Hi,
I don't have a complete overview of this, but a couple of thoughts from what I know:
1. If you attend a CPA accredited program in Canada, you participate in the APPIC match for internship and can choose US spots, Canadian sites or a mix of both. The process is very similar in both countries and the training at doctoral level is usually of the same caliber, so I don't see any barriers here.
2. To get a postdoc in the US in neuropsych you will need adequate training through your doctoral degree and a good internship placement. Canada doesn't have a clear path to neuropsychology at the moment, so things might be more tricky. There are two doctoral internships CPA accredited for neuropsych (
CPA Accredited Programmes - Canadian Psychological Association) but the path after that is not as clear. In theory, if you have a good internship that prepares you well, you should be eligible for neuropsych postdocs in the US. As far as I know, these postdocs are pretty competitive even if you do your degree in the US. I don't have any experience with this, so not sure if it would count against you that it was done in Canada or not.
The main point is that you need to take a close look at the licensing requirements of the states that you'd like to practice in, and maybe the boarding requirements as well. Most courses/ clinical hours should translate pretty easily from one country to another.
As general notes:
- you will be considered an international student, so that makes things tricky with funding. While good universities do offer some funding, a lot of scholarships are only for Canadians. Funding also works a little bit different, since programs are publicly funded and most grad programs rely on external (provincial, federal) sources. You also pay tuition from your funding - it is less than US schools, and often internationals pay similar rates to local students, but not always. Also, you might not be eligible for loans, and the funding offered is on the low end, especially with increases in cost of living in certain cities, so it's good to have a budget in mind.
- try to look at the main research universities (U15/
U15 | Group of Canadian Research Universities) and their programs, since these offer quality training in clinical psych and they are also the ones who have funding. Contact prospective mentors early (as in around now for the fall application season).
- finally - don't assume that just because it's Canada, that it will be easier to get into the program or less competitive. Most programs are
very competitive and the applicants are high caliber, with lots of research experience and productivity. I say this because it's a misconception I've run into quite often.
So it might be something that it's doable, but you have to pretty organized and have a clear goal in mind. If you want to practice neuropsych, you do need very specific training and educational opportunities and that limits your options. However, a Canadian program can prepare you for a general license in either country, so that gives you some flexibility. Boarding might be more complicated.
