Neuropsychology Central

jjbranback · Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 8

I am applying to graduate programs this fall for a PhD in Clinical Psychology specializing in Clinical Neuropsychology. I am especially interested in pediatric neuropsychology.

I am having difficulty finding a list of schools that offer a specialization in Clinical Neuropsychology within their Clinical Psychology program. I found a list on apa.org, however, it was very outdated. So I got a list of all schools offering a PhD in Clinical Psychology and looked into each and every program. I came up with hopefully an accurate list iof which Clinical Psychology programs offer a specialization in Clinical Neuropsychology if anyone is interested.

My question is: [b]How do I know how these programs rank in Clinical Neuropsychology? [/b] I found a ranking for the Clinical Psychology programs but can not find anything on how schools rank for Clinical Neuropsychology

Thank you so much for your help!
Jennifer B.

Paendrag · Joined: 18 Jan 2005 Posts: 32

Basically, you want a strong neuroscience presence. You want your mentor to be a neuropsychologist/neuroscientist. You want practicum opportunities in neuropsychology. An affiliated medical or vet school with neuroanatomy courses is nice. Also, available electives in specialized neuroscience topics is a good thing.

jjbranback · Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 8

Thank you Paendrag!

I think I am on the right track then...
I am applying to a grad school for a PhD for Child Clinical Psychology specializing within in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience program and specializing in Child Clinical Neuropsychology.

What will be my actual title after this?? Clinical Psychologist PhD? Is this what I want and how do others know I am a clinical neuropsychologist.

What is important to know about the program as far as accredidation? That the Child Clinical Psychology PhD is APA accredited? And that the program will help me get an internship and get board certified ABPP/CN? Anything else?

I want to work with children so I'd like to specialize but does getting a PhD in Child Clinical Psychology limit me in working with adults if I choose to do so in the future?? Same question for the fact I would be specializing in Child Clinical Neuropsychology?

Also, the list on this website for Neuropsychology Programs is the same list I found on apa.org I believe. A lot of these programs were last updated in 1996..some 10 years ago. Many of the programs I found on my own that offer a PhD in Clinical Psychology with a track in Clinical Neuropsychology are not on this list. What does this mean? Could it mean the programs I found that are not on the list are very new or not so good?? Any advice?

Any other advice on choosing a program/school? size of program? research funding? I am so afraid of choosing the wrong program and paying for it! Thank you ...this is so helpful to me![/i] It's nice to hear it from a person in the field instead of a book.

lash · Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 7:12 pm Post subject:

I'd like to add that I have no idea what neuroscience was like at my school, though I'm sure some schools with good neuroscience programs have neuropsychology faculty as well. My personal suggestion would be to focus on the psychology program itself and make sure there is a faculty member there whose research interest is neuropsychology. Faculty look for students who fit well in their lab environment, so you should look for a faculty member and environment that provide you with a good fit too.

Other questions you bring up:

Title: Neuropsychologists are, first and foremost, psychologists. You'd get a degree in psychology, and when you've met the training requirements you'd be a psychologist, and more specifically a neuropsychologist.

Accreditation: APA accreditation will be important. You want a program that will let you get a good internship, but the most important factor there is going to be the availability and diversity of clinical experiences. The program itself doesn't actively "help" you get a good internship, but some programs are better structured than others for neuropsychology experience. The graduate program also isn't going to get you board certified, don't worry about that until at least internship.

The child/adult issue: once you're practicing, you can test whoever the heck you want, but if you want to make sure you get child and adult experience, I'd make sure the programs you're looking at do both.

The NPCentral program listing: we try to keep it updated, but it's by no means comprehensive, since there's no central listing of programs out there. If there are other programs you find that have neuropsych but aren't on our list, please feel free to submit them and we'll look over them and add any that are appropriate. We're always looking to improve the information we provide. I will add that many of the programs on the list are among the best in existence; newer doesn't mean better (though there are of course exceptions). It depends largely on the neuropsychology faculty there as well as the school itself.

Choosing the right program: In clinical PhD programs, the best thing to do is really to research the people there and find a mentor who will be the best fit for you. That's how you make the best of your experience. It doesn't matter how many students there are per year if your advisor is a jerk, and a good advisor / lab environment will often compensate for shortcomings the program in general may have.
_________________
Lee Ashendorf, Ph.D.
Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA
Co-Webmaster, Neuropsychology Central

tob7799 · Joined: 28 Apr 2005 Posts: 6 Location: Los Angeles

I'll add my 2 cents in here as well. Choosing the right program is a difficult one, and the most important thing to remember is that you are finding the best program FOR YOU. When I was applying, many people asked me why I didn't apply to the university that I did my undergraduate work, since it is ranked as one of "best" clinical programs. But it doesn't have a neuropsychology program or an aging program (which I am also interested in). Therefore, it definitely wasn't "best" for me. IMO too many people are hung up on the "rankings" of a program, and forget to consider how the program fits your long-term career needs.

That said the two biggest considerations should be (1) finding a program that has faculty that matches your research interests (you seem to be doing a good job researching the programs so far. (2) Is the program APA accredited? The APA makes sure that all the programs accredited meet certain qualifications so that the education received by each program is comparable.

Regarding the question concerning your future title, remember that from now on people are going to look more at the work that you have done. Therefore, anyone looking to employ a neuropsychologist will be looking for someone who has done neuropsychology in the past. You are defined by the work you do.

