If you're good enough to get into Harvard, you're good enough to have better options

Parents Forum
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<p>…heard about Harvard’s (yes, THE Harvard) clinical psychology program. It boasts accomplished faculty, high rejection rates (but don’t they all), and the IVY name. </p>

<p>It is also UNACCREDITED. This means that graduates most likely cannot get APA/APPIC internships, which are roughly equivalent to medical residency and required for licensure/graduation in many states and for any type of government job, such as VA’s, military, etc. It also automatically disqualifies you for licensure in several states that require graduates to come from APA-approved programs. Any applicant trying to get licensure from a non-APA program will face a tremendous pile of documentation and doubt…</p>

<p>Admittedly, Harvard never says it tries to train clinicians. It, like all good clinical psychology PhD programs, places a heavy emphasis on research. Graduates are slotted mostly toward careers in academia. This is fine, except for the fact that many, many clinical psych. professorships require that candidates be licensed or license eligible for the purposes of conducting clinical research or supervising graduate students’ clinical training, so Harvard grads. would face an uphill, and sometimes impossible, battle in getting these positions.</p>

<p>I know this is a specific, graduate-level example, but I just thought I’d throw this out there: Sometimes the best may not be the best in everything.</p>

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<p>You’ve actually made a good point in your third paragraph. It’s important to determine whether you are looking toward a researh PhD program or a clinical program. Harvard does tend to focus on research and is well known for research. </p>

<p>Your post is a good reminder to really research a program to be sure it meets your needs and career goals. With professional goals such as clinical psychology, it’s also important to research licensure requirements in your state as well as any requirements suggested by the APA.</p>

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<p>Its always risky to go to a non-APA approved program, because when you apply for national exam, you have to supply your course schedule. Its an extra step, but doable. Harvard’s program will most likely be approved in next few years. Decades ago, before H offered a degree in Clin Psych, graduates were still able to obtain internships and sit for the exam.</p>

<p>Where ever you attend grad school, the Harvard hospitals offer excellent internships. Beth Israel/Deaconness has terrific 2-year program for outpatients, McLean and Mt Auburn better for inpatient care.</p>

<p>Its important to research not only the grad school, but the type of research that is being done. You’ll be working closely with a few prof.s.</p>

<p>good luck!</p>