Army/Navy Programs for Clinical PhD/PsD

[mishane]

I was wondering if anyone is involved or knows anyone involved or knows ANY information about the Army/Navy programs that are offered to the Clinical PhD/PsyD students.

I went to a meeting about the one for Medical students and I know that the offer is something like: For every year paid, you have to give a year back. (In the simplest terms of course).

Does anyone know anything about this and whether or not it's a good idea? I have no money, having spent all of it on undergrad and I don't want to take 3 years off (which is how much I'd have to do if I wanted to earn enough money to pay for just one year).

Any insight would be really appreciated.

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[73BARMYPgsp]

I was wondering if anyone is involved or knows anyone involved or knows ANY information about the Army/Navy programs that are offered to the Clinical PhD/PsyD students.

I went to a meeting about the one for Medical students and I know that the offer is something like: For every year paid, you have to give a year back. (In the simplest terms of course).

Does anyone know anything about this and whether or not it's a good idea? I have no money, having spent all of it on undergrad and I don't want to take 3 years off (which is how much I'd have to do if I wanted to earn enough money to pay for just one year).

Any insight would be really appreciated.

You are talking about HPSP. PM me if you want info on it. The topic has been discussed to it's exhaustion on here, but I will discuss it with you as much as you want in a private message. However, I will say this--do not join the military if you don't want to be a mliitary psychologist. If you are simply trying to figure out a way to get graduate school paid for, I respectfully, but for my own selfish reasons ask, please look elsewhere.

 

[Anx73B]

I just want to agree. I've been in the Army for three years now and I love it, but I've seen how miserable it can be for those who don't want to be there. The sacrifices they ask you to make and just not worth it for the money alone. You definitely need a strong sense of patriotism and duty to country in order to enjoy the experience. If you have these and realize that you will be "serving" your country then I encourage you to join.

 

[mishane]

Thank you. I looked for a thread on this but I could not find it. I guess I didn't look hard enough.
I'm a little confused by what you are saying. Are you saying that if I take that track, my main or only option would be Military Psychology?
Also, I received an e-mail about it from a recruiter and he said something about them only paying for PhD, not for the MA.

 

[angrydragon]

Thank you. I looked for a thread on this but I could not find it. I guess I didn't look hard enough.
I'm a little confused by what you are saying. Are you saying that if I take that track, my main or only option would be Military Psychology?
Also, I received an e-mail about it from a recruiter and he said something about them only paying for PhD, not for the MA.

I think by "military psychologist" they mean you are a clinical psychologist working with a, for lack of a better word, "limited" population, being active duty military personnel as your primary clients. I'm not even sure if you get much exposure to any other population. Perhaps some veterans.

Many people have a huge stigma of military lifestyle, viewing it to be far too constricting and "anal". Truthfully, it may be a little bit more structure than the average civilian lifestyle, but I do not think it is much more so than any respectable professional work place. Work is work. And if you go through the HPSP, you will be an officer and believe me...having been active duty enlisted for 4 years in the Marine Corps...life as an officer is truly night and day to being a working ant.

I'm uncertain about the PhD only vs. MA, it may even be just this fiscal year. Come october 1st of this year, they should release the information pertaining to next year and details of what scholarship they will be offering.

Keep in mind too, I am not in the HPSP just yet. I missed the cut off for this year and I will be applying for it for my 2nd year of grad school. But I'm basically regurgitating some information I researched over the past month or so. Good luck!

 

[73BARMYPgsp]

Thank you. I looked for a thread on this but I could not find it. I guess I didn't look hard enough.
I'm a little confused by what you are saying. Are you saying that if I take that track, my main or only option would be Military Psychology?
Also, I received an e-mail about it from a recruiter and he said something about them only paying for PhD, not for the MA.

What I am saying is you will be an Army officer who happens to be a psychologist until your active duty comittment is up. Everything you do will be in the service of the mission in some way, shape or form. While psychologists in the Army get to see service members and their families, they are in uniform, with hair cuts, PT tests, rank, weapons qualification, military balls (almost always required at the MEDCEN where you work) deployments to dangerous far off war zone type places and the whole thing.

On the second part, every PhD program I know of has a Masters degree "built in." In my case, you are considered masters level when you finish all your coursework, pass all your comps, and defend your dissertation proposal. At that point you become a doctoral candidate. You still have to conduct your final dissertation defense and complete your internship before you are PhD.

You cannot accept the HPSP (which at the earliest you can get at the beginning of your second year anyway) and then quit after your MS is done. If you do, you will have to pay the Army back in full the tuition and stipend they gave you. You will probably also have a dishonarable discharge since you are a commissioned officer while you are in graduate school. Once you accept HPSP, they own you until you finish your PhD, get your license and then do 3 years active duty.

