MA to PHD programs similar to NSSR

[Confusedfuture]

Hello,

 I have recently discovered my passion for psychology and as researching some graduate programs. My undergrad gpa was not excellent and i did no research during undergrad. I have come to terms that in order to get into a clinical psych program, I will have to get my masters. However I have been encountering some trouble. It seems like a lot of programs don't give students the mentorship needed in order to admit them into their own phd program. In fact many of the schools that have a terminal masters option rarely admit those students to the phd program. I was very disappointed, until I came across the New School for Social Research!

 

Their PHD program admit students who come from their MA program, and it seems to me that this school allows the students the opportunity to connect with a mentor and get some research experience. Although it is probably very competitive to gain acceptance to the Phd program, it seems like an environment that would nurture a student's potential.

 

Although I am new to the research of grad programs, I have not found any other program similar to this.

 

 

I was wondering if there were any other Clinical psych programs in which applicants can apply to the MA program, be exposed to extensive research opportunities, be prepared for doctoral programs, and admit students from their MA cohort?

Edited April 7, 2013 by Confusedfuture

[Guest joshw4288]

The NSSR Master's does provide the unique feature that they ONLY accept their prior MA students into the PhD program. Even if you have a prior master's from another university, you start at the MA level and then have the opportunity to apply to the doctoral program. The problem with their MA program is the size. They matriculate about 80 students per year so thats around 160 matriculated MA student plus the 15 or so doctoral students per field. That is a lot of students to cater to. Being an MA student, you will take a back seat to the doctoral students. NSSR has notoriously poor funding for MA students and the PhD students alike. You will not get full funding at either level. Only 15 MA students per year get to write a thesis. You have to apply to have the opportunity to write a thesis. This means the other 65 students that year don't get to write a thesis-a terrible outcome in an MA program if you have hopes of going to a doctoral program. Ultimately, it is a high priced program with poor funding that will likely leave you highly in debt, possibly with a non-thesis MA. I don't recommend it. 

 

Find a mentor based MA that focuses on getting students to doctoral programs and doesn't overpopulate its program. I recommend taking a look at the Hunter College (CUNY) MA. It is mentor based and research focused. I am finishing up my first year, have been highly involved in a research project since even before classes began in August. I am currently taking advanced statistical methods with other MA students, doctoral students from the graduate center, and doctoral students from cornell's neuroscience program. I am also in the process of finishing my thesis proposal, which I will begin collecting data for in the Fall. The Hunter program does not have a doctoral program so you and the other 65 matriculated students get the full attention of the faculty. You also get the benefit that the faculty have appointments with the graduate center and thus their letters of recommendation will carry weight if you decide to apply to the doctoral program at the graduate center after finishing the MA. Don't expect any funding although some does exist in small stipends for highly qualified applicants. It is, however, one of the lowest priced universities in the country and thus very affordable in comparison. I don't have any statistics on the Hunter MA's ability to put people into doctoral programs but I do know multiple people in the program going on this next year to programs at CUNY Graduate Center, Rutgers, University of Washington, and Oxford. 

 

I any case, there are other MA programs out there with the sole intention of providing people the means to get accepted into doctoral programs. Others serve the purpose of helping fund the PhD students. Some would argue that NSSR, NYU, and Columbia's MA all serve the latter. 

[Confusedfuture]

Thanks for your input. I will look into Hunters program. Does any one have any personal experience with the MA programs at NSSR, Columbia and NYU. What are the MA programs that a high percentage of students get into a doctoral program?

[Guest joshw4288]

Keep in mind the primary purpose of doing an MA first is show two things: 1) You have substantial research experience and quality academic writing and 2) You can handle graduate level coursework. The first requires you be engaged in research the full length of your MA and culminate with a major piece of writing--in other words, a thesis. THe second can be demonstrated in any program but it most useful when those courses have advanced level statistics and research methods coursework. Content courses are useful but hardly demonstrate anything as you already should have a good content base from your undergraduate degree. The other thing to consider is length. 1 year MA programs don't really provide enough time to engage in substantial research and writing before the time comes for actually submitting doctoral applications. You probably need a two year program for this.

 

Everything I have said about the NSSR program comes from my experience being accepted into their program and meeting/emailing with the department to determine whether the program was right for me. My mention of Columbia and NYU comes from things I have hear from others about those programs, not any first hand experience. I am also enrolled in the program at Hunter so that comes first hand as well, and probably slightly biased. 

 

CUNY has some other psychology MA's such as City College, although I don't know anything about them. Fordham has an M.S. in Psychology that may be worth looking into. It is heavy on statistics and research coursework and has concentrations in "program evaluation" and "tests and measurement". 

[PsychGirl1]

There have been numerous threads on here about master's programs. Like, at least 5 that I can remember in the past few months alone- search for them. Off the top of my head, check out the MS/MA programs at BC, Drexel, Villanova, and Wake Forest. There are more, though.