<p>In psychology, there are programs such as school psychology which you can get an MA or a PhD degree. My D was interested in an MA but was encouraged by her favorite professor to look into a doctorate program because funding is better. She had discussed her loans (max government loans every year) and she said with her grades, etc. she could possibly get more funding especially if she cast her net wide with PhD programs. Of course other factors like GRE and recs, etc. will enter in, but does anyone have thoughts on this?
Are masters programs always less funded? Ive seen scholarships for MA degrees but I realilze they are probably few and less MA students get them than needed.</p>
<p>Generally, yes, PhDs are going to be better funded than MAs; however, if your daughter isn't really into research, a PhD (or even a PsyD, if you hate research) would not be an appropriate option. What does she want to do?
FYI, though, perfect GPA and GRE won't even get you close to the front door of a reputable PhD program in Psychology. Excellent recs + research experience (min. 1 year -- more is always better) + applied (e.g., clinical) experience (if applicable -- 1 semester or so is good) + strong (3.7+) GPA + strong (1250+) GRE + a strong personal statement indicating an excellent match with a faculty member AND the program's general orientation/goal will get you to the interview stage, where about 1 in 3-5 interviewees is actually invited to be a part of the next incoming class. The average PhD program in Clinical Psychology (the largest subfield in psychology) accepts less than 1 in 10 applicants (9.5%).</p>
<p>All that to say if she's not really into spending the next 5-7 years of her life conducting research on a specific area of psychology and then the next year or two after that doing a postdoc, it's really not worth the time, money, and stress involved in this process. To have a decent shot at getting in anywhere, it's recommended you apply to 12-15 programs and your budget will easily sore past $1000-2000 (about $75/application with postage and fees + $500/interview with plane tickets, hotels, food, and transportation).</p>
<p>And sure you can apply to both MA and PhD/PsyD programs; however, the PhD/PsyD level programs will require acceptance of their offers by April 15 (it's an APA-established standard for accreditation), so you may not actually hear back from MA programs in time (though if a reputable PhD program accepts you, it's extremely unlikely any MA's going to turn you down). Your best bet would be to actually contact these programs and see what they say; however, I'd suggest letting your daughter do this as she's not going to have you in graduate school and really needs to be doing the research herself for the most part. (Sorry!)</p>
<p>She is doing that....I'm just nervous because I don't want to see her get more in debt.
She wants to be a school psychologist and there are programs that state that they will (if you get accepted) open up more doors to administrative and promotional opportuniites if you get an PhD.
You just don't know who is going to offer you anything ahead of time. She has to work and can do some research but not unpaid all summer. Her professor said some programs understand that, but she helped her during the year get some experience. Research really isn't a great love, and as you said, a PsyD program still is a long haul and a lot of work. But I've met psychologists that said it was cheaper for them to go to school than their peers with masters. This gentlemen had a full tuition offer and stipend and his friend spent over 20,000! It's never easy or a straight path.</p>