 

[deleted176373]

Thank you. I looked for a thread on this but I could not find it. I guess I didn't look hard enough.
I'm a little confused by what you are saying. Are you saying that if I take that track, my main or only option would be Military Psychology?
Also, I received an e-mail about it from a recruiter and he said something about them only paying for PhD, not for the MA.

If you are interested in military psychology, you should consider looking carefully at USUHS. It's a very good program and provides benefits that you might not find in HPSP (which is also a great program.) USUHS is a clinical psychology program that you can attend on active duty, which means that you get paid to go to school and you would be on active duty while attending school and internship for 5 years.

Downside (not to me though)
- You owe six years back. (That's an 11 year commitment with school)

Upside
- School counts towards retirement.
- Full pay (~55k per year)
- Awesome faculty
- Excellent networking opportunities with Military Psychologists

Since I can assume that you are NOT military currently, the only program currently accepting civilians into USUHS is the Navy.

Now the key question, is it a good idea? I think you should spend some time with some military officers to get an idea what the quality of life is. Deployments have their challenges, but you will not be deployed ALL the time. You will be deployed more often in some services and less often in others. Also you will find that some positions NEVER deploy, like being assigned to USUHS (either as a student or a professor.)

You will probably find some bias here. I have been in the military before, got out, thought I would never go back in! I actually missed it, it was a pretty good life before and it's even better this time around as an officer. There are more rules and regulations, some red tape to deal with, and it's own challenges... That said, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

AngryDragon makes some great points, there is a night and day difference in the quality of life and the way things work for officers. Officers are treated rather well. Workplace professionalism is really what brought me back to the military, it is unlike anything else you can experience. I have owned my own companies, worked for others, and been in the military. By far, the military environment was the most egalitarian and non-discriminatory of any.

73B, I don't think you would get a dishonorable discharge, if you paid back your money it's likely that you would get either a general discharge or an honorable conversion once they were paid in full. That said, if you pull the trigger on a career in military psychology, be sure that this is something you can do. The benefits of completing the commitment will pay dividends down the road in opportunities to network and line up work post-military. Military internships are looked upon very favorably my the psychology community as having excellent training.

Mark

 

[ArmySpouse]

I am interested in some "inside info" in regards to HPSP. I want to continue my education in clinical psych (currently have my BA in psych)...My end goal is to earn a psy.d in clinical psych and work with soldiers with PTSD, etc.

Does the HPSP program paying for my Masters (2.5 yr long program) allow me to 1.) make more $ then a civilian with a clinical psych masters degree graduate, 2.) gain valuable experience working for the ARMY for the 3 years of service owed after my masters, 3) am I considered deployable with only a Masters in the clinical psych? 4.) what will I be doing during that 3 years of service owed? working in an ARMY hospital? Currently my husband is active duty and its a career path for him, so would we be able to be stationed at the same place? I hear there is a law that duel military households (spouses) can't be stationed more than 50 miles from eachother. But what about deployments? What if we have children during my 3 years of service? What are the regulations if any on this? Does the masters HPSP require the program i choose to be APA accredited or is that just for the Doctorate program? What specific accreditation is required for a masters to get the HPSP?

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

If you do a search there is a great thread on this topic.

 

[justme08]

There are a lot of great posts on there about this, but for starters they don't offer the HPSP for masters only clinical and counseling psychology PhD and PsyD.

 

[deleted176373]

I am interested in some "inside info" in regards to HPSP. I want to continue my education in clinical psych (currently have my BA in psych)...My end goal is to earn a psy.d in clinical psych and work with soldiers with PTSD, etc.

Does the HPSP program paying for my Masters (2.5 yr long program) allow me to

HPSP WILL NOT PAY FOR A TERMINAL MASTERS DEGREE IN PSYCHOLOGY (AFAIK).

1.) make more $ then a civilian with a clinical psych masters degree graduate,

Depends on what you mean, are you asking if your base salary in the military would be higher than a civilian salary?

Assuming you got an HPSP funded Psy.D., your gross salary might not be higher but I am pretty sure that in MOST cases your net pay would be higher. I don't want to get into it too far, but the military pay during internship is possibly the highest in the country and about a third of total military pay and allowances is tax free (pay is taxed, allowances are, in general, tax free). You also qualify for some other federal benefits (which affect loan repayment) that can definitely make a difference in your net income.

2.) gain valuable experience working for the ARMY for the 3 years of service owed after my masters,

I do not believe that you can go on active duty with a masters degree in Psychology. If you have a Psy.D., yes, I believe that the experience you will gain is valuable and relates well to the civilian practice of psychology. I would NOT go this route with a 3 year plan to get in and get out. You won't be happy if this is something you are doing for the money.

