Can you finnish you undergrad online by a regionally accredited university (Like AIU) and get accepted to a PhD or PsyD program in the US if you have great GRE scores?
Online acceptable for undergrad?
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Yes.
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No personal experience really, but I have a taught a few courses with such universities. I just know accreditation stuff etc.., and if it is regionally accredited it is fine.
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Psych? said:
I might not be quite as confident as the last poster seemed to be about this. While it might be possible to gain admission to a clinical psychology program from such a program, I have never heard of a doctoral student who completed an online undergrad degree. I think it could be very difficult to get accepted even with fantastic GRE scores.
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If you have solid research experience, I don't see why not. At one of my practicum, one of the student was doing her doctorate in clinical psych through an online/long distance program where she met with her advisor/class once a month or once every two months for a day at a time...
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Online and distance education are a great new way to get people educated, and my experience is that many distance based programs are harder than traditional programs because they do not nurture every whim of the student. There is still alot of bias in the grad level end when it comes to distance ed, but my guess is that in the next 20 years this will be artifact. As far as bias with intrance requirements goes I can see it happening, but a BA/BS is a degree no matter where you got it as long as it has the same accreditation, so just don't emphasize that it was online and you will be fine. Nobody has ever asked me where I got my BA...let alone my doc!!
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psisci said:Online and distance education are a great new way to get people educated, and my experience is that many distance based programs are harder than traditional programs because they do not nurture every whim of the student. There is still alot of bias in the grad level end when it comes to distance ed, but my guess is that in the next 20 years this will be artifact. As far as bias with intrance requirements goes I can see it happening, but a BA/BS is a degree no matter where you got it as long as it has the same accreditation, so just don't emphasize that it was online and you will be fine. Nobody has ever asked me where I got my BA...let alone my doc!!
Online degrees (particularly graduate degrees) are gaining more widespread acceptance and I am sure that there will be online programs that could compete with traditional universities in prestige 20 years from now. Unless psych? is planning on joining the incoming class of 2025, this will not help him or her. One of the previous posters mention someone who got into an MBA program with an online undergrad degree and another poster mentioned someone who is completing a graduate degree through distance learning; neither of these examples involve a student obtaining a bachelors degree online and then gaining acceptance to a clinical psychology doctoral program. I think it may be difficult because I have never heard of anyone who has done it. Have any of you? One person? Anywhere? On a practicum or admission interview or conference or anything? Clinical psych isnt just any graduate program; it is the second most selective discipline in academia. Nobody may ask you where you get your BA, but it will be on your transcripts and I promise you that it affects admission committees view of your undergraduate education.
If psych? is going to get a degree from an online school and is asking whether or not it makes any sense to apply to clinical psychology programs, then I would say he or she should take a shot. If he or she knows that psychology is what he or she wishes to pursue and is asking if transferring to an online institution from a traditional school is a good idea , then I would say that it is not. At best, on online degree wont hurt him or her too much when it comes to getting interviews, at worst it could essentially disqualify him or her from a number of good programs
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lazure said:
I just want to concur with the part about research experience. I don't think this can be emphasized enough. If you are doing your whole undergrad experience online, then I would imagine that it would pretty difficult to get research experience when you're not in residence at a school. If you are transferring to an online program with no research experience, then some while studying online. There are some PsyD programs that may not require much research experience, so it may not be that bad if you have clinical experience.
First, thank you everyone for your valuable input! Now, just to clarify, I am currently working full-time in a school for the blind (specifically with children). Many of them have other issues, of course. Currently my time is so dedicated to them, I have been forced to finish my undergraduate degree on-line (did a couple of years at traditional college and did very well). Some information that I thought y'all might be interested in: I found out that there is also an online PhD in clinical psych given by Walden University. Of course there is still 500 mandatory "face time" hours, but it is accredited and acceptable for licensure in my state. I was thinking of doing this in order to keep my current job while in school? What are you honest thoughts and opinions about this option? Are there things/issues that anybody else knows of that you feel my change my mind? I have plenty of time before I commit to an on-line program. I am hoping that y'all in the studentdoctor community can come together and evaluate the pros and cons of such programs so I (and others who may come after us) can make an educated decision. Once again, thank you so much for your time and brain-power.
