| Psychology Typically, what distinguishes psychology from education and social work is the strong research focus--remember your courses in research methods and statistics? Thus, most masters and doctoral psychology programs in clinical psychology will require coursework in research. This research emphasis serves two primary functions. First, because psychology is an empirical discipline, psychologists must understand research methodology to keep up with developments in the field (by reading professional journals). Second, psychologists and psychology students conduct research to advance knowledge in the field. Thus, doctoral programs require a dissertation (a major research project of publishable quality), and some master's programs do as well. If you select a master's program that requires a thesis, you will need these skills to conduct the research for your thesis. (A thesis is a research project that may or may not be of publishable quality and is highly desirable if you are planning to go on for a PhD) In a non-thesis program, you will need the research skills to understand the research articles you read for your classes and papers and to keep up with developments in the discipline after you graduate. If research is not your cup of tea, graduate programs in education and social work may be much more to your liking. Education. Graduate programs in counselor education place less emphasis on research than do psychology programs--including those in clinical and counseling psychology. At the master's level, you probably won't have to do a thesis; at the doctoral level, you may have to complete a dissertation, although some programs allow students to substitute a major theoretical review paper. (For this level of detail, you will need to review the degree requirements for individual programs.) In education programs, students also typically get less coursework and practical experience in psychological assessment than do students in psychology programs. Moreover, preparation in this area is usually limited to educational testing--e.g., occupational interest inventories. Counselor education programs will require you to take courses and have supervised experiences in the appraisal and treatment of psychological problems. Thus, if you want to do counseling, but are not interested in doing psychological testing or research, a degree in counselor education (agency counseling or school counseling) may be just what you want. If you're interested in learning to use a battery of psycho-educational tests to determine why a child isn't performing well in school, school psychology may be the career for you. Because school psychologists also usually design programs to help children perform better (based on the results of testing and interviews with the child, teacher, and parents), they take courses in counseling and behavior modification as well as in educational, intellectual, and personality assessment. My understanding is that an independent research project (thesis) is not required for this degree. A minimum of a master's degree is required to become a school psychologist, but many states require school psychologists to have training beyond a master's degree (EdS or education specialist's degree); some require the doctorate (PhD). Clinical Social Work. Unlike graduate programs in counselor education, school psychology, and clinical/counseling psychology, social work programs will not prepare you to conduct psychological testing. Otherwise, clinical social workers take coursework and practica in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems, among other topics. Thirty years ago, social work education tended to be rather Freudian, but I don't know if this is still the case. Frankly, I think there is much to be said for a degree in social work. The training is typically good; the degree enables you to work in a variety of settings (hospitals, schools, community mental health centers, etc.); and one can obtain a license in clinical social work at the master's level in all states. |
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