PsyD degree online/transfer options

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Claudum

Claudum

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I am currently studying Social Work at the undergraduate level (class of Spring 2023) and hope to pursue my PsyD in the future. I am wondering if there is any easy way to start a counseling or clinical psychology program online, and then transfer to an in-person PsyD program after a year. For most therapy programs, the curriculum is fairly standardized (APA/ CACREP accreditation), especially in the beginning of the curriculum. One school I am very interested in is the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. It has PsyD programs in several locations that my partner and I would be interested in for graduate school (mainly Chicago and Washington DC). It also has online counseling programs (forensic and mental health counseling) with articulation agreements with the PsyD programs (see attached). One issue I find is that you can only transfer 21 credits, which means that it would likely take longer than 5 years for me to finish my entire PsyD. Also, I have to pursue the possibility of transfer credits, which may involve hunting down syllabi from one school and having them evaluated. However, considering the hefty PsyD tution, cost of living in Chicago, and my partner's later graduation date (Spring 2024), I feel like I need to ask. Do you think that this or other "transfer" options is doable and worth looking into? Any other suggestions regarding starting that degree online? Thanks!
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Transferring programs is very rare for the PhD/PsyD and even if a program were to allow some transfer credits, it would likely be to waive having to take those specific courses again in your new program but not reducing your overall credits needed to graduate (e.g., take electives instead and graduate as regularly scheduled).

This often happens when a student completes a MA/MS prior to enrollment in their doctorate but PhD/PsyD programs tend to prioritize direct, hands-on establishing your foundation, as opposed to just checking off boxes, like how many undergrads complete basic pre-reqs at a community college setting.
 
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Claudum said:
Any other suggestions regarding starting that degree online? T
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Do not do this. Even if somehow it is possible. If you want to be someone's doctor, stick with the tried and true training models. Get into a good training program. Commit to it, avoid shortcuts. Focus on quality training and less on the years or courses you will be checking off. This is one reason why this board does not like expensive professional schools or diploma mills. It incentivizes the opposite and just getting out and done quickly to due to debt burdens.
 
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APA does not accredit fully online doctoral programs and I don't understand why you're only interested in online programs anyways. There are brick and mortar schools in both of those cities--even a few without massive tuition loads (e.g., Loyola's counseling psych program is at least partially funded).
 
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I'd encourage you to avoid online schools and look into other in person programs, both psyd and phd. It might be beneficial to look into taking a year off between undergrad and grad school to work in related fields and get some hands on experience and figure out what you want to do and what kind of program you want to pursue, rather than throwing money at another program that is not likely to offer you much of an advantage for a psyd/phd program. In my program, there were some students who came in with psych master's degrees and most of them didn't end up getting a chance to transfer any of those classes. If you want a career as a psychologist, APA accreditation of the programs is critical and as mentioned previously, APA requires in person training to be APA-accredited. Keep in mind you do not have to shell out a ton of money to get these degrees, look for ones that offer tuition assistance and/or funding. Additionally, you do not have to have a doctorate to do therapy, so it just depends on what you want to do.
 
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I Want It All Need GIF
 
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It's not realistic. Training is a full-time commitment and needs to be done in person. Would you use a surgeon who did online training and went to a "basically the same thing, but without all of the actual requirements" training program? The Chicago School does not have a good reputation, and that's their in-person training.
 
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Grad school IS typically 5-6 years full time if not more in terms of commitments alone, and involves moving for internship the final year and sometimes also postdoc in year 6 or 7 before licensure. If this doesn’t seem like a feasible sacrifice of income, time and energy, I’d encourage you to reconsider your intended path.

Maybe a master’s degree at a brick and mortar institution would be more feasible for you, which would require 2 years of courses, a year or so of supervised practice/internship, and then licensure after about 3-4 total years. For a doctorate, licensure will take about 6-7 years at minimum and cost a great deal in time and money (even just to get licensed at the end and take the licensing exam), as previously mentioned.

As you may have noticed, we tend to be protective over the profession in here, because programs with ill reputation may devalue the field and lower salaries by allowing many folks who don’t qualify for quality brick and mortar doctoral programs to get their doctorate anyway at for-profit institutions, regardless of their readiness or abilities (acceptance rates are absurdly high in some of these programs, which is concerning given that not everyone applying has the skills required). Lower quality programs also means lower quality psychological services on the other side, which also hurts the profession and can harm the public. Because our government allows poor quality programs to exist, in here we are basically the last line of defense against them.

Why do you want a doctorate? I’m curious.
 
