Discussion: Exploring Graduate Studies

For this Discussion, you will research and report on a graduate school program of study located at a university in a field or area you are interested in potentially pursuing (e.g., clinical psychology, counseling psychology, developmental psychology, law school, business school, social work, etc.). You will report the type of degree earned through the program (e.g., M.A., M.S., Ph.D., Psy.D., J.D., M.S.W., Ed.D., M.B.A., etc.), and the pre-admission requirements for the graduate program at the university (GPA, test scores such as the GRE, LSAT, MCAT, Personal Statements, Curriculum Vitae (CV), letters of recommendation, etc.), as well as the pros and cons for you to pursue a degree in this program (e.g., consider factors such cost, lifestyle, commute, length of program, etc.). In addition, you will determine if your chosen field has specific licensure or regulatory requirements for practitioners in the state you reside in or plan to reside (e.g., if your chosen field of study is Marriage and Family Counseling, visit your state board for Counselor licensure website to learn what the minimum requirements are for practicing Counselors in your state). 

Before you post to your Discussion, explore various programs of study by examining this week’s Learning Resources. You are not limited to exploring only Walden’s programs of study, and you are encouraged to compare similar graduate school programs across multiple universities. Also, examine the list of professional and licensure websites, as well as the graduate school search resources on the PsychCareers website. Finally, access the BS in Psychology Resource Center and review the frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answers about preparing for graduate study. The link to the BS in Psychology Resource Center is in the Course Home menu.

With these thoughts in mind

By Day 3

Post a response to the following:

1. Provide a brief summary of the specific graduate school program you have chosen to explore. What university are you interested in attending? Report the degree earned through the program (e.g., M.A., Ph.D., J.D., M.S.W, etc.), the pre-admission requirements (e.g., GPA, test scores, CV, Personal Statement, etc.), and discuss why you are interested in this program of study. Comment on if the information is consistent with what you read about regarding application to post-graduate programs in the course textbook.
2. Explain the pros and cons of attending this graduate program as they relate to your lifestyle. Consider variables such as geographic location, cost, etc.
3. Describe what the regulatory and licensure requirements may be for your chosen field of interest in the state you currently reside in or plan to reside and provide URL links to the resources you used to obtain the information (e.g., if your chosen field of study is Marriage and Family Counseling, visit your state board for Counselor Licensure website to learn what the minimum requirements are for practicing Counselors in your state).

Note: Be sure to support the responses within your initial Discussion assignment post (and in your colleague reply) with information obtained from the assigned Learning Resources, including a Reference list for sources used. For information regarding how your Discussion assignment will be evaluated, please review the Grading Rubric, located in the Course Information area of the course.

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By Day 5

Respond to at least one of your colleagues’ initial Discussion assignment postings in one or more of the following ways:

• Ask a probing question and provide insight into how you would answer your question and why.
• Ask a probing question and provide the foundation, or rationale, for the question.
• Expand on your colleague’s posting by offering a new perspective or insight.
• Agree with a colleague and offer additional (new) supporting information for consideration.
• Disagree with a colleague by respectfully discussing and supporting a different perspective.

Important Note: For all Discussions in this course, you are required to complete your initial Discussion assignment post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link, and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click Submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking Submit!