2 answers
Dana
Student
Long Beach, California
1
Question
Updated
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What Degree should I be looking at to be a clinical psychologist?
I’m trying to figure degree pathways to be a clinical therapist and eventually a clinical psychologist. From what I’m aware of my degree should be in science i.e. BS, MS, I don’t think I can find anything AS-T with Psychology unless I just don’t know where to look. I’ve found 2 degree programs for the B.S. Cognitive Science and Psychobiology , which degree would be better for the career path?
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2 answers
Christopher Glowacki
Clinical Psychologist
2
Answers
Sacramento, CA
Updated
Christopher’s Answer
Hi Dana,
If you're ultimate goal is to be a "clinical psychologist," having a Bachelor's degree in either BA/BS for Psychology will probably be your best route. Majors like Cognitive Science or Psychobiology don't necessarily increase or decrease your chances of becoming a clinical psychologist. They could, however, help later down the road if you specialize in a sub-field of psychology that could give you a competitive advantage over other applicants (e.g., Cognitive Psychology, Psychopharmacology).
If your plan is to be a "clinical therapist," you can pursue the same type of psychology majors that will give you a good foundation for graduate school (you'd need graduate school for either career route). To me, clinical therapists is a term that captures masters-level degrees/certifications (e.g., LCSW, LPC) whereas clinical psychologist is usually PhD or Psy.D.
Once you get to graduate school, another thought to keep in mind is some Master's programs are terminal degrees meaning they aren't "feeder" programs automatically into a doctoral-level program. For example, when I was accepted to my Clinical Psychology doctoral program, I was awarded a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology halfway through. If I were to have dropped out at that time, I couldn't apply for a psychologist's license with a Master's in Clinical Psychology so the Doctoral Degree was the main prize at the end. For contrast, some Master's programs such as Master's in counseling or Clinical Social Work are terminal Master's programs which then have the goal of getting you licensed at the Master's level upon graduation. If career plans change for whatever reason (because life happens!), it's nice to know all your options. :)
If you're ultimate goal is to be a "clinical psychologist," having a Bachelor's degree in either BA/BS for Psychology will probably be your best route. Majors like Cognitive Science or Psychobiology don't necessarily increase or decrease your chances of becoming a clinical psychologist. They could, however, help later down the road if you specialize in a sub-field of psychology that could give you a competitive advantage over other applicants (e.g., Cognitive Psychology, Psychopharmacology).
If your plan is to be a "clinical therapist," you can pursue the same type of psychology majors that will give you a good foundation for graduate school (you'd need graduate school for either career route). To me, clinical therapists is a term that captures masters-level degrees/certifications (e.g., LCSW, LPC) whereas clinical psychologist is usually PhD or Psy.D.
Once you get to graduate school, another thought to keep in mind is some Master's programs are terminal degrees meaning they aren't "feeder" programs automatically into a doctoral-level program. For example, when I was accepted to my Clinical Psychology doctoral program, I was awarded a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology halfway through. If I were to have dropped out at that time, I couldn't apply for a psychologist's license with a Master's in Clinical Psychology so the Doctoral Degree was the main prize at the end. For contrast, some Master's programs such as Master's in counseling or Clinical Social Work are terminal Master's programs which then have the goal of getting you licensed at the Master's level upon graduation. If career plans change for whatever reason (because life happens!), it's nice to know all your options. :)
Thank you, Christopher for the advice.
Dana
Am I able to use clinical therapy as a stepping stone to clinical psychology? In theory, I would first obtain my masters in psychology and get my licensing to become a clinical therapist and then next step would be obtaining my doctorate and becoming a clinical psychologist. I’m not sure if that’s realistic or possible but that’s what I initially thought.
Dana
Of course! Its very realistic. That route might take a little longer than a combined Masters/Doctorate program but if you're not overly concerned with that, its not an issue at all. There's several routes you can take after obtaining a Master's degree. It's not uncommon for people to even obtain a Master's degree and subsequent license, practice and make a living for a while, and then go back to school for doctorate. Applying to doctoral programs with a Master's degree in hand can also give you a leg up on other applicants who don't have a graduate degree.
Christopher Glowacki
Karin P.
Lecturer
375
Answers
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Updated
Karin’s Answer
Hi Dana,
To be a clinical therapist, you need a masters degree. To be a clinical psychologist, you need a PhD and some postdoctoral training hours.
For your bachelors you'll find some schools that award a Bachelor of Art and others award a Bachelor of Science. There are differences between the two, but you can progress to MS and PhD from either one.
https://www.psychology.org/resources/differences-between-ba-and-bs-in-psychology/
In the CSU system most schools seem to award BAs, but I see a few award a BS. If you prefer a BS, but the school of your choice only offers the BA, you can always add some math and science classes.
You find below some more resources on rankings of psychology programs, psychology programs and degrees in the CSU system, licensing requirements in California, and some more general information.
I hope this helps! Good luck!
KP
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/psychology
https://www.calstate.edu/attend/degrees-certificates-credentials/Pages/search-degrees-results.aspx?campuses=&k=Psychology&
https://www.allpsychologyschools.com/licensing/california
https://www.psychology.org/degrees/phd
https://www.bestcolleges.com/psychology/clinical-psychology/career-requirements/
To be a clinical therapist, you need a masters degree. To be a clinical psychologist, you need a PhD and some postdoctoral training hours.
For your bachelors you'll find some schools that award a Bachelor of Art and others award a Bachelor of Science. There are differences between the two, but you can progress to MS and PhD from either one.
https://www.psychology.org/resources/differences-between-ba-and-bs-in-psychology/
In the CSU system most schools seem to award BAs, but I see a few award a BS. If you prefer a BS, but the school of your choice only offers the BA, you can always add some math and science classes.
You find below some more resources on rankings of psychology programs, psychology programs and degrees in the CSU system, licensing requirements in California, and some more general information.
I hope this helps! Good luck!
KP
Karin recommends the following next steps: