Accredited vs. non-accredited doctoral degree?

Hello,

I need some feedback on this issue. Places like Capella and Walden offer non-accredited doctoral programs in various fields. What are the views of those who have done these programs, or of those who have considered such programs. I would be considering a doctoral degree in the future, for clinical counseling or administrative practice. Is an APA accredited doctoral degree the only valid method? I've heard that the APA accreditation for doctoral degrees is falling by the side these days and would like some clear understanding on the matter, through any type of accreditation is said to be voluntary. APA does not offer accreditation for distance degrees.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

Shawn

 

Which accreditation?

Please specify which accrediting agencies you are referring to.

It is true that most state universities aren't accredited by the American Association for Basket Weaving Education, but that doesn't mean that state universities and community colleges are unaccredited. It simply means that they aren't accredited by the basket weaving association. Please qualify which accreditation(s) you are referring to. What kind of accreditation are you in search of?

 

Typo:

"....through any type of accreditation is said to be voluntary."


Corrected:

"....though any type of accreditation is said to be voluntary."

 

Hello,

I am referring to the APA accreditation, the American Psychological Association. I thought I was clear. The colleges mentioned in the original post already have regional accreditation. I was referring to the doctoral degrees often being accredited, though the APA does not accredit programs completely done by distance learning.

Shawn

 

My understanding is that some states require the degree to be APA accredited in order to become licensed. Other states do not. So it depends on where you live and where you might live in the future.

 

Thank you kindly for the clarification.

 

Both Argosy U. and Fielding Graduate U.' s psych programs are APA accredited. However, these particular programs may be blended programs, rather than fully online.

 

Hello,

Thank you for the assistance and information.

- Shawn

 

Hi All,
I have MS in organic chemistry. I graduated in 2008 and since then I have been working in my field (Chemistry). I am research scientist leading different research program. Recently, I am thinking to continue my education for PhD. however, since I have very stable job I can't take regular university. I have been looking for online Chemistry PhD program and came across to International University of Graduate Study in Dominica. Can PLEASE someone let me know if this university is accredited or not?

 

Here's the link

https://iugrad.edu.dm/

 

When did IUGS make the jump from St. Kitts to Dominica?

 

Accredited by NAB or not, the fact is when inquiry was made with IUGS Admissions and with a faculty member, they were unable to provide ANY credible academic evaluation credentialing agencies that could corroborate that IUGS's doctoral degrees are acceptable in the US! And that is the bottomline.

 

I don't want to put myself in a position of defending this school because I don't know anything about it. However, it's not clear to me what this means, "...doctoral degrees acceptable in the US." What constitutes acceptability in this case? No one has ever gotten a job with one of these Doctoral degrees? How would anyone even know? Some schools keep tabs on alumni but the lack of info does not prove the point. If there was some NACES report stating blanket non-equivalency that would mean something but otherwise you might be stretching the point here.

 

Kizmet, it appears from my discussions with admissions of this entity that many individuals in the mental health professions who have not completed their doctorates but want the title, enter their PsyD or Psychoanalytic doctoral programs.IUGS's PsyD most probably will not meet the criteria to practice as a licensed Psychologist in all states. In addition, the liability issue of listing oneself as a PsyD potentially can lead to charges of misrepresentation by state boards of licensing professions due to allegations of misleading the public that one is a Psychologist.

 

This may be true. It may not. I certainly don't know it to be true and it appears that you don't really know either. When you say that their PsyD probably will not meet the criteria to practice in all states I'm not sure what you're basing this on. You might be right but it sounds like even you are unsure. Besides, if I'm in that field I don't need it to meet criteria in all states, just in my state. Besides, there are many programs at DL schools in the US that won't lead to licensure in all states because some states require APA accreditation (but most do not). Finally, I don't believe that we were talking exclusively about PsyD programs. I think the issue was the acceptance doctoral degrees in general, all disciplines.

This school might be total junk but until this is demonstrated in some convincing manner I'm not ready to throw out all their degrees as being unacceptable. It doesn't seem fair to make this determination at this point.

 

In regard to licensure in Psychology, in the vast majority of states, if not all, a doctorate from IUGS, which can include transferred masters level credits (I believe up to ninety), can be applied to IUGS's PsyD degree program. In fact, there are no states that will accept graduate masters level credits towards a practice degree in Psychology on the doctoral level but only doctoral level Psychology related course credits from a state approved Psychology doctoral program(whether from the US or abroad).

In addition, there is the question of acceptable post doctoral internships, a requirement that is stringently enforced by all state boards of psychology. It is extremely difficult and competitive to obtain these internships in general especially so from a school that does not have a structured doctoral level course curriculum but one that is composed of a hodgepodge of masters and doctoral credits.

In regard to the general use of other doctoral degrees from IUGS, it is possible that one can use the degree for title due to its being an earned degree. However, as I posed the question to John Bear in another thread, the question remains whether NAB accreditation implies that these degrees are credible, valid and on par with doctorates from national and regionally accredited schools?

 

Well, not entirely true; my alma mater (MSPP, now called William James College) is RA and APA-accredited, and if you enter the Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program with an approved (RA, 60+ semester credits with internships) Master's degree in Counseling or Clinical Psychology, it will shave an entire year off the completion time.