Stony Brook Psychology - Any opinion?

[Pugislife]

So I googled for reviews on SBU for a bit and the opinions were mixed. 

Any of you know somebody going there, attending? 

I would love to learn more about the program, facility, faculty, environment, and everything else! 

thank you community!

[PsyDuck90]

I don't know anyone currently going there, but I did hear that they are considering not renewing their APA accreditation in favor of PCSAS. I don't know when they're up for renewal, but that is something I'd look into because that may limit you if they are not APA accredited when you would potentially graduate. 

[nycgrad14]

23 hours ago, Hk328 said:

I don't know anyone currently going there, but I did hear that they are considering not renewing their APA accreditation in favor of PCSAS. I don't know when they're up for renewal, but that is something I'd look into because that may limit you if they are not APA accredited when you would potentially graduate. 

oh wow that's surprising, normally programs will get both accreditation's... wonder what their reasons behind that are. Normally if you get PCSAS on top of your APA accreditation, the students take less course work, like my school.  

[CLin94]

27 minutes ago, nycgrad14 said:

oh wow that's surprising, normally programs will get both accreditation's... wonder what their reasons behind that are. Normally if you get PCSAS on top of your APA accreditation, the students take less course work, like my school.  

Most top notch clinical programs are doing what Stony Brook is doing. Stony Brook is renewing their APA accreditation this year but will think about not reapplying when they're up for renewal (in 10 years). Most clinical programs (if not all top programs at RO1 institutions ?) are saying the same the exact same thing. It's a power move because APA's clinical coursework requirements are dumb.

Bottom line, i would not worry at ALL about the APA accreditation issue.

 

Stony Brook is an incredible program. If there is mentor doing work of interest to you, def apply. 

[PsyDuck90]

They are a top ranked program, but they are more heavily on the research/academic side. It depends on OP's goals. If they are looking for a balanced program, they may not be the happiest at Stony Brook. 

A lot of PCSAS schools can play that power move because manybgraduates do not pursue licensure and therefore do not care about APA accreditation status. This is evidenced by Stony Brook's 65% licensure rate. So its definitely a great program, but not necessarily the right type of program based on what OP's goals may be.  

[H1ppocampus]

I wouldn't let this APA/PCSAS issue tarnish your view of the program at Stony Brook in any way, @Pugislife! As others have said, many top-tier clinical programs with a heavy research focus (think clinical science programs especially) are making noises about dropping their APA accreditation status as a call to action directed towards APA to re-evaluate clinical training requirements; the goal is not to impede students' clinical marketability post-graduation, but to free up more time for independent research so that graduates will be better prepared for positions in research and/or academia.

I asked several professors about this during both formal and informal interviews, and all of them were transparent with respect to the stance of their respective departments.The take-away is that this is NOT a move intended to negatively impact students/graduates in any way, but it is something to be cognizant of if you aspire to be a full-time clinician.