Q
Qrxn
Good afternoon Psych forum!
I apologize as this is a very very basic question (and there is no psych non-trad/entry level post area) but in my online and friend-sourced research, I really can't find a suitable answer for my question. I appreciate any and all advice!
I have a bachelor's in a field other than psychology but have nearly all the requirements to apply to a master's program, a 3.45 GPA, and experience as a clinical research coordinator. I think my claim to fame is one graph contribution to a paper published in Cell: Stem Cell which was a lucky consequence from a previous coordinator position. My interests lie in clinical health psychology and even biological/behavioral neuropsych as it related to diet, exercise, and other health factors (I've been a personal trainer and strength coach for several years - just love it). I'm really unsure of where to go from here. I work at a hospital based ethics institute and can easily contribute to some research here, but it isn't terribly relevant to the programs I'm interested in. Ideally I see myself going into the more health focused fields and working in research and also clinically for people with long-term or lifestyle diseases (diabeetus, cardiovascular diseases, etc.)
So I guess my question is: how do I really beef up my resume for an eventual PhD program? It appears a lot of the clinical health programs I'm interested in (say Univ. of Colorado) only accept applicants that are already well prepared for a PhD via research and grades. Are there any master's programs that cater to people like me? That don't contribute directly to a PhD but serve clinical psych interests? A lot of the research I've done turned up results at for-profit universities and I'm not interested in that.
Again, I realize this is a very basic question but I'd rather ask than apply to somewhere and embarrass myself. Also, I realize that just getting myself into a lab could be useful, but I'd also like to bump that GPA just in case.
Thank you in advance!
I apologize as this is a very very basic question (and there is no psych non-trad/entry level post area) but in my online and friend-sourced research, I really can't find a suitable answer for my question. I appreciate any and all advice!
I have a bachelor's in a field other than psychology but have nearly all the requirements to apply to a master's program, a 3.45 GPA, and experience as a clinical research coordinator. I think my claim to fame is one graph contribution to a paper published in Cell: Stem Cell which was a lucky consequence from a previous coordinator position. My interests lie in clinical health psychology and even biological/behavioral neuropsych as it related to diet, exercise, and other health factors (I've been a personal trainer and strength coach for several years - just love it). I'm really unsure of where to go from here. I work at a hospital based ethics institute and can easily contribute to some research here, but it isn't terribly relevant to the programs I'm interested in. Ideally I see myself going into the more health focused fields and working in research and also clinically for people with long-term or lifestyle diseases (diabeetus, cardiovascular diseases, etc.)
So I guess my question is: how do I really beef up my resume for an eventual PhD program? It appears a lot of the clinical health programs I'm interested in (say Univ. of Colorado) only accept applicants that are already well prepared for a PhD via research and grades. Are there any master's programs that cater to people like me? That don't contribute directly to a PhD but serve clinical psych interests? A lot of the research I've done turned up results at for-profit universities and I'm not interested in that.
Again, I realize this is a very basic question but I'd rather ask than apply to somewhere and embarrass myself. Also, I realize that just getting myself into a lab could be useful, but I'd also like to bump that GPA just in case.
Thank you in advance!
