Considering a career in counseling or therapy?
There are many different types of careers and educational paths to choose from – it can be confusing! For an overview of the options, check out the Careers in Psychology.
Choosing the Right Graduate Program
A graduate degree, either at the masters or doctoral level, is required for some careers in psychology. For example, a PhD is required to be a professor, clinical psychologist, or scientist. A graduate degree is also required for many careers involving providing services to individuals with mental health or similar concerns, for example a licensed professional counselor (LPC).
Choosing the right graduate program can be tricky, especially for students interested in pursuing a career in clinical practice because there are several different types of degrees, including a masters, PsyD, or PhD, that can lead to a career providing therapy or mental health services. The PsyD is a more clinically-oriented version of the PhD (e.g. less research based). The two programs have very different requirements and courses. Master’s degrees can be particularly confusing because some will allow you to gain licensure to practice psychotherapy independently and some will not. Students should contact their psychology advisor for help exploring the possibility of applying to graduate programs in psychology. Below are useful resources for learning about preparing for graduate school in psychology.
Competitiveness
Students should be aware that PhD programs in psychology and neuroscience are extremely competitive. A strong GPA, a well-written personal statement, letters of recommendation that specifically address your strengths (typically three), extensive research experience, and (in many cases) good GRE scores are necessary to be a competitive applicant. As an example, UWM’s clinical psychology PhD program typically receives more than 275 applications for five to six seats that are available per year. Having an undergraduate degree from UWM does not guarantee admission to our doctoral programs and most students will apply to multiple programs.
Students applying to PhD programs typically apply to work with a specific faculty mentor. Therefore, you should have firm ideas about your research interests, choose program to apply to based on those interests, and do your homework so that you are knowledgeable about the research that is being conducted by a faculty member that you’d like to work with. Your psychology advisor here at UWM can make suggestions about how to include this information in your personal statement.
More details and suggestions for applying to a PhD program are available in this summary document.
PsyD and master’s programs are less competitive, but still require good grades, letters of recommendation, and experience outside the classroom (such as research or relevant volunteer work in the field). If you are interested in graduate school, and particularly PhD programs, join a research lab early in your academic tenure! Students should discuss how best to maximize their chances of admission with their faculty advisor.
Fully online students who intend to go on to a graduate program need to find ways to incorporate research and hands-on experience in their education in order to be a competitive applicant to graduate programs.
About National Rankings
Some applicants to doctoral programs in clinical psychology may consider national rankings when deciding where to apply for graduate school. Applicants are encouraged to carefully review the methodology used by any national ranking system. For example, some rankings rely purely on the subjective estimation of survey takers, have small sample sizes, and/or do not use any specific metrics or objective data. A critique of national ranking systems by John Byrne is an insightful read.
We strongly encourage applicants to carefully assess national rankings and their usefulness and validity when considering the quality of a program. Even with improved methodology, national rankings are likely to be of little use to applicants in identifying their best programs. Instead, applicants need to consider if a program’s goals and objectives align with their goals and objectives. A national ranking system will never be able to capture the individualized strengths and weakness of programs versus the unique needs of each applicant.
Every clinical psychology program accredited by the American Psychological Association must post data on admissions and outcomes, including time to completion, program costs, internship placement, attrition, and licensure. CUDCP programs are also encouraged to provide information on their selectivity/yield (e.g., # of applicants, offers, matriculated students) and number of students with funding.
Considering a PhD in Clinical Psychology?
This FAQ (PDF) produced by the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology programs may help. In addition, please consult the following resources: