PhD/PsyD Difference between PhD in Psychology vs Phd in Health Psychology

[TaYeunarin]

Hey everyone,

Could someone explain the difference between getting a Ph.D in Psychology with a specialization in health psychology versus a Ph.D in Health Psychology? There are only a few programs in California with a Ph.D in Health Psychology and even though they are not too far away, I would like to be a little closer to home. Is there a huge difference between the two? I'm particularly interested in UCI's graduate program in psychology with a specialization in health psych. Is clinical health psychology/clinical psychology related to these as well? I am more interested in the research field in psychology. What should I keep in mind while looking into these fields?

Sorry if this question has been answered already!

Thanks in advance.

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[psych.meout]

Hey everyone,

Could someone explain the difference between getting a Ph.D in Psychology with a specialization in health psychology versus a Ph.D in Health Psychology? There are only a few programs in California with a Ph.D in Health Psychology and even though they are not too far away, I would like to be a little closer to home. Is there a huge difference between the two? I'm particularly interested in UCI's graduate program in psychology with a specialization in health psych. Is clinical health psychology/clinical psychology related to these as well? I am more interested in the research field in psychology. What should I keep in mind while looking into these fields?

Sorry if this question has been answered already!

Thanks in advance.

UCI's health psych program is not an accredited clinical psychology program, therefore you would not be eligible for licensure and would not be able to do clinical work. If you only want to be a researcher/faculty, the program might be good for you, but if you want to do clinical work, you should pick an accredited clinical program with faculty performing health psych research and which have health psych practica available (e.g. integrated primary care).

More generally, this is the difference between (accredited) clinical and counseling psych programs and other graduate programs in psychology.

Also, if you want to get into a clinical program, geographically limiting yourself to California or the west coast will really hamstring your chances of admission, regardless of your qualifications.