If
you are you interested in a career as a scientist/scholar, focusing on research
and writing. . .
Get
help from your faculty advisor on planning your undergraduate career so that
you can become a strong candidate for selection by the graduate programs of
your choice.
Identify
graduate PhD programs noted for scholarly productivity in the content area of
your interests, e.g., learning, cognition, development, neuroscience, social
psychology. (Graduates of these programs are known as experimental
psychologists.) Contact these programs and request a catalog and other
materials suggesting the undergraduate preparation that you need to be a
competitive candidate. Visit their campuses in person, if possible, and talk to
an advisor.
Competition
for such programs is usually stiff. Make sure that you maintain high grades.
Plan on
taking the Graduate Record Exam (or other such tests required by the programs
to which you plan to apply) well in advance of the application deadline. Find
out what sorts of questions are on the exam, so that there are no surprises.
(Books and practice tests are available to help you prepare for these.)
The
reputation of the undergraduate institution that you attend may have a bearing
on your acceptance into certain graduate programs. Discuss this with your
faculty advisor and with an advisor of the programs you would like to enter. Do
this as early in your career as possible.
Work
toward getting a good recommendation from one or more of the faculty members at
your undergraduate institution. Do this by participating actively in class,
joining psychology clubs and honorary societies, and volunteering to assist a
faculty member in his or her research.
A year
or so before you graduate, get applications to the programs in which you are
interested. Note the application deadlines and get them submitted on time.
Join
the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society,
and/or your regional psychological association as a student member. Attend a
convention, if possible.
Get to
know other psychology majors and the professors in your psychology department.
Join the psychology club or psychology honorary society in your psychology
department. Look for announcements of psychology activities to which students
are invited. Attend as many as you can.
Graduate preparation in psychology