PhD/PsyD Have a MA in Int. Relations, aiming for PhD admission

[Porseleinheks]

I received a MA in International Relations from the University of Pretoria (South Africa) in 2007. I grew up in South Africa but have been living the US for over ten years. I would like to pursue a PhD in Social Psychology.

I did some research on the admissions requirements for PhD programs as well as the schools in my area that offer a PhD in Social Psychology. I met with staff in the Admissions Office, faculty in the Psychology Department at the University of Southern Maine (USM), as well as USM alumni who have gone on to do PhD programs elsewhere. I obtained my official transcripts from the University of Pretoria and had my grades evaluated to determine my GPA. I have not yet taken the GRE.

Based on the information I could gather so far, I compiled this list of the minimum requirements to put together a competitive PhD application:
GRE scores
Three letters of recommendation
Research experience
Psychology courses (at least Introduction to Psychology, Statistics, and Experimental Methodology)

I am now considering two different paths to get from where I am today to being accepted into a PhD program. I would really appreciate any advice or insight. Some things to consider are:
- Geographical proximity of the schools where I will be taking my initial psychology courses as well as the PhD programs I will be applying to. I currently live in Yarmouth, ME and would like to stay relatively close to home since I have young children who are still in school. My graduate school search is therefore limited to the New England area and ideally, Boston.
- Time is also a consideration. I would like to strike a balance between taking the time necessary to put together a competitive application and expediting the process.
- Cost is also something to take into account. For this reason I looked into State Schools and Community College as a means of lowering the initial tuition cost.

Path 1: (Preferred)
Complete a MA in Psychology. This will satisfy my psychology course requirements, provide me with an opportunity to gain research experience, offer networking opportunities and hopefully result in letters of recommendation. There are two different options within this path.
#1
I could take a semester completing the basic Psychology courses starting in the Fall at either USM or Southern Maine Community College (UMCC). Hopefully I will get to know a few faculty members and will get the required three letters of recommendation. I can take the GRE in the late Fall to have the scores available for MA programs' December application deadlines. If I do get accepted there will be some downtime between when I submit my applications and when I start the MA program the following Fall. The MA program will only take one year if I do it full-time and once I have completed it, I can then apply to PhD programs. The drawback is that the MA programs are all further away and I would have to be on campus for the duration of the course. Boston University is an example of the type of MA program if would apply to.
http://www.bu.edu/academics/grs/programs/psychology/ma/

#2
I could do a Master of Liberal Arts, Psychology through Harvard Extension School. The timeline for this would be a little faster since there would not be a gap between the time I apply and the time I start the MA program. I can start taking the three required courses necessary to gain admission in the Fall of 2016. If I do get admitted to the MLA program I can start right away and complete it at my own pace. Although this program is in Boston, I am not required to be on campus for all courses.
https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/graduate-degrees/psychology-degree/degree-requirements

Path 2:

I can stay local and complete 'Statistics' and 'Introduction to Psychology' at SMCC and then complete 'Experimental Methodology' as well as other selected Psychology courses at USM. I will probably be able to get letters of recommendation but I fear the research opportunities might be limited. My concern with this option is that I will have very basic psychology background and only at the undergraduate level, limited research experience, and no additional degrees since I will have only taken select courses. I feel like selecting this path will provide me with a much weaker application. Even though I already have a graduate degree I would love to be able to demonstrate that I am still capable of graduate level work (ten years later) and that I have a solid psychology background. I just feel like going this route will not do that.

In short, I am leaning towards doing the Master of Liberal Arts, Psychology through Harvard Extension School. I read all the threads pertaining to Harvard Extension school and gather that there are some mixed feelings. I also understand that the admission process might not be as rigorous for the Extension School but that the attrition rate is quite high since the coursework is on par with other Harvard courses. There also seems to be a lack of consensus on how a degree from Harvard Extension School might be viewed by an Admissions Committee. However, it appears that some students with degrees from Harvard Extension School have gone on to prestigious graduate programs such as Harvard Law School, Carnegie Mellon, etc. I took one Psychology course through Harvard Extension School a couple years ago and was very satisfied with my experience. I would nonetheless welcome any thoughts about Harvard Extension School.

I welcome and appreciate your input, criticism, and/or suggestions. Thank you!!

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[SchoolPsycho]

Most users on this forum are involved with applied psychology (clinical, counseling, or school), and so they may have less experience with social psychology specifically.

That said, I know a few folks who have gone into social psychology programs. I do not know the field well enough to know exactly which path you propose would be best, but I will agree that research experience in social psychology will be critical, and should be a major priority in your decision making.

Something I did not see in your post is what you would like to do with a PhD in social psychology. Are you thinking about a faculty position someday, or something else? Typically, PhD students must be very geographically flexible to be successful. For example, a friend of mine lived in three different states during and just after grad school before landing a stable position (in a fourth state). It is just the reality of the training and the job market. There are exceptions, but they involve a good amount of luck. I'm sure you have thought this through, but make sure that it is worth the sacrifice to you and your family before deciding to commit.

 

[Porseleinheks]

Most users on this forum are involved with applied psychology (clinical, counseling, or school), and so they may have less experience with social psychology specifically.

That said, I know a few folks who have gone into social psychology programs. I do not know the field well enough to know exactly which path you propose would be best, but I will agree that research experience in social psychology will be critical, and should be a major priority in your decision making.

Something I did not see in your post is what you would like to do with a PhD in social psychology. Are you thinking about a faculty position someday, or something else? Typically, PhD students must be very geographically flexible to be successful. For example, a friend of mine lived in three different states during and just after grad school before landing a stable position (in a fourth state). It is just the reality of the training and the job market. There are exceptions, but they involve a good amount of luck. I'm sure you have thought this through, but make sure that it is worth the sacrifice to you and your family before deciding to commit.

Thank you so much for your response. I am hoping to eventually get a faculty position. You make a good point about the geographical flexibility and that is definitely something to take into account. I am currently limited since my children are still in school but if I do complete the PhD program I will be a little more flexible.

 

[psychyes93]

Hi there--please let me know what you decide to do, as I am in a similar situation. Thanks!

 

[wandergirl]

Hmm... if you want a PhD my thoughts are typically what will matter are these 4 things:

GPA - should meet a minimum threshold
GRE - should meet a minimum threshold, although you may benefit from very strong scores
Adviser match - identify your target PhD programs and who you would want to train with (usually based on research interests, although you will also be well advised to try to ascertain how they are as an adviser as they will have a huge impact on your graduate school career and after)
Research experience - if possible, join the lab of a professor you'd like to work with. Look for paid and unpaid RA opportunities.

The GPA and GRE basically need to be good enough, but the adviser match and research experience are what will get you in. You may also need some psych courses, but again, not necessarily what will get you into a program. As far as a master's program - I'm skeptical about the financial pay off. From my understanding, credits from the MA may or may not get applied towards your PhD, and you will probably have to pay for the MA whereas the PhD you should be expecting to be funded. I was switching to clinical psych from a BA in linguistics and just took some courses as a post-bac (primarily courses that were part of the graduate program, and then I was easily able to apply them to the degree when I was admitted) and worked on GREs and research experience. I was lucky to have the opportunity to work pretty closely with my eventual mentor on a volunteer basis. I also did research in a couple of other labs and was able to get letters out of those experiences. Even better would be a full-time paid RA position for 1-2 years.

 

[Porseleinheks]

This is so helpful to get a perspective from someone who is where I would like to be. I really appreciate you outlining it like this. Trying to decide on the best course of action can sometimes be an overwhelming process and I tend to over analyze things so it is really helpful to have a simplified version of where one should focus your attention. Thanks!