The Pacific Grad School of Professional Psychology (Palo Alto, CA) is now offering a distance masters in psych which is APA approved & RA. (www.pgsp.edu) Anyone know of this school and/or its rep? Apparently its been around since the 70's, but is new to DL. The cost of a masters appears to be about 20k, as opposed to about 12k at Walden. Is the extra $$ worth it for prestige, since the degree is awarded from a "real" school (and offers articulation into their similarly priced PhD residental program)?
In a word, no. Maybe, maybe if it was a name school, it *might* be worth the difference, but certainly not for Pacific. Tom Nixon
I agree with Tom. Pacific is not a *big* name. If Walden is more affordable and RA, I would go for it. North
I better add, unless you need an APA Masters to qualify as an M.A. level Psych Associate in what ever state you are in. If you want to be a Masters level counselor (LPC) then there is at least one more affordable option than the two listed. North
Interesting to see this note: I met my wife a decade ago when she was enrolled in the PhD psych program at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology. My impression was that it was a very small school (only two buildings at the time) and had an okay rep in the industry. Can't say how they rank now, but they're certainly not well-known outside of Northern California as far as I have heard...
Very vaguely, since I live nearby but really don't follow psychology. But in the past Stanford has not offered a clinical psychology program (I think that they still don't) and Pacific Graduate School of Psychology grew up in the Palo Alto area to address that lack. It has always had a pretty close relationship to Stanford, as I understand it. I assume that by "real" you mean "residential". I'd say that PGSP may be very credible among those that have heard of it, but that may be a small group outside the SF bay area. The real advantage would probably be the APA accreditation, especially in whatever states might require it for licensing. There's little advantage in saving $8K if you are unable to practice your profession when you are done. In fields that require licensing, I'd say that a prospective student probably should study the licensing requirements in any state that he or she intends to practice before enrolling anywhere.
By "real" I meant a school that has at least ties to a brick-and-mortar school of the same name, as well as its experience, reputation, faculty, etc. Although some here may take umbrage, I think pure DL schools like Walden & Capella are subject to a certain stigma, whether deserved or not & although you may receive a good, if not superior education there in contrast to many RA schools, you may still have to explain yourself at every juncture. Also, you have to assume that the APA doesn't slap their approval on just any program. As for myself, I was looking to parlay a psych masters (and eventual Psy.D into some type of forensic speciality within my law practice. Looking down the line, if testifying as an expert witness a Walden degree comes under attack because its from a "correspondence" or "Interneet" school, it could actually hurt, IMHO. As for Walden, I'd love to hear more about their programs, but their admissions people seem flaky; numerous emails have gone unanswered & every request for info just generates another basic info package to my mailbox. If there are any students or admin from Walden lurking here; I'd love to hear from you either in this forum or via email. In theory, Walden looks good, but the lack of specifics in their literature throws up warning flags: i.e., is it designed to provide a quality education, or is it a haven for perpetual student types looking to avoid reality and/or defer their student loans?
The APA only accredits doctoral training. There is no such thing as an APA approved MA/MS program. APA accreditation is a very significant issue at the doctoral level. I don't know of any states that restrict graduates of non-APA approved programs but it would be a handicap. I've been a practicing psychologist for nearly 20 years and the lore in the field is that some states are infamous for 'gatekeeping,' published standards notwithstanding. The pre-doctoral internship has been a bottleneck for several years with some students having to sit out a year or even more until they can obtain admission. The largest source of internships in the country, the VA, restricts admission to students from APA approved clinical and counseling psychology students. This means that students from school psychology and non-APA programs have an additional burden on securing an internship berth. So my very considered opinion is to consider only APA approved programs. To my knowledge, at this time the only DL oriented APA approved program is the Fielding Institute but I could be mistaken.
Good information. I believe you are correct & Fielding is the only APA approved DL program. The preference for APA doctoral programs extends to the job market. WHen I used to receive the APA monitor (4 years ago) I noticed at least 1/3 of all job advertisements specified APA degrees/internships. At the time it made me wonder about the value of a Walden Psych Ph.D. (non APA) as (at least at that time) managed care seemed to be making things very tight and competitive. The situation may have improved as I have noticed in a couple of different "hot career" guides that Psychologist is a "hot career". I assume it still favors APA graduates however. North
In general, graduating from an non- APA program will result in many lost opportunities for positions in academia, as a practitioner and in the level of general acceptance by professional peers. A number of states are currently requiring APA internships and doctorates in Psychology as prerequisites for licensure. In time, this requirement will become more widespread. In addition, many psychologists who are primarily functioning as clinicians are having a difficult time making a living commensurate with the amount of effort and time invested in a psychology doctoral level program. Competition from Psychiatrists, Social Workers and clinicaly trained counselors is making private practice a less profitable venture as well.
I remember one monitor article in which a female psychologist remarked "thank God my husband has a job". She was feeling the squeeze. Probably this level of competition and the need to become versatile was partially behind the drive for Psychologists to have prescription priveleges. This idea did not sit well with Psychiatrists who could see a threat to their niche. Where I did my MA internship there was a Psychologist who supported prescription priveleges and he would square off with his friend the Psychiatrist who did not. I would not be surprised if the APA manages to become the standard required by more states. This would be in line with the ABA standard used by most states. Didn't Capella at one point say it was planning to apply become an APA approved program? North
