Hello friends,
I was pretty confident about the graduate schools I planned on applying to/have already applied to until I perused these forums and realized I have no damn idea what I'm talking about. I would really appreciate any advice surrounding a number of topics and I'll try to do my best to convey my priorities so you guys can sift through my ambivalence and nonsense. If at any point during my post you'd like to point out that my expectations or beliefs are delusional, please do so, as I've only been researching this topic for a few weeks and really have a great deal to learn. Thanks in advance for reading.
My problems relate predominantly to choosing a focus/degree. I majored in Psychology and Philosophy in my undergraduate studies, and minored in Cognitive Neuroscience. Throughout college, I guess you could say I was interested in alternative and lifestyle approaches to health and mental health at the level of theory. I was interested in: neurofeedback or EEG biofeedback, stress management and performance maximization, meditation, cognitive neuroethology (the study of complex behaviors and their genesis in animals) evolutionary psychology, etc. Basically, you might say I'm interested in ‘positive' psychology in that I'm more interested in dealing with non- and sub-clinical populations and, intellectually speaking, I'm interested in finding ways to achieve positive outcomes in mental health through interpolating new values, attitudes, creative behaviors, play, and spirituality into human lives. Having said all of this though, I'm a cynic at heart and my academic skills are analytic and argumentative in orientation. As such, I prefer programs which blend academic rigor with alternative medicine and therapeutic modalities, so I'm not the kind of fellow who wants to go to a school to sit in a drum circle and practice energy healing to be all new age enlightened earth mystic.
Of course, I'm having an issue reconciling these interests with an occupation. You might look at these interests and think a career in teaching in some more ‘esoteric' field would be more amenable to my interests, but I've sort of gathered that a graduate degree in liberal arts can be very thankless, time-consuming, expensive, and essentially delete your 20's from your life entirely. Unfortunately, too, my GPA is not good enough (3.5) to place me in a competitive enough institution where pursuing a PhD in some liberal art would be worthwhile financially. Although I am very much interested in keeping up with research, I would like an occupation which combines continuing education with applied practice. Although I like to keep up with new research, I don't want to spend 60 hours a week reading to be a SME.
So far, I've applied to/ am planning on applying to the following programs, and wanted to get your guys' collective advice on their merits and potential employability after graduating:
1. California Institute of Integral Studies – MA, Integrative Health Studies Program [Not sure where I sit with this one, this program could be really hit or miss and the feedback online seems to be very mixed. The program equips you with a certificate in wellness coaching, which is apparently an occupation which averages $60,000 annually in the San Francisco area. I think I'd be really interested in this line of work, but want to be able to make more than $60,000 eventually in my life and am wondering how much upward mobility exists in the health education/wellness coach/consultant career path. I also am not the best at marketing myself and prefer, if possible, to have a tangible skill set or knowledge-base which makes me hire-able.]
2. John F Kennedy University – PsyD program in Clinical Psychology [Sort of just an option if I get accepted to pursue Psychology at the doctoral level. After living expenses, tuition, etc. I can expect to be over $350,000 in debt. I'm wondering if a PsyD program of this caliber is worth it. I don't know if it's prudent to live in an area like Berkeley if I'm going to spend over 50 hours a week working and paying $1,400 a month for a 500 sq. ft apartment when I could go to school in PA for far cheaper. The other question I have is the following: What is the relationship between getting an APA/APPIC/CAPIC-accredited internship and eventual licensure? So far as I can see, belonging to an APA-accredited institution is not necessary for licensure in California. What is the import of the types of internships you land in the path toward licensure?
3. John F. Kennedy University – MA in Mental Health Counseling w/ Holistic Studies Specialization [This program basically blends somatic and transpersonal psychology. However, as with any MA in Mental Health Counseling, I'm concerned about what employment is going to look like after attending an alternative type of program. It does, however, look pretty interesting to me.]
4. San Jose State University – MA in Public Health [I'm more interested in health education than health administration, and public health seems to be an extremely employable graduate degree and efficient. If I went the public health route, I'd be more interested in public policy, working at a non-profit, or being employed as some sort of health educator].
5. UC Berkeley – MA in Public Health [For the same reasons as above].
If you'd like to suggest schools as well, here are my priorities:
1.Location: Location is extremely important to me. I need to get out of my hometown, and I'd like to be in either North California or Seattle. This limits my options, so if you have a recommendation for a program outside of this area, please let me know why you think it's important to change my priorities for a school which meshes with my interests.
2. Commitment/Flexibility: Simply, I'm not sure if I'm ready to pursue a doctorate in Psychology or any field at this point in my life. If I have to spend over 40 hours a week working in my 20's in CA or Seattle, moving to such a vibrant area might not be worth incurring the extra debt. I'd also like to be a part of a program where I could bail once I complete my MA/MS, if I decide further schooling isn't my path, and still be employable.
3. Income: Realistically, I'm not that concerned about money. If I can make $70,000/year (in CA or Seattle), then I'm fine. However, at the same time, I'd like if it becomes necessary if/when I have a family, to have the ability to make more money if I need it, which kind of concerns me when it comes to graduating with a Master's in some kind of alternative Psychology or non-clinical Health discipline, If I end up pursuing an MA in some alternative Psychology program like @ JFK University, I'm also concerned about my ability to go back to school later for a PhD or PsyD in a more conventional focus like Clinical Psychology due to credits transferring.
4.Time-Frame: I need to go to school this fall. If the programs I'd ideally go to given my interests aren't accepting until the fall of 2013, then I'd like to be able to go to a safety school, get some credits under my belt, and be able to transfer.
Thanks for reading and for your time and attention!
