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Future education for
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Graduate School
Which graduate programs are right for you
What's important and helps you get into graduate school
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At the undergraduate level, psychology is a general degree; it exposes you to all areas of psychology and you don't really specialize. Graduate school is your opportunity to get in-depth training in specialized fields.
What to study in graduate school. Graduate school is for students who are focused; not for students who can't get a job, or can't think of anything else to do. You need to begin with earnest introspection. Why do you want to go to graduate school? When you can answer that question in terms of what you are passionate about, then you will have a better understanding of why you want to pursue graduate studies and you will also have a much better idea of the type of graduate program you need to seek.
It takes time. It takes a lot of research to find a graduate program that will best meet your individual goals, and that you also stand a good chance of being admitted to. If you are graduate school bound, it doesn't hurt to start exploring your options the summer or fall before you plan to begin (most Ph.D. deadlines are in December or January). Individual graduate program websites are the best place to start getting information.Use the APA book. The book, Graduate Study in Psychology 2008 (APA) summarizes the specialties and details about every graduate program in the U.S. and Canada. It also tells you what the average scores are for the students in their program. You can look at this book during advising office hours in Wolf 202.
Online rankings. You might consult this online list of rankings of psychology programs and social work programs, ranked by national prestige and productivity.
Get some help. There's a lot to consider when you apply for graduate school. A faculty mentor can help you identify good graduate programs for your goals, can help you write your personal statement, and can coach you on how to do a successful interview (if relevant).
What graduate degree should I get if I want to be a therapist?
Lots of UD students choose to pursue careers in psychotherapy. This career requires additional education and a license. There are many paths to a psychotherapy career. For a summary,
See our table of ways to become a therapist.
Licensure Details
Therapists must be licensed to practice independently in most states. You can be licensed as a Psychologist or as a Licensed Professional Counselor.
Licenses require:
To find Licensed Psychologist requirements (the doctoral level license) for different states, click here.
To find Licensed Professional Counselor requirements (the masters level license), see below:
For Delaware, click here.
For Pennsylvania, click here.
For New Jersey, click here.
Other states: google the state and "licensed professional counselor"Learn a little more about the PsyD. degree here.
If you want eventually to get a Ph.D. in psychology but don't have a good record after your BA, a general master's degree is a good option.
A master's degree in general psychology gives you the chance to get valuable research experience (even publications), new and improved letters of recommendation, and the chance to demonstrate to Ph.D. programs that you can excel in graduate school. They can also help you narrow down your interests in psychology. Many students go this route when their GPA's, GRE's, and research experience aren't good enough to get into a Ph.D. program right out of college.
Some East Coast instituations that have general masters programs include:
Wake Forest University
St. Joseph's University
Villanova University
William and Mary
Connecticut College
Towson University
You can learn about other general masters programs in the book, Graduate Study in Psychology 2007 (APA).
Generally speaking:
Most important: GPA, GRE's, and research experience
Next most important: Letters of recommendation, How well your interests and goals (as described in your personal statement) match those of the program
Less important: Extracurricular activities, whether you have a BA or BS, Psi Chi membership, whether your application was printed on linen paper or plain paper.What can I do to prepare myself?
The University of Waterloo has written an excellent webpage to help students prepare. It's called "So, you want to go to grad school in psychology." Check it out!
What are the qualifications needed for graduate school in psychology ?
There is no certain formula, but in general graduate schools look for:
The APA publication, Graduate Study in Psychology, reports the average GRE scores and other information about all APA accredited graduate programs. You can come by Wolf 202 during peer advising hours to look at this book.
If you plan on applying for graduate school, it is wise to enlist the support and advice of a faculty mentor whose interests are similar to yours. A mentor can be invaluable for helping you decide where to apply, writing letters of recommendation, and giving you advice on how to navigate the admissions process.
What are the deadlines?
Usually, Ph.D. and PsyD. program applications are due in December or early January for admission the following fall. Master's program applications are rolling, or else due between January and May, depending on the program.
GREs
The official GRE web-page.
What is a minimum GRE score (range) to have a good chance of getting into a middle range graduate program?
All schools have different criteria, and some (like many MSW programs) don't even require the GRE. It is, however, generally recommended that a student's GRE scores should, on average, be about 500 on each subsection. The APA publication, Graduate Study in Psychology, reports the average GRE scores of students in all APA accredited graduate programs. This book is available for your use in the Peer Advising office, Wolf 202.
We have two GRE practice books in Wolf 202. Please come by to look at them and feel free to do the CD-Rom practice test in our office.When should I think about taking the GRE's in relation to when I need to apply?
It is advised to take the GRE's for the first time at least six months before the earliest application deadline. That way, if you are not happy with your scores, you have time to study hard and then retake the test.
First you need to realize it is not the end of the world. Next, examine why you were not selected. Graduate search committees look for goodness of fit between the prospective student and the needs of the particular program and its faculty. You may not have been selected because you applied to a program with a heavy emphasis upon research and your interests were more applied. You really want to focus upon a graduate program that is well suited for what you want to learn.
You may also need to gain greater experience. By taking time to work full time in a research lab or in a field position you can acquire useful skills and experience that will serve to make you a more attractive candidate. It may also be possible that graduate school is really not right for you (that of course can always change in the future). If that is the case you can still use your undergraduate training to pursue fulfilling jobs within a wide range of human service professions. Of course, the training you receive and the skills you acquire during your undergraduate tenure are transferable to a wide range of occupations beyond the human services as well.
If you have attended graduate school for clinical or counseling psychology, the next career step is to become licensed in the state where you wish to practice (read more about licensing above under What graduate degree should I get if I want to be a THERAPIST?).
If you obtain a degree in a non-clinical field, you have many options besides becoming a professor. A psychology degree teaches you, above all, how to conduct research on people (and sometimes on animals). When organizations hire Ph.D. (or MS) psychologists, they are mainly hiring them for their research skills. Of course, content is also important; the Ph.D. does teach you basic lessons about cognition, social behavior, neuroscience, and so on, depending upon your specialty. If you are broadly interested in an area of psychology and, as a career, want to do a variety of research in that broad area, then consider getting a graduate degree and working in an applied setting, such as one described below:
With a graduate degree in social or personality psychology, you can work for a market research firm, designing and interpreting research on what people want to buy, and how much they will pay for it.
With a graduate degree. in cognitive psychology (or engineering psychology, or biopsychology) you can work as a human factors psychologist, helping design products and spaces so that human beings can use them better. Human factors psychologists help design car consoles and cockpits to make them easy to use and to reduce accidents.
A graduate degree in neuroscience could enable you to work as a researcher and consultant in the pharmaceutical industry.
With a graduate degree in developmental psychology you could work as a director of research for children's TV programs, or you can help the government use research for writing policies.
With a graduate degree in industrial/organizational psychology you can conduct and apply psychological research to help companies hire a better workforce, and to help companies lead, motivate, and reward employees most effectively. Check the "Careers in Psychology" area (linked at left) for an overview on careers in I/O psychology.
One example of a government organization that hires psychology Ph.D.'s who want to work in applied settings is AIR (American Institutes for Research). Their program areas include education, health, individual and organizational performance, and quality of life. Check out their web site to get some ideas about what's possible: www.air.org.
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