What's it Like Studying Psychology Online?
Jeanine Stewart Talks With Cheryl Fracasso, a Walden University Graduate
Class at a computer may sound impersonal and antisocial, but for Cheryl Fracasso, online education enabled her to form the alliances she needed to launch her career. After graduating, Fracasso secured a job as an undergraduate professor for the University of Phoenix's online psychology program, and a position as a research assistant. Studying for her Master of Science in Clinical Psychology with Walden University's online program, Fracasso found both her scholarly footing and her passion.
Walden's two year master's program evaluates students on the level of their research, and the quality and content of their writings, an approach that suited Fracasso well. Students were free to get their work done whenever, as long as they submitted the weekly papers and discussion responses on time. Students also gained insight through mandatory participation in discussion forums with each other and professors. The program operates under the same model as a Ph.D. program, requiring students to use their own research to develop their ideas.
At the time, Fracasso was working full time as a social worker for a Franciscan Healthcare hospital, so she could support herself and gain work experience in a related job. During that time, she worked with elderly people who had had near-death experiences, and their stories started the wheels of her mind turning. She developed a fascination with these experiences that led her to explore them in her studies, and to develop a thesis proposal exploring psychologists' knowledge of near-death experiences, and their implications for treatment.
When Fracasso posted a request for a thesis advisor to the American Psychological Association's Listserv, renowned psychologist Harris L. Friedman, Ph.D., Research Professor of Psychology for the University of Florida, who was serving as a professor at Walden, replied with an offer to be her thesis advisor. Fracasso jumped at the opportunity.
“There was something about the energy when he came in that told me it was going to be a powerful relationship,” Fracasso said.
Alliances and Advisors
It has been. Friedman is an influential figure in the field, having published five books and over one hundred articles. He connected Fracasso with opportunities at Saybrook University, in San Francisco, after she graduated, and she secured a job there as a research assistant. This involved working for Friedman, and also for Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Saybrook University. Krippner is quite a name to be associated with: he has won numerous awards, including the 2002 Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology; has written some 1,000 articles; and has authored, coauthored, or edited 20 books.
These alliances have given Fracasso the opportunity to help conduct fascinating studies, such as studying the effect of wealth ($25 million or more) on women, in terms of their relationships with their husbands and children. She also co-authored a training module about near-death experiences, designed to prepare psychology students to treat clients who have experienced them.
Convenience is the name of the game for Fracasso, who manages two jobs and her Ph.D. studies from her computer. She says she couldn't do all this if she had to factor in commute time, and while she would prefer to have more time with people, she enjoys her projects and looks forward to the opportunities that await when she finishes her Ph.D., and will obtain her license to practice therapy (in Washington state, a Ph.D. from an accredited school is a requirement to practice independently under the title of licensed psychologist).
Did you consider going to an on-site school?
I applied and got into Seattle University, but I decided not to go there. It's a great school, but it requires you to be on campus all the time, and I was thinking how am I going to do that? It just wouldn't have worked with my job, and I wanted to save money. Seattle University was a lot more expensive.
What made it worth it?
Loving what I did and a passion for what I did was the key. When I decided to go back to school (initially, for a bachelor's degree at the University of Washington), the philosophy class got me so intrigued. I was curious and wanted to know “What do the psychologists have to say? What do the philosophers have to say? What do the astronomers have to say?” I just fell in love with academics. I knew at the University of Washington that I liked the existential approach to psychology... That was when I found my niche.
How did you find your job with University of Phoenix?
Once I graduated with a master's degree, I knew I wanted to go into teaching, and I walked in thinking “wow, how wonderful it would it be to be online,” so I searched for job openings, and whenever an opening came up, I applied. I kept applying and kept applying and kept applying. I got rejected a couple times, but I didn't give up, and here I am!
How did you structure your time when you were at Walden?
I would wake up really early in the morning, probably about 4:30 in the morning, and I would work on the discussion question or work on the paper that was due at the end of the week. Then I would jump in the shower at about six. After work, I would get home, eat dinner, do some reading, and then I would go to bed around ten. It wasn't hours and hours and hours of work, but I was able to disperse my time. On the weekend, I would do a lot of the reading. So pretty much every day I would do something to do with the class. When you look at the amount of money you're investing, you start thinking ahead. There's a point when you say there's no turning around, you have to make it work.
Did you find the classes to be as challenging as those you experienced as an undergraduate at University of Washington?
I'm telling you, online education is so much more rigorous. It's wonderful for writing skills too. Your whole communication is through writing. You don't have the face-to-face lecture; it's just back and forth asking questions.
Did having an online degree make it more or less difficult for you to find work?
It is a little harder when you are at online university because they don't offer the teaching assistant positions, and that's how most people from brick-and-mortar schools get the experience teaching. So that makes your options more limited.
Were there disadvantages to studying online?
The only thing that I really missed was I really liked the face-to-face that I had at the University of Washington. But [online education] has a different type of collaboration.
What advice do you have for other master's degree students?
You have to be open to opportunities and all the alliances you are going to meet along the way. You never know where those alliances will take you. Be proactive also in getting involved in opportunities over and above coursework.
What made you decide to pursue your Ph.D. immediately after your master's, rather than getting some work experience first?
I love being in school. If there was something beyond a Ph.D., I would probably do it because it's just amazing: the mind just keeps opening and opening and opening, and being a researcher gives you so many opportunities to learn.
Jeanine Stewart is a freelance writer who has written for The Santa Maria Sun
and The Cipher, and is currently studying for a career in psychology.