a master's first. I'm somewhat weary of this suggestion, because I question the ultimate advantage a MA candidate holds over a BA candidate (besides a nice debt). Any one have thoughts?

Also, I've heard there are MAs in clinical psychology available? Do people know which schools offer them? Do credits transfer? They are unlikely to in a regular psychology MA.

Thanks.

It is not a good idea at all to go for your masters unless you need to enhance your grades or if your major wasnt psychology. Most or even any of ur credits wont be transferred unless your staying at that school for their ph.d program. The way I decided if I dont get into a ph. program what I would do. Well my advisor ( honor thesis) ask several of his collegues should I do a masters or not if I dont get in. He gave them my stats and background. Almost all recommended that I take the time I have off to just study for gre to get a better score and if need be just find a part time research job to keep me busy. So if you have faculty who could do the same you should consider that. It was nice to hear all 10 psychologists around the united states come to a consensus of what was best than just one and myself. LOL Hopefully I wont have to be making that decision if my interview goes well and any other upcoming ones... Good Luck!

Originally Posted by HonieButterfly

It is not a good idea at all to go for your masters unless you need to enhance your grades or if your major wasnt psychology. Most or even any of ur credits wont be transferred unless your staying at that school for their ph.d program. The way I decided if I dont get into a ph. program what I would do. Well my advisor ( honor thesis) ask several of his collegues should I do a masters or not if I dont get in. He gave them my stats and background. Almost all recommended that I take the time I have off to just study for gre to get a better score and if need be just find a part time research job to keep me busy. So if you have faculty who could do the same you should consider that. It was nice to hear all 10 psychologists around the united states come to a consensus of what was best than just one and myself. LOL Hopefully I wont have to be making that decision if my interview goes well and any other upcoming ones... Good Luck!

i wholehartedly disagree, it gives you a competitve edge in the workforce and more experience for a later doctoral date. also it depends what school you are going to...i know a lot of programs where you can transfer 30 credits towards a doctorate. then again this is because i am going for a professional reason rather than for reasearch. if you are going for a ph.d, then i would definitely not bother with a master's.

ma in clinical is offered at many schools as well as an m.s.
i plan on going for the m.s. if i dont get into a psy.d progam

this is a good article too.

http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_90.asp

Originally Posted by forensic_psy.d

i wholehartedly disagree, it gives you a competitve edge in the workforce and more experience for a later doctoral date. also it depends what school you are going to...i know a lot of programs where you can transfer 30 credits towards a doctorate. then again this is because i am going for a professional reason rather than for reasearch. if you are going for a ph.d, then i would definitely not bother with a master's.

ma in clinical is offered at many schools as well as an m.s.
i plan on going for the m.s. if i dont get into a psy.d progam

this is a good article too.

http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_90.asp

Well I assumed the poster was referring to a Ph.D program since that what was said. If that is the case I stand by what I said. If not, well I dont know anything about psy.d programs so I am sure forensic_psy.d gave you some good advice. Good Luck!

PhD or PsyD, it does not matter. Someone with a solid masters will be looked at closer than a BA. BA in psych is easy to say the least, but a graduate degree implies you may be able to complete a doctorate.

Just wanted to put my 2 cents in one last time If you just need to enhance your research experience it is pointless to do a masters. You will be taking out loans for 2 years and it just makes no sense. I have heard many faculty in psych departments say this and even grad students. If you are not concrete on your research interest, you need to boost your gpa or your not a psych major. I suggest this would be a good route. If you just need to boost your GRE scores or need research experience then masters is not for you. Of course you will find good research experience in a masters program probably better than a job position but at the expense of taking out loans to pay for grad school and 2 extra years. Why waste money and the time when you can just find a job and get paid doing research for a year till next time you apply. I will agree a masters student will have a better chance than an undergrad for admissions. However, an undergrad still has a chance I guess it depends on what you have put under your built. For example, myself. I am currently an undergrad and have interviews and probably many other undergrads on this forum too. I think it all depends on what were you lacking why you didnt get into a ph.d program and useful help from faculty because those are the ones making the decisions.

While I understand both sides of this argument I honestly believe it would be prudent for an undergrad to go out and get some experience to make their application more competitive. Ive worked in a PsyD admissions office and believe it or not they pile the undergrads aside knowing that they have less experience AND only have minimal research/clinical experience and at best good grades/GRE scores.

Who says that you are taking loans out for school? One can get a free ride OR just pay out of pocket. CUNY in NYC is an example of this.

Having an MA is DEFINATELY a good back up as there is NO GUARANTEE especially as an undergrad that you will get in. It would behoove an undergrad to also apply to MA programs just in case they dont get in to a PHD program. (LAw schools also prefer this.) This way they have a back up and can work on the things lacking on their applications. Do you know how many apps came through our office where the person went from undergrad, grad and/or doctoral program with no experience? LOTS! Make it yur point to have the best application you can have. Time and money are one thing but being smart about it is another.

I appreciate the advice given in this posting. I am in the boat of having graduated two years ago from college (where I was summa, PBK, psi chi), and then went on in psychopharmacology research (working w/ a clinical pop). I do think that where I need improvement might not necessarily be fixed by getting an MA. However, I do think if there is a professor you want to work with in a clinical phD program, then getting into a MA at the same school and then having them as a close contact can't hurt. Seems like really getting to know a professor with similiar interests might be better than any GRE/GPA.

