Are University-Based PsyDs at a huge disadvantage for APA internships?

[PsyDLICSW]

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Hi All,

I am attending a University-Based, APA accredited PsyD program with research components (research project/dissertation and active lab participation) and will be applying for intership next year. I hear that PsyDs are at a huge disadvantage for securing APA internships all the time. Our faculty at my program have told us that the PsyD students who are at a huge disadvantage are those from professional schools such as Alliant and Argosy and that University-Based PsyD students should not be as concerned. Is this accurate? Are there any University-Based PsyDs out there who have secured an APA accredited internship? What worked for you? The feedback would be very helpful. Thanks!

 

[Duck Duck Goose]

I haven't gotten an internship yet but the match rate at my university-based, APA accredited PsyD program is pretty good (which, to me, highlights problems with the system but that's another story). You can check some older stats here for your particular school: http://www.appicdev.info/Portals/0/downloads/APPIC_Match_Rates_2000-10_by_Univ.pdf

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

You will only be at a disadvantage at sites that have a known bias against PsyD's, otherwise you should be on equal footing with university-based Ph.D. applicants. You'll want to have some productivity (posters, publications, presentation/symposium, etc), as sites often check to see if you have made an effort to publish and/or present during your time in graduate school. I'm not sure of the most current stats, but I believe the mode for publications is still 0, which shouldn't be hard to top.

 

[wigflip]

I haven't gotten an internship yet but the match rate at my university-based, APA accredited PsyD program is pretty good (which, to me, highlights problems with the system but that's another story). You can check some older stats here for your particular school: http://www.appicdev.info/Portals/0/downloads/APPIC_Match_Rates_2000-10_by_Univ.pdf

Sorry if I'm being a dunce, but it looks like this provides APPIC match rates, but doesn't separate out match rates for APA sites. Am I reading the doc wrong?

 

[Duck Duck Goose]

Sorry if I'm being a dunce, but it looks like this provides APPIC match rates, but doesn't separate out match rates for APA sites. Am I reading the doc wrong?

Yup, you're right. It only shows what % of students match to a site via the APPIC Match and not what % of those sites are APA accredited or APPIC member sites (or neither, as non-member participation is explained here: http://www.natmatch.com/psychint/).

My program's informational web site shows match results from the past few years, including the breakdown by APA accreditation, APPIC member sites, etc. I wonder if the OP's school already provides the same information somewhere?

 

[PsyDLICSW]

Thanks for the feedback and the website. My school's APA match rate is not good (APA 55%, APPIC 100%). The reason for this is that my school has a focus in rural and underserved populations and many folks in my program are from the area (rural area in the southeast). Many local students are not able to leave. There is only one APA accredited intership in the vicinity and it is competitive. Because almost half of the students in my program are local and geographically limited to the area, most of them opt to go to the consortium internship associated with my program in the town where my program is located if they do not match at the APA site nearby. This brings down our match rate significantly. We are not a bad program despite what our match rate may say. Our match rate is affected by folks who do not match becasue they are geographically limited, apply to only the one site in the vicinity (or others close by), do not match, and/or just complete the consortium internship associated with our program. I am not judging these folks in my program; they are good people and cannot leave the area because of family and other committemnts. The consortium program has applied for APPIC accreditation but not APA yet. So, my school's match rate is not stellar. Those in my program who are not geographically limited seem to do fairly well, but I am still nervous about the whole process.

Are there any university based PsyD interns or psychologists that can provide tips or feedback in terms of how to secure an internship? I have several posters and one symposium presentation coming up. I am working on a manuscript currently so hopefully those help my chances.

 

[Duck Duck Goose]

It sounds like you're doing what you can to make yourself a good applicant. The last APPIC match stats are on this site somewhere and show the differences between PhD and PsyD students with regard to match rates (again, I'm not sure if they separate out APA accreditation but it should give you an idea). These don't distinguish between university-based PsyDs and other PsyDs but the non-financial stats are relatively encouraging, I think. The stats are also available via Google search, I just don't have them on hand.

Additionally, you can check out the APPIC directory for sites that prefer PsyD candidates and/or see if the sites that you're interested in have a history of taking PsyDs as interns. That might be reassuring.

In my experience (which is, btw, very similar / almost identical to applicants from my program who matched except I moved to a more rural location after completing classes), I haven't seen selection boards openly insulting/rejecting PsyD students. Many of the applicants at my interviews last year were PsyD students from all types of PsyD programs. I think it definitely depends on the sites you're interested in, though. Check them out for specifics.

 

[7717]

I attended a university-based PsyD program. Our program had a relatively good APA internship placement rate. The year I went to internship, our program began requiring an APA internship (or proof of equiv.) for the year to count toward graduation. This, of course, changed the rates. I had no problem getting an internship - I matched with my 2nd choice. It's important to pick sites where you're comfortable and have matching intersts, experiences, etc. with the program's offering.

