Honours%20Seminar%20in%20Psychology - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Honours%20Seminar%20in%20Psychology

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Honours Seminar in Psychology Lecture 9: Applying to Graduate School in Psychology – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Honours%20Seminar%20in%20Psychology


1
Honours Seminar in Psychology
  • Lecture 9 Applying to Graduate School in
    Psychology

2
What is a psychologist?
  • Defined by statute, registration
  • I have a magic wand, and tomorrow you will wake
    up as a psychologist. What kind would you want
    to be and why?
  • Areas of Psychology
  • clinical and counselling psychologists work in
    mental health settings
  • health psychologists work in hospitals,
    rehabilitation centres and private practice
  • school psychologists work in schools
  • neuropsychologists work in hospital settings and
    private practice
  • industrial/organizational psychologists work in
    business, industry, privately
  • forensic psychologists work in prisons and
    correctional settings
  • experimental psychologists universities,
    government and industry where they conduct
    research
  • Clinical psychologists in university settings
    research and clinical work

3
Applying to Graduate School
  • Each school has their own application forms and
    procedures
  • The general components of the application are as
    follows
  • Application form
  • Cover letter, Statement of goals, Research plan
  • Official transcripts
  • GRE scores
  • Reference forms / letters

4
General Timeline
  • Summer, Fall
  • Figure out which programs you are interested in
  • Who you could work with?
  • Get application material
  • Study for and write GRE General and Subject
  • Look into any available funding and apply
  • January, February
  • Submit application
  • March
  • Offers are made
  • April 15
  • Students must act on offers
  • May, June
  • Other rounds of admissions happen
  • September
  • Programs begin

5
Finding a supervisor
  • Most programs allow faculty to pick the best
    student from a short list of the best students.
    A few do not.
  • You are admitted to a program, not as somebodys
    student
  • Use material programs publicize
  • Do not contact a faculty member until you know
    what they do and why you might work with them
  • If they contact you, respond asap
  • When and how? Fall? Winter? April? Phone?
    E-mail? Drop in?
  • Not all faculty take students every year

6
Parts of the application
  • There are no universals as to what is
    important, but here are some thoughts

7
Application form
  • Not important, unless it is mishandled by
    applicant or schools
  • Examples wrong names, wrong programs
  • Faculty can bypass or correct problems
  • Corrective action
  • Check with school to see that all is in order
  • Follow deadlines
  • Allow time for GRE scores and transcripts to
    arrive

8
Transcripts
  • Important
  • Must have an honours degree, usually in
    psychology
  • Different faculty look at different things in the
    transcript, from GPA to specific grades in
    specific courses
  • Weak GPA does not doom an application, but can
    hurt

9
GRE Scores
  • General
  • Quantitative Basic math/ stats skills
  • Verbal Vocabulary test
  • Writing sample
  • Subject Test
  • Not unlike an intro psych test spanning all areas
    of psychology
  • Some programs use cutoffs, some do not, some add
    Verbal to Quantitative
  • Scores have a conceptual M 500, SD 100,
    although versions differ
  • My criteria 70 or above across board is
    excellent, 50 or above across the board is
    good, some below 50 are problematic, all below
    25 are bad. They are always exceptions.

10
Your letter
  • Surprisingly important as it is a sample of your
    writing and how you portray yourself
  • Spelling, grammar, organisation, is important
  • Identification of research experience, interests,
    potential supervisors
  • Mis-stating a research area is a problem
  • Other material, such as community service
  • Others can help, but you better write it yourself
    as you may get questions about the letter
  • What is your thesis about?

11
Research experience is also important, so the
year off between honours and graduate work can
be helpful to applications
12
References
  • Many are global and glowing
  • References should be academic, should have taught
    you or had research contact with you
  • Sometimes a clinical reference is needed or for
    mature students, an employer
  • You have the right to ask potential referees what
    kind of reference they can give you
  • For your referees Give them a package of forms
    all at once, with a summary of list of what you
    are applying for and where

13
Other intangibles
  • Personal links of faculty to programs, referees,
    supervisors
  • Outside funding If you get a major award, you
    will be admitted somewhere
  • Geography and mobility The more widely you
    apply, the better your chances (geography, areas,
    not just clinical)
  • Balance between vague and overly specific in what
    you want to do
  • You will not get into graduate school if you do
    not apply
  • Check with other students in a program to see
    what program or supervisor is really like,

14
Common misconceptions
  • The fatal flaw of an application
  • Graduate students are poor
  • Actually they are poor, but do receive assistance
  • Student loans not due
  • There are secret ways of getting in
  • I do not want to put my life on hold
  • Life goes on in graduate school. People still
    get married, have babies, travel
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