Best Psy.D Programs in CA or FL?

[deleted861892]

I have been researching various Clinical Psychology Psy.D programs in CA and FL and reading reviews from various individuals about the programs and their reputation but I can't seem to pinpoint a program that has good/decent reviews. I have been looking through programs using the APA site. Any recommendations?

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[G Costanza]

I really don't know much about the program but I've been impressed with trainees coming out of FIT in Melbourne, FL.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

FIT and.....that's probably it.

 

[WisNeuro]

Best advice, expand your search geographically and degree-wise.

 

[psych.meout]

I know a FIT grad and they're a great psychologist, but they had to enter the US Navy as a Medical Service Corps officer to pay for it. The program's tuition alone is about $30,000 per year and this person would not have been able to manage all the combined debt without military service. This should tell you something about the true costs of these unfunded doctoral programs (PsyD or PhD). You should listen to WisNeuro and expand your program search outside of California and Florida and to funded programs, whether they be PsyD or PhD. Even the most competitive applicants will have trouble getting admitted in two of the geographic regions most in demand.

 

[deleted861892]

I know a FIT grad and they're a great psychologist, but they had to enter the US Navy as a Medical Service Corps officer to pay for it. The program's tuition alone is about $30,000 per year and this person would not have been able to manage all the combined debt without military service. This should tell you something about the true costs of these unfunded doctoral programs (PsyD or PhD). You should listen to WisNeuro and expand your program search outside of California and Florida and to funded programs, whether they be PsyD or PhD. Even the most competitive applicants will have trouble getting admitted in two of the geographic regions most in demand.

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it! It's interesting that CA and FL are the two most geographic regions in demand yet majority of their APA internship acceptance is low or they have a bad reputation of faculties. I was wondering if you heard of Palo Alto University and what you think of it. I really want to go to a state with warm weather and close to a city-like atmosphere (hence CA and FL as my top picks).

 

[Temperance]

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it! It's interesting that CA and FL are the two most geographic regions in demand yet majority of their APA internship acceptance is low or they have a bad reputation of faculties. I was wondering if you heard of Palo Alto University and what you think of it. I really want to go to a state with warm weather and close to a city-like atmosphere (hence CA and FL as my top picks).

Much of the APA internship match issues stem from the large cohort sizes at the professional schools in California and Florida. There are only so many internship sites.

Palo Alto University is incredibly expensive; first-year tuition last year was $47,082. They have had a 100% APA internship match rate for the past three years and 84-86% for the two years before that, which is great if not for the price of attendance.

Why are you seeking the PsyD degree specifically? If you're looking for a practice-oriented program, then there are many good practice-oriented PhD programs that will give you the same amount, if not more, of clinical training. You might still run into difficulties considering that the two states at which you're looking are competitive, but you'll have more options.

 

[deleted861892]

Much of the APA internship match issues stem from the large cohort sizes at the professional schools in California and Florida. There are only so many internship sites.

Palo Alto University is incredibly expensive; first-year tuition last year was $47,082. They have had a 100% APA internship match rate for the past three years and 84-86% for the two years before that, which is great if not for the price of attendance.

Why are you seeking the PsyD degree specifically? If you're looking for a practice-oriented program, then there are many good practice-oriented PhD programs that will give you the same amount, if not more, of clinical training. You might still run into difficulties considering that the two states at which you're looking are competitive, but you'll have more options.

Thank you for your reply!

I personally want to apply for a Psy.D. degree because I believe it best fits how I learn best and because of my low undergraduate GPA (3.4) and GRE score. I have been a research assistant to graduate students at my university and know now that I do not enjoy research and do not see myself pursuing that in the future. I also do not see myself holding a status of a professor teaching at a 4-year university/college. (These were the reasons that were given to me when I interviewed individuals who obtained a Psychology PhD instead of a PsyD.)

I was exploring my option and thought about obtaining a Masters beforehand so I can give myself some time to explore and evaluate my interests but I have started to think that applying for a Masters program would only cost me more money and time. I am also an international student and thus I believe that obtaining a Psy.D/PhD-level education is for the best interest of me compared to a Masters.

