Hey Guys! I’ve just returned to the US from a semester in London. I’m studying psychology and I plan to go the graduate school for clinical psychology. I really enjoyed my time in London and would love to go back and pursue a graduate degree. I’ve done some research on the topic and found that most people agree that it is better to get a PhD in the states. I wasn’t able to find much about a master’s degree though. If I wanted to get a master’s degree in London, would I have any trouble getting accepted into a PhD program in the US?
I don’t see why not. They might wish to have you take some courses over but that is not unusual for a student coming in with a Masters.
If you want a PhD in clinical psychology, why would you get a master’s first anyway? A master’s won’t decrease your time to degree (very few if any of your classes will transfer), and a master’s won’t necessarily help you get into a PhD program unless you have low grades (or if you weren’t already majoring in psychology). If you think you want more graduate coursework and preparation before a PhD, that’s fine, but you don’t need a master’s first - and it’s an expensive thing to get if you don’t need it. Honestly, the thing that you can do that will make you most competitive is working as a lab manager or research coordinator/associate for 2-3 years after college, and then applying to PhD programs.
If you loved London and want to go back, you can go back in another capacity without studying. Maybe try to get an internship abroad, or work there for a few years, or maybe even work in a research capacity at a British university.
But with that said - no, a master’s from a UK university won’t make it more difficult for you to get accepted stateside.