I was thinking of doing this in order to keep my current job while in school? What are you honest thoughts and opinions about this option? Are there things/issues that anybody else knows of that you feel my change my mind? I have plenty of time before I commit to an on-line program. I am hoping that y'all in the studentdoctor community can come together and evaluate the pros and cons of such programs so I (and others who may come after us) can make an educated decision. Once again, thank you so much for your time and brain-power.- Joined
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There is someone where I work who did an online Clinical PhD. He was a Masters level clinician/researcher and the department underwent changes and everyone needed a PhD, or something like that, so he did his online. I don't know him very well (I work for another psychologist) but he publishes a lot and primarily conducts research. So, there are people with online degrees that have jobs with other PhDs from more traditional programs.
He is not well regarded in the department but that has much more to do with personality than with his degree!
He is not well regarded in the department but that has much more to do with personality than with his degree!
Sanman
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Well, I don't believe that the on-line PhD is a good idea. The reason I say so concerns the licensure laws in clinical psychology. You need to complete a pre-doctoral internship and in many cases a post-doctoral internship. If you want to work in the VA system, they need to be apa-approved. I believe that it will be extremely difficult to do so coming from this program. Especially considering that many of the traditional lower tier PsyD/PhD programs have trouble placing students, so an online degree would probably be taken after these people. Keep these things in mind when looking at any clinical psych program.
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Here are the issues I would consider before applying to an online clinical psychology graduate program.
1) practicum/externship -- Generally your program has established relationships with a number of practicum and externship sites in the area and can be instrumental in helping you get the clinical experience necessary to apply for internship. In a distance learning program this is unlikely to be the case. You may not have a lot of help finding and applying to sites, and some sites may not be willing to take a chance with a student from a program with which they have never had any experience.
2) practicum/externship/internship locations -- clinical training sites tend to be located near psychology programs (for obvious reasons). If you now live in an area that does not have any clin psych programs nearby, then attending an online university wont help much because you will have to move to get clinical experience anyway.
3) Dissertation help -- sometimes I feel like I have to start a trashcan fire to get my advisors attention when his office is three doors away from mine. I imagine it could be really difficult to get help on your dissertation when your advisor is in another state.
4) time -- It might not be reasonable to expect to continue to work at a demanding job while completing a Ph.D. During my second and third years I had 6 hrs per week of class, 20 hrs per week of practicum, and about 5-10 hours per week of independent research. Studying and work for which I got paid was all extra. I know I wouldnt have been able to hold down another job if it were demanding in the least.
5) internship competition -- I think Sanman covered this, but I wanted to add something. Because of a recent change in the way most hospitals are interpreting Medicare rules many hospital based internship programs are likely to close. This will make the competition for apa approved internships even more fierce than is already the case.
Good luck
1) practicum/externship -- Generally your program has established relationships with a number of practicum and externship sites in the area and can be instrumental in helping you get the clinical experience necessary to apply for internship. In a distance learning program this is unlikely to be the case. You may not have a lot of help finding and applying to sites, and some sites may not be willing to take a chance with a student from a program with which they have never had any experience.
2) practicum/externship/internship locations -- clinical training sites tend to be located near psychology programs (for obvious reasons). If you now live in an area that does not have any clin psych programs nearby, then attending an online university wont help much because you will have to move to get clinical experience anyway.
3) Dissertation help -- sometimes I feel like I have to start a trashcan fire to get my advisors attention when his office is three doors away from mine. I imagine it could be really difficult to get help on your dissertation when your advisor is in another state.
4) time -- It might not be reasonable to expect to continue to work at a demanding job while completing a Ph.D. During my second and third years I had 6 hrs per week of class, 20 hrs per week of practicum, and about 5-10 hours per week of independent research. Studying and work for which I got paid was all extra. I know I wouldnt have been able to hold down another job if it were demanding in the least.
5) internship competition -- I think Sanman covered this, but I wanted to add something. Because of a recent change in the way most hospitals are interpreting Medicare rules many hospital based internship programs are likely to close. This will make the competition for apa approved internships even more fierce than is already the case.
Good luck
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lazure said:
Walden U is definitely not based on strict Skinnerian principles. I'm actually doing my 2nd master's degree with Walden right now, and have to say I'm generally impressed by the quality of the classes I'm in. *Most* of the other students seem like bright, accomplished individuals who are either too far from a decent campus to complete a traditional program (one girl in Puerto Rico I know of) or can't take time off from full-time jobs. For myself, my husband is military, and the time it takes to apply, be accepted, and complete a program in one location is prohibitive. The second he finds out his next duty station, though, I'll be applying to any PsyD programs nearby, as that is my final goal...
