>Hello,
>
>I will be entering a clinical Psy.D. program this fall 2000 straight from
>earning my bachelors degree in psychology. The program that I will be
>attending does not offer teaching assistantships, because it is a small
>school that really takes pride in its faculty being teachers. I would like to
>keep my options open as far as being able to teach on the undergraduate level
>after earning my doctorate (even though I am primarily interested in private
>practice now and this is what my program emphasizes), but I'm not sure how to
>accomplish this if I can't get graduate teaching experience. I do have
>extensive undergraduate experience in teaching psychology 101 for 50 minute
>periods once every week during my last semester. My faculty mentor and my
>students gave me rave reviews.
>
>My question is...what options do I have that will keep the teaching option
>open to me (if any)? Would substitute teaching in a high school have any
>positive impact on teaching on the undergrad level after earning my
>doctorate? Is it idealistic to think that my undergraduate institution may
>offer me a summer teaching position for an introductory course while I'm in
>graduate school so that I can get some more experience? (There are several
>faculty in my undergraduate department who have clinical Psy.D.s and I have
>had masters' psychology students at my undergraduate university teaching
>summer courses before). I would appreciate any advice or suggestions that
>anyone may have for my situation.
>
>Thank you,
>Jessica Percodani
Jessica,
If you are really interested in an academic career, then I would advise a
Ph.D. rather than Psy.D. program. The mission of the latter is primarily
to train you as a practitioner rather than a researcher. That is one of the
reasons why such schools often do not have research/teaching
assistantships, not because they pride themselves primarily as teachers,
but because assistantships are often funded by external grants (research
related) generated by faculty actively engaged in research programs. Many
academic institutions (mine included) have determined that the appropriate
terminal degree for tenure-track faculty in psychology is a Ph.D.. Thus, if
we had an academic position opening, we would not be able to even consider
a Psy.D.. I believe that folks obtaining a Ph.D. in clinical psychology
(particularly from an institution adopting the scientist-practitioner or so
called Boulder model) are much more marketable in academia. PsyD.'s may be
limited to only those places offering PsyD's. Please don't take this as
academic snobbery, it is not intended as such but rather, a realistic view
of the way things are out there.
George
George Goedel
Professor & Chairperson
Department of Psychology
Northern Kentucky University
Highland Hts., KY 41099-2000
(606) 572-5574
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
