Widener University Reputation?

[BruiserQueen]

Hi there,

I was wondering if Widener's PsyD program has a good reputation.
They have a captive apa-accredited internship- but I do not know how I feel about it. On one hand, students are basically guaranteed an apa internship... on the other hand- I think this also decreases opportunities for the student (such as distinguishing themselves from other job applicants).

About a decade ago, I know that Widener was (maybe?) regarded as similar to Rutgers/Baylor for their in-house internship and for being one of the first PsyD programs in the country. Now- that no longer seems to be the case.

I would love to hear any thoughts/perspectives on the program and the psychologists they produce.

Thank you!

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[BruiserQueen]

As a follow up - I am also a bit concerned that Widener is not a very recognizable name outside of PA... plus the fact that Chester is currently in an everlasting state of emergency.

 

[PsychBiker]

They are a solid program. Is your reputation concern based on getting a job after you graduate? Basically, why does their reputation matter?

 

[WisNeuro]

The importance of reputation varies depending on career goals. Widener has a npsych track which I would not place near the top of the list. Also, some fellowship sites look down on captive internships. Lack of quality control in some people's opinion.

 

[Harry3990]

I wanted to bump this thread, but also slightly redirect the question somewhat. I'm asking for a friend who is also wondering about the reputation of Widener's clinical Psyd, specifically with respect to their goal of wanting to specialize in Health Psychology and ultimately work in primary/integrative health care settings or hospitals. My understanding is that health psych post-doc fellowships are very important, if not essential, in these settings. So my first question is are there any Widener grads around (or if people happen to know of any second hand) that have gone on to work in health psych settings? If not, what do you think the chances of a Widener grad landing such a fellowship would be?

As far as I can tell based on their website, they have "certificates" or "tracks" in biofeedback and neuropsych. I'm not specifically wondering about neuro, and know that people have commented on this above and in other threads, but moreso the applicability of the biofeedback certification and other health psych classes that are potentially offered. Or would your future marketability (and chances of obtaining a fellowship or even informal health-psych post doc) be much more dependent on the settings of your practicums and internship?

Thanks very much for any feedback. I'm interested in hearing people's thoughts and speculation about the limitations of coming from such a program with ambitions of working in this area. Bearing in mind I've already discussed heavily with this person the advantages of going to funded phd programs (no need to discuss this further here).

 

[erg923]

specifically with respect to their goal of wanting to specialize in Health Psychology and ultimately work in primary/integrative health care settings or hospitals. My understanding is that health psych post-doc fellowships are very important, if not essential, in these settings.

I would not go far as to say that, although it wouldn't hurt, obviously.

 

[deleted343839]

As far as I can tell based on their website, they have "certificates" or "tracks" in biofeedback and neuropsych. I'm not specifically wondering about neuro, and know that people have commented on this above and in other threads, but moreso the applicability of the biofeedback certification and other health psych classes that are potentially offered. Or would your future marketability (and chances of obtaining a fellowship or even informal health-psych post doc) be much more dependent on the settings of your practicums and internship?

I'd say the latter. Any psychologist can take biofeedback training and become BCIA-certified in a relatively short amount of time. It's a skill, nice to have in some settings, but it's not really an essential one. The opportunity to train in a healthcare setting is more important. Some of the core competencies of a clinical health psychologist relate to the ability to work across disciplines and within healthcare systems. There is a place for didactics, for sure, but real-world experience counts a lot in the eyes of employers. I don't know what kinds of settings Widener uses for practica and their internship, but I'd make sure they included medical clinics and/or hospitals.

 

[Harry3990]

Thanks very much for the feedback, Mama and erg.

 

[wtfook]

I wanted to bump this thread, but also slightly redirect the question somewhat. I'm asking for a friend who is also wondering about the reputation of Widener's clinical Psyd, specifically with respect to their goal of wanting to specialize in Health Psychology and ultimately work in primary/integrative health care settings or hospitals. My understanding is that health psych post-doc fellowships are very important, if not essential, in these settings. So my first question is are there any Widener grads around (or if people happen to know of any second hand) that have gone on to work in health psych settings? If not, what do you think the chances of a Widener grad landing such a fellowship would be?

As far as I can tell based on their website, they have "certificates" or "tracks" in biofeedback and neuropsych. I'm not specifically wondering about neuro, and know that people have commented on this above and in other threads, but moreso the applicability of the biofeedback certification and other health psych classes that are potentially offered. Or would your future marketability (and chances of obtaining a fellowship or even informal health-psych post doc) be much more dependent on the settings of your practicums and internship?

Thanks very much for any feedback. I'm interested in hearing people's thoughts and speculation about the limitations of coming from such a program with ambitions of working in this area. Bearing in mind I've already discussed heavily with this person the advantages of going to funded phd programs (no need to discuss this further here).

So I just thought I'd put in my 2 cents although I'm not sure it'll 100% answer the questions posed. I'm currently at the University of Pennsylvania counseling Master's program and three (maybe four) of my professors graduated from the PsyD program at Widener. One did their duel JD and another did their duel sexuality master's and PsyD. They all had clinical internships and post docs at hospital sites and in patient sites. Two are doing private practice along with teaching and another working in Drug and Alcohol for many years and is now working for the Philadelphia school district. Another does a lot of consulting along with a private practice.

 

[smalltownpsych]

Training experiences have counted more for me in getting jobs than reputation of program. My solid practicum placements, internship, and post-doc experience have all been what employers talk about as why they hire me. Those experiences are what make you marketable and competitive more than anything. You could also conduct some research, generate grants, and get published and you will be even more competitive.