 

[calimich]

As others have said, expanding geographically and considering funded PhD programs is always the advice I give our students. After that, Palo Alto U/PGSP Stanford and Wright Institute in northern cal and Pepperdine and Azuza Pacific in southern cal are among the better options of expensive, low-match rate schools. I advise students to stay away from the purely for-profit/online schools (i.e., Alliant/Cal Southern).

 

[deleted861892]

As others have said, expanding geographically and considering funded PhD programs is always the advice I give our students. After that, Palo Alto U/PGSP Stanford and Wright Institute in northern cal and Pepperdine and Azuza Pacific in southern cal are among the better options of expensive, low-match rate schools. I advise students to stay away from the purely for-profit/online schools (i.e., Alliant/Cal Southern).

Thank you for your reply! I have definitely started looking into other states. Prior to researching, I always thought PsyD. schools were plentiful and that choosing one wouldn't be as hard as I imagined now. I am currently planning to apply to FIT, Baylor, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey.
Do you have any PsyD programs you could recommend me to look more into?

 

[WisNeuro]

Thank you for your reply!

I personally want to apply for a Psy.D. degree because I believe it best fits how I learn best and because of my low undergraduate GPA (3.4) and GRE score. I have been a research assistant to graduate students at my university and know now that I do not enjoy research and do not see myself pursuing that in the future. I also do not see myself holding a status of a professor teaching at a 4-year university/college. (These were the reasons that were given to me when I interviewed individuals who obtained a Psychology PhD instead of a PsyD.)

The great majority of PhD graduates go on to primarily clinical careers. The myth that PhD=Academic/all research is a common one pushed by diploma mills to get people to pay exorbitant sums to get their fake degrees.

 

[calimich]

Thank you for your reply! I have definitely started looking into other states. Prior to researching, I always thought PsyD. schools were plentiful and that choosing one wouldn't be as hard as I imagined now. I am currently planning to apply to FIT, Baylor, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey.
Do you have any PsyD programs you could recommend me to look more into?

Generally, PsyD's attached to "brick & mortar" institutions are the way to go. The ones you mention all meet that criteria. Also might consider Indiana State and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. I'm sure there are more, keep searching.

 

[Temperance]

Forgot to mention in my last post: You can find internship match data and tuition costs in the "Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data" document that is usually posted somewhere in the clinical psychology program website. The figures that were quoted for Palo Alto University (PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium) came from this page. Some programs also list admissions statistics in the same document or separately.

You have some time left this cycle to improve your GRE scores, so I'd recommend working on that if you feel that your score would be an issue.

 

[psych.meout]

The great majority of PhD graduates go on to primarily clinical careers. The myth that PhD=Academic/all research is a common one pushed by diploma mills to get people to pay exorbitant sums to get their fake degrees.

Exactly. I've had quite a lot of interviews at clinical programs up to and including getting accepted to my top choice earlier this year. Out of at least a dozen programs, I can only think of one that clearly focused on training

Forgot to mention in my last post: You can find internship match data and tuition costs in the "Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data" document that is usually posted somewhere in the clinical psychology program website. The figures that were quoted for Palo Alto University (PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium) came from this page. Some programs also list admissions statistics in the same document or separately.

You have some time left this cycle to improve your GRE scores, so I'd recommend working on that if you feel that your score would be an issue.

Doesn't the APA mandate that the "Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data" has to be linked to on the main page of a given clinical program's website?

 

[deleted861892]

Exactly. I've had quite a lot of interviews at clinical programs up to and including getting accepted to my top choice earlier this year. Out of at least a dozen programs, I can only think of one that clearly focused on training

Doesn't the APA mandate that the "Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data" has to be linked to on the main page of a given clinical program's website?

I believe the APA does mandate the link exist on their clinical program's website.

