Top Clinical MS/MA programs to prepared you for a PhD?

[Member03326588]

Greetings,

Would anyone happen to know of any top ranked Masters programs in Clinical Psychology with a PhD/thesis track (i.e., that are designed for students who wish to pursue a Clinical PhD after earning a Masters degree)?

Prepare* Excuse my typo.

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[PsychPhDone]

Villanova

 

[cara susanna]

Minnesota State at Mankato's supposed to be really good.

 

[Phipps]

Loyola University, Baltimore, Maryland. Thesis track (M.S.) in Clinical and Counseling, I think.

 

[Ya Ya]

Wake Forest and William and Mary. Both give their students stipends, I believe.

 

[erg923]

Not "top ranked" or anything, but specifically designed to prepare one for doctorates: Mississippi State University (Starkville, MS), East Carolina University (Greenville, NC and offers a stipend), Barry University (Miami, FL).

 

[KillerDiller]

To avoid confusion, not all the programs mentioned are masters in clinical psychology. Villanova, Wake Forrest, and William and Mary offer their masters in general psych. They are very well known for sending students on to Ph.D. programs, however--clinical and otherwise.

 

[PsychPhDone]

To avoid confusion, not all the programs mentioned are masters in clinical psychology. Villanova, Wake Forrest, and William and Mary offer their masters in general psych. They are very well known for sending students on to Ph.D. programs, however--clinical and otherwise.

Yes, sorry I didn't explain in my own post. This is true.

FWIW, I think experimental is the way to go for a masters if you want to head to research-focused PhD program (or even a balanced one).

 

[KillerDiller]

FWIW, I think experimental is the way to go for a masters if you want to head to research-focused PhD program (or even a balanced one).

Agreed. Research experience will be valued more than clinical experience. Plus, these programs offer funding.

 

[cara susanna]

If you're interested in Experimental, check out University of WI Oshkosh. They fund select students.

 

[JuniperTree]

Are there any such Master's programs in NY?

 

[Member03326588]

Thanks, everyone.

Does anyone know of any such programs in California? Or know anything about San Diego State University's program? Trying to avoid paying out-of-state fees. Thanks.

 

[wigflip]

Thanks, everyone.

Does anyone know of any such programs in California? Or know anything about San Diego State University's program? Trying to avoid paying out-of-state fees. Thanks.

I think this is under discussion on another thread or two as well? Someone said that San Diego State was good. I know that, along with San Francisco State, they are a flagship school in the CSU system.

In SoCal, Cal State Northridge (CSUN) has a program with a good track record of placing folks in doctoral programs. I think they have general psych and clinical MAs (not to be confused with the MFT program, housed in Ed).

 

[Member03326588]

I think this is under discussion on another thread or two as well? Someone said that San Diego State was good. I know that, along with San Francisco State, they are a flagship school in the CSU system.

Thanks for the info. Where can I find the threads where this is discussed (sorry, very new one this)?

 

[wigflip]

Thanks for the info. Where can I find the threads where this is discussed (sorry, very new one this)?

No problem--I hope my above post didn't read like "WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED THIS!!!😡" That wasn't my intention at all.

All I really recall was that CSUN and San Diego both came up. I think this current thread actually has more suggestions. Try searching both psych forums (MA level too) and searching for "Northridge," "San Diego," "CSUN," and/or "SDSU" and you'll probably find 'em.

Good luck! I wish I'd gone the CSUN route. If I'm not mistaken, one of their profs got her MA at CSUN then went away to freakin' HARVARD for the doctorate (!). Though of course she returned to teach at CSUN afterwards...

 

[Marissa4usa]

Check out the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. They have a Doctoral Preparation Masters Program. They fund all their students. Location stinks, though.

 

[wigflip]

From the CSUN website:

"The Psychology Department at California State University, Northridge has long been considered to be outstanding. In fact, a recent report from the National Science Foundation confirmed that more graduates of our department completed Ph.D. programs than graduates from any other non-Ph.D. granting university in the country." Notice also that they say, "completed," rather than "gained admission to" etc.

 

[thepug]

From the CSUN website:

"The Psychology Department at California State University, Northridge has long been considered to be outstanding. In fact, a recent report from the National Science Foundation confirmed that more graduates of our department completed Ph.D. programs than graduates from any other non-Ph.D. granting university in the country." Notice also that they say, "completed," rather than "gained admission to" etc.

Notice how it also said non-Ph.D. granting university. Kind of limits that statement exponentially don't it?

I don't know of any TOP programs. To the poster, you really got to get that notion out of your head now, before you apply to Ph.D. programs and blow half your applications on schools like Yale and U Penn.

