PsyD application -- choosing professors

[tlpsych]

Hello, I am in the process of applying to a mixture of psyD and phD programs in clinical psych this fall. I am facing some confusion as to the importance of reaching out to professors and applying specifically to a specific professor for psyDs as one would in phDs -- is this equally important? 

[PsyDuck90]

It honestly depends on the emphasis of research in the PsyD program. For instance, I am in a small cohort model university based PsyD where research is a huge part of the training model. When I applied, I identified faculty of interest just as I did for my PhD apps. Everyone in my cohort had specific faculty mentors in mind that were strong research fits, and that is a large factor in why we were offered admission over other strong candidates. We have also been heavily involved in research from day 1 of the program (a few of us even started in the labs in the summer before our 1st semester began). If the program doesn't really mention research as a big component of your training, it may be less important.