PhD/PsyD University of Arizona PhD Clinical Psychology; Any insight?

[NeuroPsychosis]

I just recently discovered that the University of Arizona has a clinical program within their psychology department and have good concentrations in Neuropsychology and Psychophysiology. I looked at their APA statistics, they are thoroughly accredited and their APA match rates have been ~%100 for the past ~5 years. Also it's funded!!

Does anyone have any information about the strength of this program? I realized the class size is small (~5-6 clinical students).
Would you recommend this to anyone seeking the neuropsychology specialization?

Would appreciate your input on the school life, surrounding, and the program itself! I haven't seen threads about this school or how competitive in terms of admission.

~Thank You

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[Seven_Costanza]

I just recently discovered that the University of Arizona has a clinical program within their psychology department and have good concentrations in Neuropsychology and Psychophysiology. I looked at their APA statistics, they are thoroughly accredited and their APA match rates have been ~%100 for the past ~5 years. Also it's funded!!

Does anyone have any information about the strength of this program? I realized the class size is small (~5-6 clinical students).
Would you recommend this to anyone seeking the neuropsychology specialization?

Would appreciate your input on the school life, surrounding, and the program itself! I haven't seen threads about this school or how competitive in terms of admission.

~Thank You

I don’t have any detailed information about life at UofA, but I know it is a very well-respected program. The few students I’ve known there were exceptionally bright and productive before getting accepted there so I imagine it’s a pretty competitive program. Lots of great researchers there. Would recommend.

 

[erg923]

I just recently discovered that the University of Arizona has a clinical program within their psychology department and have good concentrations in Neuropsychology and Psychophysiology. I looked at their APA statistics, they are thoroughly accredited and their APA match rates have been ~%100 for the past ~5 years. Also it's funded!!

Does anyone have any information about the strength of this program? I realized the class size is small (~5-6 clinical students).
Would you recommend this to anyone seeking the neuropsychology specialization?

Would appreciate your input on the school life, surrounding, and the program itself! I haven't seen threads about this school or how competitive in terms of admission.

~Thank You

 

[mypointlesspov]

I don’t have any detailed information about life at UofA, but I know it is a very well-respected program. The few students I’ve known there were exceptionally bright and productive before getting accepted there so I imagine it’s a pretty competitive program. Lots of great researchers there. Would recommend.

I second this. One of my current colleagues is from UofA and she's extremely competent at what she does. I can't speak specifically about neuro though.

 

[DynamicDidactic]

Top tier program. Good luck with your application.

 

[jdawg2017]

It’s a very respectable program, and they have good neuro faculty. A student from their program did a summer rotation with me a few years ago when I was earlier in my PhD. In terms of places to live, I guess you could do worse. *shrugs* Great nature nearby!

 

[Ollie123]

I know some of the psychophys folks there. Its an extremely strong program and I am confident the training would be excellent. Folks I know who went there seemed to enjoy.

I have only spent a week there myself. Imagine Tucson would not be everyone's cup of tea, but there are also certainly (many) worse locations for graduate school. If I was doing this again, I wouldnt hesitate to attend.

Generally speaking, not discussed here is usually a good thing. We get 20x as many threads about the newest Billy Bob's School of Psychotherapy and Free Loan Money as we do about any legit programs.

 

[NeuroPsychosis]

Thanks for your input people. Yeah I did some research on the program and it seemed a really steady one. I asked because I have never heard a lot of people talk about it before. Also, I was trying to compare it with the University of Washington (I have an eye on there too). I know UW is a top research school, maybe the differences in terms of strength aren't much between the two; obviously with an exception to location/ city wise.

 

[deleted343839]

University of Arizona is also very strong on the research front. I would have no reservations about their program assuming it's a good fit with your training goals. Also, a small class size is generally a good thing!

 

[NeuroPsychosis]

University of Arizona is also very strong on the research front. I would have no reservations about their program assuming it's a good fit with your training goals. Also, a small class size is generally a good thing!

Thanks. I believe the program will be on my list. Their training in psychology however, does seem more bio-medicine oriented since much of their curriculum (per the handbook) is psychophysiology, health, and neuroscience coursework/training. I think that just comes naturally since the university is big on biomedical research....just a note.

 

[medium rare]

Thanks. I believe the program will be on my list. Their training in psychology however, does seem more bio-medicine oriented since much of their curriculum (per the handbook) is psychophysiology, health, and neuroscience coursework/training. I think that just comes naturally since the university is big on biomedical research....just a note.

