PhD/PsyD Question from a Prospective Psychology PsyD/PhD students

[chiapet325]

Hello everyone,

I am looking into applying to either a psyD or phD program in Psychology. Can we teach in universities with a PsyD? If yes, I prefer to save myself from spending more money and time completing a phD.
I've been teaching for the past 7 years, and always wanted to get a doctorate. Since my background is in Psychology from undergraduate studies, I want to take a leap of faith in that direction.
I feel a bit under prepared compared to those who have been in the field for a long time.
I have no research experience, and currently trying to find places to volunteer, while studying for my GRE's.
I am interested in teaching in universities (because most of my professors at UCLA were horrible teachers and I want to change that), and restore sex trafficked victims.

Any advice for me would be helpful.

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[RBJ15]

Generally PsyD programs cost more than PhD programs, so not sure you'll necessarily be saving money going that route. PsyDs are also more focused on practice, not teaching, so it would definitely be more uncommon to teach at the university level with a PsyD.

 

[empathiosis]

Start off by reading the threads below:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/doctoral-applicants-read-first-helpful-threads.714255/

This is a pretty basic question that has been answered on this forum many, many times before ... You should find all the answers you need in the pages I linked to above. And RBJ is correct, PsyD programs typically are not funded so they can be very expensive. PhD programs are usually fully-funded but very competitive. You will need to have substantial research experience to be competitive for a PhD program.

 

[erg923]

Hello everyone,

I am looking into applying to either a psyD or phD program in Psychology. Can we teach in universities with a PsyD? If yes, I prefer to save myself from spending more money and time completing a phD.
I've been teaching for the past 7 years, and always wanted to get a doctorate. Since my background is in Psychology from undergraduate studies, I want to take a leap of faith in that direction.
I feel a bit under prepared compared to those who have been in the field for a long time.
I have no research experience, and currently trying to find places to volunteer, while studying for my GRE's.
I am interested in teaching in universities (because most of my professors at UCLA were horrible teachers and I want to change that), and restore sex trafficked victims.

Any advice for me would be helpful.

First, a "leap of faith" is not a legitimate reason to get a doctorate, which is 6-7 stressfull years of your life. Why do you need a doctorate in order to do the things you want to do? And what are those things (ie, career path/aspiration)? Until you can answer those questions, no admission committe would really consider you.

Second, Ph.D progams will not be option for you until you have some significant (either in time or quality) research experience.

Lastly, you are not going to change the teaching culture at R1 reseach universities like UCLA. This isnt Dead Poets Society. Its a world driven by grant money and publications. To focus on pedagogy, you will realy need to puruse faculty positions at small colleges.

 

[Ollie123]

What others have said - there are a number of fundamental misunderstandings within your post. PsyDs may take "slightly" less time on average, but almost always cost significantly then PhD programs. The prototypical PsyD student pays ~150k for their degree, the prototypical PhD student gets paid (admittedly not a lot) to go to school. You will not be outright barred from teaching at a university as a PsyD, but even the good PsyD programs (of which there are relatively few) will be poor preparation for a university professorship (at least in most psych departments) compared to PhD programs and would certainly make it an uphill battle. You may have options to adjunct, but this is generally a side gig and not something anyone should be doing as a primary job given the typical pay. Lastly, schools like UCLA would not even consider hiring you as a professor if you state your primary goal is teaching. The reason teaching can be somewhat lacking at big universities is because they deliberately seek out individuals focused on research rather than teaching.