FacelessMage

It very much is determined by placement choice/experience. Most clinical psych programs are generalist, meaning they train you for a general area of practice. Some programs provide the specialized training as a specific degree area (e.g., SFU, York) but even then they'll have a strong generalist focus because you need that good base of training. Then, if you want more specialized training in a different area, you'll need to get that through a practicum placement/internship. For example, I'm in a generalist program (I get equal amounts of training for both adults and children in general mental health assessment/intervention), but because I want to practice in a forensic area, I'll need to get that experience through my advanced practica and internship. You just have to prove to the licensing board that you have the depth of experience to practice in your chosen area.

My program is like this (Canadian clinical psych program). I came in with a Masters already (although not in clinical) so I was in a weird position where I sort of had advanced standings (i.e., got to opt out of a few of the first year "Masters" courses because I had already done them) but was still considered to be in the Masters program. It was nice not having to do another thesis, so I could start thinking of my dissertation sooner.

I think I've mentioned this in other threads on this board, because I've been here way too long, but I had to apply four times before I got accepted into a clinical psych program (5 years after I graduated from undergrad, although I got an experimental masters in between). I was rejected TWICE from my current program before finally getting in, and didn't receive a single interview during my third application cycle. The reality is, clinical psych applications are extraordinarily competitive, and sometimes getting accepted or not can depend on stuff such as who else is in the same application pool, how many funded spots there are for a particular program, and, although a lot of programs won't admit it, department politics do play a bit of a role (e.g., sometimes certain POIs are given priority for accepting students than others). It's definitely normal to be down and hopeless during this process, since it is tough (tougher than grad school itself in a lot of ways). The key thing is to be persistent, and to try to do as much as possible between applications to give yourself a boost! In a lot of ways, there's value in not entering grad school right away after undergrad (e.g., can save some money, get some life experience that you wouldn't necessarily get in school, etc.), so try to look at it as a positive thing (even though it's hard). Remember, you got this! You just have to believe in yourself!

Congrats!!

From what I've understood, the training is very expensive for departments and there's less and less funding being provided by universities and governments for it. At least that's the situation in my program right now. There's also a big push to have a lot of psychologist positions filled by Master's level clinicians and social workers because in the long run, they're cheaper than PhD level practitioners.

In my last application cycle, I travelled from Ontario down to Alabama and Texas for interviews. It was pretty fun to get to see the places where I had applied and to get a feel of what the program and students were like. I would also recommend that if you get accepted someplace, try to travel there before you commit to a program.

American schools are a lot faster at sending out interview requests than Canadian schools. In my last application cycle, I received most of my interview requests for the American schools by mid-December, whereas I didn't hear at all from Canadian schools until into the new year.

I believe they do, via USPS. If you're worried, contact the departments at the schools that you're applying at to let them know the official scores may be delayed.

I never applied to Queens, but from my extensive application experience, departments were usually pretty chill if something happened in the application process that was out of your control.

I'd honestly wait for the department. They may be a bit more lenient right now due to the mess that is the postal strike but they should let you know.

Good luck on the applications everyone!! Remember to take some time to breathe throughout the process!

It may be worth it for you to apply to a combined MA/PhD clinical psych program (e.g., Saskatchewan, Dalhousie, UNB). I have an MA in experimental psych and got into one of these program. It basically allowed me to skip all courses that I had already done in my MA (namely stats and all research requirements except for my dissertation), and it's a much better option than redoing a Masters elsewhere.

McGill doesn't really have a strong forensic basis in its faculty (it's a strong health psychology/neuroscience department), so I wouldn't recommend applying there. If you're willing to look in Canada for clinical psych programs, with your interests I'd consider Simon Fraser University (in Vancouver), University of Saskatchewan, and University of New Brunswick. If you're willing to consider a counselling program, look into Robert Morgan at Texas Tech. I applied to a lot of clinical programs with a forensic focus or forensic faculty, so feel free to send me a message if you have any questions!

Finally got my letter in the mail. Scored 9/20 (didn't get an award), with 4 publications and 3 conference presentations. It's a bit disappointing considering I won with only 2 publications 2 years ago (same proposal, 1 letter writer was still the same). I'm just burnt out on the whole process of grad school right now.

I heard from my awards office, and was told that I was rejected. I'm pretty disappointed, since I had double the amount of publications this time around than when I won the the doctoral CGS two years ago. Guess it's on to my fifth application attempt next year...