FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions about the Program
Q: To
what graduate degree does this program lead?
A: Master of Science in Psychology; Concentration in Clinical Psychology.
Q: How
long does it take to complete this program?
A: Two years.
Q: How
many students are admitted per year, out of how many applicants?
A: 12 students are admitted per year per year, out of a pool usually in
the range of 120-180 applicants.
Q: How
many students are graduated per year?
A: 12 students per year.
Q: Is
this a full-time program? Can this program be done part-time?
A: This is a full-time program. Students enter the program and go through
it in two, consecutive years. You cannot participate in the program part-time.
Some students work part-time while in the program. However, work hours need to
be flexible and arranged around program requirements.
Q: What
is the goal/emphasis of this program?
A: To produce well trained theoretically grounded, ethically competent
psychotherapists.
Q: What
is the orientation of this program?
A: The theoretical orientation is psychodynamic, with emphases in family
and community systems.
Q: How
are internships obtained?
A: The first-year practicum is provided through the program in the
Psychology Clinic and in an outside placement. The second-year internship is
obtained through applying to internship sites and going through the screening
and interviewing process of the internship site.
Q: What
is the student/faculty ratio, and how much supervision do the students receive?
A: All first- and second-year seminars have approximately a 12:1 student
to faculty ratio. All first-year students receive 1 hour of individual
supervision weekly from a faculty member, as well as additional weekly
supervision from adjunct faculty associated with the students' practicum.
Second-year students receive at least 1 hour of weekly supervision from
professionals associated with their internship. Second-year students receive
individual advising with a faculty member while working on their master's
project.
Q: Are
there opportunities for doing research?
A: The program's primary emphasis is on clinical training. Students who
wish to participate in research can do so, but research participation is done
outside of and in addition to the full-time requirements of the program.
Q: What
is the final completion requirement?
A: The Master's Written Comprehensive Examination. This is satisfied by
successfully completing a Master's Paper, which is a demonstration of
theoretical and clinical integration around a specified topic. Second-year
students work individually with a faculty member to complete this requirement.
Requirements for Admission
Q: When
is the application due?
A: Applications are due on February 1. Details are
in the department application materials.
Q: Are
late applications accepted?
A: No. Applicants should make every effort to see that their application
is in the department and complete by the due date. After the due date,
applications are sent out to the clinical faculty for review. Late applications
are at a severe disadvantage.
Q: What
if my application is incomplete on the due date?
A: The applicant is strongly encouraged to make sure their application is
complete by the due date. Common slip-ups are transcripts and letters of
recommendation not arriving by the application due date. Incomplete or late
applications are at a severe disadvantage because faculty review happens quickly
after the due date.
Q: How
do I obtain an application?
A: Write or call the Graduate Secretary, Department of Psychology, San
Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132. Phone: 415-338-2167; Email: clinical@sfsu.edu; Online Application:
(http://bss.sfsu.edu/clinicalpsych/application.htm).
Q: Do I
need to take the GRE? What parts of the GRE?
A: All applicants, without exception, must take the GRE. Only the general
portion of the GRE is required.
Q: Do
my GRE scores need to be in my application on the date the application is due?
A: Yes. Applications without GRE scores are considered incomplete.
Applicants must time their taking of the GRE so that the scores are in their
application materials by February 1 or the specified due date.
Q: How
much do the GRE scores count in admissions? Are there cut-off scores?
A: GRE scores are evaluated as part of the applicant's academic record
but they are not the primary focus of the application review. Faculty members
evaluate different aspects of applications roughly in this order of importance:
clinical practice experience, statement of purpose (i.e., autobiographical
statement), letters of recommendation, coursework, GPA, & GRE scores. The
program does not have an absolute cut-off score for the GRE.
Q: Is
there a minimum grade point average for admission?
A: The University requires a 3.0 grade point average for admission.
Successful applicants to the program generally have a higher grade point
average, but there is no specific minimum grade point average beyond this. We do
read all applications to the program and in rare cases we will petition the
university to override this GPA requirement when the applicant is outstanding in
all other areas.
Q: Is a
bachelor's degree in psychology a requirement for admission?
A: No, but it often helps as specific courses related to clinical
psychology are either required (An upper-division course in Statistics, Abnormal
Psychology & Theories of Personality) or recommended (e.g., Introduction to
Clinical Psychology, Community Psychology, Cross-Cultural Psychology,
Developmental Psychology, Psychology of the Family, Behavior Problems in
Children, etc.). The program requires the applicant to have a bachelor's degree,
but it does not have to be in psychology.
