Fielding Graduate University's Ph.D in Clinical Psychology is reaccredited by APA

Discussion in 'Nursing and medical-related degrees' started by chrislarsen, Apr 7, 2006.

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  1. chrislarsen

    chrislarsen New Member

    Hello

    As some of you may remember, I am currently enrolled as a Ph.D. student in Clinical Psychology program at Fielding Graduate University http://www.fielding.edu/. We have been undergoing a review by the APA for quite some time. This week Fielding was told that the APA (American Psychological Association) has voted to reaccredit the Ph.D. program for 3 more years. The school will be sent a formal letter from APA in a couple weeks. Score another point for distance learning!

    Chris
     
  2. jayncali73

    jayncali73 New Member

    Glad to hear they got reaccredited. I know several Fielding grads. They are great at their profession and speak very highly about the school.
     
  3. sulla

    sulla New Member

    This is great for Fielding! They have a good reputation but deserve an even better one.
    Their APA doctoral programs are very VERY long and they are so demanding that I think you might have an easier time attenting a traditional APA school. I think this has to do with APA accreditors being tougher on DL doctorates than traditional ones.
    At my alma matter, the University of South Florida, most psychology doctoral students complete both their MA and PhD in 5-7 years. I heard that at Fielding it might take you up to 10 years to get everything done.
     
  4. chrislarsen

    chrislarsen New Member

    Fielding students are bifurcated and tend to fall into two groups: those who finish within about a 5 year time frame and those who complete in about 10 years. There are a a variety of reasons for this. First of all, Fielding has traditionally had more degree requirements than most other programs in terms of the number of credit hours etc...

    Also, there has been a culture among a significant subset of students to take their time, delve into the psychological literature deeply on a topic and explore many ideas that one might not get exposed to in a more traditional program. Also, the atmosphere at Fielding is so very supportive and so very student- centered that many students are reluctant to leave! In winter session in Santa Barbara I met a 10th year student who was finally graduating. She was a lawyer getting a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. She told me she had been lingering in the program for so long because it had been such a great experience for her that leaving was difficult.

    Also Fielding is designed for mid-career professionals who are juggling multiple mid-career and mid-life challenges for whom a more rapid pace is often impossible. That having been said, Fielding's Ph.D. program has recently instituted a curriculum reduction in which the degree requirements have been reduced. When compared the degree requirements to other institutions such as USF, Fielding students have a larger number of total credit hours and other clinical requirements to complete. I believe this was done in response to concerns from APA that students were being burdened and their progress to degree completion was taking too long.

    My first year has been a wonderful experience with truely gifted and very supportive faculty. I have not had any negative experiences to date and I can understand why so many students are so reluctant to have this experience end. However, in some ways this is "primary process thinking" because one enters a Ph.d. program to acheive a degree and specific degree goals. Hopefully, this reduction in degree requirements will facilitate this process for us.

    When did you graduate from USF? I am a Tampa native and have a BA degree from the University of Tampa. I worked for a few years for Horizon Hospital in Pinellas Park when it was a training site for USF Ph.D. students in the late 1980's and early 1990's. I got to know many many Ph.D. students in the program from that era. and some of the faculty
     
  5. sulla

    sulla New Member

    Hi Chrislarsen,

    I graduated from USF but not from the clinical psychology program. I got both my BA in psychology and MA from the Vocational Rehabilitation/Mental Health Counseling program at USF in 2002. However I did know a lot of students and faculty from the clinical psychology program. I'm glad you are enjoying Fielding. Its a very good school and still among the few short-residency schools that are APA accredited in the entire US. Are you still working at Horizon?
     
  6. chrislarsen

    chrislarsen New Member

    I graduated from USF but not from the clinical psychology program. I got both my BA in psychology and MA from the Vocational Rehabilitation/Mental Health Counseling program at USF in 2002. However I did know a lot of students and faculty from the clinical psychology program. I'm glad you are enjoying Fielding. Its a very good school and still among the few short-residency schools that are APA accredited in the entire US. Are you still working at Horizon?
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    No. I am no longer working there. That was an eon ago it seems! :) I think I left in 1990. But I did get to know and work with some real interesting people with fascinating stories to tell about the Ph.D. experience. I now live up in Tennessee. I suspect Horizon is no longer in existence. or has been sold or renamed a few times.
     
  7. doctortug

    doctortug New Member

    Great news. Hopefully you have paved the way for Capella and other online programs to also obtain APA recognition for their clinical and counseling psychology programs.

    Thanks for the information.

    Tug
     

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