Your thoughts needed on choosing a doctoral program

I am on the verge of taking the plunge of pursuing a doctorate. I have narrowed my list of possible schools down to the follow 3 and I would like some opinions (informed suggestions from educated folks like you) on the direction to go (I know the decision is ultimately mine to make but hearing from others could be beneficial to my decision-making process):

California Southern--PsyD in ????
Touro University Worldwide--PsyD in Human and Organizational Psych
Grand Canyon University--PhD in General Psych with specialization in I/O Psych

Cost wise CS is the cheapest and they are NA (DETC) going through process to gain RA. GCU and TUW are both RA. I put question marks after the CS PsyD because they do not specify an area.

Thanks to all in advance for replying.

 

Hi newED, welcome to DegreeInfo! Your first several posts are held in a queue until a moderator can check them out. Hence the delay. We do this to protect the board from spammers. After you have posted a number of times, your posts will show up immediately.

Might I ask what you plan to do with this doctorate? What field are you currently working in?

 

Ditto. It matters very much what you plan to do with this degree--well into the future because you'll have it the rest of your life. For posters to offer their opinions, they'll need to know this.

 

I am also tempted by CalSouthern's affordable price, but not having financial aid won't work for me. Maybe in a year or too...

My brother is about half way through with the PhD in I/O Psychology at Grand Canyon and is enjoying it so far. The dissertation work is woven into the other coursework, so hopefully his dissertation will be finished when he's done with the classes. The pace of the program is pretty intense, though, so he has very little time for anything other than work or school and is starting to sound pretty tired. He actually has a flexible job where he can set some of his own hours and work from home about 1/2 the time, but he still often pulls all-nighters to get everything done. But, I don't think that is unusual for someone working full-time and pursuing a PhD.

 

Not sure how helpful any input can be without surfoctor's question being answered.

 

It depends on what you plan to do with your degree. If you are not sure at this point, I would recommend you to stick with RA; otherwise later you'll regret that a job require Doctorate from an RA school.

All the three in the list, I would recommend Grand Canyon University. It is a profit school, but it has a long standing history as well as religious connection.

What happened to California Southern University candidacy status at WASC? I don't see it anymore. URL: Institutions | Senior College and University Commission

 

Thanks all, surf and others, here is some background info...
I am school counselor (middle school level) and majority of career spent in counseling role in education. I also have previous experience as youth minister.
Plans--I am pursuing a doctorate (1) advance in current career--I am at masters +30 on pay scale now and next step would be doctorate which would be 10K increase (2) I will be able to retire from education/state in 15 years at the age of 58. I still consider that young I would like to do something in a counseling related area, perhaps leaning toward consulting/coaching. I am not interesting in psychologist licensing since my state requires APA program. Hope this helps.

 

They mention it on their website see below

Accredited Online Degrees | Accredited Online Degree - California Southern University

 

TEKMAN this is from CalSouthern website:

 

If you want to use the doctorate for a pay increase check to see if your school district recognizes National Accreditation. If it does not then Cal Southern is out until it gets RA. Of those degrees, I believe only Cal Southern is geared to meeting Clinical Psych requirements but that is not of interest to you (make sure that is not a future goal since C. Southern does have some use in that department which will increase if it gets RA). You also need to weigh cost of the programs based on the increased pay you will receive for the doctorate. For instance, if your school district recognizes NA for an increase then you will make a greater return on the Cal Southern degree.

Another thing we do not know is what your school counseling masters degree consists of in the way of credits. Will it and your experience qualify you to take the Professional Counselor Licensing in your state. If yes, then the doctorate is not an issue in that regard. If no, then you better contact them before embarking on any additional education.

 

Garp thanks so much for your reply. My state requires a degree to be from a RA program. I was hoping the process from CalSouthern would be close to hearing from WASC. I talked to an admission counselor there and he stated that the school was not given an exact time frame but it could take up to 4 years. They applied in FAll 2012.
My masters level course work does satisfy my state's educational requirement for LPC.
Finally, I have calculated the cost-benefit and that is why I was really wanting CalSouthern to be RA soon. Can't beat that tuition!

 

GCU has been mentioned on this thread but is anyone familiar with TUW?

 

Touro is a reputable college with a med school attached as I recall. What got gave some people a bad taste was their first version of Touro International which they spun off, got accredited by the RA in its area, sold went through a transition to Trident University (had some issues with the accreditor). If this TUW is still connected to the respected Touro I would make sure they do not plan any similar journey for it that they did for TUI.

Grand Canyon is kind of the University of Phoenix of Christian universities. GCU's reputation is sort of in line with that fact (IMHO). If it meets your needs and the cost is right then it is an acceptable option. Again, you have indicated you are not interested in practicing Psych.

I agree, if Cal Southern gets accreditation by WASC they will be a great bargain and actually would leave the option open for you to practice Clinical Psych if you moved states (the APA did not get the stranglehold on licensure that the ABA did).

Let's face it. From what you have written the reputation is not a huge issue. You need an RA doctorate to increase your salary and for potential use as a basic credential later when you enter into practice based on your Masters and LPC. From that point of view cost, dl format and interest in the subject matter seem to be the main things.

 

Thanks for posting this information. Does that mean that it could take 4 more years (2018) or 4 years altogether (2016)? If it's only 2 more years, it seems likely that you would finish the program after 2016 if you started now. Still, it would be taking a gamble that the college would be successful in getting accredited by WASC.

 

Michelle
It is my understanding that the 4 years started in 2012. They applied for eligibility to seek accreditation in Fall 2012, received a site visit in 2013 and another visit is scheduled for spring 2015. i will be talking to them more about it. It is a gamble but is it worth the risk?

 

Michelle
It is my understanding that the 4 years started in 2012. They applied for eligibility to seek accreditation in Fall 2012, received a site visit in 2013 and another visit is scheduled for spring 2015. i will be talking to them more about it. It is a gamble but is it worth the risk?

 

Update on CalSouthern and the statement attached in earlier post from their website:

They had 4 years to respond to the eligibility determination. They have responded and currently under review for Candidacy status.