PhD/PsyD PREREQUISITES for a Clinical Psychology PhD

[constanceandcaring]

Not all programs have the same prereq requirements but many require a statistics course and a research methods or experimental psychology course (with a lab component). I'm not currently in school or in the US so I'm looking for good online courses which fulfill these two course requirements.

1. Can anyone recommend good schools that offer these courses for visiting/non-degree track students?
2. Is there a big difference (content-wise and in the eyes of the PhD program) between a course which has "introduction" in the title vs. one that does not? Does the non-introduction course look better?
3. How many credits should these courses be (3 to 5?) and what are the most important topics that are relevant for each course (statistics and research methods/experimental psych)? I ask because I found a course at UC Berkeley that's called "Research and Data Analysis in Psychology" (2021 Summer PSYCH 101 001 LEC 001 | Course Catalog) and I can't tell which requirement it would fulfill or whether it might fulfill both?

Thanks so much!

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[Dazen]

I would recommend finding a brick and mortar school that also offers online classes to ensure quality (I did mine through Arizona State and enjoyed it). At a minimum to meet most clinical psych recs, I would have introduction to psychology, statistics (can be intro), research methods/experimental, and abnormal psychology. All of these classes should be at least 3 credits, and research methods should realistically be at least 4. I wouldn’t combine unless it counts for double credits. Separately, what kinds of research experiences do you have, both in and outside of psychology? This coursework is often to show that you meet a minimum standard, while your research interests and experience will be the crux of your application and a big part of what determines your competitiveness.

Feel free to PM me if you have other specific questions - I’m an incoming clinical PhD student from a different academic background and did all of my psych requirements online this past year (classes listed above).

 

[summerbabe]

I'm not currently in school or in the US so I'm looking for good online courses which fulfill these two course requirements.

Have you been engaged with psychology research previously? Meeting pre-reqs are important but without research experience and contributions to projects/publications, your application likely won’t be considered at any funded clinical psych PhDs so if you’re missing both components, it might be in your best interest to engage with the research component first.