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Psychology Schools
Psychology schools offer a wide variety of psychology and psychology-related degree options. As a mere baseline, schools might offer a BA, BS, MA, MS, Ph.D. in Psychology or a Psy.D., but those distinctions cannot begin to scratch the surface of the kinds of programs offered by psychology schools. One school alone might offer a Ph.D. in Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Experimental Psychopathology, Clinical Science, Cognition, Behavioral Neuroscience, or Vision Science. Another school could offer a Ph.D. in three different areas of psychology, such as brain, behavior and cognition; clinical; or forensic psychology. Yet other schools offer graduate programs in psychology and social policy or health psychology. Bottom line, psychology schools offer degrees for every possible subset and specialty of psychology.
When considering psychology schools that may be of interest to a student, the first thing to look at is its accreditation. There are two types of accreditation available for psychology schools: institutional and specialized. Institutional accreditation certifies that an institution has met national standards of quality. It is granted by one of seven regional accrediting organizations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Specialized accreditation refers to any accreditation process that relates to specific discipline areas. In the field of psychology, specialized accreditation is granted by the American Psychological Association (APA), Committee on Accreditation. This accreditation applies to doctoral programs, internships and postdoctoral residency programs in the health service areas of professional psychology. Accreditation is important because having a degree from an accredited institution is a requirement for obtaining state licensure. Further, state licensure is required to become a practicing psychologist.
Another important task when selecting psychology schools is to compare what type of research, internship and postdoctoral work they offer. This is important for students interested in clinical psychology and for those interested in the more research-oriented aspects of psychology. The available concentrations for research and internships are even more numerous than the options for psychology degrees. These concentrations really focus on a particular aspect of psychology and where students gain their essential experiences for their careers. Research, along with clinical hours accumulated and internships completed, are all part of the requirements to become a licensed psychologist. Because of this, the psychology program that a student selects at a particular school will have a vital impact on the beginning of his/her career.