Bachelors Psychology to Masters advice

[Nexum]

Your Location: Oregon USA
Your Age: 36
What kind of degree do you want?: BA/S Psychology, Masters in Psychology
Current Regional Accredited Credits:

School Name Total Credits: University of Phoenix, 9
Class Name, Credits, Grade
Gen/200 Foundations for General Education and Professional Success, 3, A-
Com/295 Business Communications, 3, A-
ETH/321 Ethical and Legal Topics in Business, 3, A-

School Name Total Credits: Rogue Community College, 30

Class Name, Credits, Grade
CCJ 271 Intro to corrections, 4, B

CJ 199 Sp Studies: Crim Justice, 4, B
CJ 100 Found & Ethics in Crim, 4, A
COMM 210 Public Speaking, 3, A
HE 252 First Aid, 3, A
PSY 201 General Psychology, 3, C
PSY 101 Psych Human Relations, 3, A
SOC 204 Sociological Imagination, 3, B
WR 121 English Composition, 3, B

School Name Total Credits: Southern Oregon University 32

Class Name, Credits, Grade

CCJ 230 American Criminal Justice Syst, 4, B+
CCJ 251 Intro to Criminal Law, 4, B+
HE 275 Health and Society II, 4, B
CCJ 399 SS: Violence & Victimology, 4, A-
WR 122 English Composition, 4, B
CCJ 241 Intro to Law Enforcement, 4, A
CS 200, Computer Science I, 4, A
CS 210 Web Development I, 4, B+

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 0

Any certifications or military experience?

No

Budget: 10k out of pocket, willing to take on student loans.  I'd like to go the cheapest route possible, but will consider spending more for easy and fast!  

Commitments: Family & pets. I currently work full time and can work on my studies part time or in the evenings/weekends. I can mostly set my own schedule at work.


Dedicated time to study: I can study as much as is needed during the night or weekends as long as my schedule is free. I estimate at least 2 hours every week night and on the weekends, maybe 3-6 hours, total would be roughly 10+6=16 hours or slightly more.


Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the Bachelors degree as fast as possible would be ideal.  The sooner I finish my BA/S the sooner I can start my masters. For licensure in Oregon you must go to schools that meet all the requirements. The program must also be a minimum of 3 years. 


[b]Tuition assistance/reimbursement: nothing in stone[/b]

I have been looking at the new WGU BS Psychology program because of the cost and the fact that it is an exam based school. I am a good test taker as I retain information, especially recent information, very well. For my masters I was very much considering going to an online program offered by George Fox University based out of Portland OR. Their masters program satisfies all requirements for both the LMFT and LPC which is fantastic. They should also be able to help me via the program with placement for internship hours that are required by OR as part of the program and will allow me to do extra hours as to not have to pay a supervisor as much for the remainder of additional hours. I would like to avoid my transcripts looking like I did a ton of stuff from random sites and transferred it in when I submit for acceptance to the masters program.

I also would want to address my ability to write papers and do math at a university level so that when I went into the masters program I was not having extensive difficulty writing well formed papers. Many of my credits are from when I was 18-22 so that information has not been used in a while as none of it applies to any of my work since besides some math as needed.

Thank you for any advice! I am just starting to really dig into what my plan is with this but want to get started soon.

[studyingfortests]

Others will have the best advice on what to do on the bachelor's degree, but I'll chime in on the masters.

Is your intent to be a therapist? If so, I encourage you to seriously consider looking into the MSW (Master of Social Work) which leads to the LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) rather than the MA Psychology, which leads to (most commonly) either the MFT (Marriage and Family Therapy) or LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor).

The LCSW can do everything an LMFT or LPC can do; be a psychotherapist, see clients in any setting, etc. But the LCSW therapist has a wider scope of practice than either of the other two, and this is true in all 50 states. There is also a large demand for LCSWs, so much so that some MSW programs are seeing applicants that already hold a LMFT or LPCC coming back for an MSW because there are more jobs for LCSWs. The standards for social work licensure are also consistent across all 50 states, something that isn't true for MFT and LPC programs, thus your license is pretty easily transferred to other states.

LCSWs are also trained in a broader perspective; they look at the client's mental health through a lens of not just family or individual interactions, but also how systems, institutions, governmental policies, and other things affect the client's mental health.

A typical MSW degree program takes 2 years. (there are one-year programs, but they require a bachelor in social work, and it would not be a good fit for you with all your credits.) The MSW does not require a psych undergrad, and many programs do not have any specific undergrad requirements such as statistics, math, or biology, though there are a few schools that do.

I can give you info on MSW programs if that is of interest. If not, best of luck on your journey in any case. I considered going back to school, finishing my bachelors, and getting a masters in psych or social work for, literally, decades. I finally got my shit together and started in earnest about 3 years ago, finished my bachelors in 2021 (TESU) and my MSW last December. I encourage you to make your path happen sooner than later!

[Nexum]

Others will have the best advice on what to do on the bachelor's degree, but I'll chime in on the masters.

Is your intent to be a therapist?  If so, I encourage you to seriously consider looking into the MSW (Master of Social Work) which leads to the LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) rather than the MA Psychology, which leads to (most commonly) either the MFT (Marriage and Family Therapy) or LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor).

The LCSW can do everything an LMFT or LPC can do; be a psychotherapist, see clients in any setting, etc. But the LCSW therapist has a wider scope of practice than either of the other two, and this is true in all 50 states. There is also a large demand for LCSWs, so much so that some MSW programs are seeing applicants that already hold a LMFT or LPCC coming back for an MSW because there are more jobs for LCSWs.  The standards for social work licensure are also consistent across all 50 states, something that isn't true for MFT and LPC programs, thus your license is pretty easily transferred to other states.

