PsyD Programs better funded than PhD's?

[Jon4PsyD]

So am I the lone person experiencing this problem? I have been accepted into 3 Psy.D. programs and 2 Ph.D.'s. The Ph.D. programs speak of funding being "not guaranteed" and warm that because of the economy people will need to take out loans because money going to the department is not going to be what it used to be. Yet, for the students who do get funded, the funding looks pretty good (full tuition waiver + stipend), one of the Ph.D.'s is saying no funding to anyone. These are at major universities by the way.

Yet the Psy.D. programs I was accepted to are offering 50-60% guaranteed tuition cuts for students upon entering the program and one even says all incoming students will receive a GA. Maybe because its a small, private, university and the only doctoral program there, so they can get dibs on those GA positions....

Is this odd? Or is it more of a reality with our recession? That since Psy.D. programs get funded externally and not federally, they may be offering better funding over the next few years until the economy clears up?

Jon

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[Emilee]

Hmmm..

It might not have to do with the amount of funding each schools has. With the exception of the one PhD that isn't funding anyone (WTF!), sounds like they differ in how they distribute the funds. The PhDs might like fully back their top students with tuition waivers and stipends and leave other students to fend for themselves, while the PsyDs like to share the wealth and distribute what they can to everyone.

However, I would keep some things in mind: For of all, it would be easier to apply for fellowships for PhD programs. So you could get funding that way. Professors at the PhD program are also more likely to receive external funding that they can use to fund their own students in their labs. In addition, you will need to plug in hard numbers to really see if the psyd program is a better deal. PsyD programs tend to be privately owned and more expensive, while a lot of the phd programs are at state universities. You might get a 50% discount at the PsyD program, but the tuition at the state PhD program may be 50% cheaper than the psyd program. So, the overall cost may be the same.

It'll depend on the schools you are applying to, though. So you should definitely sit down and see how much each program is really going to cost you. And, of course, money is not everything, so you need to factor in other things as well.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Ollie123]

Haven't heard of any programs that routinely funded students altering that plan...perhaps this is an anomaly of a few schools that unfortunately happened to be the ones you were interested in?

Certainly, belts are being tightened everywhere, but I haven't heard of any programs where the solution was "No more funding for grad students". For the most part, programs realize that means their chances of attracting top talent will be completely shot since I imagine a huge majority of their potential applicants would choose to go elsewhere in that situation.