This page is designed for Washington State University Vancouver undergraduate psychology students who are considering graduate study. You will find a collection of links that should help you get started, but this is still a work-in-progress and no substitute for other sources of information.
General Resources for
Graduate Study in Psychology
Psi Chi’s info on gaining admission to grad school.
Psychgrad.org Lots of good information here.
gradPsych is for graduate students in psychology. Some of their information is relevant for undergraduates, and much of it will give you an idea of what graduate school is like.
Social Psychology Network’s Online Psychology Career Center
Choosing
a graduate program.
Portland State University has some interesting information on different types of programs.
APA’s list of graduate programs
in the
Some
M.A. in Mental Health Counseling
Ed.D. in Counseling Psychology
City University of
Seattle (Campus in
Eastern Washington State M.S.W.
Lewis and Clark Counseling Psychology (M.A./M.S./M.F.T.)
M.A./Ph.D. Applied Psychology (this is not a clinical degree)
Marriage
& Family Therapy (M.F.T.)
Medical Family Therapy Certificate
Industrial/Organizational Psychology (M.A., Ph.D.)
Clinical Psychology (Ph.D.)
University of Washington Ph.D. (various specialties, including clinical)
Ph.D. and M.A./M.S. (various specialties, including clinical)
Applying to Graduate
Schools
How to write graduate school application essays
GRE info including how to sign up to take the test.
Obtaining outstanding
letters of recommendation
The most recent piece of information recommenders will have about you is the way you go about asking for a letter of recommendation. Use the opportunity to demonstrate professionalism.
Social Psychology Network’s advice
FAQs
Should I take time off after I get my B.S.
degree before applying to graduate school?
In most cases, yes. Admissions committees usually value the extra
experience and maturity students gain from your experiences after college.
Students usually report much less stress and more time for studying for GREs
and for researching and applying for programs when they are not also completing
classes. Many MSA and clinical programs require more hands-on experience with
the population you are interested in working with than most students can obtain
while also completing classes. An entry-level job at a humans
services agency provides that experience. On the other hand, there are valid
personal and professional reasons to go straight into grad school. Some people
go straight into grad school to minimize the impact on family members, to take
advantage of military financial aid, or because this is a second career and
there’s not as much to be gained by waiting. In these cases, you’re best off
discussing your plans with a trusted faculty member before applying so that you
can make a good decision, and explain your plans to the school you are applying
to, if necessary.
I eventually want to get a Ph.D. or Psy.D.,
but for now I’m going to apply to master’s degree programs and later on I’ll
transfer to a Ph.D. or Psy.D. program.
Is that ok?
In general, this is not a good plan. Most likely, you’ll end up having to retake classes for your Ph.D. or Psy.D. program that you took in your master’s program. For accreditation, terminal degree programs are often not allowed to accepted transfer credit from other programs. If you are planning to move from a master’s to a Psy.D or Ph.D, be sure to discuss your plans in detail with both the master’s program and any Ph.D. or Psy.D. programs that you might want to transfer to. Often, Ph.D. and Psy.D. slots are more competitive, and programs are unlikely to automatically allow you to move from a masters to a higher degree program.
I eventually want to get a degree in
clinical psychology, but I’ve heard that other specialties are less
competitive, so I plan to apply to the developmental (or social or cognitive or
…) program and later switch to a clinical specialty.
This plan is unlikely to work out. Clinical slots are often more competitive than spots in other specialties, and programs are often uneasy with the idea of allowing students to come in to a clinical program through the “back door”. You’re better off taking some post-baccalaureate or graduate courses to boost your GPA and obtain prereqs, studying to get the highest possible GRE score, and/or gaining volunteer research or human services experiences to make yourself a better candidate for a clinical Ph.D program than wasting time and money trying to get into a program via another specialty.
Additional
Career FAQs from the Social Psychology Network.
WSUV Psychology students: If you have a
question about grad school that you’d like to see answered here, email kblease@vancouver.wsu.edu, and I’ll
do my best!
Last update: 2.1.08.
Back to Kathy Becker-Blease homepage.