Best PsyD programs to apply to (small cohort)

[jjz2]

Hi All,

What are your recommendations for best PsyD programs to apply for in Clinical Psychology? I got GW on my list as my first choice for now. I am interested in small cohorts if anyone has info on that. Thank you!! Also, any advice on getting in would help a lot. Right now, my clinical experience only includes doing direct volunteer service on a crisis line which I think is pretty good so I will be keeping that up. Anything else that would help on my resume?

Is working on Crisis Text Line adequate experience for clinical experience? It is not in-person experience but it is valid direct practice experience. Does any one know how many hours competitive programs are looking for?

Thank you!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Sanman]

Check out the Insiders guide to clinical psych programs by Norcross et al for a good list of programs.

 

[jjz2]

Check out the Insiders guide to clinical psych programs by Norcross et al for a good list of programs.

thanku!

 

[PsyDuck90]

In addition to looking at the Norcross book, I would open your search up to balanced PhD programs. You will find far more options for small cohort, funded programs that way. That is basically the norm for PhDs and the exception for PsyDs. The whole “PsyD is for clinical work and PhD is for research” trope is a myth. A good clinical program will require research and an original dissertation, whether it’s a PhD or a PsyD. The greater understanding and training of statistics and research methods is the main distinction between a doctoral level psychologist and master’s level therapist is the ability to parse out and integrate the research into their clinical practice in a more sophisticated way.

 

[jjz2]

In addition to looking at the Norcross book, I would open your search up to balanced PhD programs. You will find far more options for small cohort, funded programs that way. That is basically the norm for PhDs and the exception for PsyDs. The whole “PsyD is for clinical work and PhD is for research” trope is a myth. A good clinical program will require research and an original dissertation, whether it’s a PhD or a PsyD. The greater understanding and training of statistics and research methods is the main distinction between a doctoral level psychologist and master’s level therapist is the ability to parse out and integrate the research into their clinical practice in a more sophisticated way.

I dont have enough research experience I def woudln't be getting into a clinical psych phD if I applied to one and I am not as interested in research so would prefer just doing clinical experience.

 

[PsyDuck90]

The research requirements and expectations, as well as prior research experience, are about equal between the university-based, small-cohort funded PsyD and balanced PhD programs. I graduated from one of those types of PsyDs and most of us had publications/several years of research experience prior to applying. During that gap year or two, your best bet is to concentrate on beefing up your research experience.

If you aren’t interested in research, then you should probably go the MSW route. Even PsyD programs require a dissertation and usually a masters thesis.

 

[jjz2]

The research requirements and expectations, as well as prior research experience, are about equal between the university-based, small-cohort funded PsyD and balanced PhD programs. I graduated from one of those types of PsyDs and most of us had publications/several years of research experience prior to applying. During that gap year or two, your best bet is to concentrate on beefing up your research experience.

If you aren’t interested in research, then you should probably go the MSW route. Even PsyD programs require a dissertation and usually a masters thesis.

I didn't know the research experience requirement would be the same. I thought PsyDs didn't care as much about research experience for applications.

 

[PsyDuck90]

A PsyD still requires a dissertation. The less-than-stellar ones will be very lax with their definition of a dissertation and may accept a very extensive lit review or case study as a dissertation, but the programs with small cohorts will usually require an actual dissertation with original research.

 

[summerbabe]

I didn't know the research experience requirement would be the same. I thought PsyDs didn't care as much about research experience for applications.

That's purely marketing driven by the largest cohort and most for profit PsyD programs (which also have with the worst student outcomes in our field).

You're likely at a crossroads - do I get more research experience to become more competitive and reduce my chances of needing to pay significantly for my education? Or do I attend a program that markets itself as not caring about research & take on a significant level of debt? Or shift to a Master's degree because I'm actually really only interested in therapy and not really the science that contributes to our understanding of therapy? (Btw, this is a perfectly legitimate route to take - most people aren't interested in engaging with and doing novel science).

Many small cohort PsyD programs offer partial or full funding, which essentially means that they will pay for you to go to school and contribute to academic psychology, rather than you attending a program and contributing funds to the schools coffers (to which large cohorts help achieve that goal significantly).

 

[jjz2]

That's purely marketing driven by the largest cohort and most for profit PsyD programs (which also have with the worst student outcomes in our field).

You're likely at a crossroads - do I get more research experience to become more competitive and reduce my chances of needing to pay significantly for my education? Or do I attend a program that markets itself as not caring about research & take on a significant level of debt? Or shift to a Master's degree because I'm actually really only interested in therapy and not really the science that contributes to our understanding of therapy? (Btw, this is a perfectly legitimate route to take - most people aren't interested in engaging with and doing novel science).

Many small cohort PsyD programs offer partial or full funding, which essentially means that they will pay for you to go to school and contribute to academic psychology, rather than you attending a program and contributing funds to the schools coffers (to which large cohorts help achieve that goal significantly).

thanks for this info! how much research experience do you think is necessary? If I started in Fall 2024 for example and became an RA, when would be a good time to apply for a competitive PsyD?

 

[summerbabe]

thanks for this info! how much research experience do you think is necessary? If I started in Fall 2024 for example and became an RA, when would be a good time to apply for a competitive PsyD?

1-2 years if you find a good RA gig with a productive PI who is willing to do some mentoring and more importantly, get you quickly plugged into contributing to their posters and journal articles.

A lot will depend on how quickly you can adapt to research and start to make positive contributions.

 

[NeuroPsychosis]

Baylor, Rutgers, Georgia Southern, and James Madison offer fully funded PsyD. I highly recommend that you check them out. Keep in mind though that they may be the most competitive to get into, so those who get in often have stellar credentials. Baylor is probably the most research focused out of them all, they call theirs a practitioner- scientist model and they match you with a research lab from the beginning. Good luck!