If anything aim for a mentor that will be a good letter writer.

 

[KillerDiller]

Notice how it also said non-Ph.D. granting university. Kind of limits that statement exponentially don't it?

True. The competitive masters programs I'm aware of are all at institutions that grant Ph.Ds in at least a few fields of study--even if not in psychology.

 

[GoPokes]

Sorry to bump an old topic, but I think this could potentially be a great list that we could form. Especially for those of us that want to pad our grad school lists with some master's programs just in case all the Ph.D programs on our lists don't pan out. Anyone know of any other schools?

 

[yeti2213]

I've been on a several month hunt for Masters programs (have great GRE scores but alas ****ty GPA and a engineering ugrad degree). My interest might not be exactly what this thread is about, since I am ruling out purely experimental programs. I want some actually clinical experience and ideally also some exposure to counseling material, since my list of potential PhD schools contains several Counseling PhD's along with some balanced clinical ones. I have no idea how to assess how well respected and/or rigorous these schools are but a few Masters with a thesis option that specifically mention preparing students for PhD's are:


1. New Mexico Highland University (clincal/counseling program under Psych dept. don't mistake it for the counseling program under the ed)
2. University of Alaska, Anchorage
3. University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (totally pre-doctoral. specifically says the program is not designed to get one to Masters level licensenture)
4. U of Colorado, Denver (but not Masters accepting applications for 2011-2012, no idea about 2012-2013)
5. Appalachian State University (MA in Clinical Health Psychology)
6. University of Oregon
7. Loyola College in Baltimore
8. Towson University in Baltimore
9. California State University, Fullerton

if you know of others Clinical Masters that favor research but have a practicum please add to the list.

I've also looked at some purely counseling masters that still seem to have research opportunities. Here are few:
1. Lewis and Clark College, Oregon
2. Arizona State University
3. University of Oregon
4. Loyola College in Baltimore
5. New Mexico State University
6. Frostburg State University

I'm sure both lists have a few more schools outside of my geographical preference (southwest, around DC and west coast). So please add to both lists as you see fit.

-s

 

[SmoothJams]

Cal State San Bernadino
http://psychology.csusb.edu/graduatePrograms/clinical_counseling_program.htm
MS Clin/Counseling program with thesis option and practicums

University of Kansas
http://soe.ku.edu/pre/academics/cpsy/masters/requirements/
Counseling Psych MS with thesis option and practicums

These were two from my own list that offer practicum and research options in a masters.

Cal State Fullerton's MS in Clinical Psych was also on my list:
http://hss.fullerton.edu/psychology/masterOfScience.asp#programoffer

I've seen people say on this board many times that a Master's in Clincial Pysch is useless, but if the program offers you the opportunity to get a master's level license and allows you to a research thesis (for help getting into PhD programs), that seems like a win-win to me. 👍

 

[futurepsydoc]

Notice how it also said non-Ph.D. granting university. Kind of limits that statement exponentially don't it?

This is a good point. However, I think one should consider the following. If you attend a MS/MA program in psychology where they do not have a Ph.D. program, you DO NOT have to compete with PhD students for mentorship. This is really important to consider.

To be specific, you will be the valuable student commodity in the research labs. You can also be a teaching assistant. These positions are not given to undergraduates. As a consequence, the opportunities at non-PhD granting institutions may actually be better in the long run because they allow one to gain the coursework and experiences necessary to be competitive at the graduate level.

In contrast, if you take a look at terminal master's programs at several well respected schools that do offer doctoral degrees in psychology, you will not get the same level of support. Whether it is fair in your eyes or not, PhD students will be the valuable student commodity in the research lab. They will be the teaching assistants. Moreover, you will have to pay for the degree while they do not.

In my opinion, if you can get a funded position at a smaller school, I think it is a better opportunity than MS/MA at more prestigious school where you have to pay and are at the bottom of the graduate pecking order.

That is my .02

 

[aventurine]

Is there a reason why you would need to do a masters? In some cases, it makes sense--say, if you did not do well in undergrad (in which case, sometimes a few grad-level courses can prove you can do the work) or if you didn't take pre-req psych courses (in which case, sometimes a post-bac may take less time) or if you don't have enough research experience (in which case, sometimes you can find a research assistant position that will give you that experience). If more than one of these is an issue, a masters makes more sense. Or if you have already tried to apply to a doctoral program without success.

Yes, there are pros. But there are also cons, including time (keep in mind that it takes 6-7 years to complete many doctoral programs), money (funding may not be available at the masters level, and the doctorate can end up costing more than anticipated, even with funding, depending on a variety of factors), and the fact that doctoral programs don't usually accept many masters transfer credits.

