PhD/PsyD University of San Francisco, Psyd?

[psydnoresearch]

Has anyone heard anything about the University of San Francisco's (NOT Alliant, Argosy, etc but USF) Psyd program or applied to it? Or is it too new for any feedback at this point?

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[bcliff]

Has anyone heard anything about the University of San Francisco's (NOT Alliant, Argosy, etc but USF) Psyd program or applied to it? Or is it too new for any feedback at this point?

The program is not APA accredited, and it doesn't look like they offer funding for doctoral students - Couple these things with the fact that SF has a relatively high cost of living (even compared to the rest of CA) and that CA in general is over saturated, and I would say that the general consensus would be to avoid this program, but others may feel differently.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

It's of course a great school, which works in its favor, but like briarcliff said, the funding situation and lack of accreditation (even if only temporary) are problematic. I believe folks have mentioned on here before the USF has offered unfunded postdocs in the past, so that just doubles my concern about the money situation, as well as perhaps the overall view of the importance of psychology.

 

[psydnoresearch]

Thanks briarcliff. I have roots in the SF area so living costs would be minimal but yes, the lack of APA accreditation is questionable. And the lack of funding. Looks like they are pretty confident though that they will receive accreditation within the next year (once their first class graduates). I am also just wondering about the quality of the program itself.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

You may try contacting someone at the program directly (an administrative assistant, faculty member, etc. and in addition to seeing if anyone here is enrolled, as you've done) to see if they could get you in touch with some current grad students there. Given the lack of outcome data, it's going to be tough to objectively determine the quality of the program, unfortunately. Like I mentioned above, the quality of the school in general works in the program's favor, but that's not always a sure thing.

 

[QAsPsych]

Going to an unaccredited program is generally a mistake. Nobody can know what the outcome will be, and many schools have promised they are right around the bend from accreditation only to fall short (or were not as far along as they claimed). I also doubt a program that is suggesting I can get government loan repayment after I graduate as a viable option to pay for their program.

I believe folks have mentioned on here before the USF has offered unfunded postdocs in the past, so that just doubles my concern about the money situation, as well as perhaps the overall view of the importance of psychology.

I thought that was UCSF?

 

[psydnoresearch]

Thanks AcronymAllergy and QAPsych. I guess, I just needed someone to reaffirm the dire truth as I knew it. In so many ways from a practical viewpoint, given that I wouldn't have to worry about relocating and live very close, I've been a bit divided and USF does have a decent reputation overall. But you are all right, it's a huge chance to take-.

 

[psychRA]

I thought that was UCSF?

It is UCSF. Just to clarify for others, UCSF is a public university in the UC system, and includes a medical school as well as nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry schools. There are several hospitals in the UCSF system, and some APA internship positions. They have a few unpaid clinical postdocs as well as paid T32 research postdocs, and may have other postdocs as well, but I'm not especially familiar with the site so I'm not sure.

USF is a private Jesuit university. They have several APPIC internships through their UCC. I'm not sure if they have a postdoc program.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I personally wouldn't attend a program that isn't APA-acred. because there are very legitimate reasons for an otherwise good program to not secure APA-acred. status (e.g. not enough core faculty, not enough clinical training opportunities, curriculum is excellent but not in line w. what the APA requires, etc)…so nothing is a sure thing when it comes to securing APA-acred. status. It has nothing to do with program quality, as there are plenty of programs that secured APA-acred. years ago that frankly shouldn't still have it….but it seems akin to licensure: hard to get initially, but even harder to lose once you have it.

As someone who has debt from school…it is stressful to have loans to re-pay, so now I only recommend programs that offer good/excellent funding. The average earning potential of a psychologist is not high enough to take on any kind of significant debt, so funding is a big factor when considering a program. If you can get good funding and avoid taking on *any* debt…then maybe it is worth considering, but I still wouldn't recommend it.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Going to an unaccredited program is generally a mistake. Nobody can know what the outcome will be, and many schools have promised they are right around the bend from accreditation only to fall short (or were not as far along as they claimed). I also doubt a program that is suggesting I can get government loan repayment after I graduate as a viable option to pay for their program.



I thought that was UCSF?

Ahh, yep, you're correct; I'd confused myself and was thinking of UCSF. Feel free to disregard pretty much everything I said above, then, other than the issues regarding accreditation and lack of funding in general.

 

[Psyd2022]

Thanks AcronymAllergy and QAPsych. I guess, I just needed someone to reaffirm the dire truth as I knew it. In so many ways from a practical viewpoint, given that I wouldn't have to worry about relocating and live very close, I've been a bit divided and USF does have a decent reputation overall. But you are all right, it's a huge chance to take-.

Did you end up going??? What do you think?

 

[Psyd2022]

I note that this thread hasn't been used in quite some time but I'm really interested in knowing if there have been any updates on the points raised?

Are there any current students willing to share their experience?

 

[unbias_psy95]

I note that this thread hasn't been used in quite some time but I'm really interested in knowing if there have been any updates on the points raised?

Are there any current students willing to share their experience?

Did you end up going??? What do you think?

I went to this school and experienced many "red flags" that led me to withdraw. Many of these were discrepancies in the education received, placements, faculty, and program costs. The education I received was, IMHO, the bare minimum and didn't reflect the significant program cost nor did it lead me to believe that I would become a proficient psychologist. Also, CA licensure requirements and APA accreditation were an on-going issue.

 

[Psyd2022]

I went to this school and experienced many "red flags" that led me to withdraw. Many of these were discrepancies in the education received, placements, faculty, and program costs. The education I received was, IMHO, the bare minimum and didn't reflect the significant program cost nor did it lead me to believe that I would become a proficient psychologist. Also, CA licensure requirements and APA accreditation were an on-going issue.

Thanks for sharing this. Can I ask where you ended up and if you're happier there?

 

[unbias_psy95]

Thanks for sharing this. Can I ask where you ended up and if you're happier there?

I can tell you that I'm happier not attending that program anymore. I'm happier b/c I'm not paying $15k a semester (3 semesters/yr) for an unknown situation on whether or not they will receive APA accred. or if I would have received the required classes to apply for CA licensure. I'm at a better place but I feel really bad for those students that remained there. I don't want to think about where I would be if I graduated with a non-APA accred. PSYD degree and couldn't apply for state licensure b/c I didn't receive the appropriate classes to do so.