New Data on Graduate Admissions for Psychology Majors

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New Data on Graduate Admissions for Psychology
Majors

• R. Eric Landrum
• Department of Psychology
• Boise State University
• Rocky Mountain Psychological Association
• April 16, 2004
• Reno, NV

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Its a Popular Choice

• Each year, about 74,000 undergraduates in the
  United States receive their bachelors degree in
  psychology.
• Between 20-25 have an interest in graduate
  school, and will apply at some point.
• What will undergraduates do to stand out from the
  crowd?

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Popularity

• In graduate school, some specializations are more
  popular than others.
• There are also popularity differences in the type
  of degree sought.
• Popularity can be evidenced by the number of
  applications per specialty field in a given year.

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Competitiveness

• The ratio of number of applications accepted to
  the number of applications is the acceptance
  rate.
• This acceptance rate is one indicator of the
  competitiveness of entering a particular
  specialty area.
• Note also there are significant differences
  amongst degree types.

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The Data

• The data in the following table was compiled by
  the APA Research Office based on admissions in
  2001-2002.
• This data was gleaned by APA from the Graduate
  Study in Psychology 2003 volume.

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General Comments

• Note that these data reflect the number of
  applications, not the number of applicants.
• Obviously, many students apply to more than one
  program.
• Masters programs can be seen as a stepping stone
  for students who are ultimately interested in
  obtaining the Ph.D. or the Psy.D.

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Graduate Admissions Criteria

• The classic top 3 predictors of graduate school
  admission are
• GRE
• GPA
• Letters of Recommendation
• More recently, these have been added to the list
• Research experience
• Autobiographical statement

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Graduate Admissions Criteria

• Examined every graduate program entry in Graduate
  Study in Psychology (2003).
• Graduate programs self-report the importance of
  GRE, research experience, work experience,
  extracurricular activity, clinically-related
  public service, GPA, letters of recommendation,
  interview, and statement of goals and objectives.

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Graduate Admissions Criteria

• Graduate programs rate each of the criteria using
  1 low importance, 2 medium importance, 3
  high importance.
• In addition to overall means, importance scores
  by type of department are also reported
  (doctoral-only, masters only, or combination
  programs).

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General Comments

• Overall, there is a reshuffling at the top
• Letters of recommendation
• Statement of goals and objectives
• GPA
• The second tier of factors include
• Interviews
• GRE scores
• Research experience

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General Comments

• It is important not to oversimplify this data.
• It is vital that students research their
  particular schools and specialties of interest to
  create the best match/fit.
• There are important differences in relative
  importance depending on the type of graduate
  department.

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Conclusions

• The demand for graduate education greatly
  outstrips supply.
• Students who want to successfully enter graduate
  programs need to understand popularity,
  competitiveness, and what is valued by graduate
  admissions committees.
• Advisors need to provide accurate information to
  students to help them gain a competitive edge in
  the graduate admissions process.