Planning for graduate school is exciting. You have the chance to start a new chapter in your life and to become a young professional. You can maximize the outcome by pondering some fundamental issues.

You will need to consider a field of specialization, the degree you want to earn, and the type of institution you hope to attend.

The number of options available to psychology students entering graduate school can be daunting. As you consider potential programs, you should identify a general area of interest and identify those schools with programs that match your interests.

Choosing a Field of Study

There are over 125 different areas of psychological study and over 500 graduate programs from which to choose in the United States. Failing to match your interests with a program's strength may lead to your not being accepted into a program or to dissatisfaction with a program if you are admitted.

The two most obvious paths open to those with a graduate degree in psychology are clinical practice and academic careers. But these two paths don't come close to exhausting the possibilities. To get a glimpse of the diversity of interests of psychologists, all you have to do is look at the divisions of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Doctoral level psychologists have described fascinating careers in areas like human resources research, human-computer interaction, statistical and methodological consulting and design psychology. The APA newsletter Science Agenda highlights careers that most psychology students don't consider because they may not know about these professional opportunities.

Choosing a Degree

The main graduate degrees that psychologists are likely to earn at the doctoral level are the PhD (Doctor of Philosophy), Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology), or Ed.D. (Doctor of Education). At the master's level, the choice is usually between the MA (Master of Arts) or MS (Master of Science), which are equivalent.

In general, the doctoral degree provides greater opportunity and flexibility in career choices. Psychologists with PhDs enter academic or applied areas of psychology easily. The Psy.D. is generally an applied degree, with a great percentage of such people doing clinical or counselling work. The Ed.D. is more educationally, perhaps administratively, oriented.

The Master's degree will provide entry into applied areas. Psychologists with a Master's degree are unlikely to be competitive for academic positions at the university level.

Choosing an Institution

In choosing a field of study, you will exclude many colleges and universities that don't offer programs in your area of interest, but you will still find many appropriate schools.
The decision process is a negotiation between applicant and institution. They ask whether you will be good for them while you ask if they will be good for you. In their materials, they market themselves; in your application, you market yourself. Some of the factors important to your decision to apply to a school are its competitiveness, entrance requirements, and location of the university.

Competitiveness

Simply stated, admission into graduate programs in psychology is competitive. Clinical PhD programs often have a 2 or 3 percent acceptance rate. Other areas, like social or experimental psychology, are noticeably easier than others.

Successful applicants need high grades in their undergraduate careers, and high GRE scores. Further, success is enhanced by stellar letters of recommendation, and undergraduate research experience.

Happily, if you search, you can find schools that don't have internationally known names but that still provide students with notable educational opportunities. For instance, Binghamton University in New York State accepted only about 10 percent of the applicants to its clinical psychology program. However, half of the students seeking entry into its behavioural neuroscience and its cognitive psychology programs were successful. Further, about 85 percent of its recent graduates are employed in work related to psychology.

Entrance Requirements

Schools vary in their requirements for entry into their graduate programs. Some programs want incoming students to have had half a dozen undergraduate psychology courses, but some are quite flexible in their expectations. When programs do specify undergraduate courses, they usually mention introductory psychology, statistics, and experimental psychology.

For most graduate programs, students with significant research experience fare best. So even if research isn't listed as a requirement per se, you should check to see if they weigh such experience heavily in their admission decisions. If you work with a faculty member on research, the result is often a stronger letter of recommendation from that psychologist. So you benefit doubly because letters of recommendation are generally rated as very important in admissions.

Location of the University

The United States encompasses almost 9.4 million square kilometers, with space for a wide variety of schools.

At one extreme, you could investigate the University of Hawaii, where the temperature averages about 26 degrees year around. At the other extreme, the average temperature in January at the University of Alaska at Anchorage is 10 degrees below zero. Fortunately, the rest of the United States is more moderate.

More relevant to your selection of schools may be whether they are in urban or rural areas. You can find strong programs in either. Sometimes urban and rural institutions are surprisingly close to one another. For instance, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (which is near neither Miami in Florida nor Oxford in England) is situated in a beautiful rural area in a town of about 6,000 permanent residents. Only about 70 kilometers away is the University of Cincinnati, in a sophisticated city of 300,000 people.

Larger cities have certain advantages, like easier access to major airports and often better public transportation. Smaller towns may offer easier access to outdoor activities and less crowding. Usually university towns have amenities that other small towns do not, so they may show some of the advantages of larger cities in spite of their size.

Small towns may also be somewhat safer than large cities, although most Americans have never witnessed a robbery or a shooting and never expect to.

Opportunities as a Graduate Student

Students and their faculty advisers are increasingly likely to take advantage of programs that peer over the horizon, toward life after graduation.

In applied areas, students regularly seek internships in businesses, clinics, and organizations as advanced graduate students. This activity allows them to make contacts among professionals in the field they are about to enter.

For students who are interested in pursuing academic careers, several opportunities exist for successful transition into the profession.

Preparing Future Faculty Program

The Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program works to give graduate students insights into what it is like to be a university faculty member. Students are mentored, receiving feedback about their research, teaching, and service activities.

PFF is a multidisciplinary endeavor, of which psychology is one participant. Not all doctoral programs are involved in PFF. Currently, 43 doctoral institutions participate, with over 250 partner institutions.

Preparing the New Psychology Professorate

A second program for graduate students considering an academic career is being developed by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP). The Preparing the New Psychology Professorate (PNPP) program consists of a series of workshops to help new teachers develop a basic philosophy of teaching and plan strategies for continued teacher development.

STP, a division of the American Psychological Association, has evolved into a significant resource for teachers of psychology, and graduate students can gain significant knowledge about teaching skills from STP.

Professional Conferences

The United States is dotted with psychology conferences at which graduate students can present their work and where they can expand on their knowledge of psychology.

The annual convention of the American Psychological Association attracts around 15,000 psychologists. Each of the 53 APA divisions has representatives at the annual convention, so students can meet psychologists with similar interests.

Your Final Decision

Greater awareness of what different institutions have to offer will let you select programs that are appropriate for your interests. By getting a good feel for the school before you apply, you will enhance your chances of success.

 

Author:
Batney Beins
Director of Pre-College & Undergraduate Programs
American Psychological Association