Psychology Masters vs. Postbacc

[smals]

Hi all! So I have a bit of a dilemma - I'm a non traditional student (majored in Business during undergrad), and am intent on pursuing a PhD in Psychology. I'm not entirely sure what area specifically I want to go down yet, as I'm interested in both Clinical and Neuro Psych at the moment. In order to apply to either, though, I obviously need to take some pre-requisites, get involved in research work and try to get in some publications/posters. I've been accepted to the Masters program in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College (Columbia) as well as to the Post Bacc program in Psychology at Columbia. I'm trying to figure out which is a better option for me, as both seem to pose good advantages. If anyone has any thoughts on this or any advice they could share, I would really appreciate it! Thanks for reading through this 

 

[PsyDuck90]

Neuro psych is a subset of clinical psychology. You typically start with generalist training and then specialize as you get further into your training. 

I don't know anything specific about either of these programs, but I would say try speaking with current students in the program to get an understanding of how much potential there is for research and products (posters, publications, etc.) during your time as a student. These will be critical for your PhD applications, as programs are competitive and research skills are a crucial thing they look for. 

[juilletmercredi]

Hey there! I did my PhD in psychology at Columbia.

Oof, you've probably already made your decision and are off to start! But for posterity, I would recommend the post-bacc program at GSAS, rather than the MA in clinical psychology. Both offer good options. I'm pretty familiar with the post-bacc program, and those students tend to be very successful in getting into PhD programs after they complete the post-bacc. The post-bacc program is also associated with Columbia's well-reputed GSAS department of psychology (the one at TC is completely separate).

The MA students in clinical psychology that I know of who got into PhD programs almost always went to TC's PhD in clinical psychology.

Also, if you are in GSAS, you can easily take any classes that interest you at TC. I'm not sure how easy it is to do that in reverse.