U of A has a very solid reputation and a long history as a stable, consistent clinical psychology program. Admission is very selective and classes are 5-9 students, typically.

It is important to know that U of A’s clinical psych program is heavily research oriented and has become more so over the years. I know several of the faculty there and they are quick to state they are a clinical-scientist program as opposed to a scientist-practitioner program. Their focus is training future researchers and academicians, not training for clinical practice. If you have aspirations to practice, this may not be the best fit of a program.

 

[NeuroPsychosis]

U of A has a very solid reputation and a long history as a stable, consistent clinical psychology program. Admission is very selective and classes are 5-9 students, typically.

It is important to know that U of A’s clinical psych program is heavily research oriented and has become more so over the years. I know several of the faculty there and they are quick to state they are a clinical-scientist program as opposed to a scientist-practitioner program. Their focus is training future researchers and academicians, not training for clinical practice. If you have aspirations to practice, this may not be the best fit of a program.

Yes I realized their program mission states that they don't just prepare students to practice, but to also become researchers in the field (Arizona.edu). However, for someone like me who is interested in teaching, research, and practice (Clinical Neuropsychology); i believe the program is solid for my needs. Just not to mistake their philosophy, they never mentioned that they won't prepare you to practice (They have a solid assessment/practicum module & all the APA regulations in place to graduate you as practitioner+scientist).

 

[medium rare]

Thanks. I believe the program will be on my list. Their training in psychology however, does seem more bio-medicine oriented since much of their curriculum (per the handbook) is psychophysiology, health, and neuroscience coursework/training. I think that just comes naturally since the university is big on biomedical research....just a note.

U of A has a very solid reputation and a long history as a stable, consistent clinical psychology program. Admission is very selective and classes are 5-9 students, typically.

It is important to know that U of A’s clinical psych program is heavily research oriented and has become more so over the years. I know several of the faculty there and they are quick to state they are a clinical-scientist program as opposed to a scientist-practitioner program. Their focus is training future researchers and academicians, not training for clinical practice. If you have aspirations to practice, this may not be the best fit of a program.

Yes I realized their program mission states that they don't just prepare students to practice, but to also become researchers in the field (Arizona.edu). However, for someone like me who is interested in teaching, research, and practice (Clinical Neuropsychology); i believe the program is solid for my needs. Just not to mistake their philosophy, they never mentioned that they won't prepare you to practice (They have a solid assessment/practicum module & all the APA regulations in place to graduate you as practitioner+scientist).

This is true; they have solid clinical training. However, if you are fortunate enough to be granted an interview and say you want to have clinical practice as a significant portion of your postgraduate career activities, you will not be admitted.

I know a handful of their graduates who have gone on to clinical careers and each of them has voiced some variant of the program viewing them with disdain since they did not go on to research-oriented careers. Just FYI.

 

[erg923]

Just to be clear...it is a Clinical Science model training program. This, in and of itself, does not really attest to the "robustness" of their clinical training. Whatever you receive, I'm sure it will be evidence-based, but I'm not sure how they may translate if one one wants a diverse clinical service career. I researched Vanderbilt 15 years ago and was told this is little more than a experimental Ph.D. program with a couple pracs by multiple graduate students. I do think the Clinical Science model of training has progressed since 2003, though?

 

[NeuroPsychosis]

Just to be clear...it is a Clinical Science model training program. This, in and of itself, does not really attest to the "robustness" of their clinical training. Whatever you receive, I'm sure it will be evidence-based, but I'm not sure how they may translate if one one wants a diverse clinical service career. I researched Vanderbilt 15 years ago and was told this is little more than a experimental Ph.D. program with a couple pracs by multiple graduate students. I do think the Clinical Science model of training has progressed since 2003, though?

Yes, I believe there has been a lot of progression within the field of clinical science. What I was trying to clarify is that they are a research-heavy program, in the meantime, they have a solid clinical curriculum where outside of clinical courses, students must complete practicum in their track area (aka Neuropsychology)... I just had to keep in mind that their clinical training definitely seems integrated with constant research productivity.

 

[deleted656923]

I know a handful of their graduates who have gone on to clinical careers and each of them has voiced some variant of the program viewing them with disdain since they did not go on to research-oriented careers. Just FYI.

Damn, that sounds harsh. I didn’t hear about that when I interviewed at that program years ago.