PGSP is now Palo Alto University

[socialcog]

Hey everyone. PGSP has officially changed their name to Palo Alto University. I was wondering what are the ripple effects of such a change? Perhaps I'm being paranoid but I have some concerns that by the time internship comes around (at least 4 years away), every site will look at my CV and scratch their heads in confusion asking themselves, "What the heck is Palo Alto University?!"

I am less concerned about post-docs but internship is critical, needless to say. You can check out the website here:

http://www.pgsp.edu/news/announcing-palo-alto-university


thanks.

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[Therapist4Chnge]

Hmm....I wonder if Stanford is going to drift out of this? Was there any change in leadership? It just seems like an odd thing to do.

 

[Ollie123]

My best guess (emphasis on guess) is they might be planning to expand the degrees they offer. Doesn't make much sense to call it Pacific Graduate School of Psychology if they have an engineering department.

 

[KillerDiller]

If you're concerned about putting Palo Alto University on your CV, you could always add the parenthetical (formerly Pacific Graduate School of Psychology). However, I'm sure it won't take that long for sites in the area to get used to the change.

 

[critter]

My best guess (emphasis on guess) is they might be planning to expand the degrees they offer. Doesn't make much sense to call it Pacific Graduate School of Psychology if they have an engineering department.

They already have two undergraduate programs - one in business psych and one in psych with an emphasis in social action. I believe there are plans to expand.

If you are in the graduate program you will graduate from PGSP at Palo Alto University. :: Not really much different from before. Many graduate program have their own names. If you are in the undergrad program you will graduate from Palo Alto University instead of PGSP, which was kinda weird before this.

 

[Jamesx156]

If you're concerned about putting Palo Alto University on your CV, you could always add the parenthetical (formerly Pacific Graduate School of Psychology). However, I'm sure it won't take that long for sites in the area to get used to the change.

Palo Alto University isn't considered a professional school anymore, it's considered a University

 

[rerope]

Palo Alto University isn't considered a professional school anymore, it's a University.

Why are you bumping old threads?

 

[erg923]

Palo Alto University isn't considered a professional school anymore, it's a University.

They disagree...

 

[Jamesx156]

Why are you bumping old threads?

Because theseidid posts show up on my search engine and I feel that they should be corrected

They disagree...

View attachment 222439

Nice try but on PAU's "About page" (on their website) it specifically says "Pacific Graduate School of Psychology RE-INCORPORATED as Palo Alto University in August 2009." Since 2009 the school is listed as a University. They have both undergraduate programs/Bachelor and graduate degrees. If it was still titled the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology THAN it would be considered a professional school, however, it is no longer a professional institution any longer. Nova Southeastern University used to be a professional school as well and then it became a University.

PAU used to be a professional school back when the institution was first created in the seventies and eighties. If you asked Standford's Psychiatry department what type of school Palo Alto University is, they would tell you that Palo Alto University is no longer considered a professional school it's a university. If you called Palo Alto University they would also inform you that it is no longer considered a 'professional school' it's a university. I grew up in Silicon Valley, so if anybody would know it would probably be me. I personally know many students who received their bachelor degrees from PAU.

It is considered a University now and they have undergraduate programs, which are listed in the APA handbook as well. You're also trying to state that the 10% of the graduate programs that don't offer funding/stipends to their students are what you deem to be "professional schools". Which is funny because last year I went on an interview in Counseling Psychology (PhD) at a very prestigious university in New York and none of their faculty had any funding at all for their doctoral students, which I was unfortunately informed of after the interview. I found out after the fact that a lot of students in my undergraduate program passed on applying to the program because they knew they didn't have funding. Many of the faculty members at Palo Alto University have funding for their students, in addition to fellowships, scholarships and work study/TA placements.

But that's ok, let's just keep repeating the word "professional school" over and over again to satisfy some urge within ourselves to put down the people around us, in academia or anywhere else in our lives (god only knows what you are like in real life, I bet you're a real nightmare to work with). There is much evidence to the contrary, of what you are attempting to convey on this forum. Why don't you share with us where you got your Bachelor's degree from and where you earned your Ph.D...

Also, where you completed your internship/postdoc. I doubt you are as bright as you try and lead on.

Again, unfortunately for you facts don't care about your feelings

 

[PsychPhDone]

You can call it whatever you want, but the reputation hasn't really changed from what I've seen. Forget the match rate, anyone know what their grads are doing?

 

[Jamesx156]

You can call it whatever you want, but the reputation hasn't really changed from what I've seen. Forget the match rate, anyone know what their grads are doing?

STOP MAKING MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS! It's beyond obvious it is the SAME whackjob person!