 

[WisNeuro]

Training experiences have counted more for me in getting jobs than reputation of program. My solid practicum placements, internship, and post-doc experience have all been what employers talk about as why they hire me. Those experiences are what make you marketable and competitive more than anything. You could also conduct some research, generate grants, and get published and you will be even more competitive.

Yes, but for many people, you first need the good graduate program to get you into those good internship/postdocs. My advice is to shoot for the program that has a bevy of resources. You should succeed with the aid of your program, not in spite of it.

 

[Harry3990]

Great advice all around, guys. Thanks.

 

[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

At the college I transferred from (a private college in pennslyvania) a good amount of the psych major there ended up going to Widener for a PsyD. Even one of my old professors recommended Widener.

 

[WisNeuro]

Is there any tuition remission? At $1100 per credit, that's hella expensive, even before factoring in cost of living expenses.

 

[Harry3990]

Training experiences have counted more for me in getting jobs than reputation of program. My solid practicum placements, internship, and post-doc experience have all been what employers talk about as why they hire me. Those experiences are what make you marketable and competitive more than anything. You could also conduct some research, generate grants, and get published and you will be even more competitive.

Here's a question for you guys somewhat related to this. I think I have a good grasp on what constitutes a "solid" practicum or internship (e.g., regular and thorough supervision, good supervisors who are experienced and invested, varied population). However, what is your experience with how this gets communicated effectively to potential employers? For instance, is it enough to make sure that your CV is descriptive enough in demonstrating the variety of experiences/training you had at those sites? I imagine direct knowledge of prior sites or supervisors by employers is something that does not happen for many people in our field because of people often moving to different states for licensure than the one that they trained in. Sorry for the tangent!

 

[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

I'm not sure but Pennsylvania's cost of living is kinda low in some wreas

 

[WisNeuro]

Here's a question for you guys somewhat related to this. I think I have a good grasp on what constitutes a "solid" practicum or internship (e.g., regular and thorough supervision, good supervisors who are experienced and invested, varied population). However, what is your experience with how this gets communicated effectively to potential employers? For instance, is it enough to make sure that your CV is descriptive enough in demonstrating the variety of experiences/training you had at those sites? I imagine direct knowledge of prior sites or supervisors by employers is something that does not happen for many people in our field because of people often moving to different states for licensure than the one that they trained in. Sorry for the tangent!

In neuro, direct knowledge of sites and supervisors is actually VERY important. My letter writers and references have been huge in opening doors for me. Depends on your area, but I am of the opinion that your description of the site is mostly irrelevant to the site's reputation in the field.

 

[WisNeuro]

I'm not sure but Pennsylvania's cost of living is kinda low in some wreas

Perhaps if you do not live near the university. The COLI for Chester PA is actually far above the national average.

 

[Harry3990]

Is there any tuition remission? At $1100 per credit, that's hella expensive, even before factoring in cost of living expenses.

Don't believe so. And yes, it is quite expensive. There seem to be a handful of scholarships that help with tuition. I imagine they are very competitive. The website also lists 2 assistantships that are available yearly. Would certainly be nice if they tried to increase that number a lot. I wonder why professional schools don't try to get more cheap labor from their students. I realize adjunct instructors are already quite cheap, but graduate assistants certainly are pretty cheap as well.

 

[WisNeuro]

Don't believe so. And yes, it is quite expensive. There seem to be a handful of scholarships that help with tuition. I imagine they are very competitive. The website also lists 2 assistantships that are available yearly. Would certainly be nice if they tried to increase that number a lot. I wonder why professional schools don't try to get more cheap labor from their students. I realize adjunct instructors are already quite cheap, but graduate assistants certainly are pretty cheap as well.

They don't need cheap labor when they can easily reap billions in public and private loans.

 

[clinpsyc87]

I believe Widener was one of the founding institutions of the psyd. Last time I checked they had a weird captive practicum/internship thing going on so I would look more into where their students typically place

 

[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

My college I was in was in chester county so I know what its like lol

 

[WisNeuro]

Good to know, but from a cursory glance, doesn't look below average for various COL indicators. Besides the point, really. The tuition alone puts someone in six figure debt. Add housing, living expenses, and other program fees, and it would be easy for someone to breach 200k. No way to justify that expense given median salaries.

 

[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

My college I was at would have probably had me at almost 6 figures in debt. That's why I hightailed out of there before I got anymore debt.

 

[smalltownpsych]

Here's a question for you guys somewhat related to this. I think I have a good grasp on what constitutes a "solid" practicum or internship (e.g., regular and thorough supervision, good supervisors who are experienced and invested, varied population). However, what is your experience with how this gets communicated effectively to potential employers? For instance, is it enough to make sure that your CV is descriptive enough in demonstrating the variety of experiences/training you had at those sites? I imagine direct knowledge of prior sites or supervisors by employers is something that does not happen for many people in our field because of people often moving to different states for licensure than the one that they trained in. Sorry for the tangent!

As wisneuro said, reputation of sites you train at is important and good programs tend to provide better training opportunities. In the metro area where my program was located, our students often got first choice at the good sites because of the local program reputation and some sites would not even take FSPS students for the same reason. I have had a number of employers tell me that the training experience on my CV was impressive. A couple of big name hospitals, a unique intervention program working wih law enforcement and at risk youth and a couple of years of solid inpatient experience while spending a coulple of years teaching grad students how to administer, score, and interpret WAISes. This was all before I graduated. I would hate to have spent most of my time in the programs clinic and then done a captive internship.