Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
i have a well-established career and i've recently "returned" to school to complete my formal education.
i have chosen a "phd field of study" and that's pretty constant. my first and second choice schools for the phd require a masters upon entry.
since i must get one anyway, i want this masters to be in something i can pursue teaching work in. i have several years of teaching experience (adult/non credit) and i'm already well aware of the pros/cons/etc of the adjunct world. i'm not looking to get rich doing this nor depend on it as my primary source of income, but it's something i absolutely want to do.
among the fields i'd like to "qualify" to teach is psychology.
the choices are between a masters in educational psych and a masters in school psych.
the master's in ed psych is at a school with a better "name" than the other, and only a slightly higher cost. the courses are slightly (very slightly) more relevant to my eventual phd, but i'd only be qualified to teach "education" classes due to the fact that ed psych degrees originate in the school of education. in addition, for the adjunct jobs that focus on prefixes, the courses don't have anything related to a PSY/PSYCH/PS prefix, so i'd be ineligible to teach psych.
if i went this route and still wanted to teach, i'd have to take extra coursework in psychology, which isn't a big deal since i love the courses, and the cost is great.
the school psych program is at a good school but not as recognized. i am not a huge label ***** but i'm also not hiring myself in this endeavor.
the courses are all PSYCH and most of them are even the same as any psych masters program....several in common with the ed psych degree above.
the cost is almost $100 less than the other school, but the problem with this one is that it's in "school" psychology. i have zero desire to ever be a school psychologist. i do not plan to work directly with children. this masters program does not require internship (that's in the EdS and PhD programs) but it does require 2 courses focused on the "child" aspect vs only one pure "child" aspect in the other. i could deal with this, if i somehow determined that this degree would be best. i'd' still take research/stats courses from "the other school" above.
there is no gen psych option for me, sadly.
these degrees are related to my phd field of study, but that field is not in psychology. i find the fields of psychotherapy and counseling fascinating, and i've even done volunteer work at counseling agencies, but i do not plan to pursue those as careers. i do love, love love research and statistics, which plays into my eventual pursuit of a phd.
either way i go, i'm going to have to do a masters + coursework at the other school.
winners in various standpoints (see why this is hard?)
direct-to-phd goals? ed psych
teaching goals? school psych
cost? school psych
coursework is a tie.
school recognition goes to ed psych
i've tried to answer what i anticipate the follow up questions may be but pardon me if this is too long/confusing to read. i am a lurker and not very good at actually posting at all.
thanks for reading and contributing your thoughts. i'm very sure there's something i'm just not seeing to make this easier.
I believe Ed psych is very theory based and usually requires a strong quant background whereas school psych is more practitioner based with an emphasis on consultation and assessment.
You never mention what you want your PhD in, just the two masters programs you are considering. That could have some impact on which you decide to choose.
I voted for ed psych because even though you'd be limited to teaching in education departments, I think you'd still have more options within that department than a psych department with a school psych degree.
I voted for ed psych because even though you'd be limited to teaching in education departments, I think you'd still have more options within that department than a psych department with a school psych degree.
another good point. i was mostly focused on the course prefixes.
would supplementing ed psych with psych dept cousework help my chances of teaching psych courses?
would supplementing ed psych with psych dept cousework help my chances of teaching psych courses?
I'm not 100% certain, but I think it could help. I don't think there are minors in graduate school, but perhaps you could have another focus area or research area and that could help?
Best bet would be to talk to advisers at these schools.
You're right--there are no minors. I'd have to pick up psych hours outside of my program.
There are a lot of tie ins between ed psych and other psych areas, such as cognitive and social. I would enjoy research that explores those relationships.
The extra coursework would be to give me different perspectives as well as provide the required 18 hours with the correct prefix for teaching work.
Any PhD in Psych will get you only about $1K/year more than a teacher in most school systems in my area of NY State. I wouldn't plan on using it to work in any public school system. It isn't cost effective over a career of 30+ years, given what the cost is to get the degree; you will pay more for the degree than you earn with it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