Again, it's a good idea for some. But, depending on circumstances, there may be a more efficient route to your goal of admission to a doctoral program.

 

[JuniperTree]

Is there a reason why you would need to do a masters? In some cases, it makes sense--say, if you did not do well in undergrad (in which case, sometimes a few grad-level courses can prove you can do the work) or if you didn't take pre-req psych courses (in which case, sometimes a post-bac may take less time) or if you don't have enough research experience (in which case, sometimes you can find a research assistant position that will give you that experience). If more than one of these is an issue, a masters makes more sense.

Yes, there are pros. But there are also cons, including time (keep in mind that it takes 6-7 years to complete many doctoral programs), money (funding may not be available at the masters level, and the doctorate can end up costing more than anticipated, even with funding, depending on a variety of factors), and the fact that doctoral programs don't usually accept many masters transfer credits.

Again, it's a good idea for some. But, depending on circumstances, there may be a more efficient route to your goal of admission to a doctoral program.

There's a specific graduate program that interests me. However, my weak point is research experience. This program accepts many students from their own master's program, so I am considering applying to the Master's if I do not get accepted for the doctorate. How can I decide if this is the right decision?

 

[sacredrage]

These threads are useless if people are just going to randomly name a couple of the programs they heard about that one time from a friend they met at that place.

If you don't have broad data then don't bother.

 

[erg923]

These threads are useless if people are just going to randomly name a couple of the programs they heard about that one time from a friend they met at that place.

If you don't have broad data then don't bother.

Sorry to inform ya dude, but the vast majority of our decisions are formed on less than optimal amounts of hard data. This is life. Because there is no "ranking" system for masters programs (or phd programs really) people are giving their opinion. Happens all the time in every other field. I don't know why it be any different here?

 

[sacredrage]

Sorry to inform ya dude, but the vast majority of our decisions are formed on less than optimal amounts of hard data. This is life. Because there is no "ranking" system for masters programs (or phd programs really) people are giving their opinion. Happens all the time in every other field. I don't know why it be any different here?

Myabe that's how you make decisions ... but one would think given the time commitment, cost, and variation in long term opportunity that a little more data research would be fitting. I am not even in the field of psychology (I've been lurking here because of my significant other's interest) and I can think of 4 or 5 programs better than any listed here off the top of my head back from when my g/f looked into them. I can sincerely tell you that Cal State Fullerton and Frostburg State are NOT top terminal programs - and yet here we have people saying they are (or else failing to even read the title of the thread and just listing whatever they happen to know - which was my complaint in the first place).

Incomplete data is not the same as innaccurate data. Some of the posts here are flat out incorrect. Since I've gone on about this twice now, I might as well contribute and help fix the problem. Off the top of my head, some of the top (i.e. most well respected with the best post graduation opportunities) are:

Vanderbilt - Combined BA/MA or Child Studies
Brandeis - Psychology
Wake Forrest - Psychology
William & Mary - Psychology
Boston University - Psychology
NYU - Psychology (there may be some APA issues here though - double check)

Not a complete list - but at least no one walks away from this post thinking New Mexico State et al is a top program.

 

[Ollie123]

Myabe that's how you make decisions ... but one would think given the time commitment, cost, and variation in long term opportunity that a little more data research would be fitting. I am not even in the field of psychology (I've been lurking here because of my significant other's interest) and I can think of 4 or 5 programs better than any listed here off the top of my head back from when my g/f looked into them. I can sincerely tell you that Cal State Fullerton and Frostburg State are NOT top terminal programs - and yet here we have people saying they are (or else failing to even read the title of the thread and just listing whatever they happen to know - which was my complaint in the first place).

Incomplete data is not the same as innaccurate data. Some of the posts here are flat out incorrect. Since I've gone on about this twice now, I might as well contribute and help fix the problem. Off the top of my head, some of the top (i.e. most well respected with the best post graduation opportunities) are:

Vanderbilt - Combined BA/MA or Child Studies
Brandeis - Psychology
Wake Forrest - Psychology
William & Mary - Psychology
Boston University - Psychology
NYU - Psychology (there may be some APA issues here though - double check)

Not a complete list - but at least no one walks away from this post thinking New Mexico State et al is a top program.

So....where's your "data" to back that up?

I actually agree with your list more than many of the others, but fail to see how you are doing anything different than what you just complained about others doing.

