I recently started working as a RA in a Growth and Nutrition Department at a university, and I am thinking about what I would like to go to graduate school for in a year or two (I know, kinda early). I love the work that I'm involved in, which is an obesity intervention program in schools. I have a BA in Psychology, and I'm wondering if a Ph.D in health psych or developmental psych (or maybe even clinical psych) would be best. As far as my interests, I am really interested in behavioral change (i.e. Transtheoretical Model) as well as child/adolescent development and the intersection between behavior and physical health. I also dabbled in public health (started a program in epi but left it), but would like to strike some kind of balance between public health and psychology. I'm thinking of ruling out clinical psych because I don't really think I would make a good therapist, but I'm not really sure. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks!
health psychology and/or developmental psychology?
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I personally think developmental psych is fascinating and a very versatile degree, especially if we start actually fixing the education system in this nation and need consultation. Health psychology has parallel value but I think it will get crowded as a field much sooner. And developmental has all those logitudinal studies that are so interesting! Especially if you get a life-span perspective (given our aging population) you will have a variety of directions to take.
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I agree that both are exciting and still developing (no pun intended) fields. 
I guess the question is what you hope to do in the future? It sounds like research is on your radar? What about teaching? Program development? Administration? All of these are options with either the clinical, health, or developmental psych PhD. I would caution you, however, to not count yourself out as a therapist. It is the sort of thing one has to get a feel for to know how it can be.
That said, your post brings to mind a particular program that I think could provide a ton of benefits for you. So allow me to make a plug for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). They have 3 psychology PhD programs: clinical (with an emphasis on medical psychology), developmental, and behavioral neuroscience. They also offer a route to an MPH through the school of public health (one of the co-sponsors of the clinical program and also a department that provides a lot of research assistantships for the developmental students) that basically only involves one additional year of coursework. I'm thinking of myriad opportunities that are available through the clinical program to work in a specialized clinic for developmental disorders (Sparks Clinic) as well as a health-behavior focused camp for kids with ADHD. There's also ample opportunity for geratrics through the affiliated VA and the UAB hospital. Enough of the shameless plugging. Feel free to PM me if you want any info.
I guess the question is what you hope to do in the future? It sounds like research is on your radar? What about teaching? Program development? Administration? All of these are options with either the clinical, health, or developmental psych PhD. I would caution you, however, to not count yourself out as a therapist. It is the sort of thing one has to get a feel for to know how it can be.
That said, your post brings to mind a particular program that I think could provide a ton of benefits for you. So allow me to make a plug for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). They have 3 psychology PhD programs: clinical (with an emphasis on medical psychology), developmental, and behavioral neuroscience. They also offer a route to an MPH through the school of public health (one of the co-sponsors of the clinical program and also a department that provides a lot of research assistantships for the developmental students) that basically only involves one additional year of coursework. I'm thinking of myriad opportunities that are available through the clinical program to work in a specialized clinic for developmental disorders (Sparks Clinic) as well as a health-behavior focused camp for kids with ADHD. There's also ample opportunity for geratrics through the affiliated VA and the UAB hospital. Enough of the shameless plugging. Feel free to PM me if you want any info.
Thanks for the replies! O Gurl, I definitely would like to conduct research, but I don't think I would want to do just that. I'm not sure about teaching (as I haven't TA'd or anything), but I'm not ruling it out. Program development is definitely something I'd be interested in as well. I guess another thing I'm considering is the length of the program. Definitely correct me if I'm wrong here, but based on my career goals a Ph.D. is probably the way to go, yes? I know it's a long road, and I want to make sure that is the best choice for me before I commit (not to mention I have a bad taste in my mouth from the grad program I started in public health). Anyone out there in a health or developmental psych program have an opinion?
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I just wanted to say that I am in a life-span developmental psychology program but I do health psych research with older adults. Developmental, as stated above, is pretty versatile and using developmental theories to inform the health research I do is a pretty nice niche.
Definitely PhD vs. PsyD. if you go the developmental route as there are many more options (eg most developmental programs will be Phd programs) and it is the industry "standard" still with the exception of the clinical domain. There are interesting paths too with interdisciplinary organizations, like WestEd in education or Kaiser Foundation in primary care, where you could do cross-over work across these fields I think.
I've come with a few more questions... what kind of job opportunities would I have if I got a masters degree? From my understanding, masters degrees in psychology are not all that useful (and are very expensive!). Also, if I did decide to get a Ph.D. in developmental psychology, would I be able to get licensed? I'm thinking about that in case I decide I would like to do clinical work with kids.
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Licensed as what? As a practicing psychologist? No, you haven't been clinically trained in anything. You will have taken a bunch of developmental psych classes and conducted research in the area. Thats all.
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What Erg said. You won't be license eligible for anything, so if that is a prime goal for you developmental psych won't be for you.
Ah ok, I gotcha. I guess I would want to get a degree that will give me the most options (i.e. research, teaching, clinical work). A clinical psych Ph.D. would probably be the best choice then, yes? Honestly, I'm really intimidated by the intensity/duration/competitive nature of clinical programs! And like I said in my original post, I'm worried that I may not be therapist material... Maybe I'm thinking too much?
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Well, you are right that it IS competitive (and for good reason). However. that's no reason to shoot yourself in the foot. If you want the most flexibility, the clinical psych PhD is your best bet. Esp. since there are programs that allow for specialty experience in development and health psych.
Look at your state licensing guidelines closely before you give up on licensure and a developmental Ph.D. based on opinions here. I know students in developmental psychology programs (eg: CalBerkeley) who did supervised post-doc hours to meet state requirements and are fully licensed and in practice. Licensure is based on doctoral level preparation in the field and passing the EPPP; many developmental psych programs do cover all the basic preparation areas (eg cognitive, bio bases of behavior, etc.). States typically list in their basic regulations what kinds of degrees qualify and they are usually not limited just to "clinical psychology"
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Yes. And we could drive with our feet if we really wanted to, but that doesn't make it a good idea.
For the sake of competency, one who wishes or even thinks he or she wants to practice clinically should seek a degree that will prepare them to do so--practicum, internship, psychotpathology/intervention/assessment courses, etc. A postdoc and EPPP is pretty sparse. Also, it would not be a smart idea in the current job climate to limit ones license by state--esp. CA.
