> From: "Ferguson, Sherry" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Can a Master's in Experimental lead to a Ph.D. in Counseling?
>
> Tipsters,
>
> I have a student whose long-term goal is to attain a Ph.D. in Counseling
> Psychology. But she's going into a Master's program now in Experimental
> Psychology and her advisor has told her that it will be easy for her to
> move to a Ph.D. program in counseling with a master's in experimental.
>
> Does anyone know what the chances are of this? In other words, if her
> goal is a counseling psychology Ph.D., will a pause to pick up a master's
> in experimental psychology help or hurt?
>
> Thanks!
An important question to ask her: What is her rationale for going this route
as opposed to straight counseling psych? Of course, that's a question I ask
any student who says "I really want to do X some day, but right now I'm
going to do Y." Ok, how will Y make you do a better job with X?
I would think if she was training herself for an academic career this path
(exper to counseling) would make more sense, but not so sure about
someone who is bent on being a practitioner.
As far as it affecting her admission to grad school, it certainly depends on
the program. Counseling psych programs like Illinois, Missouri, MAryland,
Ohio State, etc. are known for having a large research emphasis, so that
could actually benefit her, but others schools (and certainly professional
psych programs) might be more interested (not necessarily uninterested) in
her counseling background.
************************************************************************
Jim Guinee, Ph.D.
Director of Training & Adjunct Professor
President, Arkansas College Counselor Association
University of Central Arkansas Counseling Center
313 Bernard Hall Conway, AR 72035 USA
(501) 450-3138 (office) (501) 450-3248 (fax)
"You don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things --
to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently
motivated to reach challenging goals."
-- Edmund Hillary, New Zealander mountaineer and explorer
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