Nevada Psychology Education Overview
Psychology Licensure in Nevada
Nevada is a state famous for its freedom and wide open spaces. Similarly, the field of human services as a psychologist in Nevada is wide open to those who have licenses. Whether you want to work at a school in Reno, or set up a private practice in Las Vegas, you will find a vast array of professional settings you can work within as a licensed psychologist. Nevada contains a total population of over 2.7 million people. Opportunities abound with a population of that size and many psychologists are needed within various contexts. Nevada has a mean yearly wage of $67,120 for its Psychologists as is shown by a visit to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics website1. If you enjoy the thought of helping children with their emotional problems, then you may want to seek employment in one of Nevada’s 19+ School districts2. If you enjoy working in fast paced ever changing environments, then you may wish to look into finding employment at one of Nevada’s 65+ major hospitals3. With so many potential career routes available to you, your odds of finding the perfect niche for your temperament and personal talents is extremely high. Below you will find the result of our effort to create a step-by-step guide to becoming licensed as a Psychologist in Nevada.
Required educational background
In the state of Nevada, eligibility to apply for a psychology license requires that you earn your Ph.D. in Psychology from an APA approved school. This in turn means that, you will need to have already graduated with a Bachelor and Master of Psychology already in order to earn your Doctorate in Psychology.
You will need to have earned your Bachelor of Psychology in order to eventually go on to earn your doctorate to become a licensed Psychologist in Nevada. It is fortunate that the Bachelor of Psychology degree is also useful outside of the context of it being a stepping stone towards becoming a licensed Psychologist. A Bachelor of Psychology is, in fact, one of the most coveted of Bachelor’s degrees for human services employers. Thus, having your Bachelor of Psychology will be a boon to your career regardless of your career choice in the human services field.
You will need to have already earned your Master’s degree before you go on to earn your doctorate. This does not mean that earning your master’s degree is merely a pit stop on your way to your doctorate. Quite the contrary, studying for your Master of Psychology degree is helpful in a variety of ways including, really helping you to determine the focus of your studies in Psychology. This will help you to find a career focus that you find both interesting and rewarding. So, while a Master’s is required to earn your doctorate, a Master of Psychology is also a valuable asset to have on your resume in its own right.
Once your doctorate in psychology from an APA approved school you will need to start accumulating your required hours of field experience.
Field Experience
To verify your field experience component, you will need to follow these steps:
- You will need to accumulate two years of supervised professional. One year of your experience can be an accrued while completing your Ph.D. You will also need to log an additional year of post-doctoral experience. All experience must be under a board approved supervisor.
- You can find more specific information on your supervised experience here:
You will want to familiarize yourself with the Nevada specific rules and regulations for licensure. These laws change so it is good to make sure you have current information, you can find that information here:
Examination
Once you have completed your field experience you can apply to take the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP).
- Apply to board to take the EPPP.
- Pass the EPPP with a score meeting the Nevada minimum for passing.
You can find some helpful informati son about your EPPP here:
1 http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes193031.htm
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_districts_in_Nevada
3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hospitals_in_Nevada