At the same time it seems ridiculous to go through all that just to improve your odds of getting into a phD for clin psych. Oh well, just ramblings. Any additional thoughts?

Originally Posted by Annakei

While I understand both sides of this argument I honestly believe it would be prudent for an undergrad to go out and get some experience to make their application more competitive. Ive worked in a PsyD admissions office and believe it or not they pile the undergrads aside knowing that they have less experience AND only have minimal research/clinical experience and at best good grades/GRE scores.

Who says that you are taking loans out for school? One can get a free ride OR just pay out of pocket. CUNY in NYC is an example of this.

Having an MA is DEFINATELY a good back up as there is NO GUARANTEE especially as an undergrad that you will get in. It would behoove an undergrad to also apply to MA programs just in case they dont get in to a PHD program. (LAw schools also prefer this.) This way they have a back up and can work on the things lacking on their applications. Do you know how many apps came through our office where the person went from undergrad, grad and/or doctoral program with no experience? LOTS! Make it yur point to have the best application you can have. Time and money are one thing but being smart about it is another.

i might actually go for an ms and then go to law eventually. i am waiting to see what's up with the psy.d's first.

Originally Posted by zbombvt

I appreciate the advice given in this posting. I am in the boat of having graduated two years ago from college (where I was summa, PBK, psi chi), and then went on in psychopharmacology research (working w/ a clinical pop). I do think that where I need improvement might not necessarily be fixed by getting an MA. However, I do think if there is a professor you want to work with in a clinical phD program, then getting into a MA at the same school and then having them as a close contact can't hurt. Seems like really getting to know a professor with similiar interests might be better than any GRE/GPA.

At the same time it seems ridiculous to go through all that just to improve your odds of getting into a phD for clin psych. Oh well, just ramblings. Any additional thoughts?

I agree with you zbombvt. Well I am aware of CUNY being that I am from NYC and in that sort of situation yes you may get a free ride. However, paying out of pocket isnt such a good deal either. More importantly if anyone goes to a MA program and actually know what their research of interest is then YES the smartest thing to do is go to a school with a faculty member who is doing the same research then that woul dbe cool too. But you will be at least held back for a year. I know this because that happen with two students that I know who are in my labs. YES getting to know a prof and having the same research interest works, thats what I would do if I was you.

Forensic, any word from those PsyD programs yet? I've heard NADA from any...getting nervous!!

Two of the PsyD programs I applied to (Antioch NE and Hartford), if they do not accept you into the Doctoral program but still really 'like what they see' they will consider you for their MA program. So that is a great backup to have.

Also, I applied to the MA in Clinical Psychology at Pepperdine, they do not even accept applications for their PsyD program unless you have a Masters already!

Jon

I'm in my first year of a clinical psych PhD program. I already have an MS in general psychology and am able to transfer 8 classes from my MS program as well as my Master's thesis. So while my classmates are thinking about what to do for their theses, I'm thinking about what to do for my dissertation. The one drawback is that I am 40K in the hole with student loans from my MS program. However, I have full tuition remission plus a stipend in my PhD program, so I don't have to take out any more loans. In addition, I will be out of my program at least a year before my classmates if not more.

Originally Posted by boobaloob

I'm in my first year of a clinical psych PhD program. I already have an MS in general psychology and am able to transfer 8 classes from my MS program as well as my Master's thesis. So while my classmates are thinking about what to do for their theses, I'm thinking about what to do for my dissertation. The one drawback is that I am 40K in the hole with student loans from my MS program. However, I have full tuition remission plus a stipend in my PhD program, so I don't have to take out any more loans. In addition, I will be out of my program at least a year before my classmates if not more.

bingo!

Originally Posted by boobaloob

I'm in my first year of a clinical psych PhD program. I already have an MS in general psychology and am able to transfer 8 classes from my MS program as well as my Master's thesis. So while my classmates are thinking about what to do for their theses, I'm thinking about what to do for my dissertation. The one drawback is that I am 40K in the hole with student loans from my MS program. However, I have full tuition remission plus a stipend in my PhD program, so I don't have to take out any more loans. In addition, I will be out of my program at least a year before my classmates if not more.

That's great that you have had a good experience. But people should know that this isn't going to be the case at all programs. In my program, people with their masters get very little time knocked off. Their theses don't transfer and they didn't place out of any classes other than a couple statistics courses. The lesson here is if you do get an MA, do your research on program policies when you apply for doctoral programs.

Originally Posted by Jon4PsyD

Forensic, any word from those PsyD programs yet? I've heard NADA from any...getting nervous!!

Two of the PsyD programs I applied to (Antioch NE and Hartford), if they do not accept you into the Doctoral program but still really 'like what they see' they will consider you for their MA program. So that is a great backup to have.

Also, I applied to the MA in Clinical Psychology at Pepperdine, they do not even accept applications for their PsyD program unless you have a Masters already!

Jon

yeah antioch emailed me saying they are reviewing applications til the middle of the month then sending out invites. i have heard absolutely nothing from mspp except if you dont get a response by the 15th then you are basically rejected