3) am I considered deployable with only a Masters in the clinical psych?

If you are in uniform and not in a designated non-deployable billet, you are deployable. Don't join the military if the idea of being deployed is not something you are willing or desire to do. We deploy, that's the nature of our business.

4.) what will I be doing during that 3 years of service owed? working in an ARMY hospital?

With a Psy.D., until you are licensed, you will more than likely start off working in a medical treatment facility where you can be supervised. That can mean being deployed but the Army in particular has avoided deploying non-licensed service members.

Currently my husband is active duty and its a career path for him, so would we be able to be stationed at the same place?

The military tries to keep active duty spouses at the same duty station, but with some careers and assignments it is just not possible.

I hear there is a law that dual military households (spouses) can't be stationed more than 50 miles from eachother.

Not true.

But what about deployments? What if we have children during my 3 years of service?

Then you need a family care plan that takes into account that you could both be deployed at the same time. You won't have to deploy while you're pregnant or within 6 months of giving birth, but after that you're fair game. Many women get out after having children and it has been a serious retention issue for the military psychology field.

What are the regulations if any on this?

The military expects you to put them first and your family a close second. That's the reality. There are many regulations that cover all this, best to talk to a legal officer to get the real scoop.

Does the masters HPSP require the program i choose to be APA accredited or is that just for the Doctorate program?

There is no HPSP program I am aware of for a Masters in Psychology. For Psy.D. and Ph.D. you need to be at an APA accredited program.

What specific accreditation is required for a masters to get the HPSP?

See above.

Mark

PS - This is my personal opinion and does not represent an official military opinion.

 

[ArmySpouse]

Thanks so much, to clarify this is what led me to believe that the army does hpsp for masters (graduate level) clinical psych degrees. "WHAT'S COVERED?
The U.S. Army Health Care Team will pay 100 percent of your tuition for a graduate-level health care degree at any accredited medical, dental, veterinary, psychology or optometry program in the United States or Puerto Rico.". "WHO'S ELIGIBLE?
The HPSP is available for students pursuing advanced degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, psychiatric nursing, optometry or psychology. To qualify for the Health Professions Scholarship Program, you must:

Be a U.S. citizen with a baccalaureate degree from an accredited school.
Be enrolled in (or have a letter or acceptance from) an accredited graduate program in the U.S. or Puerto Rico (varies by specialty)
Maintain full-time student status during the length of the program
Qualify as a commissioned Officer in the United States Army Reserve".


Also see this link
goarmy.com/content/dam/goarmy/downloaded_assets/pdfs/hpsp_fact_sheet.pdf



Maybe I'm mistaken but I read that and was thinking it was for a masters program....


Any Insight?.. I feel overwhelmed with the contradictory info out there and am worried I will make the wrong choice based on frustration....and sheer panic. Lol

 

[justme08]

"If you want to become a physician, dentist, veterinarian,
optometrist, clinical or counseling psychologist, and qualify..." From this link: http://www.goarmy.com/content/dam/goarmy/downloaded_assets/pdfs/hpsp_fact_sheet.pdf

I realize it's not clear, but to be a "clinical or counseling psychologist" means one has to have a doctorate.

 

[deleted176373]

Thanks so much, to clarify this is what led me to believe that the army does hpsp for masters (graduate level) clinical psych degrees. "WHAT'S COVERED?
The U.S. Army Health Care Team will pay 100 percent of your tuition for a graduate-level health care degree at any accredited medical, dental, veterinary, psychology or optometry program in the United States or Puerto Rico.".

APA only accredits doctorate level programs. In this case, the DoD (unless I am wrong) has determined that the programs must be APA accredited for psychology, and not just a regional accreditation.

"WHO'S ELIGIBLE?
The HPSP is available for students pursuing advanced degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, psychiatric nursing, optometry or psychology. To qualify for the Health Professions Scholarship Program, you must:

Be a U.S. citizen with a baccalaureate degree from an accredited school.
Be enrolled in (or have a letter or acceptance from) an accredited graduate program in the U.S. or Puerto Rico (varies by specialty)
Maintain full-time student status during the length of the program
Qualify as a commissioned Officer in the United States Army Reserve".

Any Insight?.. I feel overwhelmed with the contradictory info out there and am worried I will make the wrong choice based on frustration....and sheer panic. Lol

Once again, the loop hole in the accreditation. In the case of psychology, I believe the program must be APA accredited. The question I would be asking is, accredited by who?

If it is the case that the program must be accredited by the APA for psychology, then only clinical doctorate programs would qualify. I believe this to be the case, as you can't use HPSP to get a Ph.D. in experimental psychology for instance.

Mark