Virginia Consortium

[futureapppsy2]

Anyone know what's up with the VA Consortium this year? The website makes no mention of the move to a PhD or the elimination of William and Mary, but does note that they can't post updated application materials into they get "approval" to do so. I wonder if they'll accept people this year and under what model of program...

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[ilikeeepsycheee]

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[Therapist4Chnge]

If you do a search on here you should find a thread that chronicles the information that came out last year. From what I recall they aren't accepting any more Psy.D. students, one school dropped out of the consortium, and they are moving forward using a Ph.D. model.

 

[leavingprov]

I know this may sound obvious but you should definitely try calling them. I remember speaking with several of the administrative assistants there last year and they were all very helpful in answering my questions.

 

[futureapppsy2]

If you do a search on here you should find a thread that chronicles the information that came out last year. From what I recall they aren't accepting any more Psy.D. students, one school dropped out of the consortium, and they are moving forward using a Ph.D. model.

Yep. Read that thread beforehand. My question was that those changes aren't reflected on the program's webpage and the application process is sort of vaguely suspended according to the page. I was wondering if anyone here had additional info!

 

[UNCheer08]

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[futureapppsy2]

Info on program changes from VC's website... interesting to see that funding is no longer guaranteed...

• The Virginia Consortium Program will continue to offer the Psy.D. degree. However, the College of William & Mary will not award the degree to students admitted after 2009.

In September 2008, W&M announced its intention to withdraw from the Virginia Consortium; it has since begun the 4-year contractual process to withdraw.

Therefore, for classes starting 2010 and after, the degree, which is awarded jointly, will be offered by Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk State University, and Old Dominion University.

​

• Our 3+1 program model (3 years of coursework and practica plus 1 year of internship) is changing to a 4+1 model.

The revisions to the individual university curricula that are necessary to accomplish this change to the joint curriculum have begun; the 4+1 model is expected to be approved in time to begin in Fall 2010.

​

• A fixed tuition rate of $15,000 per calendar year has been established for the program. Tuition may be reduced by teaching or research assistantships and scholarships for which students compete.

Tuition for in-state students accepting assistantships or scholarships may be reduced to $6,000 per calendar year (e.g., 3 semesters of $2,000); out-of-state students accepting assistantships or scholarships may have tuition reduced to $8,000 per year.

​

• Dedicated funds for assistantships will be eliminated.

This means we may no longer be able to guarantee an assistantship as an offer of admission is made, and may mean an applicant must accept or decline admission (on/by April 15) while a decision about a competitive award is still pending. ​

• The application fee has been increased to $50, payable to Old Dominion University.

http://sci.odu.edu/vcpcp/announcement.shtml

 

[mimifg]

I read the announcement as well. My question is why did William and Mary pull out of the Virginia Consortium?

 

[futureapppsy2]

I read the announcement as well. My question is why did William and Mary pull out of the Virginia Consortium?

From the original article:

The consortium recently conducted a serious evaluation of the degree and concluded that changing the emphasis to research and offering a Ph.D., rather than a Psy.D., would be more beneficial considering the similarities that already exist between the programs. The increased competition from other universities overproducing Psy.D.s and devaluing the degree also tipped the scales in favor of changing the program.


Although College Provost Geoff Feiss agreed the program needed to change last spring at a meeting with the provosts from the other schools, he and other College officials later decided the new Ph.D. program would be too difficult for the College’s limited resources.


In late September, after spending the summer planning a new curriculum based on the change, the psychology department received a notice stating that the administration would not support the College’s membership in a consortium Ph.D. program.


Feiss said the resources spent on a Ph.D. program would be better spent on areas more central to the College. Further, with only 10 students receiving the degree each year — a number that is divided among the four schools — the program makes up a small portion of the overall graduate education mission at the College, Feiss said.

http://www.flathatnews.com/content/69621/professors-upset-over-psychology-grad-cuts

 

[CheckYourHead]

I read the announcement as well. My question is why did William and Mary pull out of the Virginia Consortium?

I interviewed at the Consortium this year and asked this specific question. I was told that the decision for W&M to pull out of the Consortium actually came down from someone in the administration of that particular school, and took their Psych dept by some surprise. I'm not clear on why this administrative decision was made (though I suspect part of it is the economic hurdle many places are facing).

However, since I just visited for a day (I'm not in the program, and they didn't give me an offer), you can make of that what you will.

 

[mimifg]

Thank you for your responses. I was of the opinion that this was related to the "bastardization" of the PsyD programs due to Argosy, etc. and a college with the reputation of Wm. and Mary would not want to continue along the PsyD route when they already had a strong PhD in place.