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bluecolourskies said:
Here is their outcome data, this might be helpful Chicago - Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data - The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

Why are their cohort sizes so large?
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You should look up Nova Southeastern's cohorts.

WisNeuro said:
Shareholders need money for luxury items, and exploitable applicants are aplenty.
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It's mindboggling that people are event considering paying $55,000/year for tuition alone and then add on living in Chicago.
 
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Claudum said:
I am currently studying Social Work at the undergraduate level (class of Spring 2023) and hope to pursue my PsyD in the future. I am wondering if there is any easy way to start a counseling or clinical psychology program online, and then transfer to an in-person PsyD program after a year. For most therapy programs, the curriculum is fairly standardized (APA/ CACREP accreditation), especially in the beginning of the curriculum. One school I am very interested in is the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. It has PsyD programs in several locations that my partner and I would be interested in for graduate school (mainly Chicago and Washington DC). It also has online counseling programs (forensic and mental health counseling) with articulation agreements with the PsyD programs (see attached). One issue I find is that you can only transfer 21 credits, which means that it would likely take longer than 5 years for me to finish my entire PsyD. Also, I have to pursue the possibility of transfer credits, which may involve hunting down syllabi from one school and having them evaluated. However, considering the hefty PsyD tution, cost of living in Chicago, and my partner's later graduation date (Spring 2024), I feel like I need to ask. Do you think that this or other "transfer" options is doable and worth looking into? Any other suggestions regarding starting that degree online? Thanks!
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I would strongly recommend putting your energy into getting into an APA accredited PhD program. Why go into huge debt to pay for a weaker program?
 
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Can I be the cool teacher who sits on his chair backwards to show that he's not a square like the other teachers and really "gets it?"
 
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Please don't even think about doing this. I tend to advocate for PhDs over PsyDs given the massive amount of debt accrued for PsyDs and only making psychologist money (you won't be making the salary of MDs, having debt repayments into your 50's does not sound fun). Like others have said, online is not really an option either if you want to get licensed. Be open to moving and apply for schools across the country. If you are not willing to do that, this career path is probably not for you.
 
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taylortaylor164 said:
Please don't even think about doing this. I tend to advocate for PhDs over PsyDs given the massive amount of debt accrued for PsyDs and only making psychologist money (you won't be making the salary of MDs, having debt repayments into your 50's does not sound fun). Like others have said, online is not really an option either if you want to get licensed. Be open to moving and apply for schools across the country. If you are not willing to do that, this career path is probably not for you.
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Not all PsyDs require you to accrue a massive amount of debt. I have a PsyD and zero debt. My PsyD program was over 50% funded and the tuition was markedly cheaper than my undergrad degree. You just have to do your research about which programs are predatory vs. not.
 
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PsyDr said:
Amateurs. If you'll accept me as your "preferred lender", I'll give your spouse 10% ownership in psydr's student loan company.
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Let's do it. I don't see any stop to the flow of students who are willing to take out massive loans because they either don't know how to do math, think they will be an outlier, or think the government will keep bailing their ass out.
 
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neurotic_cow said:
Not all PsyDs require you to accrue a massive amount of debt. I have a PsyD and zero debt. My PsyD program was over 50% funded and the tuition was markedly cheaper than my undergrad degree. You just have to do your research about which programs are predatory vs. not.
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This is true. Though I would think you may be the exception among PsyD students.
 
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neurotic_cow said:
Not all PsyDs require you to accrue a massive amount of debt. I have a PsyD and zero debt. My PsyD program was over 50% funded and the tuition was markedly cheaper than my undergrad degree. You just have to do your research about which programs are predatory vs. not.
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Completely agree. My PsyD is in a state school psych department. Small cohorts and everyone gets some form of funding, whether as a GA or teaching. At one point, my research advisor had a federal grant she was paying us all on as RAs. While the majority of PsyD programs are for profit professional schools, there are some that are probably closer to the equivalent of balanced PhDs. This is why being knowledgeable about red flags (and green flags) is so important.
 
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PsyD's and online unpaid programs will ultimately be the death of our profession if allowed to continue.
 
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ClinicalABA said:
I’ll be the weird but strangely insightful custodian
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Wait till they discover that you used to be a professor in the old country before fleeing for your life and taking a job as a custodian in America.
 
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ClinicalABA said:
I’m thinking a plaid flannel with sleeves cut off over a long John shirt, like Bender in The Breakfast Club (I know- that reference totally dated me!)
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I had no idea that guy's name was Bender....at first I thought Futurama did a spoof on The Breakfast Club.
 
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