Finally, just because a program is not listed in the APA list doesn't mean that it is "newer" or of poorer quality. The programs have to submit a form to get on that list, and it is possible that the programs not on the list are not aware that the list exists.

jjbranback · Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 8

Wow, great advice!
Thank you lash and tob7799!!
Your advice rid me of many fears and confirmed some of my inclinations.

I will submit a list of Clinical Psych programs that specialize in Neuropsychology that I found that are not listed on Neuropsych Central.
Should I submit them through this forum or would you like me to use a different method?

Thank you so much!
Jennifer B.

Mikayyla · Joined: 02 Jun 2005 Posts: 10

208er · Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Posts: 16

I'm also interested if you could forward me a copy of the programs you found to Heyanka@Hartford.edu

Thanks a lot!

Dan

JH530 · Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 1

I would LOVE to see the list! I e-mailed you privately, or atleast I think I did. I am a new member to this site and find everyone's posts to be very helpful. I would really appreciate it if you could send the list to JEH320@aol.com.

Thank you very much! Smile

jjbranback · Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 8

I will get that list out shortly. My list is not a complete list but it could be used as a comparison list. It does have schools listed that apa does not.
-Jennifer B.

Mikayyla · Joined: 02 Jun 2005 Posts: 10

Whatever you have is just fine. I'm sure it is much better than the luck I've had trying to find programs. Mikayyla@hotmail.com

lash · Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 9:48 pm Post subject:

Jennifer - Sorry for the delay. Feel free to post your list here or submit it directly to the contact person at the top of the training links page (Dr. Woods in this case), whatever's easiest for you.
_________________
Lee Ashendorf, Ph.D.
Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA
Co-Webmaster, Neuropsychology Central

jjbranback · Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 8

Here is what I found for Clinical Psych PhD programs that specialize in
Neuropsychology. It does not mean, however, that they are necessarily conducting neuropsychology research. I suggest getting the book Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. It has information on PhD Clinical Psych programs, type of research that is being conducted, # faculty, #grants, etc.
This is NOT a complete list so keep on searching, but this is a good start.

Univ of Illinois - Urbana
U of Texas-Austin
U of Arizona- Tuscon
Washington U - St. Louis
Northwestern U.
Michigan State
U of Kentucky
U of Conn
U of Utah
Wayne State
George Washington U
U of Houston
Washington State
Brigham Young
Rosalind/Finch Chicago Med
Fordham U
Georgia State U
Nova Southeast
U of Cincinnati
U of Montana
Fielding Institute
Suffolk U.
U of Rochester

Hope this helps! Good luck!
Jennifer B.

lash · Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 9:22 pm Post subject:

Thanks Jennifer, I will make sure that Utah, Wayne State, George Washington, Suffolk, and Rochester are added to our links, because those are the places not listed who expressly mention neuropsychology and/or have faculty whose names are commonly known in neuropsychology circles. Thanks again!
_________________
Lee Ashendorf, Ph.D.
Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA
Co-Webmaster, Neuropsychology Central

Mikayyla · Joined: 02 Jun 2005 Posts: 10

Lash, could you share who the faculty are at these schools that are well known in neuropsychology? I'd like to read up on them before applying. Thanks and kudos to a wonderful website.

Paendrag · Joined: 18 Jan 2005 Posts: 32

I think looking for programs that specialize in neuropsychology can be a mistake. Neuropsychology is a clinical discipline. I think at the graduate school level what is needed is neuropsych faculty/practica and externship opportunities (for clinical exposure) and neuroscience resources. Many weaker programs claim to specialize in neuropsychology (e.g. Nova), but it is important to think about what you want to do in your career. If you are interested in being a good researcher, it is important to go to good research programs. If you have any interest in the neurosciences, which you should if you're interested in neuropsychology, technical skills (e.g., psychophysiological techniques, EEG, neuroimaging, statistics of varying form, etc. . .), theoretical sophistication, knowledge of functional neuroanatomy, and the like are important. The list above leaves off many of the best clinical psychology programs, probably because they don't advertise neuropsychology as a track.

Paendrag · Joined: 18 Jan 2005 Posts: 32

I'd consider:

University of Arizona
Arizona State University
Boston University
University of California- Berkeley
University of California- Los Angeles
University of California - San Diego and San Diego State University
University of Delaware
University of Denver (Department of Psychology)
Duke University
Emory University
Florida State University
University of Florida
University of Hawaii
University of Illinois- Urbana Champaign
Indiana University
University of Iowa
University of Kentucky
University of Maryland
McGill University
University of Memphis
University of Miami (Health Psychology)
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
University of Nevada - Reno
Ohio State University
University of Oregon
University of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State University
University of Pittsburgh
Purdue University
Rutgers University
San Diego State University and UCSD (joint program)
University of Southern California
University of South Florida
University of Texas
State University of New York - Binghamton
State University of New York - Stony Brook
University of Toronto
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Tech
University of Virginia (Department of Psychology)
University of Washington
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Wisconsin
Yale University

jjbranback · Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 8

Thank you so much for your list of schools to consider and your opinions!! It is so valuable to get the opinion of someone actually in the field. Just want to let you know it is greatly, greatly appreciated! I adore this forum.
-Jennifer B.

gaolion · Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 1 Location: HK

some information here Smile