I was pretty confident about the graduate schools I planned on applying to/have already applied to until I perused these forums and realized I have no damn idea what I'm talking about. I would really appreciate any advice surrounding a number of topics and I'll try to do my best to convey my priorities so you guys can sift through my ambivalence and nonsense. If at any point during my post you'd like to point out that my expectations or beliefs are delusional, please do so, as I've only been researching this topic for a few weeks and really have a great deal to learn. Thanks in advance for reading.
My problems relate predominantly to choosing a focus/degree. I majored in Psychology and Philosophy in my undergraduate studies, and minored in Cognitive Neuroscience. Throughout college, I guess you could say I was interested in alternative and lifestyle approaches to health and mental health at the level of theory. I was interested in: neurofeedback or EEG biofeedback, stress management and performance maximization, meditation, cognitive neuroethology (the study of complex behaviors and their genesis in animals) evolutionary psychology, etc. Basically, you might say I'm interested in ‘positive' psychology in that I'm more interested in dealing with non- and sub-clinical populations and, intellectually speaking, I'm interested in finding ways to achieve positive outcomes in mental health through interpolating new values, attitudes, creative behaviors, play, and spirituality into human lives. Having said all of this though, I'm a cynic at heart and my academic skills are analytic and argumentative in orientation. As such, I prefer programs which blend academic rigor with alternative medicine and therapeutic modalities, so I'm not the kind of fellow who wants to go to a school to sit in a drum circle and practice energy healing to be all new age enlightened earth mystic.
Of course, I'm having an issue reconciling these interests with an occupation. You might look at these interests and think a career in teaching in some more ‘esoteric' field would be more amenable to my interests, but I've sort of gathered that a graduate degree in liberal arts can be very thankless, time-consuming, expensive, and essentially delete your 20's from your life entirely. Unfortunately, too, my GPA is not good enough (3.5) to place me in a competitive enough institution where pursuing a PhD in some liberal art would be worthwhile financially. Although I am very much interested in keeping up with research, I would like an occupation which combines continuing education with applied practice. Although I like to keep up with new research, I don't want to spend 60 hours a week reading to be a SME.
So far, I've applied to/ am planning on applying to the following programs, and wanted to get your guys' collective advice on their merits and potential employability after graduating:
1. California Institute of Integral Studies – MA, Integrative Health Studies Program [Not sure where I sit with this one, this program could be really hit or miss and the feedback online seems to be very mixed. The program equips you with a certificate in wellness coaching, which is apparently an occupation which averages $60,000 annually in the San Francisco area. I think I'd be really interested in this line of work, but want to be able to make more than $60,000 eventually in my life and am wondering how much upward mobility exists in the health education/wellness coach/consultant career path. I also am not the best at marketing myself and prefer, if possible, to have a tangible skill set or knowledge-base which makes me hire-able.]
2. John F Kennedy University – PsyD program in Clinical Psychology [Sort of just an option if I get accepted to pursue Psychology at the doctoral level. After living expenses, tuition, etc. I can expect to be over $350,000 in debt. I'm wondering if a PsyD program of this caliber is worth it. I don't know if it's prudent to live in an area like Berkeley if I'm going to spend over 50 hours a week working and paying $1,400 a month for a 500 sq. ft apartment when I could go to school in PA for far cheaper. The other question I have is the following: What is the relationship between getting an APA/APPIC/CAPIC-accredited internship and eventual licensure? So far as I can see, belonging to an APA-accredited institution is not necessary for licensure in California. What is the import of the types of internships you land in the path toward licensure?
3. John F. Kennedy University – MA in Mental Health Counseling w/ Holistic Studies Specialization [This program basically blends somatic and transpersonal psychology. However, as with any MA in Mental Health Counseling, I'm concerned about what employment is going to look like after attending an alternative type of program. It does, however, look pretty interesting to me.]
4. San Jose State University – MA in Public Health [I'm more interested in health education than health administration, and public health seems to be an extremely employable graduate degree and efficient. If I went the public health route, I'd be more interested in public policy, working at a non-profit, or being employed as some sort of health educator].
5. UC Berkeley – MA in Public Health [For the same reasons as above].
If you'd like to suggest schools as well, here are my priorities:
1.Location: Location is extremely important to me. I need to get out of my hometown, and I'd like to be in either North California or Seattle. This limits my options, so if you have a recommendation for a program outside of this area, please let me know why you think it's important to change my priorities for a school which meshes with my interests.
2. Commitment/Flexibility: Simply, I'm not sure if I'm ready to pursue a doctorate in Psychology or any field at this point in my life. If I have to spend over 40 hours a week working in my 20's in CA or Seattle, moving to such a vibrant area might not be worth incurring the extra debt. I'd also like to be a part of a program where I could bail once I complete my MA/MS, if I decide further schooling isn't my path, and still be employable.
3. Income: Realistically, I'm not that concerned about money. If I can make $70,000/year (in CA or Seattle), then I'm fine. However, at the same time, I'd like if it becomes necessary if/when I have a family, to have the ability to make more money if I need it, which kind of concerns me when it comes to graduating with a Master's in some kind of alternative Psychology or non-clinical Health discipline, If I end up pursuing an MA in some alternative Psychology program like @ JFK University, I'm also concerned about my ability to go back to school later for a PhD or PsyD in a more conventional focus like Clinical Psychology due to credits transferring.
4.Time-Frame: I need to go to school this fall. If the programs I'd ideally go to given my interests aren't accepting until the fall of 2013, then I'd like to be able to go to a safety school, get some credits under my belt, and be able to transfer.
Thanks for reading and for your time and attention!
