How helpful is a masters for a career in clinical neuropsychology?

[Mikayla May]

Hello! I am interested in becoming a clinical neuropsychologist. After learning how difficult it is to get selected for an interview for a clinical psychology PhD program (that offers a neuropsychology track), I am looking at masters programs in Europe instead (because masters in neuropsychology are not found in the U.S. to my knowledge). I did get accepted to one clinical psychology program but it is roughly $200,000 for five years. I was hoping to get in to a fully-funded program. I have good credentials with lots of experience in both the clinical and academic/research realm. My thinking is to get my master's in cognitive neuropsychology in Europe, then come back to the U.S. and try and apply to fully-funded clinical psychology programs with a neuropsychology track. I am hoping it would save quite a bit of money if I got accepted. Any thoughts on this method? My concern is that my masters credits from Europe would not get properly transferred into a PhD program in the U.S.

Feedback?


To edit: the $200,000 program I got accepted into is a PhD clinical psychology program (APA accredited) in the U.S., not a $200,000 masters program in Europe. Thought I would clear that up! Thanks!

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[psych.meout]

1. Read the stickied threads.
2. You don't need a track in neuropsychology to get good training in neuropsych.
3. Why a master's degree at all? Generally people here are mainly advised to get terminal master's degrees if they had less than stellar undergrad GPAs. If you just need more research experience, it would be better to seek out paid employment as a research assistant or coordinator.
4. Why a degree in Europe? If you want/need a terminal master's degree to help you get into grad school, it doesn't need to specifically be a degree in neuropsychology. What would help is getting research experience in neuropsych, not necessarily a neuropsych degree from another country.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

A masters in the US will be shorter (2 years), cheaper, and likely more helpful for your application than the alternative you've mentioned in Europe. And as psych.meout said, a formal neuropsychology track isn't even necessary at the doctoral level to obtain sufficient training, let alone for a masters degree.

If you go the masters route rather than trying to find research assistant (RA) positions, key points will be keeping a high GPA while trying to get some research experience. Bonus points if this is in something related to neuropsychology. And again, I see no need to go to Europe for this, especially for 5 years.

Once you start looking into doctoral programs, as mentioned earlier, a school doesn't need to offer a formal track. You just want to be sure that you're applying to work with individual advisors who are neuropsychologists, and that there are neuropsychology practica available for your clinical training.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

"Tracks" and "Concentrations" are mostly marketing and hype. Anything at the MA/MS level with one is almost certainly marketing bc many of the topics are speciality areas within doctoral training and they get covered after the foundational training; they put the cart before the horse by about half a decade or more.

 

[Mikayla May]

1. Read the stickied threads.
2. You don't need a track in neuropsychology to get good training in neuropsych.
3. Why a master's degree at all? Generally people here are mainly advised to get terminal master's degrees if they had less than stellar undergrad GPAs. If you just need more research experience, it would be better to seek out paid employment as a research assistant or coordinator.
4. Why a degree in Europe? If you want/need a terminal master's degree to help you get into grad school, it doesn't need to specifically be a degree in neuropsychology. What would help is getting research experience in neuropsych, not necessarily a neuropsych degree from another country.

Thanks for the input. I guess where I'm stuck is that I've tried to apply to paid research positions for over a year and they always hire someone who has a masters degree. If I can't
get more research experience, how can I be competitive for a fully paid PhD in clinical psychology? My thinking was that a masters would allow me access to neuropsychology research and the program in Europe that accepted me has those resources.

 

[Mikayla May]

A masters in the US will be shorter (2 years), cheaper, and likely more helpful for your application than the alternative you've mentioned in Europe. And as psych.meout said, a formal neuropsychology track isn't even necessary at the doctoral level to obtain sufficient training, let alone for a masters degree.

If you go the masters route rather than trying to find research assistant (RA) positions, key points will be keeping a high GPA while trying to get some research experience. Bonus points if this is in something related to neuropsychology. And again, I see no need to go to Europe for this, especially for 5 years.

Once you start looking into doctoral programs, as mentioned earlier, a school doesn't need to offer a formal track. You just want to be sure that you're applying to work with individual advisors who are neuropsychologists, and that there are neuropsychology practica available for your clinical training.

