<p>Anyone know any info about the school besides what's online? I'm considering applying to their online military psychology masters program. I eventually want to get a PsyD in clinical psychology at another school and work with veterans.</p>
<p>Hi strikefirefall - I am currently a 2nd year student in the PsyD military track at the Adler School. I was wondering if maybe you had any specific questions that you would like to ask? I can give you some quick info on the track and such that you may not find online. Sometimes, it can also be helpful to hear from a student that is actually attending school there. So, you may already be aware that there are many differences between a Master’s degree and the PsyD. Most of the students in my cohort are fairly young (between ages 21-29) and have come to Adler directly after graduating college. There are also many students who are a little bit older that the twenty-year-olds and have completely shifted from different careers. Deciding what program to enroll in can be difficult but also, it is always a good idea to kind of set out some goals and what you hope to achieve with whatever degree it is you choose to pursue. While at Adler we do have “tracks” (i.e., military, child and adolescent, and neuropsych) you will still graduate with a general degree. The tracks mean that all of your electives for the whole time you are here will be focused on you track’s topic i.e., military. Now, the military psych master’s will not qualify you for licensure, however, let’s say you have an LCPC or are already a licensed clinician, pursuing the master’s program will be beneficial because you are already licensed and will be able to add more education to your career. If you are fresh out of college and are certain that eventually down the road you would like to pursue your PsyD in clinical psych, then I would say go for it. Many students go straight to pursuing the PsyD and do not complete a master’s. The PsyD in clinical psych here at Adler really focuses on diagnostics meaning that a large portion of concentration is on testing for mental disorders in clients and conceptualization. One very large topic in military psych is the symptom presentation of TBI and PTSD and we have been focusing on these up and coming topics more, especially because we have a trauma and substance abuse concentration available at Adler.</p>
<p>We have veterans that attend this school who are in the PsyD military track and also have professors who haved served and are now retired. We also have many students that have applied for the HPSP military scholarship and have been granted these scholarships for the Army and Navy.</p>
<p>Alder is a really small school right in downtown Chicago. The students, faculty, and staff are very friendly and are dedicated to seeing that our journey through graduate school isn’t as horrible as we feel it is. I know I gave you a lot of random things here but please feel free to reply and ask any more questions!</p>
<p>My undergrad GPA is only a 2.7, so I don’t see myself getting into any PsyD program in the country, which is why I would have to do a masters program first.</p>
<p>I just wanted to know if it was a good school and if I would learn a lot and get some help when it came to interning.</p>
<p>I see. So you are currently in school getting your Bachelor’s degree? So far, I’ve really enjoyed Adler. During your first year, second semester, you do what they call a Community Service Practicum for about 6 months. You rank about 10 sites from favorite to least favorite and the training department usually matches you up with one of your top sites and then you do a practicum there. This is something unique that no other school offer. Because one of Adler’s focus in on Social Justice, the school gives you a chance to experience working with populations in different settings. For instance, when I did my CSP, I worked for a non for profit org that that was an after school program that taught teens how to do media production (make movies) about social justice issues that were significant in their lives. While the CSP is not really a clinical practicum, it allows you to be exposed to a population that you may never have dealt with before. In terms of education, almost all our professors not only teach in class but also have their own private practices or work with multiple other organizations outside of Adler. This is really beneficial because they can bring real life experiences to the class and I think that sometimes having someone talk about real life experiences is better than reading in out of a book.</p>
<p>The training department is extremely helpful and helps you throughout the whole process when applying to CSP or internship sites. We have relationships with hundreds of organizations in the Chicago land area and are pretty successful in placing students at sites. If you want specific numbers, I think you can find that on the site.</p>
<p>Hope I answered your questions!</p>
<p>No, I’ve already graduated with my bachelors in psychology. The idea of being in school for another 5 years is a little off-putting, plus the amount of debt in student loans I would have by the time I finished.</p>
<p>If the idea of being in school for another 5 years is off-putting, why go for the PsyD? Why not get an MSW and become a licensed clinical social worker, or get a master’s in a program that makes you eligible for licensure as a professional counselor (LPC/LCPC)?</p>
<p>I liked the idea of working with those who have mental health issues. I also wanted a career where I could possibly have a salary that could possibly reach six figures. That’s only because I’d like to continue to live in CA and houses out here are expensive.</p>