Angie Liu

PsyD in Clinical Psychology (4th Year), Los Angeles campus

Q: What inspired you to choose Alliant International University?

A: One of the things that really drew me was the diversity of the faculty and the training opportunities. I was looking to get clinical training early on in my educational career and Alliant having practicum and training opportunities in their first year was very attractive to me. The amount of research the faculty are doing and the diversity of the issues that we're all trying to talk about and study more about was also something that I really wanted to get involved in.

Q: Was there anything that surprised you about the program?

A: How close and comfortable I would feel with my cohort and how early on that happened. We started classes virtually for the whole first year because it was during COVID. But I was still able to get connected to other students and the faculty. People made themselves readily available for connecting or to answer questions.

Q: What was unique about Alliant and how they supported you?

A: The faculty were very available to receive phone calls or texts if we needed them and that was something that was really helpful. I think how involved the faculty are in research and their own practices and just being willing to bring on students and different people from the class to collaborate with them was surprising and something that I really valued. For example, Dr. Michi Fu was someone I got connected with at the end of my first year because she said, “Hey, I have this lab that's open and I'm looking for students, do you want to come and join me?”

Q: Tell me about the dissertation process. What does Alliant do to help with that?

A: They were really upfront and informative about the process and provided clear timelines of when you need to have a topic solidified or get a dissertation chair, which is during your first year. And then during the second or third year you're going to be working on literature review or figuring out with your dissertation chair what sort of product you want to have at the end.