 

[erg923]

Myabe that's how you make decisions ... but one would think given the time commitment, cost, and variation in long term opportunity that a little more data research would be fitting. I am not even in the field of psychology (I've been lurking here because of my significant other's interest) and I can think of 4 or 5 programs better than any listed here off the top of my head back from when my g/f looked into them. I can sincerely tell you that Cal State Fullerton and Frostburg State are NOT top terminal programs - and yet here we have people saying they are (or else failing to even read the title of the thread and just listing whatever they happen to know - which was my complaint in the first place).

Incomplete data is not the same as innaccurate data. Some of the posts here are flat out incorrect. Since I've gone on about this twice now, I might as well contribute and help fix the problem. Off the top of my head, some of the top (i.e. most well respected with the best post graduation opportunities) are:

Vanderbilt - Combined BA/MA or Child Studies
Brandeis - Psychology
Wake Forrest - Psychology
William & Mary - Psychology
Boston University - Psychology
NYU - Psychology (there may be some APA issues here though - double check)

Not a complete list - but at least no one walks away from this post thinking New Mexico State et al is a top program.

Um, isnt this exactly what everyone else did? List program they that think/or heard that were well top/well respected, etc.

And, yes, you make decisions the way i described too, you're not special.

 

[cara susanna]

Minnesota State University at Mankato seems pretty awesome to me.

 

[PerhapsMaybeOk]

Mankato .

That sounds like a zen-transcendental experience.

 

[yeti2213]

Myabe that's how you make decisions ... but one would think given the time commitment, cost, and variation in long term opportunity that a little more data research would be fitting. I am not even in the field of psychology (I've been lurking here because of my significant other's interest) and I can think of 4 or 5 programs better than any listed here off the top of my head back from when my g/f looked into them. I can sincerely tell you that Cal State Fullerton and Frostburg State are NOT top terminal programs - and yet here we have people saying they are (or else failing to even read the title of the thread and just listing whatever they happen to know - which was my complaint in the first place).

Incomplete data is not the same as innaccurate data. Some of the posts here are flat out incorrect. Since I've gone on about this twice now, I might as well contribute and help fix the problem. Off the top of my head, some of the top (i.e. most well respected with the best post graduation opportunities) are:

Vanderbilt - Combined BA/MA or Child Studies
Brandeis - Psychology
Wake Forrest - Psychology
William & Mary - Psychology
Boston University - Psychology
NYU - Psychology (there may be some APA issues here though - double check)

Not a complete list - but at least no one walks away from this post thinking New Mexico State et al is a top program.

I listed a bunch of schools cause I had a hard enough time finding a good list of schools that *offered* stand alone masters with some research opportunities. And I put a disclaimer about top-ness. Cause I could not find ANY reliable source that gave you a sense of their relative worth. I also wanted to limit myself to Clinical Programs only and avoid experimental ones. So that took out a lot of the ones mentioned on this list.

At the end of the day, I only applied to funded programs, to work with profs that did stuff I was interested in and had a decent publication history. And I would venture that is a much better way to make this decision that looking at top-ness.

Lesson I learned in kindergarten... the world is complicated place...people don't always answer the question asked. If want to get a PhD, I should hope you have the capacity to get what you need out of tangentially related but imperfect answers 🙂

 

[amy21]

I think this is under discussion on another thread or two as well? Someone said that San Diego State was good. I know that, along with San Francisco State, they are a flagship school in the CSU system.

In SoCal, Cal State Northridge (CSUN) has a program with a good track record of placing folks in doctoral programs. I think they have general psych and clinical MAs (not to be confused with the MFT program, housed in Ed).

I'm also interested in learning if there are such programs in California (ideally, Northern California). I've looked at San Francisco State's program & it appears to offer a Master's that's very clinically-oriented with no research training. So I assume this rules it out? Does anyone know of other more research-oriented masters programs in this region?

 

[sacredrage]

Um, isnt this exactly what everyone else did? List program they that think/or heard that were well top/well respected, etc.

And, yes, you make decisions the way i described too, you're not special.

Yeah, with the "minor" difference that my answers are right.

 

[amy21]

I'm also interested in learning if there are such programs in California (ideally, Northern California). I've looked at San Francisco State's program & it appears to offer a Master's that's very clinically-oriented with no research training. So I assume this rules it out? Does anyone know of other more research-oriented masters programs in this region?

Anyone have thoughts on this?

 

[researchjunky]

I know that you all are comparing masters programs.. and people will say yay or nay to the benefit of having a masters. I am in my second year at Towson University (experimental) and the program itself isn't *amazing*.. but a masters program for me was about showing what I can do in graduate school. If you come in, do your coursework and then try to get into a phd program.. it may work but unlikely.

