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Opportunities and Resources for Graduate Students
GPSA - Graduate Psychology Student Association
The Graduate Psychology Student Association (GPSA) is an organization of the graduate students in the Masters and Psy.D. Programs. Its purpose is to provide student involvement in the establishment, modification, and implementation of the policies and procedures governing the graduate psychology programs. It provides encouragement and fellowship for the students as well as providing opportunities to develop skills and direction in professional development. Officers, Standing Committee and Student Faculty Recruitment Committee members are elected by the student body each year to represent the classes/levels of each program (Catalog of Wheaton College). Memberships to all other committees are on a volunteer basis. GPSA also provides a forum for students to discuss department issues as a group and to bring their views to the faculty.
Officers:
President - Presides at meetings of the GPSA. Meets with the Department Chair, Sponsor, or appointed faculty members to communicate outcomes of GPSA meetings as needed. Attends graduate faculty meetings periodically.
Vice President - Assists President in the executive responsibilities. Presides at GPSA meetings and serves as substitute in the President's absence.
Treasurer - Monitors budget, expense commitments and completes procedures for expenses and other financial matters.
Secretary - Records and distributes all meeting minutes and GPSA correspondence and keeps the GPSA files.
It is preferable, but not necessary that two officers be from the Psy.D. program and two from the M.A. program.
Class Representatives: Two representatives from each Psy.D. year (1st - 4th) and two from each M.A. class are elected or volunteer; at most a total of twelve representatives. A representative for the Psy.D. pre-doctoral interns is desirable, but not required. Class representatives serve as spokespersons for their class and assist in coordinating various activities, such as, sign-ups for events, requesting volunteers, etc. Student Life Enrichment Director (SLED) - develops and coordinates social activities for the graduate psychology community for the school year. One or two assistants may be recruited from the student body.
Sponsor: The Psychology Program Administrator serves as a resource of information and liaison for coordination of GPSA activities.
Standing Committees of Psychology Department that may have student representatives: - Clinical Training Committee - see description above in "Committee Structure."
- Admissions and Academic Requirements Committee - see description above in "Committee Structure."
- Multicultural Committee - see description above in "Committee Structure."
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Job Opportunities for M.A. Graduates
M.A. in Clinical Psychology
Experiences of past graduates suggest that there are a great number of job possibilities open to M.A.'s in clinical psychology. Graduates of our program have obtained student development and teaching positions in Christian and public higher education, community mental health centers, psychiatric hospitals, group homes, church based counseling centers, as well as a variety of other settings. A number have also been able to join the private practices of clinical psychologists or psychiatrists. Many current and former faculty members and students in the program have a strong interest in the interface of ministry and mental health practice. Many alumni of our program serve with or assist mission agencies and missionaries around the world. Other graduates serve in nontraditional roles that bring the training and values of the mental health field into ministry roles within the church. Members of the psychology department are active in teaching and training professionals, clergy and lay people around the world. Licensing and Certification
Students come to our program with many diverse plans and goals for the professional futures. Many desire to become licensed and practice as a mental health professional. The faculty and staff of the Wheaton College Master's Program in Clinical Psychology are committed to providing the appropriate coursework and clinical requirements to enable students to obtain licensure and certification as mental health professionals. All students must understand from the beginning of their training, however, that becoming informed about, applying for, and obtaining a professional license or certificate is solely the responsibility of the student with the assistance of faculty and staff. NOTE: It is very important to keep copies of all your syllabi and clinical training records as they may be needed to verify the content of the curriculum or the internship experience to various licensing agencies.
While psychological practice at the doctoral level is very uniform across the United States, practice at the master's level is extremely diverse. Many states have licenses for master's level psychologists. Some states have counselor licenses or marriage and family therapist licenses. Each state defines its own license and the requirements for those licenses. There is no reciprocity from state to state. It is important that students attempt to anticipate their future licensing needs. If you know of a state or several states where you are likely to want to move after completion of the program your research into the licensure requirements in those states must begin in your first semester of the program (if not before). On several occasions students have discovered that a state's licensure requirements may differ from the departments graduation requirements in such areas as courses, internship hours, type of supervisor, etc. It is difficult to correct such problems after graduation.
Since the licenses in all of the states (and other countries) are always changing it is not possible for faculty to monitor the situation in states other than Illinois. Websites that are helpful in locating the various boards and licensing information are:
www.asppb.org - the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards
www.apa.org - American Psychological Association
www.ildpr.com - IL Department of Professional Regulations
www.aamft.org - American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists
www.imhca.org - IL Mental health Counselors Assoc.
www.ilcounseling.org - IL Counseling Association
www.nbcc.org - National Board for Certified Counselors
For a further listing of websites relevant to state-specific licensure, click here.
We can also provide names of alumni of our program who live in a particular state and they can often be helpful in answering your questions about license and practice in that state. (We hope you will do the same someday.)
We do monitor the state of the two masters licenses in Illinois (LCPC and LMFT). Faculty will attempt to provide information that is as current as possible on the requirements for obtaining licensure as a licensed Clinical Professional Counselor or a Marriage and Family Therapist in Illinois. The most recent video recording of a lecture given on LMFT and LCPC requirements may be checked out from the video library. The tables below give summaries of the courses in the clinical program that meet licensing requirements. However, always consult the most current official licensing requirements.
Course Recommendations for Illinois LCPC Requirements
Course Recommendations for Illinois LMFT Requirements
M.A. in Counseling Ministries
This program prepares students to work in a variety of Christian ministry contexts with advanced skills in counseling. For example, a graduate may work internationally with a mission organization and provide counseling services to individuals in the agency. Other examples may include counseling ministries within local churches.
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Professional Membership
The Psychology Department encourages its students to pursue memberships in professional organizations during their training. We have student members of the American Psychological Association (APA), the Christian Association of Psychological Studies (CAPS), and the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC). Involvement in these organizations allows students to make contact and collaborate with other students and professionals in the field, stay informed on current research both in the field of psychology as a whole and in the field of Christian psychology specifically, and to gain experience being involved with and presenting research.
Every year, students from Wheaton's graduate programs have the opportunity to submit research for review to present at the national conferences of organizations such as APA and CAPS.
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Collected Data for Dissertations
There are various options available for students working on dissertations in terms of data collection. One of these options is to make use of existing data sets. Many organizations such as corrections facilities, medical facilities, and community agencies collect and save data on a variety of aspects related to their programs, clients, and outcomes. In some cases, these organizations are willing to make data available for use in research. Students working on their dissertations who are interested in exploring this option and learning more about programs with available data are welcome to contact the Program Administrator by phone at (630) 752-7034 or e-mail at Ted.Kahn@wheaton.edu.
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