And yes, I know exactly what graduates from Palo Alto University are doing post graduation. Due to PAU's reputation and the fact that the University is in collaborative partnerships with the Stanford School of Medicine, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Palo Alto Medical Center, and other prestigious mental health care organizations, many of them are working at the VA, conduct research at Stanford University, work at prestigious hospitals in the bay area and else where. If you went out of your way to view the student's linkedin pages you would see that.

lol forget the match rate? Match rate is one of the biggest factors in applying for a doctoral program in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. It is also a big indicator of the quality of the program and how other's perceive the quality of your program to be. Now I see where you are going with this, yeah ignore the Ph.D program's 97% APA match rate. Who cares about that. I'm sorry you can say whatever makes you feel good about the reputation of the PhD program at Palo Alto University, but the fact that they have a pretty much PERFECT APA accredited internship acceptance rate, speaks monumental of the reputation of the program. The students also matched at pretty competitive internship placements. Many other programs DO NOT have a perfect match rate. How can you argue with a 97% match rate?

Unfortunately for you, facts don't care about your feelings.

You keep making multiple accounts and everybody knows it's the same person.

You need to acquire a life outside of this website, please do us all a favor and get a pet or something.

 

[Jamesx156]

Hmm....I wonder if Stanford is going to drift out of this? Was there any change in leadership? It just seems like an odd thing to do.

No, the name changed because it became known to the APA as a University NOT a professional school, hence why the name changed. The Palo Alto University (PGSP)-Stanford PsyD program is probably the most competitive PsyD program in the country. It's very difficult for most to get into. You should be very proud of yourself for being a student in one of the most prestigious PsyD programs in the country. Congrats

 

[psyche27]

No, the name changed because it became known to the APA as a University NOT a professional school, hence why the name changed. The Palo Alto University (PGSP)-Stanford PsyD program is probably the most competitive PsyD program in the country. It's very difficult for most to get into. You should be very proud of yourself for being a student in one of the most prestigious PsyD programs in the country. Congrats

You're arguing with a post that's from 2009. Why not go yell at a cloud? It would be more productive than necromancing old threads.

That said, being in APA does not automatically make a school not a professional school and is not at all a reason for using "university" in the name.

 

[Jamesx156]

You're arguing with a post that's from 2009. Why not go yell at a cloud? It would be more productive than necromancing old threads.

That said, being in APA does not automatically make a school not a professional school and is not at all a reason for using "university" in the name.

I'm not arguing with a post from 2009, I'm arguing with you, you idiot. You keep posting using different accounts. They changed their name BECAUSE they became a University. A professional school usually only grants graduate degrees, not undergraduate degrees, which Palo Alto University does. Nova Southeastern University is a good example, it used to be a professional school and then later developed bachelor degree programs. In addition, professional schools often have multiple campuses. If you were to run it by Stanford Medicine, which Palo Alto University is in collaboration with, they would tell you that PAU is not a professional school. nice try though.

Why don't you go argue with a cloud now? This is literally the same person writing on multiple accounts, how many accounts have you made tonight? how many? like 4! and you keep trying to argue with facts, sad.

It's also hilarious how you keep finding really obscure synonyms for words in your posts because you think that it makes you sound more intelligent, even though it's obvious you are putting them through the google search engine.

"necromancing"? dying of laughter

I also LOVE how you listed "Clinical Psychologist and Training Director" on your new pseudo-account. Hilarious.

 

[MAClinician]

:troll:

 

[LiteratureJunkie]

You can call it whatever you want, but the reputation hasn't really changed from what I've seen. Forget the match rate, anyone know what their grads are doing?

Why disregard a program's match rate? My suggestion to you is to call it like you see it, match rate is rather important and you have to admit a 97% match rate is pretty damn high

 

[MCParent]

"Someone disagrees with me, so there must be an elaborate conspiracy involving multiple accounts!"

That suggests pretty clear pathology, but it's probably too trivially obvious to bother naming.

I hope the person is just a student being very defensive about their program and not a professional recruiter for the school. Hard cringe on these posts. Yikes.

 

[erg923]

Nice try but on PAU's "About page" (on their website) it specifically says "Pacific Graduate School of Psychology RE-INCORPORATED as Palo Alto University in August 2009." Since 2009 the school is listed as a University. They have both undergraduate programs/Bachelor and graduate degrees. If it was still titled the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology THAN it would be considered a professional school, however, it is no longer a professional institution any longer. Nova Southeastern University used to be a professional school as well and then it became a University.

PAU used to be a professional school back when the institution was first created in the seventies and eighties. If you asked Standford's Psychiatry department what type of school Palo Alto University is, they would tell you that Palo Alto University is no longer considered a professional school it's a university. If you called Palo Alto University they would also inform you that it is no longer considered a 'professional school' it's a university. I grew up in Silicon Valley, so if anybody would know it would probably be me. I personally know many students who received their bachelor degrees from PAU.

It is considered a University now and they have undergraduate programs, which are listed in the APA handbook as well. You're also trying to state that the 10% of the graduate programs that don't offer funding/stipends to their students are what you deem to be "professional schools". Which is funny because last year I went on an interview in Counseling Psychology (PhD) at a very prestigious university in New York and none of their faculty had any funding at all for their doctoral students, which I was unfortunately informed of after the interview. I found out after the fact that a lot of students in my undergraduate program passed on applying to the program because they knew they didn't have funding. Many of the faculty members at Palo Alto University have funding for their students, in addition to fellowships, scholarships and work study/TA placements.

