PhD/PsyD New Clinical Program in California

[NeuroPsychosis]

So I just discovered that UCI ( UC Irvine) launched a clinical psychology PhD program and admitted their inaugural class this year. Any thoughts on applying or considering this program (applying this fall)?

The program is not yet APA accredited (although they are saying that they are certain they will achieve it before the first class graduates). Are there any risks with applying (or I should say "enrolling" if admitted) to this program or shall I avoid new programs?

The faculty in the program are pretty solid (read about them- know some of their famous names!)-

Any input to this discussion?

Thanks!

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[AbnormalPsych]

Looks like they may be trying to follow UC Berkley's model a bit. Preparing scholars, license eligible folks but may not be the priority.

It is great to see they are guaranteeing funding for the first 5 years. Would be curious to see them say more if this includes tuition remission, health insurance, etc, or if it is just a stipend for those positions listed.

Will have to dig around when I have some more time. See if there is a list of courses and all that. If they are going for APA accred, as they should, seems like a decent place to be if the faculty fit is right and they keep their cohort size down, use the mentor model. Will always be a risk the be those first few cohorts.

Here is the web page if you all want a short cut: Psychological Science with a concentration in Clinical Psychology | Psychological Science

 

[NeuroPsychosis]

Looks like they may be trying to follow UC Berkley's model a bit. Preparing scholars, license eligible folks but may not be the priority.

It is great to see they are guaranteeing funding for the first 5 years. Would be curious to see them say more if this includes tuition remission, health insurance, etc, or if it is just a stipend for those positions listed.

Will have to dig around when I have some more time. See if there is a list of courses and all that. If they are going for APA accred, as they should, seems like a decent place to be if the faculty fit is right and they keep their cohort size down, use the mentor model. Will always be a risk the be those first few cohorts.

Here is the web page if you all want a short cut: Psychological Science with a concentration in Clinical Psychology | Psychological Science

I agree. I also tried looking for their curriculum information or at least their program hand book, but didn't find it...they seem like in development still. I think the risk (of not receiving acc.) is still smaller than let's say a stand alone school (argosy etc..)

 

[Ollie123]

I agree. I also tried looking for their curriculum information or at least their program hand book, but didn't find it...they seem like in development still. I think the risk (of not receiving acc.) is still smaller than let's say a stand alone school (argosy etc..)

Have a (non-clinical) colleague there so have heard some about this process. There will certainly be a meaningful research-focus. Knowing their department history, I'm guessing with a strong cognitive/neuroscience component to it. Perhaps it won't be research-focused on the scale of Berkeley, but not belonging in the same breath as the professional schools.

The risk of a school like that not obtaining accreditation at some point seems minimal. I'd need to see the numbers to know how many schools may have it delayed for a year or two, I just don't know how often that happens. I still wouldn't want to be in the inaugural class in any program for a number of different reasons (many of which are unrelated to accreditation) but I have complete confidence this will grow to be an average-to-outstanding clinical program.

 

[Sanman]

I am just going to say that I clicked on this thread fully expecting to read about some third rate professional school and am pleasantly surprised this Monday morning. Not sure what it says about my opinion of the field or CA programs generally.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

There's always going to be a risk by enrolling in an as-yet unaccredited program. But the risk here would be about as minimal as you can get in this type of situation.

My personal take: would they be first on my list? Potentially not just due to the above risk. But would I turn down their offer if it were my only one? Probably not.

 

[futureapppsy2]

There's always going to be a risk by enrolling in an as-yet unaccredited program. But the risk here would be about as minimal as you can get in this type of situation.

My personal take: would they be first on my list? Potentially not just due to the above risk. But would I turn down their offer if it were my only one? Probably not.

I agree, but I also remember that NDSU's clinical science clinical psych PhD crashed and burned badly without ever getting accredited (there was also some drama with them pursuing accreditation at all, as they had originally told the board of regents that they wouldn't--as not to directly compete with UND's clinical psych PhD--and then almost immediately started doing so).

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I agree, but I also remember that NDSU's clinical science clinical psych PhD crashed and burned badly without ever getting accredited (there was also some drama with them pursuing accreditation at all, as they had originally told the board of regents that they wouldn't--as not to directly compete with UND's clinical psych PhD--and then almost immediately started doing so).

Yeah, state politics can put a damper on things (at public universities) very quickly.

It does at least sound like UCI's program was created with the purpose of gaining APA (and PCSAS) accreditation. But I don't know anything about CA state politics, nor about the health of UCI in the overall UC system.

 

[RejectClinical]

I think at the very least, I'd be shocked if they didn't get PCSAS accreditation, which is recognized throughout the VA and a growing list of states. Obviously, there is always some risk but I've spoken to the faculty there and I think (as others have noted), this program is likely to get accredited and the risk would be minimal (but still present).

 

[NeuroPsychosis]

Does anyone know how long does APA accreditation take? For example, if they enrolled their inaugural class this fall, taking into consideration that the program takes 5 years... when will official accreditation be posted if nothing goes wrong? I would like to gain insight on the accreditation process for programs.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

APA doesn't guarantee any specific timeframe, and I'm not sure how much COVID has set them back. I would hazard a guess at anyone from 1-2 years to get to accredited, on contingency if a program is generally on top of things. But again, I don't know how much APA might be backed up with reviewing prior applications and scheduling virtual site visits.

However, if a program is taking the application process seriously, I'd be shocked if it takes 3 or 4+ years to get contingency status.