Q: Who
should I ask to write letters of recommendation for my applications?
A: Letters of recommendation should be from professionals who are
familiar with your recent academic and clinical practice experience. It is best
that your letters of recommendation be spread across your experience, for
example, one letter from a professor who knows your course work, one letter from
a professional who supervised your work at a community agency, and one letter
from a professor with whom you did research or teaching assistance.
Q: Can
I submit more than three letters of recommendation with my application?
A: Yes.
Q: How
much does ‘related clinical practice experience’ count for admission and what
are some examples of these experiences?
A: Related experience is any experience, paid or unpaid, that is related
to the skills needed to be a psychotherapist is the most important factor in
determining the relative strength of an application. Examples include volunteer
experience on a suicide or crisis intervention line, with an AIDS organization,
work as a teacher (especially with children with behavior or emotional
problems), in a hospital or community mental health organization, or in group or
residential treatment facility (to name a few).
Q: How
much clinical experience do I need?
A: The program does not have a minimum requirement. However, most
applicants have at least one year or more of clinical experience. While the
applicant should list all the forms of related professional experience in his or
her curriculum vitae (academic resume), experience that is directly related to
the practice of clinical psychology should be clearly emphasized in the
application.
Q: Why
does this program require an autobiographical statement for admission?
A: The program emphasizes training in becoming a competent
psychotherapist. An autobiographical statement offers the applicant the
opportunity to demonstrate that they have insight and perspective on their own
development as a person - qualities that the program feels are essential in
psychotherapy training.
Q: What
should I emphasize in the autobiographical statement? How long should it be?
A: The applicant should emphasize those aspects of his or her development
that were particularly significant in forming their character and personality
and in creating their motivation to become a psychotherapist. The
autobiographical statement should be three to five typewritten, double-spaced
pages.
Q: How
are the applications evaluated? Does this program require interviews?
A: After February 1 or the specified due date all applications are
distributed to the program faculty. Each faculty member works with a team of
current clinical psychology graduate students. Applications are divided between
the faculty/student teams. After faculty/student teams evaluate the
applications, a subset of the strongest applications is chosen and these
applicants are offered interview. Individual interviews are then scheduled with
these applicants. From the interviewing process, 12 applicants are selected and
invited into the program. Generally, this process takes several weeks.
Questions about Obtaining a Professional License
Q: What
professional license am I eligible for after completing this program?
A: The Marriage Family Therapist license (LMFT) license (Previously named
Marriage, Family, Child Counselor (MFCC) license). According to BBS regulations,
once you have completed your Masters degree at SFSU you must complete post
Masters hours to sit for your MFT license.
Q: What
requirements for the LMFT are not offered by this program? How can I obtain
these requirements?
A: The program provides all of the pre-master's academic
components and clinical hours required for the LMFT with two exceptions: The
Child Abuse Reporting and Human Sexuality requirements. These are readily
obtained as weekend education seminars, which are offered by a variety of
institutions.
Q: What
are the post-master's requirements for the LMFT? How long does it take to
complete these requirements?
A: After graduating from the program the BBS requires additional
supervised hours of experience. Consult the BBS website for details:
www.bbs.ca.gov In general it takes 1 full-time year or 2-3 part-time years
post Masters to obtain these hours. LMFT regulations require that the entire
pre- and post-master's gathering of experience not exceed 6 years.
Questions about Doctoral Degrees and Programs
Q: Does
San Francisco State University have a doctoral program in clinical psychology?
A: No.
Q: Why
do people choose to enter a master's program instead of a doctoral program?
A: Generally, people choose to complete a master's degree when they want
to obtain their LMFT license and make a career as a practicing psychotherapist.
People who enter doctoral programs directly or go into a doctoral program after
obtaining their master's degree often want to include research and teaching in
their career.
Q: Do
graduates of this master's program continue on to doctoral programs?
A: Most students go into some form of clinical practice after obtaining
their MFT license. Roughly a third or less of the graduates of the Clinical
Psychology Master's Program continued on to doctoral programs, either directly
after obtaining the master's degree or after a year or more. Usually this is
done to gain experience in research or teaching.
Q: Do
doctoral programs give credit for work done in the master's program?
A: This varies a great deal by the doctoral institution. Some
institutions credit up to a year of coursework while others do not allow any
credit for Masters coursework.
