PhD/PsyD Defend a PsyD

[zpg14]

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Is there any situation in which attending a PsyD program makes more sense than attending a fully-funded Clinical PhD program? Or is the general consensus that it always makes less sense. Thanks!

 

[Sanman]

Is there a situation where paying lots of money for something is better than getting the same thing for free?

 

[AcronymAllergy]

There's nothing inherently "wrong" with the Psy.D. degree itself. As originally intended, it was designed to train more practitioner-scholars, sort of akin to the way MDs/DOs are trained. It's just, unfortunately, been commandeered in many (but not all) instances by programs with less-than-stellar reputations and training standards.

If choosing between a reputable Psy.D. program and a funded Ph.D. program, I'd say it comes down to what each program offers in terms of your training and career goals, and any financial ramifications if the Psy.D. is unfunded. I'd compare the programs in much the same way that I'd compare two Ph.D. programs. If all else is equal, which it almost never is, it's hard to argue against going to school for free vs. paying $100k+. But if the Psy.D. program offers substantial benefits to you, in your personal situation and calculations, maybe it's worthwhile.

Edit: also, I second everything PsyDr says below.

 

[PsyDr]

That is like asking to defend going to a DO school instead of an MD school. There may have been some differences in the past, but those differences are quickly disappearing.

The real difference is in for profit schools. There are both PsyD and PhD for profit programs. However, the for profit schools tend to offer PsyDs more often. That happens with DO schools too.

It is wise to avoid for profit schools.

 

[MCParent]

That is like asking to defend going to a DO school instead of an MD school. There may have been some differences in the past, but those differences are quickly disappearing.

The real difference is in for profit schools. There are both PsyD and PhD for profit programs. However, the for profit schools tend to offer PsyDs more often. That happens with DO schools too.

It is wise to avoid for profit schools.

It’s worth clarifying what for profit means; I think a lot of people who ask qs on the board misunderstand this.
Lots of terrible schools are 501c3s. It seems like “but it’s a nonprofit!” comes up fairly often in those threads. Not-for-profit is a legal distinction that doesn’t have any practical meaning for folks applying, and it definitely doesn’t mean that the people running it aren’t making money.

 

[summerbabe]

The only thing I’ll add is that some PsyDs allow their students to take significant shortcuts basically in exchange for paying lots of tuition, whereas that almost never happens in a funded program.

As somebody who reviews internship apps for a VA, our worst applications come from self pay programs that allow their students to apply for internship way earlier than they should (ie their hours are stupidly low and have lots of gaps in competency) or allow students to basically forgo research (ie they never join a lab & their dissertation is some type of lit review paper or uses an existing dataset).

Programs that allow students too much autonomy to bypass important parts of doctoral training that helps to differentiate our degree from midlevel clinical degrees because these things are hard or the student won’t enjoy it are the ones to avoid IMO.

If general standards are being maintained, I don’t think there would be fundamental training or career preparedness differences, just potentially greater financial burden for the student (which can make sense based on their life circumstances).

 

[psych.meout]

It’s worth clarifying what for profit means; I think a lot of people who ask qs on the board misunderstand this.
Lots of terrible schools are 501c3s. It seems like “but it’s a nonprofit!” comes up fairly often in those threads. Not-for-profit is a legal distinction that doesn’t have any practical meaning for folks applying, and it definitely doesn’t mean that the people running it aren’t making money.

Wasn't the NFL a nonprofit until relatively recently?

 

[smalltownpsych]

Is there any situation in which attending a PsyD program makes more sense than attending a fully-funded Clinical PhD program? Or is the general consensus that it always makes less sense. Thanks!

I didn’t really understand what was required to get into the fully funded programs and so I chose the program which accepted me. Cost a lot more so that was the biggest drawback. The training I received at my specific program from some amazing psychologists was excellent so I don’t have any regrets. If I had known better, I might have put more effort into getting some research experience and applied another year later. I am just glad that I stayed away from the large cohort diploma mill type programs or even worse, non APA-accredited programs. At least I knew enough to avoid that.

 

[Sanman]

I didn’t really understand what was required to get into the fully funded programs and so I chose the program which accepted me.

Isn't that true for all of us? I say that not to be pedantic, but to highlight what I think becomes too much of an argument. At the end of the day, choose the cheapest best program that gets you where you want to go. I, for one, never saw the down side to a bit more work for a free education. Beyond that, decide what you can afford. The only place this comes into question is towards the lower quality or super expensive programs. Sometimes being the best at the masters level option is cheaper and opens more doors than being the worst at the doctoral level.

 

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