How difficult is a master's/PhD program compared to undergraduate school?

[Orraccle]

The general consensus seems to be that a master's/PhD program is very difficult.

Difficult in what sense?

Like having to take too many courses every semester? Having to read lots of books? Having to write lots of papers? Having to do your own independent research? Having to hold a part time job? Having to deal with clients' problems? Having to spend entire years writing theses/dissertations?

Does it get to the point where you just do Psychology from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to bed? And you don't even have time to go to the gym or recreate? And you repeat the same drill for 5-6 years?

I ask these questions because I would love to increase my knowledge of Psychology but if it's going to get to the point where I need to be a monomaniac in order to "succeed" I think I'd rather bring those issues to my own therapy and not bother with further education.

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[erg923]

all of the above...with the exception of too many courses at one time. And Yes, everyone who gets a ph.d is obese and out of shape by the time they are done. No, my wife and I go to the gym together almost every morning before we head to our respective works. Occassionaly we even "recreate." No, wait...thats "procreate"

PS: Do NOT go into psychology for "curiosity" or to work on your "issues."

 

[FadedC]

I think a lot of how difficult graduate school is depends on what other commitments you have in order to pay for it. Most people are working in some capacity during school, whether it's an outside job or inside a lab or something else in order to have your tuition funded. This adds significantly to the workload and stress. However it's not remotely consistent and can vary from person to person depending on how much funding you get or extra money you need. In my program I know people who have extremley stressful and demanding graduate assistantships at the university to pay for their tuition. On mine however I have very little to do and spend most of my time doing my homework.

The actual classes I didn't necesarily think are that much harder then high level undergraduate classes, although the performance expectations are higher. One positive thing about taking graduate classes compared to undergraduate is that there tends to be more of an equal relationship between the professor and student, which can make it easier to ask for help when necessary.

 

[cara susanna]

Yes to all of those but the recreation one. The answer to that one is, yes, if you make time.

 

[PsychScience]

Like having to take too many courses every semester?

Yes and No....

Yes, the number of classes that I had to take at the beginning of my graduate education felt like a lot. It was only 12 credit hours (compared to undergrad where I regularly carried 18), however the 12 credit hours were typically for really intense demanding courses.

No, by the end of graduate school I only had to take one real class and the rest of my credits are dissertation credits. Right now, for example, I actually only have dissertation credits. So its not too many courses EVERY semester, just most semesters

Having to read lots of books? Having to write lots of papers?

Yep, but I had a pretty rigorous undergrad, so I did a lot of this then too. I did not actually feel that overwhelmed by the reading/writing element of grad school (Although, to be fair, by the middle of 1st year, I also realized that it was unnecessary to read EVERY single article and chapter assigned)

Having to hold a part time job?

This was already mentioned, but the demands of your job vary based on your program and your funding source. In my university, holding a teaching assistant position tends to be more demanding than a research position. However, it can definitely be stressful to do both.

Having to deal with clients' problems?

Most of the time, no. Occasionally, yes. It really depends on my case load. However, I must say that you typically are not exposed to clinical work until you have some of the resources to actually engage in clinical work. This may sound a lot more overwhelming thinking about than it actually is in reality. Additionally, when you finally get to the point where you are doing clinical work, you are also being supervised by a more experienced psychologist who will provide support and guidance (hopefully!), which lessens some of the burden on you personally.

Having to spend entire years writing theses/dissertations?

GAH.... don't even get me started on this....

Does it get to the point where you just do Psychology from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to bed? And you don't even have time to go to the gym or recreate? And you repeat the same drill for 5-6 years?

I am almost done with graduate school, and I don't think I ever got to the point where I was thinking about JUST psychology from morning to night (Well, this is slightly untrue, I suppose that during prep for Comp Exams I was thinking about Psychology from the time I woke up till bed, but this is the exception, not the rule). Exercise, recreation, hobbies, friends, and family are all very important to me, so I made time for them. It might be limited, but I guarantee that I would not have made it through graduate school without these things in my life. It was never a question of whether I would or would not have some time for them, however, it definitely requires some negotiation and sacrifice.

 

[kapinkkidowski]

Yes to all except dealing with clients' issues and to not having ANY time at all to do anything else; one, if you feel like you're dealing with clients' issues all day you're probably actually dealing with some of your own, and you can make time for things, although it is a lot of work, and yes, a lot of work almost all the time. As for the courses themselves, I would say they are more in depth and intensive than undergrad classes. You get a whole semester course on something you spent half a lecture on in undergrad. And the expectations for your quality of work are much higher, but I don't know if you call that harder or not.

I don't think school/research/clinical work has to take up every moment of your day, 100% of the time, every day. There are some times throughout your course of study where that may be necessary for a short period (quals/comps, one week at the end of last semester I had 4 papers, 3 oral presentations and a final 'project' all due the same week), it isn't usually the case for me...maybe just 85-90% of my day, on average

and I agree with the person who said you shouldnt be getting a doctorate to deal with your issues or satisfy your curiosity

 

[Orraccle]

So the grad program itself is not impossibly difficult, the difficulty arises when you throw in the part time jobs, the research, the teaching, and the clinical work?

And at the end of each semester is there a final exam or just a big project?

Having to spend entire years writing theses/dissertations?

GAH.... don't even get me started on this....

