How to be a Sexologist
Sarcastic and derrogatory comment on short length of training removed

According to the 1999-2000 Curriculum and a brochure "Schedule of Classes - 2000" for The Institute For Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (in San Francisco, California), these were the following requirements and fees to earn "Comment regarding degree received removed but just check their website!" as a Sexologist from their institution:

• Sexological Instructor Advisor of AIDS/STD Prevention Certificate: Complete Course #350 + 20 hours "at home" preparation, 5 day Sexological Health Perspective course. $2,995.
  
• Associate in Sex Education: 150 hours credit. $3,100 +.
  
• Master of Public Health in Sexology: The vast majority of the program may be completed at the student’s location requiring only about two weeks away from home for the entire program. $9,000 plus optional one-week "Our Erotic Heritage" tour to the museums in Europe to complete this requirement. $1,500
  
• Erotology Certificate: One trimester of graduate study in Erotology. 15 trimester units (500 contact hours). $5,989.50 + app fee
  
• Clinical Sexology Certificate: One trimester of graduate study in Erotology. 15 trimester units (500 contact hours). 1 week at institute. $3,100. no test cited.
  
• Master of Human Sexuality: 2 trimesters, including a thesis or project and a final test is cited.
  
• Doctor of Human Sexuality: four trimesters of acceptable graduate work, a project and a test.
  
• Doctor of Education: five trimesters of acceptable graduate work, a project, passing a written Comprehensive Examination.
  
• Ph.D.: five trimesters of acceptable graduate study (60 units) plus one trimester for preparation of the dissertation. A maximum of one trimester credit may be given for previous graduate work.

This paragraph has been removed. It suggested that you could get expert sex credentials with minimal study and that sections of the home study were spent watching their "videos".

The year 2000 IASHS brochure states that IASHS graduates study during "trimesters:"

• Paragraph related to 1999-2000. Suggest you review their current class schedule on the web site.

The 2000 pricing states that the IASHS charged $12,450 per year-- plus video, books, etc., or $4,150 a trimester. The 12 day certificate cost about $1,600.

The IASHS appears to still be without National or even Regional accreditation. They state on their web site that:

The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality is fully approved for graduate education in Sexology by the Bureau of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education of the State of California.

The Bureau of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE) is a division of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. Thier web site states:

The Bureau establishes educational standards that are intended to serve as the minimum standard for instructional quality and institutional stability for private postsecondary schools in California.

The educational standards established by the California BPPVE are independent of any other educational accredation body. This doesn't necessarily imply that the educational standards are lower, though it does beg the question of why an institution of higher learning that COULD meet "regional" or "national" accredation standards would not wish to have the more widely accepted accredation. As near as I can tell the BPPVE "minimum standards" amount to assuring consumers that the school isn't a "fly-by-night" operation and that it actually DOES offer some kind of instruction and require the completion of some kind of course work (as opposed to a "Diploma Mill" that simply takes money and issues a "degree" or "certificate").

Obviously the BPPVE is NOT a part of the California Department of Education, which notes which post-secondary schools have "WASC" accredation. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is one of six regional associations that accredit public and private schools, colleges, and universities in the United States. The IASHS, incidently, is NOT a WASC accredited school.

The IASHS also, apparently, has been accredited by the National Association of Private, Nontraditional Schools and Colleges (NAPNSC) since May of 2002. The NAPNSC is a non-profit distance learning organization apparently with no official recognition of its own. NAPNSC began trying to gain recognition from the U.S. Secretary of Education in 1976 and from the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation in 1977 but was not successful. An NAPNSC position paper dated March 20, 1984, stated that neither agency had any intention of permitting NAPNSC to become recognized.

More simply put it essentially boils down to the fact that the IASHS doesn't meet the standards of a typical, mainstream college or university that awards certificates, degrees, and doctorates.

Another Questionable "Professional Credential"

It is also not uncommon to find persons practicing under a "Masters" or "Ph.D" from the Professional School for Psychological Studies which was once located in San Diego, California.

The Professional School for Psychological Studies is a now-defunct school which was "authorized" by the State of California. "Authorized" is the lowest level assigned to proprietary schools in California, followed by "approved" and "accredited."

Some graduates of this school developed or advocated therapies (or theories) which are regarded by mainstream Psychologists as "pseudo-science" [for example, Francine Shapiro's "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)"]

Because the school no longer exists I have not been able to find more information about when it was founded (or when it failed, for that matter), or what the course requirements were. The only things that were clear in my investigation were that the school was never accredited and no longer exists.

This, of course, makes it near impossible for patients of therapists with such credentials to know whether or not their therapist is qualified or not (simply holding a degree from a non-accredited school doesn't necessarily mean they are not qualified, as they may have other more legitimate - but lower - credentials).

The California Board of Psychology (a government body) listed somewhere between 3 and 6 graduates of the Professional School of Psychological Studies who took the Board Examination between 2000-2003 (unclear because 3 graduates are reported specifically from a school of that name in San Diego, and 3 from a school of the same name with no location noted, so it may be the same 3 people being reported twice, I have not gone through the year-by-year reports). The California Psychology Licensing Law requires all applicants to take and pass the national Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) and the California Jurisprudence and Professional Ethics Examination (CJPEE). Note that taking these exams does not mean that the individuals degree is recognized by the State of California.

As of January 1st 2001, unaccredited schools and those accredited by the California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education are now required to give prospective students notice that credentials from such schools they will be subject to certain "practice limitations:"

"Prospective students should be aware that as a graduate of an unaccredited school of psychology you may face restrictions that could include difficulty in obtaining a teaching job or appointment at an accredited college or university. It may also be difficult to work as a psychologist for some federal government or other public agencies, or to be appointed to the medical staff of a hospital. Some major managed care organizations may not reimburse individuals whose degrees are from unaccredited schools. Graduates of unaccredited schools may also face limitations in their abilities to be listed in the "National Register of Health Service Providers' or to hold memberships in other major organizations of psychologists."

[Assembly Bill 400 added section 94814.5 to the California Education Code]

For a wonderful list of non-accredited schools and unrecognized accrediting bodies or other questionable professional organizations refer to QuackWatch.