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I am pursuing a career in clinical neuropsychology. I recently gained acceptance into two clinical psychology PhD programs. The first is a joint-degree PhD program in behavioral neuroscience and clinical psychology. The second is a general PhD program in clinical psychology, but with a module in neuropsychology. The research between the two programs is very similar, so now I am perplexed as to which program I should attend. How necessary is the neuropsychology module for getting an internship in neuropsychology? Would receiving dual training in behavioral neuroscience and clinical psychology provide the same prestige (or more? less?) than a neuropsychology module?
You need to look at more than just what is in the branding of these programs.
What neuropsychology-related coursework do they offer, e.g. functional neuroanatomy, psychopharmacology, behavioral genetics, etc?
What are the opportunities like to produce neuropsych-related research? Is your mentor a productive researcher in neuropsychology or related field? If not, is there a way to collaborate with other faculty who do this kind of research and to incorporate your mentor's interests in with neuropsychology? E.g. Your mentor is a health psychology/behavioral medicine researcher and you can research neuropsychological sequelae of obesity, CVD, etc.?
What are the clinical opportunities like for practica? is there an in-house clinic for training and does it offer opportunities for neuropsych assessment? Are there neuropsych-focused external practica associated with the programs? If so, what kind are they (e.g. private practice vs. AMC vs. VA vs. forensic hospital OR rehab vs. inpatient vs. outpatient vs.), what populations do they serve (e.g. peds/adults vs. community vs. vets vs. forensic populations), and what kinds of issues would you gain experience in (e.g. TBI vs. dementia vs. neurological disease/degeneration vs. epilepsy and surgical evals)?