But that's ok, let's just keep repeating the word "professional school" over and over again to satisfy some urge within ourselves to put down the people around us, in academia or anywhere else in our lives (god only knows what you are like in real life, I bet you're a real nightmare to work with). There is much evidence to the contrary, of what you are attempting to convey on this forum. Why don't you share with us where you got your Bachelor's degree from and where you earned your Ph.D...

Also, where you completed your internship/postdoc. I doubt you are as bright as you try and lead on.

Again, unfortunately for you facts don't care about your feelings

Bachelors: Argosy "University"
Ph.D: Barnum and Bailey Clown College
Internship: Wily Wonka's Chocolate Factory
Post-doc: St Elsewhere

I am VERY bright.

 

[MCParent]

Why disregard a program's match rate? My suggestion to you is to call it like you see it, match rate is rather important and you have to admit a 97% match rate is pretty damn high

I believe they have a fairly large captive internship site. Which is fine, but I'd have a concern about how many people actually wanted to go there versus somewhere else. Not really possible to know that, though.
"Professional school" isn't any kind of legal distinction and it's silly to argue about it. There's no real single definition. In psych, it tends to be used as shorthand for "large program that does not have substantial funding."
PGSP has some really really good faculty. I wouldn't pay that price tag for a psych degree and wouldn't advise anyone to, but if someone wanted to, it's pretty clearly in the top of the group of the expensive schools.

 

[PsychPhDone]

Why disregard a program's match rate? My suggestion to you is to call it like you see it, match rate is rather important and you have to admit a 97% match rate is pretty damn high

while I like many of their students, when it comes time to hire them, they stand little chance against the competition. That is why I asked about what they're doing after school. They match, then what? Genuinely curious what settings they end up in.

 

[Ollie123]

Defenders of these places seem to pretty invariably end up lowering my opinion of the school. This is one such example.

That said, PGSP is far from the worst offender.

 

[erg923]

Defenders of these places seem to pretty invariably end up lowering my opinion of the school. This is one such example.

That said, PGSP is far from the worst offender.

Its not clear the person goes there, but if they do, the posts certainly don't reflect well on them or the program quality.

The worst offenders by far, IMO, are these programs like cappella that offer this generic phd in psychology (no clinical training and no substantial research). It costs a freaking fortune and they are completely unemployable in academia, research or mental health when they finish. I had patient a few years who was doing one of these. She now works in a call center last I heard.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Wow...this thread went sideways.

 

[Ollie123]

The worst offenders by far, IMO, are these programs like cappella that offer this generic phd in psychology (no clinical training and no substantial research). It costs a freaking fortune and they are completely unemployable in academia, research or mental health when they finish. I had patient a few years who was doing one of these. She now works in a call center last I heard.

Absolutely. Capella, Walden, etc. I still recall an APA mentoring event that ended up being me and several students from these schools. They turned it into a rant about how impossible it was to find a post doc in the US. The poor mentor was genuinely confused. After about 20 minutes it became clear they had no publications, minimal presentations, no clear research program, and had just taken a bunch of classes (weren't clinicians). They were hoping to be tenure track faculty at major universities and thought this would help them get there.


Even Argosy I consider many times worse than PAU. Palo Alto at least appears to be trying to provide some value for the money. Some is more flash than substance and I personally don't think it comes anywhere close to justifying the price tag given the multitude of free programs with equal or better outcomes, but I appreciate that they are trying. Sadly, the same cannot be said of everywhere.

 

[LiteratureJunkie]

Bachelors: Argosy "University"
Ph.D: Barnum and Bailey Clown College
Internship: Wily Wonka's Chocolate Factory
Post-doc: St Elsewhere

I am VERY bright.

I wouldn't compare Argosy and PAU at all actually

In defense of some, I just think there is a lot of bias on this site, with all due respect

 

[erg923]

I wouldn't compare Argosy and PAU at all actually

why?

 

[psyche27]

I'm not arguing with a post from 2009, I'm arguing with you, you idiot. You keep posting using different accounts. They changed their name BECAUSE they became a University. A professional school usually only grants graduate degrees, not undergraduate degrees, which Palo Alto University does. Nova Southeastern University is a good example, it used to be a professional school and then later developed bachelor degree programs. In addition, professional schools often have multiple campuses. If you were to run it by Stanford Medicine, which Palo Alto University is in collaboration with, they would tell you that PAU is not a professional school. nice try though.

Why don't you go argue with a cloud now? This is literally the same person writing on multiple accounts, how many accounts have you made tonight? how many? like 4! and you keep trying to argue with facts, sad.

It's also hilarious how you keep finding really obscure synonyms for words in your posts because you think that it makes you sound more intelligent, even though it's obvious you are putting them through the google search engine.

"necromancing"? dying of laughter

I also LOVE how you listed "Clinical Psychologist and Training Director" on your new pseudo-account. Hilarious.

While I really respect the people you assume I am, the fact that multiple people disagree with you doesn't actually make them all the same person.