Overall, CSUN's
experimental master's program has a better track record for getting students into funded doctoral programs (including clinical programs). It seems that a lot of the clinical master's students choose to go on to unfunded PsyD or PhD programs (Alliant, Argosy, etc.)... we are in SoCal afterall, with these types of programs on nearly every corner.
The general-experimental program, however, is very research-heavy (students work in a mentor's lab and complete a thesis; lots of opportunities for conference presentations). Experimental students are also required to take several advanced stats courses (e.g. multivariate stats, structural equation modeling) that the clinical students aren't required to take (and usually don't).
Of course, the clinical students do get clinical training that the experimental students with clinical interests don't get, but as you've probably heard before... research experience is usually more valuable than clinical experience when applying to PhD programs. The people I know in the clinical program here don't have a lot of time to engage in research because they're so swamped with their clinical training.
(yes, I have direct experience with this program, if that wasn't already obvious
)
The Clinical students can research in GE labs and get just as much, if not more research done
I just think many students in the clinical track prefer clinical work, and that's why they end up in Psy.D. programs.
Anyway- going to any CSU may be an uphill battle because they are not Ph.D. granting universities. You will not have the same funding as others, no one really knows what the CSUs are, and you won't have access to as many big name researchers or grant funded projects.
That being said, they do have a good research program and a good track record. Clinical's record is not as strong as GE's for getting students into Ph.D. programs because a thesis is not required and the mentor model is not followed. If you are a clinical student in the program, and want to do a thesis and research, you will have to make this blatantly clear before you apply, or you'll be left to find a mentor on your own (which isn't even too hard).
Without disclosing too much info, I am attending a CSU for my MA in Clinical Psychology. I research 20 hours per week, have a thesis topic selected and am beginning at the end of the semester, am a laboratory supervisor, have submitted to a national conference, and am finishing a publication at the end of the month- I have only been working since the semester started, too. Clinically, I am doing intelligence and achievement testing- I do this 3 hours per week maximum because I need time for research/classes. Research and teaching are my greatest passions, followed closely by clinical practice, so that's why so much of my week is devoted to research, although I am finding I truly enjoy assessment. For me, the time commitment to the clinical work is not high, and it is worth it to get to take courses in psychopathology, assessment, and behavior therapy, as opposed to cognition, perception, social psych, etc.
I went through the app cycle last year. This is just anecdotal, but people who made it to the interviews, or were already students, who had a master's had it from:
CSU, Northridge
Drexel University
San Francisco State University
University of Chicago
University of Tulsa
I have heard CSU Los Angeles, CSU Northridge, SF State, and CSU Long Beach have good reputations, but the only school I can find data on is CSU Northridge.
If you want to stay at the CSU system and have specific interests, CSULA is special for their forensic psychology emphasis in the clinical program, and CSUN's clinical program is FILLED with neuropsychology professors, a lot of whom work with UCLA. I am unsure of specialties offered at other CSUs.
You can find wonderful mentors anywhere you go, and I think CSUN has success with getting students into Ph.D. programs, especially students who participate in the Teacher Inten Program
