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Similar to how so many younger students who have shown an interest in pursuing psychology, you could be considering making a living doing work as a clinical psychologist. This is probably a good idea especially since clinical psychology has a huge scope of areas of study such as forensics, schools, children, women and so much more. Moreover, there are several directions where you can choose to lean towards when choosing a degree in clinical psychology. For example, you can choose to earn masters or PsyD, and later, you can then receive supplementary training in the field of clinical psychology, social work, counseling psychology, medicine, or even sports psychology. In the end, the focus should be finding the exact work that interests you the most. This could mean a combination of research, therapy and/or teaching.
In this article, we will talk about what has always been asked to people who are working on both academia and in practice – is it better to get a PhD in psychology or a PsyD? This article will not delve into the details on how to earn a master’s degree or a doctorate degree for that matter. Choosing between both distinctions can be quite a huge step in what would shape up to be your career in clinical psychology. Before going on, however, it is prudent for us to first point out the obvious before delving further in comparing the two.
PhD or PsyD – Basic Distinctions
First and foremost, let us consider the semantics. Believe it or not, a simple thing can already make or break one’s will to pursue either route. In this instance, PhD means a doctor of philosophy in psychology while PsyD means a doctor of psychology.
The main difference that is immediately apparent is how the training is approached for both distinctions. A PhD, as is more common, follows a model that is called scientist-practitioner. In this case, the student becomes loaded with research work meant to further his or her understanding of the field as well as lending their own insight on expanding the field. PsyD students, on the other hand, will be trained through clinical work that would put emphasis on real-life situations in which the student may later find themselves working.
PhD degrees normally take longer to complete compared to PsyD. While a PhD can take 5 to 7 years, a PsyD degree will take only 4 to 6, bearing in mind that the PsyD degree will need an additional 1 year for internship.
Now that the distinctions are clear, let us now get right in it. Which factors are considered critical when choosing whether to pursue a PhD degree or be trained as a PsyD? While presenting these some of the factors, a general premise has to be agreed upon that there will be a lot of individual preference that is tangled up in making each decision. This means that the person in question could choose to get a PhD or a PsyD based ultimately on his or her own discretion and analyses of the factors that matter. It has to be noted that not all students are qualified to take a PhD program and similarly, a PsyD program will require certain proficiencies that may not be suitable for every psychology graduate. The criteria will include grades, obviously, but will also consider other aspects like pieces of training attended, or delivered, work experience, and even general demeanor. Additionally, it is quite crucial to take note that, as a general rule, the amount of students that can be selected for any kind of graduate school will be quite small for PhD programs compared to PsyD. While a school may take in, on a maximum, 10 PhD students, they may be willing to take in up to a 100 PsyD students.
PhD or PsyD – Factors to Consider
Now that we are all up and aware of the main differences between the two fields, let us now take a look at the factors that might sway you to take one path over the other.
Funding
The first concern, as with any academic endeavor nowadays is where to source your funding. This should hit home as one of the top considerations to anyone pursuing any degree, be it at an undergraduate or doctorate level.
If an institution or firm takes an interest in the study that they are conducting, PhD students would normally be offered funding for all the possible expenses that the student may incur, such as, a stipend for daily needs, the tuition that you have to pay for the units you are taking, and even a salary, if you are given the opportunity to teach a class or two. As such, this can literally sum up to several tens of thousands per semester, which is nothing to be scoffed about especially in today’s economy. However, it is a good idea to keep in mind that you will not be earning a hefty sum, even if you are teaching classes. Any teaching load will be limited by the university to ensure that you can focus on your work. The research grants plus the tuition payment, however, will be compensation enough considering that you could be saddled up with debt as soon as you graduate if that were not the case. A clinical psychologist may earn a decent living but it would not be enough to pay off the debt that is incurred during a 5-year period of grad work.
The PsyD program, however, will not be afforded the same kind of benefit as a PhD student in this regard. While a PhD student will be allowed to do course work while carrying a teaching load, PsyD students are rarely given the same opportunity. Part of the reason why universities can only take in so many PhD students is that is the maximum number of students that their budget allows. However, the expenses of a PsyD student will normally be much lower than that of a PhD student. The number of years, for instance, is less in comparison, thus requiring fewer tuition fees for the completion of the entire degree. While a PsyD student may not be offered an assistant teaching job, he can still get a real job outside the bounds of academia, which means having a better selection in sourcing out funds to pay for both school and personal needs.
Accreditation
When applying for either degree, you have to consider the accreditation that the school offers for both degrees. Although accreditation does not ensure that you get a job in the future, getting a degree from an accredited school means that you will feel secure knowing that your school intends to keep up with the global standards.
Future Work
When choosing any degree, what you end up doing after graduation should always be the focus. You obviously want to do something that does not only pique your interests, but you also see yourself doing for the next 20 to 30 years. A PhD degree will normally land you in some research institution where you can perform experiments, and later on, design your own with the intent of publishing your work to a general community. You can also choose to work for a bigger company where they will pay you to conduct specific experiments that will yield specific information that they can use to better their products.
A PsyD course, on the other hand, may give you a job as a clinical psychologist practicing privately. The degree in itself gives you the knowledge required to perform on your job, but also gives you a boost in gaining clients. A PsyD can be seen by many as a more practical approach in gaining a doctorate. While you may still do some research, it focuses more on improving oneself than on improving the field in general. Finally, PsyD graduates make better PsyD teachers as well which could give you one more possible career path.
Conclusion
There is no correct answer in choosing between the two excellent choices when deciding how to further your practice in clinical psychology. Where one offers a more research-based approach in gaining knowledge, the other acquires the same through hands-on experience. In the end, any decision should rely heavily on your own personal preferences which would take into account several other factors that may not be the same for everyone pursuing a degree. Personal knowledge of the faculty and staff of a university may be one of the factors to consider or the proximity of a certain school that offers one of the degrees could be another. In the end, what you choose should be something that makes you happy and proud. And lastly, choose a degree that you know you can complete in a reasonable amount of time. You do not want to burn money and time doing coursework and keep on delaying the point where you can break even.