 

[psych.meout]

How broadly did you apply for jobs?

If you're willing to move to Europe for a five year master's program that costs $200,000, then you should be applying for paid research jobs everywhere in the US.

 

[Mikayla May]

The masters programs I'm looking at in Europe are 1-2 years and actually much cheaper than what I've found in the U.S. I do understand that neuropsychology is not necessary per se in a masters program, but I do love the classes and that's not something I've been able to find in the U.S. Most masters programs in the U.S. are very general and it would be easier in the Europe programs to find neuropsychology research opportunities. Like I mentioned to psych.meout, I have found that the only research paid positions (at least in Colorado) are given to those with masters degrees. I have only had luck with clinical opportunities.. I work with people who have brain-injuries. I got rejected from nearly 10 clinical psychology fully funded PhD programs and learned that most offers were also to those with masters degrees. This is where I'm feeling like a masters in Europe is close to my only option.

 

[Mikayla May]

How broadly did you apply for jobs?

If you're willing to move to Europe for a five year master's program that costs $200,000, then you should be applying for paid research jobs everywhere in the US.

The masters programs are 1-2 year programs and $14,000 per year. I applied for over a year to paid research positions and kept getting rejected to those who had masters degrees. I applied to anything and everything related to psychology and or neuroscience.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I'd again say that getting neuropsychology-related training, even just coursework, at the masters level may not be particularly helpful. If the neuroscience aspect is something in which you're interested, then possibly consider looking at a neuroscience masters in the US? I've known plenty of folks who've done ranimal and bench research on neuroscience topics in their masters programs, even when those programs were psychology rather than neurosci.

I haven't seen the latest stats, but I'd be surprised if the majority of doctoral program offers (neuropsychology or otherwise) went to folks with a masters degrees. And mind you, even if this is were the case, it's not necessary because they have the masters per se. I still believe that a generalist masters in the US would be just as helpful in strengthening your application as would a neuropsych-focused masters from Europe, potentially even more so.

I'd also re-iterate psych.meout's advice but generalize it to applying to grad school. Applying to almost 10 programs may seem like a lot, but folks often seem to aim for 12-15 if not more, and which are varied in terms of location and competitiveness.

 

[psych.meout]

The masters programs are 1-2 year programs and $14,000 per year. I applied for over a year to paid research positions and kept getting rejected to those who had masters degrees. I applied to anything and everything related to psychology and or neuroscience.

Ok, you may want to look at more clinical positions located in facilities that normally do a lot of research. Try finding a clinical position at a VA or academic hospital. Even if you start out just doing clinical work, you'll be able to network and possibly get involved in research that's also being done at your facility, even if it is unpaid. Since you are interested in neuropsychology, you may want to look for psychometrist positions where you can get experience with neuropsych testing and then ask around to see if any of the neuropsychologists are doing research or are planning to do so. This is how I was able to get the requisite experience (though my research work isn't in neuropsych, per se) to receive multiple offers (with fellowships that included significantly larger stipends) this time around without having a master's degree.

 

[psych.meout]

I'd again say that getting neuropsychology-related training, even just coursework, at the masters level may not be particularly helpful. If the neuroscience aspect is something in which you're interested, then possibly consider looking at a neuroscience masters in the US? I've known plenty of folks who've done ranimal and bench research on neuroscience topics in their masters programs, even when those programs were psychology rather than neurosci.

I haven't seen the latest stats, but I'd be surprised if the majority of doctoral program offers (neuropsychology or otherwise) went to folks with a masters degrees. And mind you, even if this is were the case, it's not necessary because they have the masters per se. I still believe that a generalist masters in the US would be just as helpful in strengthening your application as would a neuropsych-focused masters from Europe, potentially even more so.

I'd also re-iterate psych.meout's advice but generalize it to applying to grad school. Applying to almost 10 programs may seem like a lot, but folks often seem to aim for 12-15 if not more, and which are varied in terms of location and competitiveness.

This is another thing that helped me gain admission to grad school and which I highly recommend for both jobs and grad school. I really have to give credit to all the regular posters on this forum for giving me tons of great advice that made me much more competitive than I previously was.