Deciding to Apply and Successfully Gaining Admission to Graduate Schools in Psychology

Abstract

Psychology is the most popular major on a large proportion of college campuses. Many thousands of students apply to graduate schools with hopes of pursuing a career in the science or practice of mental health services. Yet, as compared to other types of graduate programs (e.g., law, medicine), remarkably little information is available to help students determine the career path that offers the best match to their interests. Specific practical advice on how to successfully navigate the application process also is lacking. This chapter is designed to provide an overview of different types of possible career options in the behavioral sciences and mental health industry. Especially detailed information is provided for the most common option in the world of psychology doctoral programs: the clinical psychology doctoral (Ph.D.) program. An important disclaimer should be mentioned here. The text in this chapter focuses mostly on our opinions and impressions of the current state of the field and of the application process for psychology graduate programs. In no way should this informal advice be used to replace actual data or specific information provided by professional organizations in the mental health field, individual doctoral programs, or even advice from other professionals. We feel best prepared to comment on Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology, especially those that subscribe to the scientist-practitioner or clinical science models of training. Our experience is exclusively with the admission processes and training goals of these types of programs, and we cannot speak directly to programs that have adopted distinctly different training models. We also have relatively less experience with training programs in nonclinical subdisciplines of psychology. In many places, we have offered links to websites that can provide more detailed information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved). (chapter)