How would you differentiate the difference between a Psy.D and a PhD? I have looked into various websites online and they all seem to have the usual research, practice-orientated, less time, funding, dissertation etc. as main differences in choosing which route to go... After reading everyone's input in this thread, seems to me that there are things that I don't really know about...

These are the websites that I looked through and pretty much states the reasoning behind why I thought about pursuing the PsyD instead of the PhD.

http://www.allpsychologyschools.com/licensing/psyd-vs-phd-programs/

Choosing Between a PhD and PsyD: Some Factors to Consider

Choosing Between the PsyD and PhD Psychology Graduate Degrees | Psych Central

Thank you again for your help!

 

[MCParent]

I believe the APA does mandate the link exist on their clinical program's website.

How would you differentiate the difference between a Psy.D and a PhD? I have looked into various websites online and they all seem to have the usual research, practice-orientated, less time, funding, dissertation etc. as main differences in choosing which route to go... After reading everyone's input in this thread, seems to me that there are things that I don't really know about...

These are the websites that I looked through and pretty much states the reasoning behind why I thought about pursuing the PsyD instead of the PhD.

http://www.allpsychologyschools.com/licensing/psyd-vs-phd-programs/

Choosing Between a PhD and PsyD: Some Factors to Consider

Choosing Between the PsyD and PhD Psychology Graduate Degrees | Psych Central

Thank you again for your help!

People can advertise whatever they want as being the differences. A good way to really look at it is to look at the data. Go here:
https://www.appic.org/Match/Match-Statistics
Look across the years at the "by degree type" data. There are some systemic differences in match location, debt, etc. There are differences in clinical hours--phd students get more therapy and assessment time.
The differences between a good PhD and a PsyD like Baylor is not much. The more substantial differences arise the farther you slide down the quality pole. The intention behind the PsyD made sense (drop archaic and anachronistic training models, focus on clinical skills), but it doesn't appear that it was really implemented anywhere.

 

[PsychFL91]

I'd recommend picking up the Insider's Guide to Clinical and Counseling Psychology.

It's extremely informative, and a resource I used a ton during my grad school application/interview process. It dedicates an entire chapter to comparing/contrasting the PhD and PsyD. They also give you a ton of info about each clinical or counseling psych program. Each specific program is given a score on a 1-7 scale for how clinical or research focused it is (1 being extremely clinical focused and 7 being extremely research focused). Consistent with what people on this thread have been telling you, most PhD programs are a 4 on their scale, which is pretty even between clinical and research. A lot of the stronger PsyD programs are also pretty close in their emphasis on research as the PhD programs (FIT, Indiana State, Baylor, Loyola and IUP are all either 3's or 4's on the same scale).

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I'd second/third/fourth the recs for the Insider's Guide, to expand your geographic search area, and to consider also applying to more clinically-oriented Ph.D. programs. Don't write yourself off as uncompetitive before even applying, especially if you have solid research experience. Undergrad GPA may be immutable at this point (and a 3.4 really isn't horrible), but you can always consider re-taking the GRE. I'd say that would be worth the possibility of a Ph.D. (or funded Psy.D.) admission with full or partial tuition remission and a stipend.

In CA and FL specifically, if cost weren't a factor at all, the two Psy.D. programs that spring to mind have already been mentioned--Palo Alto in CA and FIT in FL. Nova Southeastern (FL) has the potential to create strong students, and they offer a Ph.D. as well, but the large class sizes and recent variability in student quality make it tough to recommend nowadays. I've known a couple good psychologists from Fuller (CA) as well, but again, I believe it's very expensive, and the folks I know who were well-trained obtained additional experiences outside the program. And now that I think of it, they may only offer the Ph.D.

 

[psych.meout]

OP, if you want warm weather and city atmosphere, check out the University of Alabama-Birmingham. The program is great and is very clinically oriented. They have so many external sites for training with supervisors who are actually on faculty with the PhD program (e.g. Civitan Sparks for peds; Spain Rehabilitation for rehab psych, neuropsych, and health psych; the Birmingham VA and the UAB med school for pretty much anything you can think of) that I don't think they even use an in-house clinic anymore.