How important is research experience?

[BostonPsych715]

I'm planning on applying to a mix of clinical psych PhD programs/masters in psychology programs next December, and I'm wondering how important research experience is in gaining acceptance to these programs.

Here's a little background about myself. I'm a psychology major with a biology minor at a large state school. I'm currently in my junior year. I'm a very strong student (3.8 GPA, Honors Program, Psi Chi, Alpha Lambda Delta). This summer, my professor has invited me to combine one of my papers with one of hers and try to get published. Likely when I apply to grad school, this process will still be underway. In terms of clinical experience, I have none as of now; however, this spring I am taking an internship prep course which will secure an internship for next fall.

Essentially, when I apply to grad school, all I will have for experience will be a possible publication/paper under review, and I will still be doing my one and only internship.

I've yet to take the GRE, but I generally test very well. My parents have also offered to chip in for a tutor so I am expecting a decent score.

I guess my question is, how important is experience? Hypothetically, if I do well on the GRE, have a little bit of experience, a high GPA, and an honors thesis, do I have any chance of getting into a PhD program right after undergrad?

Any suggestions are welcome!

Also: my specific interests include a mixture of biological and abnormal psychology. My favorite things to learn about include genetics, the chemical composition of the brain, and personality/mood disorders. In the future, I see myself in a hospital setting possibly working in psychiatric unit.

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[AcronymAllergy]

In general, research experience is very important, and not having any (particularly for PhD programs) is likely to exclude you from serious considering no matter what the GPA and GRE scores are. As you're a junior now, I'd strongly suggest that you try to get into a lab ASAP so that you can accumulate as much experience as possible between now and your application cycle. It still may not be enough, but it'll certainly be better than nothing.

As for the clinical experience, in all honesty, that's rather low on the admissions importance list. If you have to choose between a clinically-oriented internship and a research assistant position, I'd recommend the latter every time.

I can say that have a publication underway with your professor will help (much more so if it's based on experimental work rather than something like a review, but any type of productivity would be good). However, it's not likely to make up for an absence of research experience otherwise.

 

[BostonPsych715]

In general, research experience is very important, and not having any (particularly for PhD programs) is likely to exclude you from serious considering no matter what the GPA and GRE scores are. As you're a junior now, I'd strongly suggest that you try to get into a lab ASAP so that you can accumulate as much experience as possible between now and your application cycle. It still may not be enough, but it'll certainly be better than nothing.

As for the clinical experience, in all honesty, that's rather low on the admissions importance list. If you have to choose between a clinically-oriented internship and a research assistant position, I'd recommend the latter every time.

I can say that have a publication underway with your professor will help (much more so if it's based on experimental work rather than something like a review, but any type of productivity would be good). However, it's not likely to make up for an absence of research experience otherwise.

This might be a stupid question. But how does one find a lab? I regularly check the psychology department's bulletin board/website for my school and I never see opportunities to work in a lab/research assistant. My school is very big so it's easy to just get lost in the mix. Most of the time, students are just numbers to the professors.

 

[erg923]

This might be a stupid question. But how does one find a lab? I regularly check the psychology department's bulletin board/website for my school and I never see opportunities to work in a lab/research assistant. My school is very big so it's easy to just get lost in the mix. Most of the time, students are just numbers to the professors.

Talk to the professors. They have office hours.

 

[smalltownpsych]

This might be a stupid question. But how does one find a lab? I regularly check the psychology department's bulletin board/website for my school and I never see opportunities to work in a lab/research assistant. My school is very big so it's easy to just get lost in the mix. Most of the time, students are just numbers to the professors.

Great question. Most undergrad programs don't educate us very well on how to pursue this career and since I didn't find out some of the crucial information earlier on in undergrad, it cost me a ton of time and money. Part of why I participate on this board is to help other students not make some of the mistakes that I made along the way. When I was finishing my undergrad, I didn't even know that research experience was a requirement to get into a PhD program because I was also lost in the mix at a huge school. You are fortunate to have found this site IMO so keep on asking questions.

 

[BostonPsych715]

Great question. Most undergrad programs don't educate us very well on how to pursue this career and since I didn't find out some of the crucial information earlier on in undergrad, it cost me a ton of time and money. Part of why I participate on this board is to help other students not make some of the mistakes that I made along the way. When I was finishing my undergrad, I didn't even know that research experience was a requirement to get into a PhD program because I was also lost in the mix at a huge school. You are fortunate to have found this site IMO so keep on asking questions.

I fear that it may be too late for me as well! I really hope not! I am open to the idea of pursuing a masters degree to gain more research experience if I do not get into any of the programs. If you don't mind me asking, what did you end up doing after undergrad?

 

[smalltownpsych]

I went to a Masters program and then a PsyD program. Cost me a lot of money, but I have been licensed for 5 years now and love what I do and have no regrets. I don't think you are too late to get a funded PhD program. You just need to spend the next year single-mindedly maximizing research opportunities. I can't advise you much along that route since all I know are the mistakes I made.

 

[buzzworm]

This might be a stupid question. But how does one find a lab? I regularly check the psychology department's bulletin board/website for my school and I never see opportunities to work in a lab/research assistant. My school is very big so it's easy to just get lost in the mix. Most of the time, students are just numbers to the professors.

Most professors welcome emails from undergrads interested in working in their labs. Try looking through the lab websites of your psychology department's faculty members, and emailing the ones you might be interested in working with to see if they have any research assistant positions open. Don't wait for specific opportunities to be posted.

You can also find summer internships in labs outside your university. When I was in college, I did this for two summers in a row, and it gave me a lot of great research experience in areas that weren't available to me at my home institution. The ones I got even paid a little, and one provided free housing for the summer. I would recommend Googling around for summer psychology internships and seeing what you can find.

And finally, if you're not able to get enough research experience while you're still in college, it's not the end of the world if you end up taking a couple years between undergrad and grad school to work as a paid research assistant or study coordinator somewhere. The majority of people we interview in my lab have done that -- it often makes people much stronger candidates.

 

[BostonPsych715]

Most professors welcome emails from undergrads interested in working in their labs. Try looking through the lab websites of your psychology department's faculty members, and emailing the ones you might be interested in working with to see if they have any research assistant positions open. Don't wait for specific opportunities to be posted.

You can also find summer internships in labs outside your university. When I was in college, I did this for two summers in a row, and it gave me a lot of great research experience in areas that weren't available to me at my home institution. The ones I got even paid a little, and one provided free housing for the summer. I would recommend Googling around for summer psychology internships and seeing what you can find.

And finally, if you're not able to get enough research experience while you're still in college, it's not the end of the world if you end up taking a couple years between undergrad and grad school to work as a paid research assistant or study coordinator somewhere. The majority of people we interview in my lab have done that -- it often makes people much stronger candidates.

I took the advice of many who have posted on here and contacted a former professor. I am going to help out in his lab this semester. Right now, I can only fit two days (2 and a half hours each day) into my schedule at the lab. I'm hoping this will help me gain experience. This summer I am also working with another professor on a peer-review. I'm not sure if this will be enough research experience to make myself competitive, but I am sure going to try.

 

[mcvcm92]

I took the advice of many who have posted on here and contacted a former professor. I am going to help out in his lab this semester. Right now, I can only fit two days (2 and a half hours each day) into my schedule at the lab. I'm hoping this will help me gain experience. This summer I am also working with another professor on a peer-review. I'm not sure if this will be enough research experience to make myself competitive, but I am sure going to try.

That's great! Honestly it will be enough time for you to at least gain exposure to psych research, albeit you prob mostly be doing grunt work like basic coding. But since you're a junior, you can get 3 semesters of experience!