The unquestionable value of a master's degree for a PhD-pursuing student.

Abstract

underrate the accomplishments of Wolpe. What Wolpe (1958) did was to take the domain of discourse of Pavlov and augment it to encompass disordered human behavior, to take seriously (not metaphorically, at all) the notion that animal neurosis is neurosis. Through change in the predicate base or a kind of paradigm shift (Kuhn, 1970), Wolpe was able to see a phobia as a conditioned response. A prerequisite for this was an admitted disenchantment with the Freudian paradigm.To see the danger in London's recommendations, it is necessary to translate what he said. What he wanted us to do was to restrict our investigations to "problems" (psychological disorders) within a functional analytic framework, and to ignore any broader theorizing that might attempt to incorporate such theories into a larger theory of behavior. Such a restriction would prevent us from seeing any anomalies (to borrow Kuhn's 1970 concept) in the conceptual framework proposed by London; this, in turn, would prevent the development of new techniques not already provided for within the initial framework. We believe that any really new technique will only arise from an expansion or alteration of our domain of discourse, the predicate base, or the analytic properties of the predicate base.

What happens to PhD program applicants who have master's degrees?

“…Once accepted, however, about two thirds of the schools would accept large amounts of prior graduate course work. Mealiea (1973) reported contrary findingsnamely, that a master's degree helps an applicant gain admission to doctoral programs.…”

The Master's-Level Clinician: Application and Admission to Doctoral Programs

“…O n the one hand, some doctoral programs seem reluctant to accept such individuals (Albee, 1971;Annis, Tucker, & Raker, 1978;Howell & Murdock, 1972;Saccuzzo & Schulte, 1978). O n the other hand, some research and writing support the value of a terminal master's degree for doctoral program admission (Mealiea, 1973;Ward & Ziegler, 1973). It is difficult to gain admission to many PhD and PsyD programs, and a master's degree may be the only choice for some qualified individuals (or the degree of choice for others).…”

“…It is difficult to gain admission to many PhD and PsyD programs, and a master's degree may be the only choice for some qualified individuals (or the degree of choice for others). One can earn a master's degree and apply to doctoral programs with hopes of admission (Annis, Tucker, & Baker, 1978;Mealiea, 1973;Perlman, in press;Tucker & Annis, 1981). Korn (1984) recently estimated that the odds on gaining doctoral program acceptance seem to be improving (although he did not look at master's-level individuals per se) while LeUnes, Bourgeois, Bond, and Oppenheimer (1982) argue for in-depth follow-up of master's programs.…”

The master’s degree in clinical psychology: Longitudinal program evaluation.

“…This course of action was reinforced further by the poor job market of the 1970s when it was believed that there were too many PhDs, or at least not enough jobs of the type desired by those graduating at the time (Kessler, McKenna, Russell, Stang, & Sweet, 1976). However, our purpose was to survey and evaluate the contribution of master’s-level programs to human resources in psychology during the past 16 years (Annis, Tucker, & Baker, 1978; Couch & Benedict, 1983; Howell & Murdock, 1972; LeUnes, Bourgeois, Bond, & Oppenheimer, 1982; Mealiea, 1973; Perlman & Dehart, 1985; Quereshi, 1973; Saccuzzo & Schulte, 1978; Tucker & Annis, 1981; VandenBos & Stapp, 1983; Ward & Ziegler, 1973) and to augment that information with the results of our longitudinal surveys of the graduates of our terminal master’s program.…”