Come on. Tell me

 

[Ollie123]

So the grad program itself is not impossibly difficult, the difficulty arises when you throw in the part time jobs, the research, the teaching, and the clinical work?

Its a huge mistake to think of these things as not "the grad program itself". In contrast, from day one they will tell you that those other things you mention ARE the grad program and not to worry about the coursework. Teaching, research, clinical work are far more "the grad program" than whatever classes you take to get introduced to various topics. Coursework is something you need to do, but is never the emphasis, is not something students are expected to focus on, and getting a 4.0 is not "important" enough to even be considered an accomplishment.

 

[Student4Life0]

So the grad program itself is not impossibly difficult, the difficulty arises when you throw in the part time jobs, the research, the teaching, and the clinical work?

And at the end of each semester is there a final exam or just a big project?



Come on. Tell me

If you are in a graduate psychology doctoral program, you will be doing coursework, research, clinical work, and may possibly do some teaching. Coursework is usually the last thing on people's minds, from what I have heard.

 

[erg923]

So the grad program itself is not impossibly difficult, the difficulty arises when you throw in the part time jobs, the research, the teaching, and the clinical work?

And at the end of each semester is there a final exam or just a big project?

Graduate coursework will be a blend of reading, papers, mini-research projects, sample report writing, practicing and administering assessment measures, and traditional tests. However, I wouldn't focusing on the classwork so much here. This is not undergrad. Classwork might be very time consuming in the first year (possibly two) but alot of true learning in this field comes from reading, involvement in research, and interacting with patients and your clinical supervisors.

The doctorate is not just about taking higher level classes. The "feel" of a ph.d program is much much different. You are not there to do just do classwork or to get a good grade in the class. Its much more serious than this. There job is to train scientific, mental health professionals. Thats the overarching goal.

 

[KayJay85]

While grad school does require quite a bit of multitasking and near insanity during brief critical points (defense dates, midterms, comps), it is not all thrust upon you at one time. For instance, by the time your clinical caseload and practica pick up, you are usually winding down with coursework and ideally would be well into or nearly done with your thesis.

 

[cara susanna]

I've also found that grading is a much different process in grad school. Professors are more leniant and understanding. They don't want you to fail out of their class.

Of course, this could just be my program.

As others have said too, a lot of classes may just be discussions so you only have readings and maybe a presentation or exam. And by the time you reach your second year, you'll be a pro at getting through reading material quickly.

 

[berlin81]

From my perspective, the idea of spending your entire day reading, writing papers, seeing clients, and doing research can be daunting. However some programs might spread some things apart or completely slam with everything.

In my case, I did my master's in one year. This meant classes, internship, thesis, reading, and course papers all at once. It was intense. However through all of it I had a tremendous amount of support which lead to some outside activities with classmates (who were all in the same boat as me). Because of this, I was able to get through my program with as few mental breakdowns as possible. Unfortunately, this did not happen in the first graduate program that I attended at a big-time university, and it got to a point where I wasn't happy and voluntarily left and spent a couple of years looking for a program that fit my interests and personality.

As for the a doctorate program, I can't speak to this issue yet as I have not committed to the school that I was accepted (got to figure out the tuition/cost of living dilemma).

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Other than the increased workload, I would say the biggest change between undergrad and a doctoral program (I can't speak to terminal masters' programs, as I did not attend one) is the amount of independence fostered and required. There is very little if any hand-holding in doctoral programs; your professor's job is often to "throw you in and make sure you don't drown," so to speak. They're generally very supportive, but at the same time, they aren't there to give you the answers; they're there to help you figure out how to find the answers on your own.

It quickly becomes your responsibility to figure out how to effectively manage your time, appropriately multi-task and delegate tasks, decide which areas are more- and less-important, etc.

 

[PsychScience]

I ask these questions because I would love to increase my knowledge of Psychology but if it's going to get to the point where I need to be a monomaniac in order to "succeed" I think I'd rather bring those issues to my own therapy and not bother with further education.

From your other thread/s I am going to deduce that a Ph.D in clinical psychology is not really what you are looking for at this point in your life. Where are you at in terms of your undergraduate education? As an undegrad degree psychology is a great addition to whatever other course or major you might be interested in. If you are curious about the field, but uncertain if you are willing to commit to spending 5-6 years of your life getting the PhD, one place to start might be to explore it as a possible double major or as a minor. This would also give you time to get involved in research and clinical work to see if that is of any interest to you.

If you are simply interested in gaining more knowledge about the field, but truly have no interest in doing any work with the knowledge you gain (either clinical, research, or teaching), than a masters or a PhD does not make logical sense. It has already been stated, but I will reiterate, the clinical and research work that you do while in graduate school is really the core part of your education. Graduate programs are not trying to simply provide general classroom knowledge about broad topics in psychology (again- that was what undergrad was for), they are trying to train competent clinical psychologists.

So, maybe you need to work in a different direction here. Instead of just thinking about a subject that you find intellectually stimulating, think about what you want to be doing with your life. Sometimes these two things are similar, sometimes they are not. After you have a sense of what you would like to be doing with your life, look at the possible job descriptions for a clinical psychologist. Does it match up with your long term goals?? If not, then this is really not the degree path for you. Frankly, I find the course work in my program interesting, but if I was not interested in clinical psychology on a level deeper than pure intellectual curiosity, the work would just not be worth it.

Good luck to you.