LCSWs are also trained in a broader perspective; they look at the client's mental health through a lens of not just family or individual interactions, but also how systems, institutions, governmental policies, and other things affect the client's mental health.

A typical MSW degree program takes 2 years. (there are one-year programs, but they require a bachelor in social work, and it would not be a good fit for you with all your credits.) The MSW does not require a psych undergrad, and many programs do not have any specific undergrad requirements such as statistics, math, or biology, though there are a few schools that do.

I can give you info on MSW programs if that is of interest. If not, best of luck on your journey in any case.  I considered going back to school, finishing my bachelors, and getting a masters in psych or social work for, literally, decades. I finally got my shit together and started in earnest about 3 years ago, finished my bachelors in 2021 (TESU) and my MSW last December. I encourage you to make your path happen sooner than later!

Thank you so much for this advice, I am going to check this out! My intent was originally to get my LMFT because thats what I want to be doing is being a therapist. I don't have much interest in doing the social work from within the government system. That being said if OR does allow this it would make sense. Part of why I chose GFU for my masters program is because their program satisfies the different requirements of LFMT and LPCC set by OR and most other programs you have to choose one or the other.

[bjcheung77]

@Nexum, Welcome to the board, that's a good intro post with the addendum, template, and a good follow up post. My suggestion is to keep your undergrad options open, for example, if WGU BS Psych is not your cup of tea, then you can investigate another option such as UMPI BA Psych. The main reason I suggest it is, WGU I believe uses pass/fail option of competency, whereas UMPI provides letter grades. With regards to the Masters, you can also keep that open as well, say for instance, review Kairos University and their offerings, there are so many routes to take, research and decide which route is best, you can use Kairos as your backup option or something...

[Priszilla]

Others will have the best advice on what to do on the bachelor's degree, but I'll chime in on the masters.

Is your intent to be a therapist?  If so, I encourage you to seriously consider looking into the MSW (Master of Social Work) which leads to the LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) rather than the MA Psychology, which leads to (most commonly) either the MFT (Marriage and Family Therapy) or LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor).

The LCSW can do everything an LMFT or LPC can do; be a psychotherapist, see clients in any setting, etc. But the LCSW therapist has a wider scope of practice than either of the other two, and this is true in all 50 states. There is also a large demand for LCSWs, so much so that some MSW programs are seeing applicants that already hold a LMFT or LPCC coming back for an MSW because there are more jobs for LCSWs.  The standards for social work licensure are also consistent across all 50 states, something that isn't true for MFT and LPC programs, thus your license is pretty easily transferred to other states.

LCSWs are also trained in a broader perspective; they look at the client's mental health through a lens of not just family or individual interactions, but also how systems, institutions, governmental policies, and other things affect the client's mental health.

A typical MSW degree program takes 2 years. (there are one-year programs, but they require a bachelor in social work, and it would not be a good fit for you with all your credits.) The MSW does not require a psych undergrad, and many programs do not have any specific undergrad requirements such as statistics, math, or biology, though there are a few schools that do.

I can give you info on MSW programs if that is of interest. If not, best of luck on your journey in any case.  I considered going back to school, finishing my bachelors, and getting a masters in psych or social work for, literally, decades. I finally got my shit together and started in earnest about 3 years ago, finished my bachelors in 2021 (TESU) and my MSW last December. I encourage you to make your path happen sooner than later!

Would you mind listing or messaging the MSW programs you would suggest? I just earned my Pierpont A.A.S and starting to put together my Bachelors plan for UMPI. Going the LCSW route sounds very interesting!

[BELEEMA]

Others will have the best advice on what to do on the bachelor's degree, but I'll chime in on the masters.

Is your intent to be a therapist?  If so, I encourage you to seriously consider looking into the MSW (Master of Social Work) which leads to the LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) rather than the MA Psychology, which leads to (most commonly) either the MFT (Marriage and Family Therapy) or LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor).

The LCSW can do everything an LMFT or LPC can do; be a psychotherapist, see clients in any setting, etc. But the LCSW therapist has a wider scope of practice than either of the other two, and this is true in all 50 states. There is also a large demand for LCSWs, so much so that some MSW programs are seeing applicants that already hold a LMFT or LPCC coming back for an MSW because there are more jobs for LCSWs.  The standards for social work licensure are also consistent across all 50 states, something that isn't true for MFT and LPC programs, thus your license is pretty easily transferred to other states.

LCSWs are also trained in a broader perspective; they look at the client's mental health through a lens of not just family or individual interactions, but also how systems, institutions, governmental policies, and other things affect the client's mental health.

A typical MSW degree program takes 2 years. (there are one-year programs, but they require a bachelor in social work, and it would not be a good fit for you with all your credits.) The MSW does not require a psych undergrad, and many programs do not have any specific undergrad requirements such as statistics, math, or biology, though there are a few schools that do.

I can give you info on MSW programs if that is of interest. If not, best of luck on your journey in any case.  I considered going back to school, finishing my bachelors, and getting a masters in psych or social work for, literally, decades. I finally got my shit together and started in earnest about 3 years ago, finished my bachelors in 2021 (TESU) and my MSW last December. I encourage you to make your path happen sooner than later!

Hi Studyingfortests , can you please share your path to MSW ? I was going to try BSW but not finding something that isn't onsite or very expensive  - so maybe Bachelor in Psychology would be better followed by MSW? but wandering which school for MSW - thank you for any /all advise.