You have to be willing to put your best foot forward and stand out. For example: I did 4 conference presentations and have 2 accepted manuscripts from my masters along with 2 more in prep. I have classmates that will be defending their thesis in the spring and it was the only they they were able to do while at Towson. If you don't show research productivity in a masters program.. PHD programs will question what you will do in their program.

Just my two cents..

 

[sacredrage]

So....where's your "data" to back that up?

I actually agree with your list more than many of the others, but fail to see how you are doing anything different than what you just complained about others doing.

I did all the research a couple of years ago. I looked at placement rates, undergrad ranking (US News), clinical psych ranking (US News), collected average GPA/GMAT scores, yield (when I could get it), acceptance rate, faculty publications, etc.

It sounds like a lot but it was really only a few hours worth of work. I don' have the data available any long and I never intended to be a participant on this thread. However, with so much poor data floating around I took the time to post accurate information. There may be other top terminal masters programs, but a list of top programs includes those schools I named. This way, at least students who are looking for a place to start have been exposed to the names of top programs.

Take it for what it's worth - my data backs up my conclusion. You can look up the metrics I stated and see for yourself.

 

[sacredrage]

I know that you all are comparing masters programs.. and people will say yay or nay to the benefit of having a masters. I am in my second year at Towson University (experimental) and the program itself isn't *amazing*.. but a masters program for me was about showing what I can do in graduate school. If you come in, do your coursework and then try to get into a phd program.. it may work but unlikely.

You have to be willing to put your best foot forward and stand out. For example: I did 4 conference presentations and have 2 accepted manuscripts from my masters along with 2 more in prep. I have classmates that will be defending their thesis in the spring and it was the only they they were able to do while at Towson. If you don't show research productivity in a masters program.. PHD programs will question what you will do in their program.

Just my two cents..

Regarding the value of a masters degree:

My g/f majored in a liberal arts program and then attended one of the masters programs on my previous list. She had no previous psychology/research experience (though she had a ton of volunteer hours). She wrote a thesis, is listed as an author on a paper being submitted for publication, and has done several poster presentations. Upon graduation she worked for 2 years in a lab as a research assistant/coordinator in what is considered one of the best programs in the world (and as someone who went to the rival school it pains beyond belief to say that). She is only applying to respect, funded, Clinical Psychology PhD programs with a very specific focus.

Last year she received interview invites to one Top 20 program and one Top 50 program. Her selected mentor at the top 20 program admitted her into the developmental program because internal politics prevented her admission to the Clinical program (some nonsense about a backup PhD mentor). She declined. She did not recieve admission to the top 50 at which she interviewed.

This year she has thus far received an interview invite to a Top 100 program and a Top 10 with arguably the top researcher in her field. We're obviously crossing our fingers on the Top 10. All of that, at this point, is obviously TBD.

I can't speak for the experience of others - but going the master's route has certainly provided my g/f with ample opportunities at, to my eye, some impressive institutions. I think it's important to note that part of her success is where she's doing research and the type of research she's doing - but her masters degree opened the door to that research. Hopefully this year is the year it all pays off.

 

[cardsXC]

Figure a lot of people may have missed this wave of PhDs and now Masters acceptances are coming out.

I got waitlisted for Villanova, but have to decide now between Towson and Loyola (MD). I'm focusing on a thesis track, but if anyone has any input on these schools I would love to hear it!

Edit: If I recall correctly, the APA book has data for masters programs and what percentages of students entered the job market, PhD placement, etc.

 

[ncLPA]

Western Carolina University offers a M.A. in clinical as well as a stipend and tuition assistance for instate/out of state. I was happy with it when I went through and people from there end up all over at different programs.

 

[Passionista]

Figure a lot of people may have missed this wave of PhDs and now Masters acceptances are coming out.

I got waitlisted for Villanova, but have to decide now between Towson and Loyola (MD). I'm focusing on a thesis track, but if anyone has any input on these schools I would love to hear it!

Edit: If I recall correctly, the APA book has data for masters programs and what percentages of students entered the job market, PhD placement, etc.

I went to Towson for my MA. I'm not sure what program you are considering, but I was in the clinical psychology masters program. A lot of my cohort was not thrilled with the program (not unhappy, but just weren't in love with it) but I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a great stepping stone for me (I hadn't fully solidified my clinical interests before going in) and it allowed me to complete a thesis (which I did not get a chance to do in undergrad). Additionally, I REALLY liked my practicum and it actually turned into a full time job and is where I'm at right now 🙂 Some of my cohort members chose to do more clinical practicums but I chose a research-oriented one with a clinical population. So, you can really go both ways with the practicum during second year.

Feel free to PM me with any questions!