Teaching & Research as PsyD

i do both. but i am the only one from my program or several others that does this that i know of.


basically, i begged my way into a lab (it literally took me 2 years of begging), published some very medically oriented stuff, and was invited to present my research at a medical school. repeat.

keep in mind this was 100% extracurricular. i received no academic credit for any work i did in the lab and/or presenting research. people thought i was quite odd to spend 50hrs/week in the lab in addition to class (12hrs/week) and practicuum (30hrs/week). and i received no slack when i had to fly or drive to distant locations to present stuff. professors did not distinguish between my not being there for presenting or for being sick.

Great response, thanks! Looks like a lot of hard work, but it sounds like it was worth it. I have to ask, though, with such a strong commitment to publishing/research, etc., why did you go with the PsyD?

Also, any input from anyone on PsyDs teaching in an adjunct capacity?

at the time i applied to grad school i was:

A) done with research due to a lab accident
B) convinced i only wanted to do clinical work.


i was wrong.

PSYDR said:

at the time i applied to grad school i was:

A) done with research
B) convinced i only wanted to do clinical work.


i was wrong.

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Ditto. I still will never be a full-time academic and/or researcher, but I enjoy it more than I expected when I started training. In general, I think if you know on the onset you want to do full-time research, a Ph.D. route is the better choice.

psychometric said:

Does anyone know a person with a PsyD degree , who does research and/ or teaches?

How did that person come to do this?

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What you mean by PsyD? People from, say, Rutgers and Baylor get faculty positions and do research all the time. Those sites are associated with Universities and have more resources at their disposal than a free-standing professional school. If you mean a professional school, I think you're less likely to find this because (a) the resources are less likely to already be in place and you'd have to make it your business to get the research experience outside of your massive prac work and (b) self-selection means that you're just more likely on average to find people much less inclined to do research (although I'm sure many would like to teach as an adjunct on the side).

Now I'm curious.

Lab accident? I hate to pry if you don't want to say, but I'm curious what you mean by that.

Feel free to ignore this, but it just piqued my curiosity since I've only heard that statement from people in hard science labs who ended up suffering chemical burns or toxic exposures, never heard it from a psychologist before.

Where are PsyD's usually employed? (besides having a private practice)

My main interests lie in schizophrenia, so if I am asked at my PsyD interview where I want to be in 10 years, would it be safe to say that I'd like to be in a hospital setting (psychiatric hospital or psych unit)? Or does that type of setting typically employ PhDs? For some reason, I am weary about saying at my interview that I'd like to have a private practice.

I'm not an expert on clinical settings but I can't imagine a school interested in training practitioners would have a problem with private practice, community mental health, or hospital settings.

Just don't say "private practice" at most PhD programs

I used to know someone who had a PsyD and did half research and half clinical work. I have no idea how she got into this though, but just letting you know it is possible.

Is it possible? Sure, anything's possible. But begging to work in a lab for 2 years is indicative of what you're up against.

If you want to do research as a major part of your career, it's going to be an uphill battle with a Psy.D.

Well... there are some PsyD programs that are more researchy or at least allow you to do that and there are some PhD programs that have a lot of applied training and not as much research so it all depends on the school you're coming from. Yeshiva U is a great example of a balanced PsyD program... you can do a LOT or a little research with them... depending on your personal wishes and goals. There are soooo many options out there.

kr862313 said:

Where are PsyD's usually employed? (besides having a private practice)

My main interests lie in schizophrenia, so if I am asked at my PsyD interview where I want to be in 10 years, would it be safe to say that I'd like to be in a hospital setting (psychiatric hospital or psych unit)? Or does that type of setting typically employ PhDs? For some reason, I am weary about saying at my interview that I'd like to have a private practice.

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I know a lot of PsyD's who are employed at children's hospitals and at inpatient care facilities. From what I have seen so far, most PsyD's and the non-academic PhD's work at a "job" and have a private practice in the evenings. I also know a few PsyD's who teach at the University level.

psychwanabe said:

I know a lot of PsyD's who are employed at children's hospitals and at inpatient care facilities. From what I have seen so far, most PsyD's and the non-academic PhD's work at a "job" and have a private practice in the evenings. I also know a few PsyD's who teach at the University level.

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Agreed @ the hospital work and the PP on the side. There are still plenty of Psy.D's who teach, though most are adjunct. I know some who are full-time faculty, but just like any tenure position, it takes a ton of time, publishing, etc.

PsyDs also teach at PsyD programs, I know it might be obvious, thought I'd mention it anyway.

By "teaching," I think it's important to make the distinction between a traditional academic setting and, for example, a clinically-oriented setting. I think Psy.Ds are perfectly qualified for clinical supervision and training. It would be more challenging, however, as a Psy.D., to secure a position in a more traditional, academic setting (i.e. teaching Psych 101 at a major research institution.)
If you are interested in teaching and/or research, where you obtain a Psy.D. is very important (read: major research institutions with opportunities for research, not freestanding schools!)

NYCPsych said:

By "teaching," I think it's important to make the distinction between a traditional academic setting and, for example, a clinically-oriented setting. I think Psy.Ds are perfectly qualified for clinical supervision and training. It would be more challenging, however, as a Psy.D., to secure a position in a more traditional, academic setting (i.e. teaching Psych 101 at a major research institution.)

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Uhm....I don't think so. I think if you want tenure track at a university, it is best to go the Ph.D. route, though I know a number of Psy.D. professors at solid universities who teach in the curriculum and aren't just supervisors. The curriculum should be the same (except some various in stats, etc). Do I expect a Psy.D. to be teaching the stats and research classes at a major research uni....no, but the clinical classes....I can see that, and I have seen that.

Therapist4Chnge said:

Uhm....I don't think so. I think if you want tenure track at a university, it is best to go the Ph.D. route, though I know a number of Psy.D. professors at solid universities who teach in the curriculum and aren't just supervisors. The curriculum should be the same (except some various in stats, etc). Do I expect a Psy.D. to be teaching the stats and research classes at a major research uni....no, but the clinical classes....I can see that, and I have seen that.

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Hey, I applied to 5 PsyDs & only 3 PhDs, so I'm not exactly arguing against the PsyD. ;-) I just said that it would be "more challenging" to get this position, not at all that it wasn't possible.

I do both as well. I teach in the masters program at my school, and have been doing research since my first day in grad school. With that being said, I had to find my own lab to join and was fortunate to land a great position in an academic medical center. I've secured a grant, published, etc. I think the difference between a PsyD and PhD doing the more traditional academic jobs is that we as PsyD's have to seek out and often establish our own research roles often outside of our program, usually for little or no pay or course credit. In my school there are professors who conduct research, and who seek students to join their "labs" but it's not the same as a PhD program. There's significantly less grant funding for one, but there is money for you to get paid (grant it not a lot, and certainly not enough to offset those PsyD student loans).

With that being said, I was in the minority among my peers in my passion for research. I even taught research methods in the masters program (that was rather challenging) I do think it set me up as more competitive for internships, and would recommend anyone going the PsyD route to look into doing at least *some* research. It's not only important to your getting an internship, but to advancing the field.

I think I'm pretty well set up for an academic position should I want one going forward. I would like to continue to teach, at least part time. But my primary interest lies in clinical work (hence the PsyD). I think you can open a lot of doors later if you keep the idea of research/teaching on the table while you're in school.