 

[Zigman]

I am on internship and from a uni-based PsyD program. Our program's match rates are probably inflated due to our APA internship consortium. I applied exclusively to APA-accredited neuropsychology-tracked internships, and in my 3rd year, and matched to my first choice. The types of internships I applied to are extremely competitive and I encountered many PsyD applicants at the interviews -almost all from uni-based programs. I went beyond my program's requirements to gain considerable research experience, have presented several posters, and have several publications. I think this is what made me successful -that, and some luck! There are a handful of sites which are clearly biased against PsyDs -don't waste your time with those. At the end of the day, fit is most important. In addition to having the significant research experience, I felt like I fit extremely well at the site where I matched. This was accomplished by carefully reviewing their program information and being willing to move to a less desirable location.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

There's definitely a lot to be said for applying to "less desirable" locations, yes. Perhaps fortunately for me, my geographic preference (i.e., to remain in the southeast) often fall into this "less desirable" category, meaning that many excellent programs down this way receive fewer applications than those located elsewhere.

As for fit, I'd say that's probably the single most important factor to matching to an internship once you've made it past the initial cut.

 

[wigflip]

There are a handful of sites which are clearly biased against PsyDs -don't waste your time with those.

How do you find out which sites these are? I'm primarily interested in university counseling centers--hospitals and VAs really don't appeal to me much.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

How do you find out which sites these are? I'm primarily interested in university counseling centers--hospitals and VAs really don't appeal to me much.

I do know that some places will list on their website that they only accept Ph.D. applicants.

 

[paramour]

How do you find out which sites these are? I'm primarily interested in university counseling centers--hospitals and VAs really don't appeal to me much.

I do know that some places will list on their website that they only accept Ph.D. applicants.

You can also potentially get a "feel" for them by how many PsyD's they have accepted in the past. So they may not say that they accept "only" PhD applicants, but if the stats they list show that they've not accepted any PsyD applicants or that none apply, then you may be better off not wasting your time.

 

[blindchaos]

You can also potentially get a "feel" for them by how many PsyD's they have accepted in the past. So they may not say that they accept "only" PhD applicants, but if the stats they list show that they've not accepted any PsyD applicants or that none apply, then you may be better off not wasting your time.

Keeping in mind that sometimes the info sites put on their APPIC page is wrong (most are probably accurate or pretty close, but I know of one site in particular that has taken at least one PsyD in at least 2 of the past 3 years but their APPIC page states they have only taken PhDs for the past 3 years). Personally, I'd say if it was a really great fit and they don't explicitly state that they will not take PsyDs, it's worth a shot. I wouldn't fill my entire list with sites that reportedly haven't taken any PsyDs within the past 3 years, but I'd say a few is ok if the fit is strong.

 

[wigflip]

Great tips, AcronymAllergy, paramour, blindchaos. Thanks!

 

[Zigman]

Keeping in mind that sometimes the info sites put on their APPIC page is wrong (most are probably accurate or pretty close, but I know of one site in particular that has taken at least one PsyD in at least 2 of the past 3 years but their APPIC page states they have only taken PhDs for the past 3 years). Personally, I'd say if it was a really great fit and they don't explicitly state that they will not take PsyDs, it's worth a shot. I wouldn't fill my entire list with sites that reportedly haven't taken any PsyDs within the past 3 years, but I'd say a few is ok if the fit is strong.

Fully agree. I've seen this inaccurate reporting on more than one occasion.

 

[Phipps]

they've not accepted any PsyD applicants or that none apply, then you may be better off not wasting your time.

If none applied how could they possibly accept any Psy.Ds 🙂 ?

 

[tchibur]

PsyD students are well represented in clinical settings, including neuro, forensics, health, etc. Each of the sites I applied to for internship accepted PsyD applicants and I didn't check to see if they accepted PsyD until I began writing my essays.

 

[WisNeuro]

Depends on your specialty and location. Unless that program's match and pass rates are above 80%, it's a no go from my area. Them's the breaks.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

It sounds like you're doing what you can to make yourself a good applicant. The last APPIC match stats are on this site somewhere and show the differences between PhD and PsyD students with regard to match rates (again, I'm not sure if they separate out APA accreditation but it should give you an idea). These don't distinguish between university-based PsyDs and other PsyDs but the non-financial stats are relatively encouraging, I think. The stats are also available via Google search, I just don't have them on hand.

Additionally, you can check out the APPIC directory for sites that prefer PsyD candidates and/or see if the sites that you're interested in have a history of taking PsyDs as interns. That might be reassuring.

In my experience (which is, btw, very similar / almost identical to applicants from my program who matched except I moved to a more rural location after completing classes), I haven't seen selection boards openly insulting/rejecting PsyD students. Many of the applicants at my interviews last year were PsyD students from all types of PsyD programs. I think it definitely depends on the sites you're interested in, though. Check them out for specifics.

This is all that matters. As long as you do everything to make yourself stand out and don't apply to places that have a bias against PsyDs you should be able to match just fine.