Selecting a doctoral program in professional psychology: Some comparisons among PhD counseling, PhD clinical, and PsyD clinical psychology programs

Directors of American Psychological Association-accredited doctoral program s in counseling psychology (95% response) and clinical psychology (99% resp onse) provided data regarding number of applications, credentials of incomi ng students, rates of acceptance, and the theoretical orientations and rese arch areas of the faculty. The acceptance rates of PhD clinical and PhD cou nseling psychology programs were comparable (6% vs. 8%), despite the higher number of applications (270 vs. 130) to clinical programs. Compared with c linical students, counseling students were more likely to represent ethnic minorities and have master's degrees, but were otherwise similar in academi c credentials. Clinical faculty were more likely to be involved in research with pathological populations and associated with medical settings, wherea s counseling faculty were more involved in research concerning career proce sses, human diversity, and professional issues. These results should alert applicants and their advisors to robust differences across these specializa tions and should enhance matching between programs and students.