Columbia Masters vs Partially Funded PhD Program

[DOG_CABIN]

Hello, all.

 

I was admitted into 2 partially funded clinical psychology PhD programs that I don't see myself being very happy at. I was also admitted to the MA program at Columbia University in clinical psychology. I applied this year with a heavy neuroscience background, with very minimal traditional psychological research experience. I think I'd have a shot if I took advantage of the opportunities at Columbia, and perhaps gain admission for fall 2015 at fully funded schools (in which case the increased amount of debt would be canceled out).

 

Questions:

 

For those of you who did the MA in clinical psychology at Columbia (or elsewhere), did you apply the same year you were in your masters? Also, what kind of opportunities did you take advantage of? Do you believe it was a valuable experience? What would you do in my situation? Finally, where did you and your classmates end up going (i.e., were they fully funded programs)? Feel free to message me as well.

 

Thank you very much. I only have 2 days to make this decision :/

[clinicalpsychphd20]

I do not recommend going to a program you are not excited about. What was your undergrad GPA? Do you have the pre-requisites to apply to PhD programs?

If your GPA is high and you have the necessary pre-requisites, you might consider getting a research assistant job instead of a masters (some labs in NYC that I know of are hiring now - PM me if you are interested). You want to avoid debt if at all possible. 

[juilletmercredi]

Definitely don't attend those PhD programs.  I wouldn't go to a PhD program without full funding.

 

I have a friend who did the MA in clinical psych at TC and got into the PhD program in clinical psych in TC.  I talked with him and he seemed to have really mixed feelings about the department and program.  They don't seem to have an excellent track record at getting people into other competitive clinical psych PhD programs.

 

Personally, I think most of the time people don't need an MA in psych.  What you need is research experience in psych, plus maybe a few non-degree psych courses if you have none.  But if you really feel you need the MA in psych, I would recommend a much cheaper program at a public institution or a place with scholarships, since the important part here is the coursework.  Hunter College, for example, has an MA in general psychology and OOS costs for students are far cheaper than TC's tuition.  Stony Brook University has a strong psychology department and has a one-year master's that seems specifically designed for the purpose of launching people into a psych PhD program.  SUNY New Paltz also offers an MA in psychology designed to help you get into a PhD program, and New Paltz is a cheaper city than NYC.

[Guest joshw4288]

Definitely don't attend those PhD programs.  I wouldn't go to a PhD program without full funding.

 

I have a friend who did the MA in clinical psych at TC and got into the PhD program in clinical psych in TC.  I talked with him and he seemed to have really mixed feelings about the department and program.  They don't seem to have an excellent track record at getting people into other competitive clinical psych PhD programs.

 

Personally, I think most of the time people don't need an MA in psych.  What you need is research experience in psych, plus maybe a few non-degree psych courses if you have none.  But if you really feel you need the MA in psych, I would recommend a much cheaper program at a public institution or a place with scholarships, since the important part here is the coursework.  Hunter College, for example, has an MA in general psychology and OOS costs for students are far cheaper than TC's tuition.  Stony Brook University has a strong psychology department and has a one-year master's that seems specifically designed for the purpose of launching people into a psych PhD program.  SUNY New Paltz also offers an MA in psychology designed to help you get into a PhD program, and New Paltz is a cheaper city than NYC.

 

I agree that what is important is NOT the M.A. but rather research experience. However, being in an M.A. program means you will be receiving excellent research experience. My time as an M.A. student let me complete 6 conference presentations, a thesis, and I have multiple working papers. If you can get the research experience without the M.A., that is great, but it may be difficult since priority will generally be given to current students. As a side note, I attend (finishing in a few weeks) Hunter College and my experience has been excellent. I highly recommend their program. The other benefit to completing an M.A. first is that it opens up the possibility of applying to programs in other countries (e.g. Canada), which has been highly beneficial for me since I applied to and will be attending the University of Western Ontario in the Fall. 

[floradeambrosia]

Thanks for all the advice guys . I ended up choosing one of the PhD programs, as I realized that one program was pretty ideal for my future goals, and it is actually much more funded than I thought--I will be only around 10K in debt, which I will be able to pay off.  I think I wasn't so happy about the programs while writing the initial post because I had just found out I was rejected from my (fully funded) top choice, which really hurt. I am now looking forward to my phd program and think I will get even better clinical experience than I would have at my top choice, so I guess it all worked out for the best!